Not What They Seem

Hey you. Yeah, you on the couch, eating the Twinkie. Come here, I want to show you something. Follow me to the high school, the one you don't have to go back to for another month. Look down to the parking lot. You see those kids down there? Hey, stop laughing. I know you think they're just band nerds, possibly the weirdest kids in school. But trust me, they're not what they seem.

Now follow me down to the parking lot so you can get a better look. And stop complaining about the heat, you've barely been out here for ten minutes. You see all those kids in the white shirts? Yeah, they've already been out here in the blazing sun for two full hours. And they've still got another hour to go before they can go in for lunch.

And I've got a question for you: what have you been doing all summer? Sitting on your couch? Raiding your fridge? Watching TV? Well guess what these kids have been doing all summer. They've been returning to the high school, the one you haven't been to for two months. They've been going to sectionals. They've been getting up early to go to conditioning. And now, for the past week, they've been out here, working their butts off in the 100 degree August heat for twelve hours a day.

And you see that girl over there? You see that knee brace she has on? What you don't know is that that knee hurts like crap, but you'll never hear her complain about it. And you see that guy over there with the blisters on his arm? That's a third degree sunburn right there buddy, but you'll never hear him moan about it either. And you can't tell just by looking at her, but that girl over there has asthma. A few minutes ago she had an attack and she had to run over to use her inhaler. Her friends tried to get her to sit out for a few minutes, but she refused. And you see that guy over there? That instrument he's carrying is called a sousaphone, and it weighs almost fifty pounds. He'll wear that all day, never even grumbling about it at all. Oh, and you see all of them doing push-ups now? Nobody told them to do that, but they're disciplining themselves because they knew they could have marched that last set better. Can you even imagine how hot that asphalt is to their hands after sitting in this sun all morning? Let me tell you, it's hot. But you don't hear a single one of them complaining about it now do you.

But you know what? They love what they're doing. They know that even after band camp is over, which isn't for another two weeks, they've still got almost three months of this to go. They know that they've signed their lives away to the band directors and that they will have absolutely no free time for quite awhile. But you know what? They don't care. In fact, they can't wait. Because they're not just the group of insane and exhausted teenagers that they appear to be; they're a family. And they're out there working for each other and not for themselves.

So next time you go to make fun of those 'band nerds', just remember that they wear that title with pride. Remember how hard they work. Remember how much they love each other. Remember that they deserve your respect.

Because they're not what they seem. And maybe someday you'll have the honor of becoming one of them.