Back in April of 2015, my elementary band teacher handed me a sheet of paper and asked if anyone wanted to join the high school marching band. I was a little hesitant at first. I had no idea what to expect from the music or the people. I was just a little sixth grade clarinet player that barely knew what "over the break" meant. Leading up to the first practice, I was extremely nervous and unprepared. However, I soon realized that signing up was one of the best decisions I could've made.

       The first thing I had to go through was band camp (dun, dun, dun). Band camp can be one of the best or worst things you'll ever have to go through. Its where you learn how to march in stifling heat, put together the field show, pray for water breaks, and hope you put on enough sunscreen. It goes on for ten, seven-hour long days that are filled with learning your show. We got about an hour for lunch and then after that, we would play some kind of game. Then, its back into the heat! Even though its a lot of work, its a lot of fun, too. Its where you make new friends, have epic water fights during breaks, have big feasts with everyone in the band room, and you get some pretty great stories to tell!

      After you survive band camp, football season starts. Its filled with after school practices, half-time shows, jamming out to your favorite songs on the bus, huddling under blankets with your section during the cold games, and everyone's favorite: stand tunes! All of your Friday nights for about 10-11 weeks are spent playing the field show and hearing the drum cadence so many times you know it by heart halfway through the season. If you're in a competitive band, you spend most of your Saturdays at cavalcades (fancy word for competitions) until Championships eventually rolls around. You also do other things like march in parades and possibly play at fairs and festivals. At the end of the season, when you finally march that last show, you can't help but wonder what next season might bring!

      Marching band is probably one of the most fun things you can do in high school. Its sacrificing your Friday nights and your Saturdays for football games and cavalcades. Its dreading hearing the words "One more time!" after you run through the show because its never only one more time. Its struggling through extreme heat and pouring rain during games. But its also jamming out to stand tunes and dancing to your drum cadence with your best friends. Its the excitement of finally getting to play your victory song when your team finally gets that touchdown. Its napping in the tiny equipment truck with half of the band in a huge mess of blankets. Its  one of the hardest and most fun things you'll ever do. Best of all, its finding the family you never knew you had.

So there you go that was my first chapter! As you can see, I'm a band geek but for all you non-band geeks I probably won't be posting much about it anyway. SO I hope you enjoyed and I'll see you in the next chapter my lovelies!! P.S. Wicked was our field show this year!