Reflection Paper On Colorguard

The flag waves majestically in the wind above me, or, that’s what I’ve been told it would be doing if the flagless practice pole in my hand was actually a color guard flag. Learning color guard is boring and, I couldn’t care less about marching slowly with the American flag. And, the dumb egoistic guy who demands we scream, “aye, P.O,” after everything he says, is not improving my mood. I want to be inside shooting an air rifle, but instead I’m loathing color guard. It is the millionth time I have gotten stuck with a task I didn’t want to do since I joined my Naval Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (NJROTC) unit, and, quite frankly, I’m worn out.

Sophomore Iman Hearing swings her flags gracefully over her shoulder and takes her place in line. As one of six, she marches down to the football field in front of the band, chin lifted and smiling big.

The first time I auditioned for the Elizabeth High School Color Guard, I would never have imagined it to play such a crucial role in my life. I have participated on this artistic and athletic manner for three years and it has been one of the preeminent decisions I have ever made in my life. For those who may not fully understand what color guard really is, it is a time intensive sport. Yes, a sport. Try jazz running across the football field for nine minutes while dancing and spinning a six-foot flag or a 36-inch rifle. Not only is your body physically pushed to the limits, but you need to have high levels of mental coordination. Nonetheless, color guard has shaped my character and without it, my life would not be half as phenomenal as it is today. Because of the laughs I had, the people I met, the confidence I gained, I am the person I am today.

During this time, we learned how to toss a flag and other technique basics. Since I was male, they made me audition for the rifle line, which I wasn’t really familiar with. Historically, males are put into the rifle line due to masculinity and other factors.While girls would be put on the saber line which is usually coed, but a lot of big groups usually put girls on the saber line. Unfortunately, I ended not getting a spot in the rifle line because I wasn’t prepared well enough to be on the rifle line, so I did flag the entire show. Which is the most basic form of color guard, just a pole with a flag attached to it. Not getting a spot in the rifle line made me sad, but it also inspired me to persevere and improve my rifle skills. I was able to test myself and realize that their were really no limits on what I can achieve.

This experience truly defined who I became and who I am now as a leader. I

Despite the daunting challenge of being in charge of sixty teenage girls, one of the extremely humbling parts of being a Captain of the Eagle Pride Color Guard is the ability to show girls that regardless of their background they can reach their full potential. As I transitioned from my freshman year on Color Guard into my veteran years, I began to realize that I was among a group of girls that had experienced obstacles and had found ways to overcome them. During my second year on guard everything began to come into focus: I observed girls who were struggling with the experience of learning a new skill the way I had the year before. Every year from then on, when I began teaching a new concept to a rookie, such as tossing a flag, I reiterated

However, although it may seem like a lot of work, each member of the varsity team have been in color guard for years, whether it be tossing rifles, throwing flags, or turning sabers, they each have had prior experience, some more than others. Both Kaitlyn and Mallory have started their freshman year, while Hunter and Ashley started as early as their Junior High School years, so as a result, these hardworking hours are nothing but the “norm”. Nevertheless, members of Color guard have a, “…close relationship and tight bond,” as stated by Kaitlyn Parsons who further exclaimed that they have multiple parties for holidays such as Christmas, Halloween, and end of the year bashes that allow for each of the members to form that nostalgic feeling of family and happiness. Whether it be performing on the floor or hanging out outside of school and practice, members of the Color guard team have a bond that can never be broken and that is revealed in their phenomenal performances, Good job Color

Breathe in the music, and out the performance” is something that freshman Regan Hoyt tells herself before every performance. Color guard has been a sport of the arts that has evolved from primarily a military activity, to a world wide sport.

Veterans Day Assembly, Tuesday, November 11, 2014 was in the gymnasium at Brush Middle School. All three-grade levels attended. The 8th grade students at Brush Middle School performed a half hour long skit. The theme of the assembly was “World War II, Our Nation’s Greatest Generation.” The students had costumes which were period correct for World War II era. The skit showed how the country worked together in order for our country to stay strong thorough World War II. The band had several patriotic pieces that they played throughout the skit. All veterans in attendance were honored when each branch of service was announced. The student audience gave standing ovations for those who had served our country. The keynote speaker, Mr. Smith is a World War II veteran and as a well-known community member, the students were very impressed with his inspirational speech. After the assembly, all

Today I returned back to CDI South to shadow another Sonographer named Kari. Overall, this shadowing experience on November 24th has been my favorite yet. I watched Kari preform different ultrasounds, and I got to learn about diagnostic time, which was another one of my favorite parts about the day. Kari also answered all of my questions perfectly, and described the job in a way that made me almost completely confident that it is what I want to do in my future. Throughout my day with Kari, we saw a total of 4 patients. Our first patient was a 30-year-old woman who was there to get an OB ultrasound; she was about 20 weeks pregnant. This was my first patient I observed who needed a 20-week ultrasound. This time of the pregnancy usually marks on of their first ultrasounds for the pregnancy; they do a full scan of the baby, checking everything, and this is also the visit where the parents can find out the gender of the baby. One challenge for this visit was the parents brought their young toddler along, and she was distracting and wild in the room. But throughout this Kari was very professional, and says as the job goes on you learn to deal with these sorts of distractions. This experience was absolutely amazing; it was so powerful to see the baby on the screen and their parent’s reactions. I got to pick out certain parts of the baby, like the head, heart, bladder, and feet. The parents did not want to know the gender of this baby, but they got to leave the ultrasound knowing

The Road to Brown tells the story of the millions of nameless blacks who faced devastating hardships caused by Jim Crow, which simply robbed them of the rights granted by the 14th and 15th Amendments. Under the "separate but equal" doctrine of the Supreme Court's 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson decision, black citizens were denied the right to vote, to attend white schools, to be buried in white cemeteries, etc. Those who objected were liable to be lynched. The era of Jim Crow provoked men such as, Charles Houston to fight back for those who were unable.

When I am asked to think of a situation that was intellectually challenging, my mind shifts directly to my experience in the color guard activity. While the activity is seen as simply a physical sport, there is a mental aspect that is adamant when performing. As a member of the color guard in a marching band, you are required to learn points on the field in which to stand at exact moments in the music, you have to learn to apply corrections, and you also have to fight through the frustration.

Marching Band has been a part of my life since I was about 9 years old. “I’m with the band” has been something I’ve said since I was in the fourth grade. In 2008, my band director, Mrs. Bollaro decided she would create a Pep Band, which soon turned into the ALJ Marching Band. My oldest brother, Eddie joined, and two years later, my other brother, Giulian joined. I was always mesmerized by the pretty flags and the spinning weapons, so it was not a surprise when I decided to join colorguard. When I finally made it to the eighth grade, I was allowed to join the colorguard. From the moment I knew what colorguard was, I wanted to be a part of it. My mom, and two of my aunts were in their high school colorguards, so being in colorguard meant more than just spinning. Joining marching band meant that I was following in my family traditions, and continuing what my family had started.

The setting is Meadowlane Elementary and a bashful nine-year-old Lilibeth Martinez was sitting in Ms. Moss’s class preparing for the FCAT Writes. My earliest memories of writing are about when I was in the fourth grade and everyone was preparing to take the FCAT Writes for their first time. I remember sitting all the way in the first row, fourth seat, scribbling furiously on a piece of paper as I jotted down all of my ideas and sentences with my Hannah Montana pencil. I was obsessed with Hannah Montana at the time. Ecstatic at the idea of getting to create a story made of my own imagination, thoughts and opinions. Although my gleeful bubble popped the moment I saw the prompt was about explaining the wonders of wearing uniform the day of the

Sophomore year of marching came. This year was a surprise for everyone. With our show being named ‘Masterminder.’ The band members marching were under control by the color guard soloist; the puppeteer. This show was pretty exciting, too. The judges also thought that. We made it past regionals AND semi-state. What? Yeah, we all thought the same thing. We had made it. We had FINALLY made it after so many years of just trying to get past regionals for once. It was a bitter-sweet feeling waiting for placement awards at Lucas Oil Stadium. The instructors went around to each band student one by one. The congratulated us on an amazing season. I started tearing up, but that isn’t surprising. As we marched our way out of Lucas Oil Stadium that night, I knew that this was only the beginning of a new generation for the Marching Marksmen.