What marching band taught me
The 4 and 1/2 month stretch where you spend at least 11 hours a week devoted to a group effort was not just 4 and 1/2 months: it was many things and it taught me several ways to succeed in life.
After marching band I have learned the habits of what it takes to be on-time to every event, and it's always the action of being early. If it's a five minute drive to the event at 6 PM and you leave at 5:55 PM, you will 99% not make it, as:
And being early also earns you benefits such as:
Once I get home and eat a snack it's practically 4:00 somehow, and I realize that I have to leave at 5:30 for marching band.
I tell myself that I can only watch one video, but as soon as I find out that 10 of my favorite creators uploaded a new video I look up at the clock and it's 4:45.
In shock, I suddenly close the tab and try to study for my global test first, and I manage to cram out the basic definitions before it's 5:30.
Once practice ends it's 9:00 PM, but by the time I finish eating the snacks that the parents provide every Wednesday I get home at 9:45 PM.
In the one hour I get before my parents start yelling at me to sleep I finish studying for my global test.
Before realizing that I have a biology test too.
Fudge.
I set a time for 4:00 AM and once the timer rings I manage to sleep through the alarm.
It's 6:10 AM before my mom tells me to wake up, and FUDGE I DIDN'T STUDY FOR BIO!
So I study for bio during my Spanish lecture and take my test during Global and once Band is over I use those 6 minutes of passing period to memorize last minute details.
On Monday I get the test back and I realize that I got 24 questions correct out of 48 answered.
50%
1/2
F-
Borderline F-
So now I have to spend the rest of the semester grinding bio after a C+ in the class because of the test. All of this because I didn't manage my time, and I procrastinated.
Yes this is a true story and no I didn't bring it back to an A.
The time stress Marching Band puts on your school work is something I am severely grateful for because I am learning to study a week before the test. The time constraints are not a negative, but a positive because it taught me how to manage my time and how to really succeed in high school.
The last time I cried was when I got semi-bullied in sixth grade, and it was in a corner AFTER the bully left. While I was falling, there was something inside me that just made it impossible for me to cry. And as he stared down at me, my eyes weren't even watery. But as soon as we gained separation and he for sure wasn't going to return, I instantly cried.
The previous time I cried in public was in third grade, where a fifth grade teacher took my Christmas present, a red ball that I played skill with, and wrote her own last name on the ball, claiming it as a class ball.
I even named that ball "Misa2" because I loved it so much, but as soon as she used permanent ink on that ball and didn't give it back to me, I cried.
Throughout several teeth surgeries, 14 teeth pulls, waking up feeling like I WAS ON FIRE BECAUSE I KNEW THAT JUST BECAUSE I ATE A CANDY BAR THE DAY BEFORE MY ECZEMA DECIDED TO ACT UP, I didn't cry.
I only cry when it's something emotional, something I am personally acquainted with. I don't cry when I'm hurt: I cry because I LET MYSELF GET HURT.
So with that being said, I cried at the end of the Marching Band season. All the fun memories and all the friends I met were soon going to slowly disappear, and I couldn't stop myself from crying. When my section leaders gave a speech about how this year was a special year because the Mellophones didn't get cut from any features and because there was overall no division in popularity and toxicity in our section, I cried like a baby.
Cool.
To me, leaders are people who want to help you and who care about you more than him/herself, in a way.
A leader is willing to spend time after practice helping someone learn drill instead of writing a college application.
A leader only wants success for the group, and thinks that a result is limitless.
A leader becomes a leader by not wanting to be known for being a leader, but for helping others.
It's crazy how all leaders were once people like me, and how people like me could become leaders.
Lyric of the Post: When you feel it's hopeless
When you think that you lost, oh
I will take your hand and
We'll rise up from the dust, oh
Rise Up – TheFatRat
To be early is to be on time.
Once the drum major blows the whistle, everyone rushes towards their numbers, going into a specific stance. As the drum major takes attendance, you are not allowed to talk. Many times the silence is broken by a kid rushing for his instrument, frantically pulling things out and putting parts together and running to their spot. Not only is being late embarrassing, but it teaches you how to succeed so something like this doesn't happen again.After marching band I have learned the habits of what it takes to be on-time to every event, and it's always the action of being early. If it's a five minute drive to the event at 6 PM and you leave at 5:55 PM, you will 99% not make it, as:
- You might've forgot something
- Your mom somehow might've forgot something
- There could be traffic or an abundance of red lights
- Heck you can even get a ticket
And being early also earns you benefits such as:
- Being able to socialize
- Earn recognition from your teacher/host
- You don't feel like you're in a rush when you're driving
- The line is shorter(if there is a line in whatever event you're talking about)
Manage your time.
It's Wednesday, and I have three tests tomorrow. I have to stay in the library until 3:30 everyday in order for the traffic to clear, and I finish a worksheet in my time at the library.Once I get home and eat a snack it's practically 4:00 somehow, and I realize that I have to leave at 5:30 for marching band.
I tell myself that I can only watch one video, but as soon as I find out that 10 of my favorite creators uploaded a new video I look up at the clock and it's 4:45.
In shock, I suddenly close the tab and try to study for my global test first, and I manage to cram out the basic definitions before it's 5:30.
Once practice ends it's 9:00 PM, but by the time I finish eating the snacks that the parents provide every Wednesday I get home at 9:45 PM.
In the one hour I get before my parents start yelling at me to sleep I finish studying for my global test.
Before realizing that I have a biology test too.
Fudge.
I set a time for 4:00 AM and once the timer rings I manage to sleep through the alarm.
It's 6:10 AM before my mom tells me to wake up, and FUDGE I DIDN'T STUDY FOR BIO!
So I study for bio during my Spanish lecture and take my test during Global and once Band is over I use those 6 minutes of passing period to memorize last minute details.
On Monday I get the test back and I realize that I got 24 questions correct out of 48 answered.
50%
1/2
F-
Borderline F-
So now I have to spend the rest of the semester grinding bio after a C+ in the class because of the test. All of this because I didn't manage my time, and I procrastinated.
Yes this is a true story and no I didn't bring it back to an A.
The time stress Marching Band puts on your school work is something I am severely grateful for because I am learning to study a week before the test. The time constraints are not a negative, but a positive because it taught me how to manage my time and how to really succeed in high school.
The Community.
I rarely cry in public.The last time I cried was when I got semi-bullied in sixth grade, and it was in a corner AFTER the bully left. While I was falling, there was something inside me that just made it impossible for me to cry. And as he stared down at me, my eyes weren't even watery. But as soon as we gained separation and he for sure wasn't going to return, I instantly cried.
The previous time I cried in public was in third grade, where a fifth grade teacher took my Christmas present, a red ball that I played skill with, and wrote her own last name on the ball, claiming it as a class ball.
I even named that ball "Misa2" because I loved it so much, but as soon as she used permanent ink on that ball and didn't give it back to me, I cried.
Throughout several teeth surgeries, 14 teeth pulls, waking up feeling like I WAS ON FIRE BECAUSE I KNEW THAT JUST BECAUSE I ATE A CANDY BAR THE DAY BEFORE MY ECZEMA DECIDED TO ACT UP, I didn't cry.
I only cry when it's something emotional, something I am personally acquainted with. I don't cry when I'm hurt: I cry because I LET MYSELF GET HURT.
So with that being said, I cried at the end of the Marching Band season. All the fun memories and all the friends I met were soon going to slowly disappear, and I couldn't stop myself from crying. When my section leaders gave a speech about how this year was a special year because the Mellophones didn't get cut from any features and because there was overall no division in popularity and toxicity in our section, I cried like a baby.
What a Leader is.
leadership
[ lee-der-ship ]SHOW IPA
noun
Cool.
To me, leaders are people who want to help you and who care about you more than him/herself, in a way.
A leader is willing to spend time after practice helping someone learn drill instead of writing a college application.
A leader only wants success for the group, and thinks that a result is limitless.
A leader becomes a leader by not wanting to be known for being a leader, but for helping others.
It's crazy how all leaders were once people like me, and how people like me could become leaders.
Lyric of the Post: When you feel it's hopeless
When you think that you lost, oh
I will take your hand and
We'll rise up from the dust, oh
Rise Up – TheFatRat
thx
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