I miss the sound of the music and the rhythm of the beat. I miss the bond of the band members that become family. I miss waking up early to practice before school starts four days a week. I miss getting up early to get ready for band competitions. I miss the late night practices for drum line. I miss singing the music while walking to class or screaming it at the top of my lungs while in the car. I miss the random hints of excitement from the other band members when we were getting ready for competition. I miss marching band from the beginning to the end.

No matter if we were seniors leading the pack or freshman starting to learn about marching band and how it goes, we were still a family. Every year I loved getting to show up for band camp and drum line camp two weeks before school started to work on our show music. Music has always been a strong passion of mine, and always will be. But getting to see that music on my stand and listen to how excited the Band Director is to be showcasing our pieces. From the awkward moments to the missing piece to the puzzle the camps before school starts help bring our band together and allows us to learn to love our pieces.

Every year, the upperclassmen would pick underclassmen as their "freshman" and mentor to them and just be there for them. I was fortunate to be picked by the drum major my freshmen year and loved it! It helped me adjust to high school marching band so much easier. But being able to mentor and take someone under your wings is so refreshing because it made marching band that much more enjoyable.

All these early mornings and late practices paid off. When it came time to show the judges what we had. Coming from a small school we only competed at two different competitions, but still enjoyed them. We would always give them the best we had just like it was the last chance we had to perform our music. We come together like a family on days of competitions.

From freshman year to senior year, I learned four marching shows, marched fifteen parades, several field shows, and six drum line performances. I've learned ten different instruments while being in band since sixth-grade year. I've been under the direction of two different band directors, and five drum majors.

With all the experiences I've dealt with in years in marching band, I will forever cherish my memories, I will keep on believing, having a hard days night and dreaming somewhere over the rainbow. I will always keep moving to the beat and marching to the music over and over again. Music will always be a part of me.