I, like most others, hated high school and just wanted it to fly by. Luckily for me, I had found something that made the four years go by quickly. I joined my school's marching band and I fell in love with it.

It was brand new to me and I was so excited to be a part of something amazing. Rehearsing twice a week, going to football games on Friday nights, and competing on Saturdays took up a lot of time, but I didn't care because I loved every second of it.

Unfortunately, my love for the marching band started to die out once I found out the ugly truth about my "friends" who were also in the band.

I very quickly realized how everyone in band would talk about people behind their backs. There was so much drama, which stemmed from everyone being fake to each other. One minute, you have a best friend, and the next minute, your best friend is telling the rest of the band about how annoying and dumb you are.

I never understood why people did that and it really hit home once it happened to me.

I went out for a leadership position in the band and I happened to get the position I wanted. Well, jealousy took over my "friends" as some of them went around saying that I did not deserve it and that they couldn't believe I got the position over them.

When I heard who had said these things, I cried. I had done nothing wrong and yet people who I had loved and adored were attacking me for my accomplishments that I had earned and deserved.

I had to put on a smile and pretend like these "friends" never said anything about me. I couldn't just confront them because I knew I would have to see them every day at school and at band from morning until late at night, for the next few years. So, I kept my mouth shut for years.

It was not easy at all because all I wanted to do was yell and scream at them, but unlike them, I was raised to be a good person.

People I thought were my friends turned out to be liars and backstabbers. It broke my heart.

Drama like this would happen at least once a week to me where I would find out that a friend had talked about me and said hurtful things. Every week was something different, but I still pretended like I knew nothing and kept all of my anger inside.

I was so sick and tired of everyone being fake and mean. I just wanted the pain to end.

Before my senior year, I thought about quitting band because I found out my "friends" devised a plan that would hurt MY chances and increase THEIR chances of getting the position of drum major. I had never felt so hurt in my life. I felt betrayed and lied to.

Since I was "ruining" their chances of getting drum major, they no longer liked me, but still pretended like they did to my face.

The only reason I didn't quit was because I ended up getting drum major over all of them, which was the sweetest revenge I could have asked for.

I had all of this sadness and anger bottled up inside me. I wasn't allowed to let it out to anyone because I had leadership positions. I didn't want to start drama within the band.

Not letting out my feelings destroyed me on the inside.

It is insane to me how people could act like that. I knew what these people were really like and I hated even more that everyone else thought so highly of them. Everyone around them didn't know their true colors, but I did. Everyone was fooled into thinking these people were smart, caring, and kind students. They were so wrong.

They were not good people. They were mean, jealous, and catty people who did not know what being a good, loyal, and caring friend meant.

I was sad all the time in high school because I was surrounded by people who I used to care about. It was exhausting trying to act like nothing was wrong. I never got a break.

After every rehearsal, game, and competition, I would get in my car and immediately start to cry. Being around so much negativity all day, every day really killed my spirit. I was never happy.

While I have a few wonderful memories from marching band and met some cool people along the way, all of my memories are tainted and ruined because of those "friends."

I'm so glad it is over and that I was able to move on to bigger and better things in my life. I found people who are true, loyal friends and who are proud of my accomplishments.

Marching band broke my heart so many times, but I learned a lot from it, so I guess I am grateful for the experience. All of those times when I was heartbroken have made me a stronger person in the end.

I don't let people bring me down anymore.