Marching band is life. That might seem like something a stereotypical band geek might say, but it’s true. From the beginning of August to the second to last week in October, marching band consumes our lives. There are the short sectionals throughout the summer, band camp, after school practices, seven-hour dress rehearsals on Saturday, and competitions.

Explaining to someone why I love band so much is a difficult thing to do. Sometimes people just don’t understand. Yes, we practice a lot, and yes, Berard can be scary, intimidating, and he sometimes yells at us, but it’s not that bad.  Marching band is a lot of hard work; it takes effort that I occasionally do not want to exert and you have to be at your best one hundred percent of the time.

As a freshman, sometimes all I wanted to do was quit band, curl up in a tiny ball, and cry. Learning how to march is excruciatingly frustrating, especially when some of your peers can do it well on the first try. There are so many “buzz” words to think about, marching band is the definition of multitasking. Low heals, high toes, straight leg, taller body, step size and path, let alone all of the extra things a flute player has to remember. We have to keep our flutes parallel to the ground, make sure our right hand does not go too far forward or back and our left shoulders stay relaxed, and that we are not rolling in or out too much. Everything we have to fix, we can only judge by feel, not sight.

These things become routine after the first week of band camp, but then we start learning drill. In order for the show to work and not be a complete disaster, everyone has to know where they are going, how long they have to get there, and how they are going to do that without running into anyone else or looking stupid. We have to make sure our lines are straight, that no one is out of the diagonal, that our intervals are even and everyone is using the exact same style to do everything, while playing music from memory. Spending seventy-six hours on this over the summer alone might seem drastic, but it is most definitely necessary. Marching band gets overwhelming when you list everything out, but to band kids it’s just what we do.

My favorite thing about band, aside from the music part of it, is the people. We’re like a family, no matter how cliché that sounds. There are, of course, people I am not particularly fond of, but I still enjoy laughing and having fun with them as I do with my sister. The sheer amount of time we spend together is enough to make us bond, and because of how much we practice, most of the things we have to talk about outside of class and rehearsal are band related as well. My friends don’t really like it when the conversation revolves around something they don’t know about, so band kids are some of the only people I can talk to about the things I want to talk about, too.

It’s not like we are all lovey-dovey, but we’re comfortable in the presence of each other, we have our inside jokes, and we all laugh at the silly references Berard makes, and the way he pronounces ‘mature’. The upperclassmen in my section are some of my favorite people in the world, and they made high school so much more fun for a scared freshman. Band is the best way to make friends, because if we were not friends, everyone would probably kill each other.

Even though now, two days before state, I just want to get band over and done with, so that I can actually sleep in on Saturdays and have plenty of time to get my homework done, I know that in two weeks I’ll be wishing to have just one more rep. This year’s show, especially, is something very close to my heart. “The Pale Blue Dot” is a theme everyone can relate to, considering it’s about the planet we all live on, and something about it inspires me, and gives me even more love for band. When our band director talks about the message, and piece of art we are preforming for people, something inside of me wants to sob from overwhelming emotion. The simple fact that I am a part of something that can inspire other people and really make them think fills me with pride and joy.

Music is my best friend. Whether it is lyrics from my favorite band, or playing a sweet melody, it always manages to make me feel good inside. That is why whenever I would consider quitting because of marching band, I knew I couldn’t because then I wouldn’t have that kind of music in my life.  I like to remember the very first time I played with the Fossil Ridge Marching Band. It was a few days after the last day of eighth grade, and only one specific moment sticks in my mind because it made me feel things I can never really describe, it was so exciting. Standing in the PAC, playing your heart out, with the entire wind ensemble behind you and the percussion on the stage, is such a powerful feeling it only makes sense if you are a part of it. It is incredibly loud, but if executed right, the volume gives it meaning, and power.

So for me, the “pale blue dot” will never just be a picture, a planet, an essay by Carl Sagan, or even a home. It will forever remind me of my experience, the people I have met, and the things marching band has taught me. I am one of those people who have big dreams in life, but I am not sure how to achieve them. Band has shown me that if I work hard enough, if I use my brain and put my heart into it, I’ll get there.

“The Pale Blue Dot” will also remind me of that one day at Hughes Stadium when I (hopefully) became a champion and even more than that the day when I helped create this little piece of magic that inspired others as well. Us band students are not just encouraging our peers to come see us at state because we think we are so amazing that we deserve a large crowd. It’s because we would like to share with our friends this little piece of our lives, of our hearts, and maybe inspire them to really put their hearts into the things they love to do, because the world will be a happier and better place if they do. That is why I am in the band, and that is why it means so much to me.