Personal Narrative: My Band Journey

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

I took a deep breath. With my left fingers poised across the strings, I began moving my right arm slowly, but as I started playing, I hit a wall. My fingers stiffened and my right arm faltered, my violin producing a horrifying sound that could not even be described as music.

I was happy, I had what I wanted to do, I made a goal for myself and I had reached it. Then band practices started. The other three I didn’t really know and my friends were still playing instruments. Every single practice we would go down far away from everyone else and they would have me work on the same things by myself all the time, while they did other things. If I didn’t get something right away it was assumed I wasn’t going to get it at all. If I asked to be shown something a different way, I was yelled at for not understanding. I went from loving the majorettes to hating them, wanting to be like them, to hoping I never was like that. Band camp was horrible, plain and simple. They gave me two days to learn everything and since they came up with everything they already had it down. I had two awful panic attacks that week, one while we were on the field. The other three acted like they hated me and it wasn’t subtle. I couldn’t do anything with them, and I could barely talk to them without them being patronizing.

Occasionally, my boyfriend, six close friends (including, one designated sober driver) and I go downtown to go to bars, and clubs to drink, party, and dance to badly mixed music. We went downtown for my boyfriend’s birthday on November 24th, all set to drink, to have fun, tell stories, and to party the night away. It had been some time, since our last get together and wanted to make memories and drink the night away. We arrived at Humpin’ Hannah’s in Boise, got a table, started drinking and playing pool.

High school has never been the worst years of my life. It has been difficult, but I had never felt like it was truly wonderful or meaningful until this year. This past summer, I joined the marching band, and since then my life has changed drastically. Marching band has increased the quality of my high school life, given me the opportunity to impact others, and taught me more about myself than I knew before. Being in marching band, I have made an abundant amount of friendships that never before have I experienced.

The summer of 2013 was both a time of celebration, as I had just graduated middle school, and a time of insecurities, as I started my journey as a member of my high school’s marching band. In middle school, I was normally a shy, quiet person, so it comes as no surprise that I felt uncomfortable at my first marching band practice. In addition, very few of my band friends in middle school had continued into high school marching band, creating a feeling of isolation over me.

Whenever I moved to Boyle County and found that Boyle County High School was my desired school of choice, my parents found themselves continuously urging me to join their band program, specifically marching band. I had previously been in band at my former high school, located in an exceptionally small town, in which a quality music program was not necessarily valued, much less a competitive marching band.

Sorry if you get annoyed by the obsession that I have for Twenty One Pilots it's just that they make me so happy and I can't get myself to not talk about them. I do have self control its just when new music comes out or they tweet or something as small as that, I get so excited because it makes it all real for me. That their actually real people, real guys just making music to help them get through the day also, when I saw them live in September that just made it so real for me it's completely different seeing them in person then just listening to live videos. I could feel the love in the room, I could tell that every person in the venue cared about me and wanted me to live through the dark times. That day was the best day that I've had in a long time seeing them live made me realize how thankful I am for them and how important their music means to me, and how different my life would be if I didn't know TØP or the clique. I know I say this for every band that I listen to but for some reason it's different with TØP then it is with Pierce The Veil or Of Mice And Men. I guess it's just that my friends actually can listen and in my moms words "understand what their saying." TØP is special to me because they make my life seem like it has a purpose that just because I'm having a bad day or week or month that that's no reason to hurt myself in any way. Josh and Tyler give me hope for the future and makes bad memories seem less negative and more meaningful that without those negative nights then I wouldn't be who I am today. Their music helps me get through the day, which I know sounds dramatic or stupid but it's true they make me so so so happy and I'm sorry if that annoys you.

Sweat was already dripping down my neck, and our show hadn’t even begun yet. From the corner of my eye, I could see a colorful screen showing a high-up view of our band, and in front of me, our drum majors marching to their spots.

This was a topic I was very nervous to talk about. Rock bands, punk rock, post hardcore and so many other types of alternative music aren’t always liked by everyone. So this is me getting out of my comfort zone and just telling everyone the day that bands changed my life. So hold on to something because this is about to get good.

It was New Year's eve and everybody in my family was getting ready to receive New years which this time we were going to receive in my house. Rice, pork, beans, tacos, empanadas among with others typical Hispanic plates and drinks such as wine, rum, and apple cider were lying on the table while my family members culminated getting ready. The clock precisely marked 7:00 pm when Argenis, my friend, called and asked if I wanted to spend New years with him in New York city I didn't hesitate and said yes immediately. Although my family had everything set up, I apologize and left the

Occasionally, my boyfriend, six close friends (including, one designated sober driver) and I go downtown to go to bars, and clubs to drink, party, and dance to badly mixed music. We went downtown for my boyfriend’s birthday on November 24th, all set to drink, to have fun, tell stories, and to party the night away. It had been some time, since our last get together and wanted to make memories and drink the night away. We arrived

I glanced down at my wrists. I had 18 rubber bands, enough to “survive…” But was it enough to win? I ran by a bush, a rubber band catching on it and snapping. “Dang it,” I thought. I started to walk again, dragging the daypack I had accidentally brought behind me. We were suppose to leave all daypacks at “habitat lines,” sort of like a marching line area. Unfortunately, being the idiot I am, I forgot to. “This isn’t a game!” I thought. Well actually, it was. As different types of animals we were supposed to gain the most amount of rubber bands possible. I was in the woods and ducked behind a tree, scanning the area. With my black and white “gangster hat,” as I called it on top of me, I spotted my next target.

People say that music has the ability to heal a person mentally and spiritually. But to me, music is much more than just healing. It is a way for me to escape this world called reality and enter a world with in my imagination through the different beats, harmony, and chorus. Only when listening to music, I can truly feel all my emotions with each song having the power to make me remember, from painful to happy memories. As I grew up to be the person I am today, my music journey also grows with me. Looking back at it now, I would never want to change a single thing.

A friend from my childhood once told me “dream on, and sing louder”. This friend pushed this saying deep into my heart until it made it seem as if it kept my heart beating. I never really began to understand what she meant when she repeated this saying to me until she explained it. She said to me that to dream on is to not give up, and to sing louder is to not let anyone take my voice away from me. Singing has always been a huge part in my life from singing in talent shows to singing in the shower. My mother said that I never stopped singing. The journey of my singing began with my first School of Rock program and is now being pursued on my churches worship team today.