Have you ever had a dream? Like that one thing that you have to do before you die? If you've had that dream come true then I'm incredibly happy for you. Maybe it was earned through work and you're reading this at the age of 81 to reminisce on what your dream was or maybe you're a little kid who's reading this for hope that you're dream will come true. Although I can't promise you that chocolate will one day rain from the skies, I can promise you that with a lot of work, dedication, love and a little bit of luck, life will take you where you want to go no matter who you are, even if it's just for a week. This is why you should always keep dreaming.
When I was young I made a mental bucket list. It was pretty simple since I was young. The list contained things like, eat a bunch of food, go to a different country and just a lot of arbitrary random junk. At the top of that list was a dream that I've held dear to my heart though. I've always wanted to go the "Grand Daddy of them All." I wanted to go to the Rose Bowl. It may sound silly to someone who doesn't enjoy football, but to me this was one of the things that I would give anything for. With a lot of work, dedication, love, and a little bit of luck, one of my grandest dreams came true. I swear that the day I start to rot away with Alzheimer's and I've forgotten everything and everyone, I will always remember the day that a young kid who loved sports got his wish granted in every way he could possibly imagine after he marched a long and winding road.
At the age of five, I idolized people that most kids would've idolized. People like Michael Jordan, Peyton Manning and my parents to name a few. All I knew at the time is I wanted to be "just like Mike." (Michael Jordan). I played basketball in my driveway every single day I could in Moore, Oklahoma and watched Space Jam way too much. When my family made a big move to Atlanta, Georgia though, my middle school basketball team made it very clear to my parents that I wouldn't make the team. It was a hard time because my dreams had kind of been broken right before me. Things got worse with the death of someone that I never met but knew was special to my family. My aunt Natalie passed away before I could meet her, but she left something behind for me. What she left behind carried me all the way to the Rose Bowl. She left me her trumpet.
Not being able to play basketball for my school, I decided to maybe try music. I've always loved music too and trumpet was cool to me at the time so "why not?" The first two years sucked, the teacher hated me and I was sent out of class on a daily basis for my "antics." He even so much as threatened to not let me play in the school concerts. Despite his efforts to bring me down, I decided to keep dreaming. Among the bullying, personal struggles and a terrible teacher, my trumpet and I kept dreaming. I would do it for aunt Natalie.
In eighth grade my family and I had moved to Rogers, Arkansas where I found a more suitable home for my trumpet and I. Rogers was a friendlier atmosphere where I truly fell in love with playing the trumpet. It started to kick- off a lot in high school when I joined the marching band. Yes the band was geeky, not very talented, and the complete opposite of my dream to become the next Michael Jordan, but I learned a lot as time went on.
I became completely engrossed in marching band whenever the season came along doing my best to make this "meh" band into something amazing while still keeping my eyes glued to every stat sheet and television screen with sports on it. One year a freshman, next year a first trumpet, next year a drill captain and finally a section leader. I poured my heart and soul into four years of band meeting amazing friends and making amazing memories. I marched in the Mardi Gras parade, I recorded a soundtrack for Disney World, and took a trip to St. Louis and Dallas with my new found love for marching band. It all culminated when we finally did good in my last marching competition.
However, in my final performance with the band, everything hit me. It's over now, I would never do this again. It's time to say goodbye to my trumpet. I wanted to keep dreaming though. That's when I decided I was going to do marching band in college. Not any college though, I was going to be a part of my dream college that I had been a fan of my whole life, the University of Oklahoma.
If Oklahoma football, basketball, or anything was on, you would be able to find me at the nearest screen watching away and keeping track of every single move the players made. What more could I want then to become a member of the band and go to every single Oklahoma football game for free. Needless to say, my audition made the cut.
Everything went by so quickly. My first pre-game performance, hearing the roar of the crowd and playing the "Star Spangled Banner" in the center of the field. To think, all of this happened because of something so awful in my life. Where would I be if my aunt hadn't died so tragically all those years ago? I wouldn't have ever played trumpet and my life would be completely different. The truth is that I really did get to meet my aunt. This whole time we'd been going on amazing adventures together and having the best times. My family always said that my aunt could light up any room even in the worst of times and she gave me the journey of a lifetime when it seemed like my dreams were done for.
As a Journalism major who needed to get to writing though, I knew that time was running thin with the Pride of Oklahoma. I wouldn't have time for it once I started writing for employers, but that didn't stop Natalie and I from going out with a bang together. The Oklahoma Sooners, work, dedication and love made my grandest dream come true. I went to the Rose Bowl, January 1, 2018.
I left my apartment knowing this was it. Natalie and I were ready to go on our final adventure together, knowing it would be the best one yet. Together with friends we explored the Santa Monica Pier and the city of Los Angeles, marched in the Rose Bowl Parade, and finally made it down the road to the "Grand Daddy of them All."
As I walked through the entry tunnel to enter the field I couldn't believe that I was at the Rose Bowl about to watch my favorite team and was going to march for the Pride of Oklahoma one last time. The one special dream I always had was finally going to come true, and I was going to experience it all in a way that not many people will ever get to. Regardless of the score at the end of the game, I smiled the whole time and admittedly couldn't keep the tears out of my eyes most of the time.
Thank you aunt Natalie, my family, my teachers, my friends, the Pride of Oklahoma, and thank you to that one kid who had a dream. You dreamers are the one's that keep me going, I hope we can all continue dreaming together.
It's going to be very hard to top this experience, but even though my marching band adventures have come to a close, I will always keep dreaming. Life will throw me around, rip me apart at the seams, and forcefully sew me back together to do it again a thousand times. No matter what though, you and I need to keep dreaming. Scott Van Pelt, Kirk Herbstreit, Lee Corso, your positions are the next dream. I'm a reporter for Oklahoma men's and women's gymnastics right now, but you better believe that I'm going above and beyond to be all of you someday. Until that day, I will keep dreaming, and after that I'll dream some more.
If you've ever had a dream then let me know and I'll let you know that you can do anything and anything can happen. Unless it's chocolate raining from the sky, but hey it's not entirely impossible if you have the work, dedication, and love to make it happen.Don't you dare settle for less.
Let me know what your dreams are on twitter @mitchell_e_ou
