By AUTUMN KELSHAW
Sheridan High School Student
Editor’s Note: The Sheridan Student Column is brought to readers by Sheridan High School’s 10th grade English class, taught by Abigayle Williams.
I’ve been doing marching band for two summers now and this summer will be my third season. I marched trumpet for one summer and I marched guard this past summer.
The past two summers have been some of the best times of my life. Marching band has made me the person I am now. Without band and guard, I would be the same extremely shy and basically silent kid I was in the eighth grade. Marching band brings you out of your shell and changes you, it teaches you things you thought you’d never know and most importantly, it brings you close with people you thought you’d never be close with. Marching band and guard take a group of people who barely know each other and turn you into a family in a mere matter of two months.
At our school, you can be in marching band from the summer after your sixth grade year up to the summer after your senior year, so we have a wide variety of kids. We have kids from ages 11 to 18. Age isn’t even really a determining factor of who anyone is friends with. Personally, some of my best friends from band are middle schoolers.
Freshman flute player Brooklynn Durham said, “There is so much more to band and guard than us just being colleagues. We are there for each other even when we don’t want the support. Sure, we can have our disagreements or arguments, and for sure the drama, but we all have our people. Our sections come together to make this one big family where can be best friends with our peers and grow closer to our directors, and that’s what it is to be band family.”
I agree with her completely because I know there are some kids who have not been on good terms in the past, and then come marching band, they became friends and have stayed close.
Sophomore color guard member Eric Ferren said, “Marching band is a group of people who go through a summer’s worth of work, commitment and trial to in the end know that the thing that makes it all worth it is looking back at what you’ve done with the band and guard and say to yourself, it was worth it. It was worth all of the hours spent with those people to make a show. It was worth it to make the people watching your show happy.”
In the end, it doesn’t matter who you want to be around or who you don’t get along with perfectly because in the end, everyone is a family, and we all work together to create something truly beautiful for people to enjoy.
Our directors are some of the most influential and supportive people in my life. I don’t know where I would be without our directors. I know other students who feel the same way, such as eighth-grade drumline member Laney Inman, who said, “Our directors have helped me get better. When I first started, I never thought I would get to where I am today. They’ve helped push me through and were patient and helped me grow.”
Our directors make tremendous efforts to help us grow as musicians, performers and even just people. I know many students who want to go into a career in music. Our directors inspire kids, like me, to go into music careers. I personally want to be a band director. I was able to conduct the band at a football game once and it was the most awesome feeling ever for me. While I joined color guard, I still absolutely love music.
Senior color guard member Lindsey Jeffries said, “They [the directors] inspire you so much and they push you to become better and you learn from them. They help find your peace with things and other people. The directors care for you and they are everything. My favorite is when you’re frustrated and they help you through it and help you get to where you need to be. Our directors are one in a million and we all love them!”
In conclusion, marching band and guard is family. Once you’re in marching band, you’re stuck. I’m not sure there’s anything better to be “stuck” in. It’s a family you can’t get out of, and that’s not a bad thing. Having that family reminds you that you’ll always have someone to go when you need them; whether it’s a student or someone in our staff, they will always be there.