Marching Band has taught me a lot about life. I learned a lot about people and gained some important life values. Joining Marching Band has affected my life, for the better, because my band taught me about five core values. These values are important in everyday life and I will carry them with me for the rest of my life. They are Pride, Unity, Trust, Respect and Leadership.

1. Pride

Joining Marching Band gave me a sense of pride in something. We rehearse for 14-and-a-half hours some weeks. Once we start performing, that number drops, but we still have at least 15 hours of Band a week. Performing lets us show off what we’ve working so hard on. The moments after we finished our show, before the applause starts, we finally get to breathe. We ran through an entire seven-plus minute show. In that moment, we get to be proud of all of our efforts. Marching Band has instilled in me a pride for hard work and what comes out of it.

2. Unity

Marching Band also gave me a sense of unity. Off of the field, we are 100 plus separate people, with our own lives, but on the field we move together as one unit. Together, we create more than 60 different forms on the field. If one person does something wrong, the forms don’t look right. We practice as one unit, we win as one unit. This aspect of Marching Band has shown me how my actions are connected to those around me.

3. Trust

As well as being unified, the Marching Band members have to trust each other. We have to trust that the people around them are going to do what they are supposed to do. Be in their forms, play the right music, do the right work. Marching Band has taught me that you have to trust the people around you to do what they have to because no matter how much you worry about it, nothing will change it.

4. Respect

Marching Band has also taught me about respect. Everyone can correct a form, no matter their position. You have to respect everyone because each person is important to the band. Marching Band has taught me to respect corrections and opinions of others, even if I don’t agree with them. You also have to respect the work of others because everyone works extremely hard to get to where they are.

5. Leadership

I learned a lot about leadership from Marching Band. As a sophomore, I was put into a position of leadership and saw how important those positions were. I also saw how important leaders without titles were. Each person is a leader in their own right and is important to the band. Each person plays a role in the band and brings their own leadership skills to the table.