Every one has that one defining thing in their life that helped them get through tough times, or even gave them some of the happiest times. For me, and a lot of people, band was that thing. Whether you marched during the fall or sat on stage during the spring, each one of us has had the joy of playing our hearts out at some point. But what all of us don't realize is that while those directors are thanking us for being there, we really are thanking them and band.
From the first day, the first note, our lives have been changed. We have discovered the power of music. Most of us don't realize how powerful it is until years after we have been playing, but we realize how wonderful it is. The first years of being in band are weird, in my eyes anyways. You start to learn how to play this instrument, and for the first couple of years, you sound weird and nothing like what you were expecting coming into this. Some of us doubted ourselves in the beginning, but after some encouragement from our directors and parents and determination, we got through it. Those middle school band directors have the hardest job. They are the ones teaching these little musicians how to play something they've only known how to play for so long (not to mention we were bunch of almost teenagers going through that awkward stage of early life). They try their hardest to teach us the best way possible and open our eyes and ears to wonders of music. So thank you, middle school band directors, for dealing with us and for first teaching us the ways of music.
The first year of marching band was pretty hard for most of us. I mean, learning how to walk this strict way, in time, while looking completely forward the whole time, AND memorizing music and drill was a big learning process. It took me until the end of the season to get my music memorized well enough and march my spots (if my band director is reading this, I apologize for not memorizing it sooner!). During that first year, we also realize how much we can really improve how we play. We're around musicians that know more and when we listen to them, we hear things that we never thought we would hear from ourselves. We grow as musician and as a person throughout those four years. These band directors help us learn, not only about music, but about life. They teach us so many things that we never thought we could learn. In some ways, they were our second parents, always being there for us and letting us know that they care.
There are about a thousand more things that I could say about how great these people are, but some of them I couldn't put into words. But from all of the kids who grew up in band and learned to appreciate its glories, we thank those directors who have opened our minds and who have touched our hearts.
Sincerely,
A graduated band kid who is so thankful
