Throughout my life, I feel like I could never really stick to one sport or activity. It started with cheerleading and little league baseball when I was only six years old. For a while it seemed like I would never grow tired of it. However, when I was nine years old and I switched to softball, I came to a realization that I was losing interest in actually playing the sport and enjoyed watching the game more; so I stopped playing. In middle school I developed an interest in lacrosse, and did some clinics and summer camps for it, but it never went any further than that. As for cheerleading, it ended for me in high school after I did not pass tryouts for both football and basketball cheer my freshman year. This did not stop me from attending football games though, and that is where I discovered the color guard for the first time, and something just made me think, “I want to do that.” So the final marking period my freshman year, I attended a meeting for marching band/color guard and that was when it all started. My life changed after that, and I’m grateful that it did. So I wanted to take the opportunity to say thank you.

Thank you for reminding me that hard work is needed in all things. I didn’t know what to expect when I first started, but I came to realize that like cheerleading or any other sport it involved getting exercise, warming up, stretching, and learning to follow a routine. It wasn't just about twirling and swinging a flag or a saber around; working with a flag required a lot of routine, practice, and coordination. So, it felt good to return to something that felt a little familiar to me. Learning the routines seemed exhausting, and sometimes I thought that I’d never be able to get it, but I never gave up.

Thank you for all the fun memories. I still remember the band camp shenanigans, singing and dancing to old pop music while prepping for a game or competition, and just goofing around and running around the amusements parks together on the marching band/choir field trips. We all managed to have a good time with each other; and I felt like I was surrounded by a group of people who loved being the way I was when I came out of my shell, just goofy, crazy, and wanting to have fun with others. While I may not be friends with all of them anymore. All the good times I had being surrounded by my fellow guard members and the members of the marching band will be memories that I will probably never forget.

Thank you for showing me that I could still be a performer. I will admit that I still get nervous while performing, but after all those years as a cheerleading, I realized that I definitely missed performing at half time during football games and in competitions. Now I was able to do that again, this time in a new way, with my flags, and even if the fear of making a mistake was only there, it is for any performer. The fact that I was able to perform again though, at games, in competitions, and even in parades was something entirely new and exciting to me.

Lastly, thank you for making me feel like I fit in somewhere. When things felt like they were all going downhill in high school I didn’t know what to do and I never really felt like there was a group where I fit in. When I joined the color guard though, I was able to find that there were people who liked the same things as me and everyone was so welcoming. I don’t know if I would ever have been able to find a place where I’d fit if I had never joined.

Even though my career in color guard had to come to an end, I know I will always cherish the memories I have from it.

So once again, thank you.