We were known as the dorks of the school and let’s admit it, we were. Well, not as weird as the orchestra. That’s what we told ourselves at least. But we were the same if we are being honest.

But I wouldn’t trade that "dork" title for the world. Looking back on high school, I realized even my mere two years of marching band will always be with me, were so important to me, and still are.

I want to thank the band program though for a few of the many things it gave me.

It gave me a place to go, a place to be myself. A place of acceptance and a place to feel at home when in my life, I sometimes felt lost (because let’s be honest, who didn’t feel lost as freshmen and sophomores in high school).

Also, I want to thank the band for giving me an outlet. It taught me to be okay with who I was and to always be myself, and when I left that program, I'll never forget the feeling that being a part of the program gave me.

I also can’t forget to thank our directors. They truly were great guys and I’m so glad I got to learn from their wisdom and was able to spend two years with such amazing teachers who helped us so much.

And last, I want to thank that program for giving me such impactful friendships. I’ll admit, after I moved away I wasn’t able to keep in touch with the people I thought I would, and with the few that I did, it isn’t the same anymore. But I’ll never forget the autumn night football games, the exhausting band competitions, or the tradition of my old program: getting bad pizza from Stevie B’s after games. But what made this all so memorable and important to me was the company. I’ll always be in debt to those friends I made back then. I’ll realize years later how amazing they really were and how badly I never want to forget them, and how I wish I didn’t let them go so easily.

And years later, we all went our own ways, but we’ll always have had that time together. Those twelve-hour band camp days in the blazing heat and the tears and smiles we all shared; I wouldn’t trade any of that for the world.

So if you’re reading this and you were in the band program with me, I want to thank you for being a part of that time in my life. You mean a lot to me and I hope you’re doing well.