Reflective Essay: My Marching Band Journey

For the past three years of marching band, I have worked under innovative leaders that have always reached our common goal: qualify for state finals. So this past year I looked forward to following in their footsteps and make my mark on the band and everyone in it like past seniors did for me. Little did I expect that the marching band season of my senior year would be full of trials and tribulations that was eventually met with hard work and perseverance of myself and my fellow seniors. After the difficult year my fellow students and I had due to a new band director and the school’s detached emotion towards the arts program; the band’s leaders started planning for the upcoming year six months before the marching band season actually started. We covered new policies about respect and accountability to be certain that this year would run smoothly. Except nothing went as planned, when the season actually started, there students quitting at vital times with no respect for anyone. It was heartbreaking to

The pressure was on the other seniors and me to try harder to make our last competition count and finally receive that state qualifying superior rating. After a stressful week of practice, I called the other six seniors together and we finally came up for a plan to change the attitude of the entire band before it was too late. My plan was that if we became a family, the way we were in past years, we would be inspired to work our best, not only to benefit ourselves but also to benefit each other. And the plan worked, that week the other seniors and I worked hard to be role models for everyone, and raise morale. It was the last competition of the normal season that finally those months of hard work from everyone paid off and we finally were awarded a superior rating and qualified for state