Home Away From Home by Danielle

Home Away From Home by Danielle - December 2013 Scholarship Essay

Extracurriculars, for many people, are just a way to take up time. They are a way to get involved and further enjoyment of the high school years. My extracurricular experience with marching band included those things, sure, but it was so much more than that. Marching band as an extracurricular activity has defined my high school career. I am not confident in my ability to accurately portray my experience in words.

Marching band truly is a place where I am perfectly content. I can imagine no other environment where 160 students of different backgrounds, ages, and interests can come together harmoniously. The instant band starts, everything else is gone. Stress, drama, anxiety- it is all put on hold when we start to march. Because, for however long our rehearsal may run, we are all whole-heartedly and passionately dedicated to making our band the best it can be.

When I stand on the podium conducting a movement in the show, I get to watch with pride as my peers march. When we do music rehearsal, I get to listen to the nuances of the music fall into place. When we perform our first competition at Rockford under the stadium lights, I am filled with an indescribable and immeasurable joy. I never really remember a performance afterwards, because I am in such a zone as we perform. I know that my arms and shoulders burn as I conduct, I know that it gets a little warm in our polyester uniforms, and I know that we never have a completely perfect show. And I know I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.

Every year, the seniors would tell us to enjoy every moment because it would end so much faster than we imagined. We would always nod along, imagining that it could never pass as fast as they claimed. At State Finals every year, we would always cry, knowing we were one year closer to the end. This year is my last, and I wish I could tell the people younger than me that they have to believe me when I say it will fly by. They have to believe me when I tell them that their senior year will be here in the blink of an eye. I appreciate each and every day that I am blessed with to work with this group. I feel almost like I’m floating, as if it will never come to an end. And yet, though I’m getting a little choked up writing about it, I don’t feel as sad as maybe I expected I would. I feel so fortunate to have gotten four seasons with such a beautiful program. I feel so fortunate to be able to take all the love I’ve been given and spread it to others, to take all the lessons I’ve been taught and teach them to others.

Marching band is about the music and the show, sure, but it’s about so much more. It’s about the life lessons, the people, the love. It’s about learning to go farther than just accepting those who are different from you. It’s about how powerful it is to reach a goal that you’ve worked towards. It’s about how rewarding a single, eight minute performance can be after three months of hard work. It’s about crying as I’m sitting here revising my essay because this journey that has changed my life will soon come to an end. It’s about wishing that everyone in the world could experience what I have experienced with my band, because no combination of words in the world could do justice to the joy it brings. It’s about, for a few hours every day, coming together with close friends I may never have met otherwise to sweat and shout and cry and put a marching show on the field.