Personal Narrative: A Terrible Work Ethic

Summer before junior year of high school, I was looking at a lot of standardized tests, essays, a heavier school workload, college applications, and getting a driver's license; my most immediate concern, however, was the soon to begin marching band season. Spring semester of sophomore year I had decided to audition for a leadership position in the band, and I suppose I was the best candidate because I managed to snag Section Leader for my instrument, clarinet. As the final days of July passed by, I anticipated the start of a season where I would be mentoring and teaching my fellow clarinet players the complex art of marching band. A few days before leadership camp I received a letter in the mail from the Head Band Director, Mr. Larry Brown, and immediately I knew things were not going to be what I expected.

Band camp began two weeks before the school year started. The director mailed all the band members the music they were required to learn. However, I ignored the mail and didn’t bother touching my trumpet or learning the music. I dreaded going to band camp the entire summer, but the day finally arrived when I was forced to go. My parents dropped me off at Niwot, I walked into the school, and lethargically headed straight to the band

In hindsight, I have come a long way since my first day of band. There have been many friends, many failures, many victories, and many beautiful moments in the wake of my fateful decision in sixth grade. I can say without a doubt that being in band has strengthened my integrity and provided me with memories that I will cherish throughout the remainder of my

The end of junior year in high school I ran for band president against 6 other people; I ended up winning. I was the 2016 band president for Midwest city high school, I was very nervous for this new adventure. It was time for summer band, the first day of summer band was for freshman and band parents, I had to speak in front of 200 people. The next day was full band, it was time to start summer band officially. Practicing in the heat is the worst part of being in marching band, its long and hot and people always get sunburnt. Through the long hot days and playing good music and making new memories is the best part of marching band. My senior year I became a very good musician, I spent more time in the practice room and preceded my speaking

Despite this, marching band forced me to practice more and perfect my skills, and I am increasingly better now for it. I even made an alternate for all-county, something I thought only “good players” could do. Turns out, I am

It was a great transition from Middle School to High School. I had a group of friends that I accepted me as one of their own. As the Marching seasons went by, I constantly improved my skills, and by my junior year, I was the section leader for the Sousaphones. In concert band, I continued my efforts to improve my skills. I joined the symphonic winds in my sophomore year and became first chair by the end of the year.

I played football in high school for all 4 years. My freshmen and sophomore year I wasn't very good. I was a backup and never played. Then came along my junior year, I was still undersized and didn't start but I improved my skill greatly and I started to increase my work ethic. The off-season before my junior year I went hard in the weight room and became strong. I also lost some weight and gained some height. That's hard work in the offseason is what lead to me having a great senior year. My senior year was full of emotion, I felt tired, determined, and at the end of the season I felt sadness with no regret and the love for my brothers. The first thing we had to do to become a great team was build a brotherhood with kids who wanted to try.

Of course like the band nerd I am, I was really excited to try out and hopefully be a part of something that is much bigger than yourself. So a couple weeks after trying out, I figure out that I have made the marching band as a freshman! I also figured out that some of the Washington clarinets made it too. So after I passed eighth grade, summer finally came and I had to learn all of this challenging music that was above my knowledge and had to turn them into to a website to prove that I was practicing. Near end of July came and I had to go the dreaded band

Summer band wasn’t easy but it did teach us lessons such as discipline, teamwork, resilience, and time management. Being in band is commitment all year round and through that commitment you are taught skills other people aren’t exposed to. Learning how to adapt to others is a skill you need to survive in a band. There are 200+ people in a lot of high school marching bands, which means over 200 different characters you have to work with no matter any difference. With most of us coming from different backgrounds of course there are going to be differences. Two years prior to high school there was a school split between and I lived on the edge of the zoning border. I lost most of my friends the following year and thought I would be by myself all throughout high school. When I joined band I knew that wasn’t going to be the case. The band was essentially my family and my directors were my parents. My school had a large band population so I never had a class without at least two other band kids. Also, the band kids were considered to be the smarter kids and since we all took Per-AP/AP classes we all had classes together. You couldn’t separate us because it was just that strong of a bond. Band on top of that was all

It was October first when I woke up in my nice and cozy bed. Awakened by my light in my room and my mom yelling: “Rachel get up! You have to get ready for band.” I slowly opened my eyes and got up to go eat my usual breakfast, a Pop Tart. After I threw everything down, I got into my car and headed to the school. Once I got there I could see the two yellow buses that were going to take us to our destination. Everybody was all still tired and looked like they just got out of bed, with their hair in buns and in the clothes they slept inform the night before. When everyone eventually got on the buses we headed off to Sioux Falls. The whole ride there I wasn’t very nervous because I’ve performed this marching show so much but the tables will soon

Ever since my older sister, Molly, had gotten into our high school’s marching band I have longed to join; that was almost 3 years ago. As the years went on I went into middle school and started my band life there. I went to 6th grade as a new percussionist. I wasn’t the most social person so playing in front of people soon became the main worry. I would deal with this difficulty all of middle school. But I learned to overcome it at my tryouts for the marching band.

My marching skills were mediocre and I could not get my tone to settle in as I marched. Every step I took caused a tear in the sound and I would stick out from the rest of my section. Nobody needed to tell me that I was terrible for me to recognize how much I was burdening the band. I started getting called out by my director who told me I needed to improve. I tried every single day to get better

I've been in marching band for four years, so you could say it’s a pretty big part of my life. I started in eighth grade and I joined the pit where I made a lot of new friends. I stayed in the pit for three years until this year. I switched to clarinet because pit just wasn't fun for me anymore. I'm glad that I switched because the girls in the clarinet section are all my friends now and I made lots of good memories with them. This year, our show was “Through the Woods” and it was fantastic. We worked so hard every moment that we could and had lots of fun together. It was a great group and we did really good. We made it to Semi-State again at Decatur Central High school, but on that cold October night, our name wasn't called when the announcer named off the bands that would go to State at Lucas Oil Stadium that next weekend. It was sad because we all thought that we had it in the bag.

I have a petty theft misdemeanor. I was going through a hard time and was trying to get food for my family. I was given a citation and ordered to pay a fine. I am currently in the process of getting my record expunged. I am a honest hard-worker with a strong work ethic. I am a fast learner and very goal oriented. I work well in teams as well as

I proceeded to tell her how I knew the football guys and cheerleaders were going to take it as a joke and how the band kids would only want to plan weird events that no one would go to. I had gone into this so excited and now, after just one day, I was ready to quit. My mom told me I should stick it out longer, so I did.