Since the beginning of time, we’ve all been taught to pick a clique. There are the brains, the jocks, the band geeks, Emo kids, art kids, popular kids—you name it, there’s a group for it. Every movie we watched growing up proved these divisions in every high school in America, fictional or not, to be true. Sharpay Evans and the students of East High showed us that not sticking to the status quo results in utter outrage among the student body. Cady Heron and the Plastics gave us a peak at what happens when the wrong groups mix together.
I’m not quite sure when I started questioning the cliques of life. Where is the written law that everyone needs to pick a “thing” and only associate with other people who share that same, singular interest? I’m calling bull on that one. Because from my experience, it is possible to successfully mesh together two very different passions. I have, somehow, managed to make it through high school and smoothly into college with a clear label as an athlete and, if possible, an even more obvious label as a band geek.
Maybe my love for music and sport stems from my days as an Irish step dancer. That is, after all, intense physically activity that is based on how it fits to music. However, dancing is no longer the sport that has my heart. I’ve been a three season runner since the last seven years. That’s one of the weird things about our sport—it never ends. Distance runners are in season All. Year. Round. Because as soon as one season ends, it’s time to start training for the next. Runners live in a constant state of “I should really go for a run.” And for the most part, we love every second of it.
As for music, I have loved being able to play it since the day I started taking piano lessons when I was 8 years old. The clarinet quickly followed suit, and just as quickly became something I was, evidently, fairly good at.
High school is a busy time, but it isn’t impossible to be involved in just about everything. Yes, I was one of those kids who tried to do it all. And a majority of the time, I balanced it all pretty well. There was always, however, little things to remind me that the two biggest parts of my life just didn’t mix. I had my music friends and I had my track friends—two very distinct, very different groups. I had constant conflicts of rehearsals and practices, meets and performances. It wasn’t always easy, but when it came time for the dreaded college search, there were only two necessities on my list: a school where I could get a good music education, and a team that I could run for.
It didn’t take very long for me to discover that these schools were few and far between, but I successfully found a school that gives me exactly what I need in both aspects. I attend a fantastic music school that makes me more excited every day to be a music teacher myself. I’m part of a team that I adore and can’t imagine my life without. Though just as it has been for my entire life, it is definitely not an easy combination. Here, music kids can be identified from a mile away; that is, if you ever see them. Which can be rare, for a non-music major to see a music major. It means that either a music major is actually taking time out of a practice room, or a non major is making the bold move of cutting through the music building to get to class. Music majors are a special breed. They live, eat, breathe and sleep music. Ninety percent of our classes are all in the same building, because we don’t take many non music classes. We’ve even got our own café because they know if they don’t put food right in front of us, food may easily be forgotten due to constant practice sessions. Most music majors are mostly friends with other music majors. It’s not easy to have non-major friends; the music major life is a hard one to understand.
Athletes, on the other hand, take their meals rather seriously. My team can be found eating dinner together, sitting at the same table, at the same time, every day without fail. Most days, though, we have already been together at least once before our meal. From 7 a.m. lifting and the toughest of workouts to the most relaxing of distance runs, we spend countless hours with each other, and that’s not to mention almost every weekend of the year spent at meets together. Teams are typically pretty close-knit, and mine does not stray from this mold. It’s not easy to have non-athletic friends; the student athlete life is a hard one to understand.
How is it then, you may ask, that I am part of two groups that both take up so much time? If I’m being honest, I live by the whole “fake it till you make it” mantra. My music friends thrive on teasing me about having another life. I have friends outside of the music school, and I spend my “free time” (a very lose term for the life of a college student) doing things other than practicing my various instruments. When the Masonites hear that I am part of a sports team on campus, they tend to look at me as though I am an alien descended from Mars. After practice, my teammates most likely have hours worth of homework. I most likely have hours worth of homework, hours worth of practicing, and at least one mandatory performance to attend. On the days that I don’t have to be on the track at 8 a.m., I probably have to be in the fitness center at 7, so that I can be at class by 8 and hit the track by 2, my first break of the day from my music classes. When my fellow music majors get together on Friday nights to relax at the end of a long week, you can find me in bed resting up for my race the next day.
Balancing my music life and my running life is no easy task. There will be conflicts, and in turn, sacrifices to make. Races will go un-run, and performances will go un-played. But here’s a little secret: contrary to popular belief, that one chorus concert your freshman year that you miss for a big meet your freshman year will not make or break your career. And that meet you missed for a plethora of mandatory music events? It will not make or break your running career. There will be people who don’t understand. There will be people who may not agree with your decisions. There will be skeptics and critics and plenty of people who think that your priorities are sometimes a** backward. Fortunately, despite people who label you crazy, it is possible to have more than one “thing.” I love being a music major, but if I didn’t have running as my escape, I would go insane. On the other hand, I love having a group of people in my life who share my love for music and to commiserate with over the perpetually busy lives we live. I am an athlete. I am a band geek. Maybe I am a little crazy for trying to make it all work sometimes, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
