And then I remember... this is what I live for, work for, die for. Unlike dying for chemistry, dying at the hands of hard work is much more rewarding. Guard demands so much more of me as I literally die for it. I physically push my body past it's limits, dying through the run-through that we do after a run-through which I thought was the last. That's what I experienced today, doing many runs for our upcoming competition tonight. The guard had a longer day than most of the band. Our day started off at 8AM for an hour-long sectional to work on the third number. It was out of my favor to do so, but it had to be done. As the morning progressed, it felt like lunch was so much farther away! After dying through run after run, The colorguard laid onto the turf in complete exhaustion, in our own radial circle. I made the needed announcements, with eyes closed and just so out of it. At this point, I felt like we were finally bonding as a guard, no matter how small we may be. I really liked this. The idea hit methat..nothing really clicks until you get into the competitive portion to the marching band season. Whether you are a rookie or an old 4th year like myself, the feeling is all the same. The only difference between the two would have to be the proportioned balance of excitement and nervousness. After relaxing for about 5 minutes and half the field cleared off, we began to gather our things and roll the bed off the field. With lunch finally here, we had to pack the equipment and start working on make-up. This was definitely starting to get exciting. Finally putting on the uniform and seeing the guard how we were going to look in a few hours was very thrilling. It was nerve-wracking, though, trying to get everyone's make-up done before block. Our rookie came late and so she had to sit with me on the bus ride to Verona. I honestly enjoyed it though! In that 20 minutes, I redid her hair, make-up and all. I felt proud because her hair looked ahmaazing! ;D Not just for that reason, but I did feel proud to be sticking through with her. She has gotten far and can only go farther.
Oh sweet, sweet competition time. With only 10 minutes to warm-up, there was definitely a time crunch! Learning from past mistakes, Shannon knew how to treat a warm-up. stress-free, full concentration, determination. Before we kne
w it, we had to get into competition line! As soon as the mark-time was commanded, I turned back to my guard and reminded them to hold their heads up high, starting right then and there. The excitement was building up within me. We marched out way up the convenient hill and waited at the gate. As a traditional band superstition, we didn't face the band that was perfo
rming. At this time, I brought the guard into a nice little huddle. Wow, I was giving my very first minuscule pre-show speech! I reminded them of things I always kept in mind. "Your
are said to be the pride of Belleville. Now prove it. This is your chance." After a few other notes, we shared our customary Starbursts. Open it together, eat it together, place it in yo
ur left boob - together. Time was flying very fast because not too much longer, the ending claps of Rutherfor
d's show was fading off. Throwing out some last good-luck's on the way, we were on. Chins up, feet in time, here we go. The fact that I was walking down my guard down the 50 yd. line didn't hit me as hard as I expected , but I'm sure it will at our bigger competitions - especially when I have a better idea of what this guard is capable of.
From my perspective, I had a decent show. For the fact that I BS'd the beginning of the show and didn't toss in the ballad, everything else was good! No matter what, as long as you keep your head up high, it's a good show. It's all about the performance! Unfortunately, on the band's part, there was a musical tear in the ballad, which caused a l
ot of pooping of bricks. Somehow, we all got back into it, guard and band, and pulled through strongly in the third. Understandably, the third number work was sloppy because we didn't have time to go over it, but we got through! ANNNDDDDD I CAUGHT MY 5! Right before I tossed, the thought process that went through my mind was a little hesitant. I really just hoped for the best, didn't think to much into it, and chucked the hunk o' wood in the air. Watching..watching..watching..solid catch. I looked at the key solid between my hands for half a second, in disbelief, and began to move again.
We all walked off the field, proud for what it was: mistakes and all. Back at the truck, we all shared the excitement and success of marching our very first show. Full band, in a circle around Mrs. B, we acknowledged mistakes and accomplishments. I felt so proud, I couldn't wait for the next show to do even better. In our own separate circle, the guard shared mutual feelings. Some felt upset for dropping, but it was silly because the got back into it. Shannon said
the show was really good and how much better it was than all of this morning. WOOOOT. WE JUST GOTTA KEEP PUSHING!
I love the relaxing portion after performing. As captain this year, the only thing that su
cked was not being able to change or remove my make-up. I had to go out for awards, but I didn't mind too much. I learned the hard way that spandex does not help in the cold. :P Award time just around the corner, I went out to the side with the drum majors, Shakeera, Javi, and Sison. We figured out our present arms and went out for awards. It feels really, really good standing out there, representing Belleville, especially when you feel like you just had the best show of your life. The thing with me during awards would have to be that I lower my standards completely for every placement, so that I won't get as upset. And in 3rd place in Group 2A... [under my breat
h I say "Belleville"] PASSAIC VALLEY. Repeated for 2nd place, and we still didn't place. Wait, this means we just WON FIRST?! Yep. The fact that we won first doesn't compensate enough... for the facts that we won best visual [cg], best music, and a few others, and that our first competition score hit off at an 80.45! The other 2 bands were at 72 and 74. THAT IS UNHEARD OF! Waiting for the rest of the awards to be given I couldn't help but smile to myself, tightening my grip of my own hands. Awards over, we were marching back to where our band was sitting. They were cheering like crazy, as I was inside. This truly was a great night.
The way back home I finally got my make-up off and put on real clothes. I chatted with Ana and constantly dropped my phone. I talked to Bethany and she told me how much fun she had today. That is what I'm talkin bouuut! That is the feeling I wanted these rookies to feel from the beginning! Too bad they all quit. Thats honestly their loss! Back at the high school, we unloaded everything and got dismissed. I kinda of enjoy this part of the night too.. being tired as hell with 45 other people how share the same feeling. Like I said, this is what I live for; this is what I love so much. I'm a band nerd, if you will. A third party view lacking the dedication we have [without crossing the line over to geeky obsession] could never understand. Photo is of
No comments:
Post a Comment