In countless examples of pop culture, the idea of the average high school band member has been equated with words like lame, inferior and the all too common designation — a nerd.

However, I dedicated the past seven years of my life to band and while I'm obviously a nerd, there's never been a moment where I felt shame or "inferior" based off of the extracurricular activity I participated in. In fact, I have always been proud of the band programs I found myself in, as well as the accomplishments of my band, peers and myself.

My high school band has been a competitor at the 6A UIL Marching Competition seven times in a row; never failing to wow the crowd (or the judges, for that matter). Being a part of my school's marching band has honestly been a high school career. There was never a moment where I regretted my decision to play clarinet, march in the sweltering heat, or even wear a (slightly) smelly uniform. Band brought me so many opportunities and even taught me lessons that I will never forget.

Because of band, I saw myself grow as an individual and as a player. The first lesson band really taught me was perseverance. My first week of summer band my freshman year, I heavily considered quitting. I was soft and my squad leaders were "mean." I am not a coordinated person by any means and having to march at a state level wasn't coming easy. It wasn't so much as being lazy or just not wanting to try my best, I just felt that maybe I wasn't up to par with the other band members.

Throughout the season, I went from being a shadow, someone who basically backs up or fills in for the main marcher, to a Primary Marcher who actually ended up marching every competition that year. Before high school, I had never considered myself a person of many talents, or even confident enough to push through adversity. Marching band showed me how easy it is to get through all of my own shortcomings if I believe in myself and most importantly, what I'm doing.

Additionally, marching band taught me how to embrace qualities such as leadership, promptness and perfection. I was a squad leader my junior and senior years, and honestly, it was one of the most nerve-wracking and stressful positions I've ever found myself in. For the other squad leaders, it was obvious that they pretty much had the hang of it, but in my mind, everything past bands and future bands had or will accomplish was directly dependent on whether or not I could do my job effectively. What was perfect yesterday, wasn't acceptable today, and what was good today will be far from perfect tomorrow.

Although many viewed our ideas of leadership and perfection as flawed, or even "Nazi-like," the lessons band taught were clearly evident throughout the other aspects of our lives. If we knew we could do better, we would strive for it. If we knew that being 15 minutes early to a function was ideal, we would show up 30 minutes earlier for good measure. Perfection, in our eyes, wasn't just what we could do on the field during halftime, but how our actions improve the content of our character.

Finally, the most important lesson marching band ever taught me was to appreciate the small things in life. As graduation approaches and my last marching season has all but ended, I see myself missing the smallest details of my time in high school.

I miss the sound of a metronome in a crowded gym, the lemonade band boosters served to us after halftime and even the smell of sunscreen during summer band.

I miss visuals, coordinate sheets and my marching shoes.

I miss the split second before a show starts, inside jokes with my section and even the loud bus rides back to school.

But the thing I miss most is being a part of the music.

When you're watching a performance, you're literally just watching and listening. When you're the performer, however, you're in the music. In a way, you feel like you are the music. There have been many occasions where I feel like I lost myself in the performance; where the band felt like one fluid being on the football field. It might sound corny, but in times like that, where everything just fits, you can feel the energy of all your bandmates. It's truly mesmerizing.

Marching band, to me, never felt like it consisted of the "bottom tier nerds." I've met so many hard working kids, that despite what's going on at home or in school, apply themselves to the highest degree. Band just brought us all together to create something worth the blood, sweat and tears.