At the beginning of a college semester, professors begin classes with the stereotypical ice breakers. A common question that rolls around is 'how many of you were in athletics?'. There is the argument that marching band is a sport, but that is the topic for a whole other article. But the lessons that were given to student athletes were also given to me, just in other ways
Commitment
If I had a dollar for all the times my director said 'reset' and my legs wanted to collapse from standing for three hours straight in the blazing heat, I could pay off my college tuition. Marching band isn't easy work; but it's worth it. Though I often felt like giving up, the pay-off was finally performing the show for a loving festival crowd. That was the reason why I always came back; the performances. But to get to the performances, one must get through the practices. With great commitment comes great responsibility. Everybody has their own part in the show. If someone is gone, it oftentimes leaves a hole in the show where that person is supposed to be. Everybody is given their own sets to march as if they were marching their own show. The band needs everyone in the show or else the sets are incomplete.
Teamwork
The band is like one big team with smaller teams, the instrumental sections, within it. Like any team, we had leaders; the drum majors would lead the full band while the section leaders would lead the sections. Behind our leaders, we all worked together as individuals, sections, and one band, to create and perform a show. We trusted that everyone knew their own parts, for the music and the sets, as well as how the individual parts fit in with the grander show of the band. We helped one another when stressful situations arose, and stuck together from beginning to end.
How to Push Yourself
Unless you was sitting on the sidelines, you couldn't help but improve during the long rehearsals. However, why join marching band if you don't want to get good at it? Marching band taught me how to push myself to become better at my craft. Symposium, our week long marching band camp in the middle of July, was the time that really pushed me the most. We would work from 7 AM to 9 PM (with breaks for breakfast, lunch, and dinner) in the blazing, hot July sun. There were times when it was easier to just throw in the towel, especially when the director made us repeat the same set over and over again. It was easy to get frustrated with all of the repetition, even if you did understand why it was necessary. It took determination to not give up, but instead to keep pushing to get the sets perfect and learn as much of the show as possible. Even if we were repeating a particular set for another section's benefit, I worked hard to try to find how I could improve myself.
Friendship
Some of the greatest friends I have ever made came out of the marching band program. The friendships I had before marching band only grew stronger within it, and the friendships I made within it still stand today. My college marching band performed at a show that my former high school marching band also was performing in. It was such a weird but amazing feeling to walk through my old band in my college uniform. I was so overjoyed to see all the old faces and embrace the people I marched with for years. Although we spent a semester apart, marching band still kept our friendships alive.
The Love for Performing
Like I said before, the most rewarding thing for me was performing. It made all the rehearsals and hard work worth it. After putting all the energy into making the show, it was an amazing feeling to finally show off the performance we had worked so hard to perfect. It was also so cool to watch the other bands perform their shows. The way marching bands tell stories through music and movement on a football field is beyond any other type of performing.
These are the reasons that I chose to continue marching band in my college career. I will be forever thankful for all that my high school marching band taught me and all the memories it gave me.
