Many people when they grow older and get into their teenage years, they find that being in something such as choir, band, and theatre is dumb and embarrassing . I tried explaining to my non-music friends why I need to practice this concerto, or I need to practice scales or I need to practice my tone, but they say, "I don't see why you need to practice it's "JUST band". Well, to you it may be "just band", but this is my life. Music is where I belong. So, let me lay it down for you as to why it's not "JUST band."

1) You learn MANY different types of music styles and where they came from

When you are just into music and you don't actually play it, you know of "modern music" such as rap, hip hop, country, pop and rock. Well, when you actually play, sing or act it on a daily basis, you learn of many different time periods such as Romantic, Baroque, Renaissance and Classical. Eventually, you find yourself listening to a Symphony by Tchaikovsky or Beethoven and you are suddenly in awe of the evolution of music throughout the years. You become attached to this song and are not ashamed to blast it on repeat for hours while doing your homework instead of your roommate's rap music continuously going through your head talking about money and sex.

2) You learn bits and pieces and put it together to create art

If you are in a Marching Band like I am, you would understand what it takes to truly put a show on the field and live it up to its full potential. You have majorettes throwing fire, color guard throwing sabers, the percussion banging sticks everywhere, the band moving in weird formations, the front ensemble banging on the bars and the drum major waving his arms in all kinds of places. There is so much that goes into putting 7 minutes of your life onto the field that the 7 minutes turns into MONTHS of blood, sweat and tears. You cry because you missed that A-flat that you worked on for hours to make sure that you had it or you drop that toss that you did over and over just to make sure you could catch it...It's a long and extremely hard process, but eventually when it's all put together, you lay your life on the field and create a masterpiece.

3) You travel to so many places

If you have ever been to Disney World/Land or New York around Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's, they always have a celebratory parade honoring that specific holiday. If you watch closely, you see many performers throughout the course of the parade. You see actors, singers, dancers, BANDS...Being in something like band gives you MANY opportunities to travel across the country or even out of the country and it's such a blessing and dream to be able to say I played in the Macy's Christmas Parade or I traveled to 7 countries in Europe to play flute for an audience in several locations. It's such a great experience and one of the best memories you will ever have.

4) Your band members become your brothers and sisters

Normally when you join an ensemble, you say you won't get attached to them because you don't know them or you are not used to them, but you get attached, quickly. You see I have been in college for a year (almost a year and a half) and I have never found more of a family away from home than I have with my brothers and sisters in band. We share so much between each other that we know more about each other than ourselves and our families. Sure, we scream, bitch, cry and laugh at each other, but that's all part of life. I have never felt in a safer and more comfortable environment than I have while with my band family. They are my rock, my shield. They are what keeps me going when I feel like just giving up.

5) Your last performance

I have given my life to band. I have been a member of the music family since I was in seventh grade (August 2009). I have laughed and cried and shown many different emotions throughout my music career so far. You see I am only a sophomore in college. So, I still have a while to go. But, let me enlighten on what it's like to give it your all in your "final performance". My senior year of high school, my high school band did a marching show titled Happy. And yes it included the song Happy by Pharrell Williams. But, that is beside the point. We played around 10 different songs (shortened versions of course) that included the word Happy or involved happiness in it. On our very last performance of the season, Senior Night, I had a small flute solo in one of our slow pieces of the show, and I gave that little piece of music my all. I cried while playing because it was very emotional and heartbreaking. I didn't know where I would go after leaving that program. It caused me to have an emotional breakdown. My last performance was one for the books because me along with 15 other seniors in the band, this would be our last performance in a marching band together.

You see it's not "just a band". You gain many brothers and sisters, you gain a family that will last a lifetime and nothing, nor anything can EVER take that away from you. So, the next time you tell someone or someone tells you it's "Just Band", tell them just exactly how you feel because you may change their outlook on the subject.