High school marching band was one of the most important things I've ever been involved in. My freshman year was especially prominent.
Going into high school, or band camp that freshman year, I was extremely antisocial. I was entirely uninterested in interacting with all these new people I didnt know. I wasnt interested in school spirit, or playing a large role in the band.
The upperclassmen absolutely wouldn't have that. Through the week of band camp, they pushed every button I had, trying to get me to come out of my shell and be a part of the group.
They also pushed me to have school spirit, trying to explain just how much what we were involved in actually mattered. But more than just directly pushing me around, they showed me what it meant.
Every day of band camp everyone there gave it their all, and if anyone wasnt giving 100%, the entire band would come down on them.
Freshman years band camp was also on the tail end of a record-breaking summer as far as heat goes, so every day was sweltering. Even on the hottest days, everyones energy level was all the way up, and if it wasn't, you would get there.
The final day of band camp, after a long final parade exercise, we were met with a fire truck, our instructor atop it ready to get us all with the hose. As we had fun cooling off after a tough week of constant heat and drills, I decided I wanted to be a part of the band family.
Through the year, there were lots of opportunities to let me work on making friends in the band. Roughly half-way through the semester, the member of the band who had the biggest influence on me had a leg injury.
However, as he had shown me many times throughout the year, you had to be dedicated. He continued to march the rest of the semester with a boot and using a crutch, keeping step and playing just as hard as everyone else.
The performance I remember most was one of the last ones of the season. Everyone was getting sappy because it was one of the last performances, but it was raining, it was also ~40 degrees outside.
While we all marched in the rain doing this show we had done a thousand times, I could barely see through the rain, my uniform was soaked, ice was forming on my instrument and the crowd was barely paying attention to us, trying to stay warm and dry.
Despite all this, everyone in the band gave their all, stood it out to the end, and had an excellent performance. After all that came before that, the weather was just another challenge for us to take down together.
There is no chance of me forgetting my freshman year in marching band. What could have been such a small, disregardable thing turned into many of my favorite moments to remember, and some of my best friends I've had.
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