After being in a church choir for six years and having to leave because of college, there are some things I really do not miss:

Going to the bathroom with all of your robes on.

You have your black button down robe, followed by your white cassock, followed by your actual clothing underneath. It can be a legit struggle to lift up everything and take off things when all you really want to do is pee before you are called to line up for procession. You also have to pray that you will not accidentally let any of your robes go into toilet water (because yes... that has happened to me before!)

Sundays are never your day to sleep in.

You are expected to be up and running by 8:30 in the morning, for a service that begins at 9:30 (or at my church that can literally be 9:45) AND be fully warmed up to sing. I can say I am more productive on a Sunday morning than any other person I know that early in the morning. Also, kiss Saturday sleepovers goodbye unless you are willing to be up earlier than your friends and out the door before they even wake up.

Two words: Holy Week.

AKA Hell for all choristers. if your voice isn't gone by the end of the week from all of the challenging music, God was with you.

Hymn descants are higher and harder than you may think...

...and we still nail it (most of the time)

You sometimes wonder what the composer hated so much about the soprano section.

Why do you need to have notes so high for such long periods of time, WITHOUT proper breathing, THIS EARLY in the morning?

Vocal rest is sometimes never a thing

and if there is, we take full advantage of it.

You get excited when you see a familiar title of music, only to be disappointed to find that it wasn't written by the composer you thought.

WHY SO MANY AVE MARIAS? AND MAGNIFICATS?

Honey/cough drops become your best friend

And it is common to have cough drops falling out of your robes, as well as for me to be the one drinking a bottle of honey when no one is looking.

You have mastered the art of having your phone out during the sermon

You know that group chat was going off the whole time.

Triplets in energetic pieces.

That is all.

You hear a choir song out in public, and you can't help but fangirl over the times you sang it

Of course, the people around you either don't care or think you are the strangest human ever.

You can recite all the words from a Magnificat and Nunc Demittis without even trying

and you can easily sing multiple ones off the top of your head.

Feeling overly proud when you earn your next ribbon

Because none of your friends outside of the choir room will know how hard you have worked and how many random tests you had to take in order to get it.

You get to meet people from all over the country at RSCM courses

But you end up missing them more than when you leave your dog for a week.

Feeling deep sorrow when a composer dies

You sang their piece, you enjoyed it, and now your heart is breaking because you know there won't be anything else like that composer's music.

All of your money goes to upcoming choir tours

As well as all of the souvenirs you must have while there. Rest easy my bank account after having to buy something from every London cathedral we sang at.

Having a constant fear when you know you either go sharp, go flat, or you know your voice stuck out.

You know God is shaking his head in shame.

Not tripping while walking down the aisle for procession is a skill you had to learn

Because we all have fallen at one point or another in those robes.

You tend to envy the lower parts, who tend to have it easier than you.

...or so you think.

Forcing yourself to pee

You won't be able to for the next two hours, so do it now while you can.

Corny and overly catchy hymns: they will never leave your head, no matter how much you try.

And you know they will pop up during an important exam.

The choir can overly dominate the congregation during hymns

But you do get strong enjoyment when you see everyone struggling to follow along.

You have a love/hate relationship with baptisms

They are wonderful until you realize how much longer you have of the service.

Feeling super sad when you are done with a choir piece

Who knows when we will do it again- or when it would sound that good.

Having to say goodbye

Because the choir is your family, and you literally feel destroyed on the inside when it is your last day and you realize you WILL miss it all.