I hear it a lot, people make fun of me for doing band, for being a band geek, the list goes on and on. But no I say, I am not a band geek. I do it for fun and enjoy what I do, or should I say what I did as a forever loving member of the Mercer Island High School Marching Band. I do not play anymore, I have moved away from the hobby. My younger days allowed me to play almost daily, but now in college and away from high school, I cannot find time to practice the thing I once regularly enjoyed.

I picked the trombone up in fifth grade with much hesitation. Having no idea what I had just gotten myself into. What was this brass tubing in front of me they called an instrument? I was in way over my head. Others dropped on the daily, saying “it’s too hard” or “it’s not fun.” I wanted to also. I did not know what I was doing, clueless as to what the shiny slide did and how to make a noise resonate from the bell. My brain told me to get out while it was still easy, but my gut, and my mom, told me to stick it out because it can only get better from here.

Together they were right. Middle school band was nothing great. Like everyone at that age, we were learning and adjusting to this foreign object which was intended to make a beautiful sound. Learning the basics of my horn and how to make music as an ensemble rather than make noise as an individual was difficult and frustrating. I thought after 4 years of this I should not be terrible. But in that time it grew on me, I began to enjoy my time with it. The new challenge with every note and rhythm made it addicting. I wanted to keep going and build upon my skills. Become the best I could with something not many ever try. I kept at it, forcing myself to practice, to become more polished and do something I could be proud of. But in middle school band, there was nothing to look forward to, other than the next four years in the high school marching band.

High school marching is like nothing else. From the fun and loud music rehearsals, to the late night marching practices the night before a game, and then the thrill of being under those Friday Night Lights. We were 280 members strong and fed off the thousands of fan’s support each and every night. Putting on shows for our community for all the support they gave us was a thing my school has done for years. All the backing from them and the hard work from us have given our band the opportunity to perform in Atlanta in the Sugar Bowl, London in the New Year’s Day Parade, march down Main Street in Disneyland and twice now in Pasadena’s Tournament of Roses Parade. I personally have had the pleasure of marching down the iconic streets past Big Ben, through “The Happiest Place on Earth”

and down the infamous Colorado Boulevard in the California sun, all three times in the front leading the group. With such experiences from a field show for our community on Friday nights to travelling across the globe for a parade for the Queen, I have truly been changed in my life through band. I was once a scrawny little fifth grader learning the ins and outs of the trombone, and ended as the section leader, in the front and center marching in front of 900,000 people in Southern California. I can safely say that I love band and I miss the cheers of my community cheering us all on.