You can see it on all of my social media bios. If you know me, you know it's one thing that I am always ready and excited to talk about. This is one label that has transformed me into the person I am today. If you haven't guessed it yet, I'm talking about being a band geek.
Yes, I am a band geek. Probably one of the biggest you'll ever meet, actually. I can watch DCI videos for hours, the majority of pictures on my Cloud are from competitions, practices, and football games, and I still have my old guard uniforms, as well as a pair of marching dinkles and an old uniform jacket that was made into a pillow.
On the underside of my graduation cap were the words "eyes with pride". Many of my classmates inquired what the phrase meant, making various assumptions that didn't even come close to the true meaning.
Eyes with pride is a simple yet powerful phrase. When marching, you need to make contact with both your drum major and your audience. When that audience includes judges, you need to show just how proud and happy you are to be on that field wearing a uniform that is the equivalent to a football or baseball jersey. Keeping your eyes with pride is the key to making the judges feel your passion. Whether they're twenty yards away or two, you need to be sure that your chin is up, your shoulders are back, your steps are together, your chest is out, and that your eyes are representing the smile you wish you could have on your face (but you can't because you're playing an instrument).
A person's eyes speak for them when their mouth cannot. Keeping your eyes with pride makes them glisten as you march, showing off what you have spent months learning and perfecting. Having eyes with pride can truly put someone in the zone to perform and to win.
Marching band taught me that keeping my eyes on the prize and keeping my eyes with pride go hand in hand with each other. The prize was always doing my best, representing my school proudly, and winning during competitions. It was inspiring others to try something new like I had; it was not having to force a smile while performing because I was truly happy; it was bettering myself musically; it was bettering myself period.
I became a student leader for band and other music activities, tried out for new ensembles, and braved my fear of rejection only to be accepted by the best group of people I could have imagined: music freaks. I made friends with people in all parts of the music program at my high school and at other schools in my county simply for joining marching band. I also have met tons of people at my college who were either in marching band or color guard to fangirl with over DCI competitions, reminisce over the days of 8-to-5's, and spin with occasionally.
I spent hours upon hours in my high school band room, practicing drop spins and dance combinations, to better myself as a guard member. I learned to play in two new instrument families and witnessed many triumphs and defeats by the time I graduated. I learned many a lesson from directors and other band geeks through my years of marching band, yet the best one will always be "eyes with pride".
Even though my band days ended in high school, my choice to come to a band-less college hasn't been too horrible. I spin anytime I have free time and nice weather on the lawn outside of my dorm. I was blessed to find my passion in high school, and for it to have improved me as both a performer and musician, but also as a person in general. Having a sense of pride in everything I've done has brought me this far in life, and has helped me find where I belong in the world. So, whether you were an instrumentalist, a drum major, or a color guard member, always be sure to keep your eyes with pride.
