There are few groups of people in this world who I personally believe are always "good." And marching band kids are one of them.

Marching band kids are really good at taking direction.

It is our job to make sure we are in charge of our spot on the field. If we mess up, there is the potential for injury. Not only that, but when you get into a band that has over four-hundred people in it there is no way the director is going to be able to put each and every person in their spot for every set.

When we're married, it's going to help because we're not going to have to be told to take the trash out or put some clothes through the wash. We're going to see that it needs to be done and then we'll do it.

We're not the type to give up.

If you've ever been outside in 100+ degree heat and been able to march/walk/run several miles, then you know what it means to really push through. We marching in severe heat, snow, rain, and everything in-between. There's not much that we won't do to figure out how to get something done, and get it right. "Practice makes perfect" is not our mantra, "perfect practice makes perfect" is how we roll.

Mark time calves.

Depending on how your school does mark time, your significant other is going to have the best calves you've ever seen. There's no way around it! To keep your upper body still there are a lot of legs involved. Especially when we rep something over and over again.

We are severely punctual.

Here is my thought process as a college marching kid:

"Ok, call time is five hours before kickoff, so that means I need to be on the field at 8am with the clarinets. That means I need to park my car at least fifteen to twenty minutes beforehand. To be there that early I need to pick up my carpool about twenty minutes before that, so I need to wake up around 6:50am to be able to eat some breakfast and drink water before it gets hot out and I dehydrate myself. So the 8:30a. band call means waking up just over an hour early."

After talking to many fellow marching friends, I am certain that at least 90% of the band has this same thought process. "Be early to the call, which means be earlier than that."

You're going to have the best wedding ever.

I've heard many stories from friends, family, and family friends that they managed to get friends to come play live songs for them. If they met in college, sometimes they even get a pep band to come and play some school songs. It's just as nerdy as it sounds, but you get to have college kid fun again for a short while. Who wouldn't want to relieve some of the best times of their life for a few minutes!

Your children will probably play instruments.

I say "probably," but if you met in band, then chances are that you will start your kid on lessons in early elementary school, get them to start a second (maybe even third) instrument by high school, and then they can woo anyone they want. Ok, I'm kidding, but really there have been several studies done about how learning to play or sing or even listening to music makes you smarter.

We make time, even when we're busy.

A typical week in my life that ends in a game day involves three two-hour rehearsals, a one hour sectional, and then game day can be anywhere from ten to fourteen hours. And that's just a one credit class. There are friends of mine in this band who are aspiring engineers, architects, music performance majors, and pre-vet. Work loads can get up to 18 or more credit hours during the marching season. I don't even know when these people sleep, but they are the most hard-working and well organize people I know. These are the people that are going to have color-coded calendars for all three of their children and every car ride and carpool is going to have snacks. That's the person I want to be with. Heck, that's the person I want to be!

We look dang good in a uniform.

We know how dorky we look, but even the crowd can admit that when you see a band of four-hundred people all wearing the same thing, it's pretty awesome. Maybe even scary depending on the amount of screaming going on.

We understand what real commitment is.

Band kids are not the type to throw in the towel. A lot of us don't even know what the phrase means. Starting a relationship is like starting a new half-time show for us. We are given very little and have to be able to see the big picture. There may be small amounts of kicking and screaming when it gets hard, but we don't tear up our drill charts, throw them in the air, and walk off the field leaving our instruments behind. We take a breather, maybe do some stretches, and come back with a cool head and a mindset to make it better.

We know how to communicate.

If we didn't communicate with each other in band, we wouldn't be a band. It's all about the ensemble and having everything mesh together, meld as one, and be one sound. Translating that to a relationship, that means that we're not going leave you out of the loop. If you don't know something, it will probably make us uncomfortable.

Hard work through it all.

I hope this one is self explanatory. We rehearse in 100 degree heat, snow, rain, and perform in anything that comes our way. A little fight isn't going to discourage us, and neither is someone leaving some dishes out every once in a while. We understand that there may be tiny things that someone does wrong. Things like being too far to the left, or missing a step off, or even being a little late, but that one action isn't a reflection of all the love and care put into the band. Wait, this is about relationships. Little actions are not going to change our whole opinion of you. Someone has to royally screw up for a band kid to change their opinion about you. And if we married you, chances are you're in the clear.