Me? A Band Dork? HELL YEAH!
One year ago, I never would have believed the horror stories. I was the only non-band member of our little group. I heard stories of Wilkes yelling over the stadium speakers at students to get on step... stories of section leaders forcing members to do pushups in the middle of the parking lot... stories of the dreaded 'I know my left, I know my right' song and dance.
'They're over exaggerating' I thought to myself. Then I decided to join colorguard.
For those who disagree, Guard IS a part of the band!!!! We are ALL like one huge family no matter what your task on the field is.
Anyway, after joining guard, I realized just how accurate all the 'tall tales' had been. Band camp was even WORSE than had been described, and Wilkes DID like to yell. The hours and hours of work sometimes seemed to be just too much. Then competition day came and it was all worth it just to hear '1st place-Franklin County' and the entire stadium cheering for us. After just a few weeks, I knew I was a part of something. Like it or not, I was a band dork.
The band hallway became my home. If I wasn't in class, I was in that hallway. Before school, lunch, and even after school... always congregating around Wilkes' office. I started classifying my friends as 'band' and 'non-band'. I saw the 'band' portion quite a bit more and lost touch with many in the 'non-band' category. Then I realized just how close everyone was. With around 130 marching band members and 11 guard, it was so amazing that everyone knew everyone else's business. You can't keep a secret in band, so don't even try. You get to be close with a few and those few are close with a few more and those few close with a few more until eventually everyone knows. Including Wilkes. That man knows everything that goes on in our lives. He's not all that bad, though. I'm actually quite fond of him.
You never realize how close you are to those that you march with. After enduring something as brutal as band camp together, you become a tight group. I guess that's what happened to me...
I am now and forever and band dork... And I love it.
