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Mt. Carmel Music - Student News
The Beginning of the End
It's been about a month since school started, but it feels like it's been forever since band started. We've spent hundreds of hours at school rehearsing, and hopefully a significant amount of time at home practicing, and some of you may be starting to question why you signed up for band in the first place.
There is no denying that band rehearsal can seem tedious and repetitive. I think we've all noticed by now that "one more time" is actually code-language for "we'll do this again until we've got it down". The static of the long-ranger and the eerie echo of your section leader telling you to set have been engraved into your brain. Oh, and I don't think anyone at Mt. Carmel can count to 8 as well as we can. Nevertheless, we aren't here just to melt under the heat of the sun and listen to the monotonous sound of Reed's taps during basics on a daily basis. It's much more than that.
For those of you who've gotten to experience that infamous "feeling" after a solid performance, you'll know what I'm about to talk about. But for the freshman and other new kids that aren't quite sure what that is, I'm here to tell you that the "feeling" that everyone seems to bring up is the reason why we're all still here. For some of us, the feeling is knowing that you've nailed a set, played your music beautifully, or the satisfaction of pleasing a crowd. For others, it's the comfort of being surrounded by your closest friends doing something that you love. It's different for everyone, but the whole concept of "the feeling" is mutually agreed upon as the reason why we love band.
With our first tournament in less than a week, I started thinking about how fast these last three years of high school have been for me. It hit me that the Westview tournament on Saturday really is the beginning of the end of something that has been such a significant part of my life. It's so cliché, but band really has been the most influential program I've ever been a part of. The people I've met and the things that I've experienced through band have shaped who I am today.
That being said, there's nothing more I want out of my final year in band than to relive that feeling once again. Not only do I want to experience it, but I want everyone, including the freshmen, to get that same indescribable feeling I got when I stepped onto Poway High's field in Sunrise, Sunset for the first time over 3 years ago. Personally, I believe that this year's show truly has amazing potential. In order to reach it's full potential, we need to agree as a band to work our hardest in order to maximize our chances at being successful. Whether this means practicing a few extra minutes a day to get that run down, or quieting down the talking when Mr. Mac is giving us instructions for the next set, even the smallest things we fix will have a huge impact on the final outcome of our season.
I don't know about you, but I don't want to spend hundreds of hours practicing and rehearsing only to reach mediocrity. The question is, are you willing to give it all you've got to achieve excellence?