Whenever I stepped onto the field to perform, it felt like I had an endless amount of performances ahead of me. But, unfortunately, my time in marching band isn't unlimited. On my Senior Day, at our last home game of the season, I took my last steps onto the field for my last performance ever.
To people on the outside looking in, this may not seem like much, but after being a music student since I was eight years old, it feels like losing a part of me. I have been living and breathing music for the past 13 years, whether it be in marching band, concert band, a small ensemble or even choir. To think that there will be no "next performance" is almost unbelievable to me.
I started choir in third grade and shortly after in fourth grade, started to learn my first instrument. I joined my first "marching band" in sixth grade and learned my first field show in ninth grade on a new instrument. I made an unconscious decision to continue my music career into my college years because there was never a thought in my mind that marching band would be something that I wouldn't do.
As a college freshman, even entering my senior year felt like an eternity away. That eternity felt more like a millisecond and now here I am, saying my goodbyes and doing everything for the last time.
During half-time, my Mom walked out onto the field with me and our names were announced, just like I had heard for every senior before me. As I started to cry running to my first set of our half-time show, my friend held my hand and I repeated in my head "last time, best time." I hit every set and played every note, except for parts where I had to keep myself from crying again, thinking this was the very last time I would be where I was. Once the show ended, I found my friends again, all three of us with tears in our eyes. And, as the band sang the Shippensburg Alma Mater, a post-game marching band tradition, I couldn't help but sob.
This is my family. These people were strangers just four years ago and now I can't imagine having spent the last four years of my life without them. Without them, my marching band experience would be nothing like it is today and I am so grateful to have met each and every one of them.
Being a senior is a bittersweet feeling because all good things must come to an end. But, the memories I've made, the notes I've played and people I've met will live in my heart forever. If I could give any advice to the freshman class in my marching band, it would be to cherish every moment, because if you don't stop and look around every once in awhile, the moment will be gone before you know it.
To end, I'd like to say thank you. Thank you to my directors. Thank you to the members of the various musical groups I've been in for being there and making my experiences what they were. And, thank you to the SUMB, for being the very last band that I will ever be able to march with. They don't call us the best band in the land for nothing.
