To My Second Family,

It's been about a month or so since I've seen you guys. It's really weird not having you all around every day. I hope you're all doing well in college, and good luck if you're still in high school.

Marching band isn't the same. Sure, there's still halftime, music, and laughter, but it's not what it was. I'm not surrounded by my fellow altos that I've known for four years. I'm not behind the tenors, playing Never Have I Ever or Truth or Dare. I'm not totally ignoring the "don't turn around in the stands" rule. We're not begging to play "Somebody Told Me" or sliding along to the "Hey Song." There's still late nights and fun, but there's no late night Sheetz runs. There's no crappy mac 'n cheese, no crappy parking, and no milkshakes. There's still roll stepping, though (which I always forget to do), and I still manage to do our old high school attention move.

School isn't the same. Sure, there's still class, books, and friends, but it's not what it was. I don't have a locker that everyone crowds around after school. I'm not putting chocolate chip cookies all over cars or messing around in the band room. I still get difficult tests and essays I'd rather not do, but there's no one to pass notes to after all of it's over.

Hanging out with new friends isn't the same. Sure, there's still loads of fun, bad jokes, and weird noises, but it's not what it was (I do love my new friends to death though). I'm so used to your houses - they're like second homes. Now there are just dorm rooms (without AC, by the way). There's no Jackbox, no Werewolf (although there's still Cards Against Humanity). There are still sleepovers, but there's no staying up until 3 AM roasting our other friends.

There's so many things that are different, so many things that I miss.

I saw a picture of one of you today with a new friend. I almost didn't recognize you. Sure, you still look the same, but you were with someone I didn't know. That hit me hard. Today I realized that those four years were over. They weren't coming back, and I only had memories left.

I wanted to thank all of you. You each taught me something. One of you taught me how to love myself, that I was beautiful through and through and I should never let anyone take that away from me. Another one of you taught me that life isn't all fun and games: sometimes you need to be serious. One of you even taught me how to play "Careless Whisper" on my saxophone. You've all made an impact on me in some way, shape or form. So thank you for that.

There's so many things I want to say to all of you. That I love you, that I miss you, that I hope you're all doing well. But I'll just leave it at this - thank you for being a part of my life when I needed you most. Thank you for shaping me into the person I am today. Thank you for being you. AOS forever.

Missing You,

George/Perry/Kaitlyn