As I gazed upon everyone in the small compacted room I felt like I was lost in a corn maze. All the people are taller than me and have unfamiliar faces. In the room the walls are lined with white lockers that have name tags on them. In the middle of the room there are 4 rows of chairs. The first one has 20 chairs while the next row that is inside of that one has 15…then 10…then 5 chairs. The 50 chairs all form a half circle like a crescent moon. At the front of the “crescent moon” stands a tall, black, plastic, music stand. On the stand there sits a baton that is used for conducting the band along with several music scores.

This is the Band and Orchestra Room.

In my opinion, everyone in this room falls into the same social category. We are all considered Band Nerds, Music Geeks, Marching Band Crazies; by most of our peers. Yet today on June 1st, 2012 we all have come together to live up to that name once again and be a part of the Bengal Regiment. But some of “us” in this room are wondering if we should be part of this activity. Should I do Marching Band? What happens when I have homework; and rehearsals are from 4-7 every Tuesday and Thursday!?! The biggest question that comes to mind sseemsto be…Is Marching Band REALLY Worth it? All the Commitment, Practice, and Time, which you invest into the 6 short months of this “hobby,” is it really worth it.

These are all the questions I had when the Band Director, Mr. Stephen, asked me to be a part of the Bengal Regiment as a 8th Grader. From my experience of marching one season with “Marching Band Crazies” I defiantly can say that marching band is totally worth being a part of.

The season started on June 1st, 2012. (Yes this is the first official day of summer vacation.) Band Camp was today and the hours were from 8am-4pm. Since it was the first rehearsal of the season Mr. Stephen went over the show. This year it was “The Power of One.” This included, “One Step, One Life, and One Voice.” While Mr. Stephen explained how excited he was for the show and how the props are going to be 10 feet tall pictures of famous people who made a difference in the world such as: Martian Lutheran King JR., and Dalai Lama. The room seemed to become electrified with excitement from the 90 occupants. But soon enough it was time foeveryonene’s “Favorite Part.”

Freshies, like me, were rather confused. All too soon enough we came to know what the “Favorite Part” really is…This is when the whole band warms up and does Death Running Block and Sit ups, and Jumping Jacks, and Push Ups, and Cherry Buckets, and other “Favorite!! Exercises!!” Yes it is a little more than just marching but don’t let that scare you.

The remaining part of rehearsal was the part where we break up into sections and work on music or drill sets. Drill sets are what you call the steps that you march on the field. Mr. Stephen also claims his famous place on the school roof when we are on the field practicing. By field I don’t mean turf...Like at a real football field that we actually do perform on at competitions and or course football games. The field is an asphalt parking. This is not really everyone’s favorite place to be because this past summer we had 100 degree weather. Being on the asphalt felt like being stuck in an oven for 10 million hours. It is quite miserable.

The rest of the summers consist of one other 2 days Band Camp in July followed by 10 straight days of Band Camp in August before school states. This is A LOT of time out of you summer. More like 80 hours!!!! And yes it sseemslike it’s never going to end when the weather is 100 degrees outside and all we are doing is marching the same few drill sets in the show over… and over…and over…again. Until the whole band can get it right so that we can move on to the next drill set. Finally.

During this part of the season it defiantly sseemslike Marching Band is more of a chore then a personal enjoyment. Especially when school starts which means HOMEWORK!!!! Along with rehearsal 4-7 after school on Tuesday’s and Thursdays. Along with Saturdays from 8-4!! CRAZY! Right!

How on earth are you ever going to make it through the remainder of the season alive?

Well you do. And soon enough all the hard crazy rehearsal hours pay off.

At the first football which is traditionally Homecoming you get to perform in front of the football crowd. Which in all honesty they just talk, and talk, and do some more talking; during our performance. Obviously they are here just for the game not the Bengal Regiment. So right now it sseemslike nobody really cares about what we really do. Besides isn’t music more important than football?

Finally all the hard work really does pay off. I mean it. It’s when you have a competition and the people attending the show are there because they love music and marching band. Or to watch your EVERY move. Creepy! This is when you get the reassurance that Marching Band does pay off and it is worth it. For me this all came to my understanding when at the Marching Festival the Bengal Regiment went out onto the field and preformed at a level of excellence. To me it all came into spectrum that even though I might have had a summer full of Marching Band. It really shows how hard the whole entire band has worked together to showcase a great show. Especially when the Bengal Regiment placed 1st in the 5A class.

By time September comes this marks the halfway point in the season. By now yes you might have pulled a few all nighters to complete that English essay. Or even went straight to bed after rehearsal and “forgot” about your homework just to catch up on some much needed sleep. This is when people start considering to quit. They want to quit because they just can’t take the stress from the fact that Y…E…S all your music should be memorized by now. There is no more music on the field after this point. You have had it for at least 3 months now. This also is the point in the season were your friendships have grown and now you have 90 new family members. Since you spend at least 14 hours with them a week. Why wouldn’t we all be family?

Soon enough the season starts to fly by. Because now we have a competition or football game almost every weekend. And soon enough the days until State Week are none. During State Week there is rehearsal on Monday…and Tuesday…and Wednesday…and Thursday…and Friday. Right now your eyes are probably popping out of your head. But yes you did read it correctly. But State Week rehearsals aren’t like the regular rehearsals that fill the rest of the season. During State Week each night after rehearsal we have secret rituals. They are mainly a time to reflect on the season and play bonding games. But what else happens is a secret. So you have to join and last a whole season to find out.
When Friday comes it is different you don’t have a usual rehearsal but a pre-show talk. This is the day were you get pulled out of school early to get ready to go to the CBA Marching Band Championships. Then we all cram in the buses with all of our stuff and get ready for an L…O…N…G… bus ride to the location of the competition. This year it was held at Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.

When we arrived at Air Force Academy everyone went into serious rehearsal mode because first we had to do beyond great at quarter-finals to make it to semi-finals. And we did. In quarter-finals the Bengal Regiment placed 2nd in the 5A class. See all your hard work during the season does pay off. When the whole band performs the show like they did at semi-finals you feel like you are a part of the show even if you are sitting in the stands cheering for another school. You feel like you are on the field marching with us not just sheering in the stands. It really is an amazing feeling.

And yes with this placement we definitely where going to quarter-finals on Saturday. At quarter-finals once again we preformed at a very high level because the Regiment placed 6th place out of 12 other 5A bands. Then all the nail biting was over we were defiantly going to be in the finals.

I must admit, that at the finals I cried tears of joy during the show. I had a flash back from all the great laughs I had with my friends…Erin M., Bailey R., Dominic B., Billy W., Dillon R., Rachel S., and Will G.I then remembered the day when I almost got changed parts because I didn’t know the music well enough to say I had confidence so I just didn’t play. Yet that thought me perseverance and to keep trying because I will get it I just have to try harder. But from all of this I learned so many things like confidence while I play, and responsibility and I also found out what I want to do after high school.

This experience really has been life changing and I can’t wait until next season to do it all over again. And learn so many more valuable lessons. I also hope to see you there next year and be able to say that you can wear the Bengal Regiment sign with pride like I do. Who won’t want to when we are the 6th best band in 5A class this year?