From the time I was old enough to remember sitting and watching a marching band perform, I wanted to be a flag girl. When it became my turn to tryout, there was no doubt in my mind that I wanted to be in color guard, and so I tried out, and I made it. The next 8 years of my life, color guard brought me ups, downs, tears, and smiles, and I wouldn’t trade anything for it. So, here’s a short letter to the staple of this experience: my flag.

Dear Color guard flag,

We have had some times together. It’s been hard at times. I’ve dropped you, thrown you, and tried to tear you up, but still you were steady in my life. Here’s just a few thank you’s for all that you’ve done for me.

Thank you for...

1. Being my blanket

Whether it be at a long hot practice when I had a break and needed to lay down or a cold, windy practice before a competition, you were always there to keep me off the grass or keep me warm. I’ll never forget the seam lines that were imprinted into my arms because of your shelter. And I'll never forget the way you wrapped me up, at the worst times when the cold wind was blowing during a performance.

2. Wiping away my tears

Color guard was always a source of drama for me. From mean girls, rude teachers, bad practices, and those moments where I finally got something I was struggling with, you were always there with your soft silk to let me wipe away my tears with a promise to be dry within a few minutes.

3. Being my "out"

As I mentioned before, color guard was filled with drama for me. This is actually an understatement. When I was in high school, there were more practices where I went home crying than I went home smiling. Between that, just school stress, and all the ups and downs of life, you were there, ready for me to spin, toss, and (sometimes) drop you. I'm sure if you could speak, you could tell some stories. Thank you for not hitting me back, most of the time.

4. Bringing me some of my best friends

Between the mean girls' hate, you brought me closer to some people who pulled me through those hard times. We got closer by spinning flags, laughing and crying together. You taught me that friends don't always need to agree on everything, but just have at least one common ground. For so many of my friends, our common ground was our flags.These are friendships I might not have ever had if it weren't for you.

5. Teaching me that I don't have to be the best at something to enjoy it

For the longest time, I thought I was the best at color guard. I thought I knew how to do every toss, and every spin, and every possible thing to know. And then, someone came into my life and shoved me right down to where I belonged. It took that person putting me "in front of a mirror" and showing me that I wasn't the best in the room, for me to realize that I wasn't the best. In that moment, I was ready to give up, but I picked up my flag and started spinning and realized that it didn't matter if I was the best, just as long as I was doing my best, and having fun. So, that became my focus, and soon, I found myself getting better and better.

6. Making me step out of my comfort zone

To this day, when I think of color guard, I think of spinning and tossing my flag. However, the genre of color guard has grown into so much more than that. Now, it is still spinning and tossing, but it has added fancy footwork under it. My junior year was the year that this craziness was introduced to me, and I was super reluctant, mostly because of the fact that I don't dance. I resisted, but in the end I was forced to learn what a tandu and a coupe are. Then I had to learn how to do them while spinning my flag. Needless to say, I was not happy about it at all, but looking back, I am so glad I had this experience, because it pushed me out of my comfort zone.

7. Giving me the rush of performing

For 6 years straight, on any given weekend in the months of September and October, you could find me on a field with the marching band, and performing from my heart, and giving all that I have to have a perfect performance. There is truly no feeling like stepping onto the field and doing the best that you can, and smiling, and letting the flag do the work I remember feeling like no matter what that week had been like, performing always seemed to take it away- even if just for those 10 minutes.

8. Standing proudly in the corner of my bedroom

To this day, every time I walk into my bedroom at home, there you are standing proudly in my corner, reminding me of all the good times, and bad, all the lessons I learned from you, and all the scars I have on my legs. Thank you for being there when I get ready to spin (and drop) you again, and being a constant reminder of everything I have overcome because of you.

You have been all that I've had at certain points in my life, so thank you for always being a constant support for me. I'll never forget all that you've taught me. So, until next time I pick you up, Thank you.

Sincerely,

A Thankful "Flag Girl"