If you are on the line about joining marching band, consider this your sign that you need to do it. If you are already in it, fantastic! You'll relate heavily with this list. If you are not in it, then shame on you. I'm joking... but not really. Marching band has been a big part of my life for years now, and it will be for a few more, which I am so excited about. I now have experience both in high school and college marching band, and both of them are worth doing. Whether you are debating on joining/staying in it or you're already in it and need a good reminder, here are some reasons why marching band will make your life so much better than it already is.
You're going to change, whether you expect it or not.
Maybe you are going to go in thinking that you won’t succumb to any kind of peer pressure, or perhaps that you may influence and shape others, and you’re not exactly wrong about that. Once you surround yourself with people of your own instrument and start hanging out with them on a personal level, you’re probably going to find yourself conforming to the social habits they have, or at least joining in on activities that you didn’t think you would before. I’ve definitely gotten out of the house more since being in marching band, which I’m thankful for since I was such a homebody.
Your social circle is going to expand beyond belief.
You won't be best friends with every single member in your band, or even in your section, but you're going to become at least acquaintances with many of them. If your section is like mine, then you're going to have to add each other on social media and attend get togethers so you can become closer. Of course, you're going to find some people that you really mesh with well, and with this comes my next point.
You really might meet your best friends.
I've only been in college marching band at the University of Northern Iowa (UNI PMB represent) for about two months now, but already I've met so many great people, and out of these I've made a few really close friends. It's easy to find people that are like you within your section, and even if they're not like you, something about them might draw you to them and you'll want to get to know them better. It's kind of magical, really. Even if you can't or don't hang out outside of class, you're going to get plenty of time to see them during practice and game days. I can't wait to see where my current friendships will go!
Your brain thinks in totally new ways.
When new drill, music, and visuals are constantly being thrown at you, you have to think and learn fast. You learn quickly to mark your music with your moves, to memorize your music, and to keep your feet marching with the beat while still playing and moving, all at the same time. This isn't something you just easily jump into. It takes work and new skills in order to accomplish all of this to create a successful show-- not to mention that you have to coordinate perfectly with everyone else on the field.
You're the center of attention.
Okay, I'm a trumpet player, and I guess we have a reputation for having an ego or something like that. Being the center of attention is wonderful, although scary for some. There's nothing like marching onto the field, looking up, and seeing hundreds or thousands of screaming fans cheering for you because you are so damn awesome. At this moment, you are the center of their universe. All eyes are on you (well, maybe not you as an individual, but definitely as a whole).
You can inspire others.
You don't have to say a single word to someone, but you being on that field in front of an audience may just inspire someone in there to want to be like you. Like I said, you're so damn awesome, and there are people out there who want to be in your position, to play and to inspire others and to create a never-ending domino effect. It's so cool. As a section leader for a few years and a hopeful future leadership member, I always am wanting to help improve our members and get them on track. When younger people ask me why I love marching band so much, one of my top answers is always that I can help others while improving myself.
It's fun.
That's the bottom line. You may not be the best there ever was (believe me, I'm not), but you're there because you want to be. Sure, there are a lot of people who are in it for their majors, but when it comes down to it, being surrounded by others who actually care about what they're doing and creating such a cool final product is beyond exciting. It's tiring and sometimes you want to give up, but you push through because, in the end, it's the highlight of your day. That's how it is for me, at least.
At the end of the day, it's totally your call whether or not you decide marching band is for you. If you do decide to be in it, though, I hope your experience is just as great as mine has and will be.
