Minimize
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My freshmen year of marching band was a roller coaster of experiences. I already knew how to play the clarinet but I had to add marching, memorization, posture, and “dancing”. I had no experience in physical activities, but I gained strength from marching band. Mr. Fry, my band director, really impacted marching band for me. He was tall and lanky. He wore glasses and had bright orange hair. He had a quiet voice. He rarely got angry except when it was a competition week, then you could hear the stress in his voice. He wanted us to do our best; he told us encouraging words almost every day. At our final competition he gave us a pep talk before our performance. He told us he didn’t care what the score was; he just wanted us to do our best. His eyes filled with tears and then so did mine. Although it was my first year I had already got attached to the whole program and I was sad that my freshmen year show was ending. Learning the ways of marching band was the most outgoing thing I had ever done until I joined drumline. My junior year I decided to join drumline as a guard member because all of my friends were in it. This wasn’t the only reason however, I wanted to learn something new, even if it meant embarrassing myself. I was a clarinet player so I didn’t have much upper body strength to spin a flag. I was weak, but soon that changed.
On the first day of guard clinics I didn’t know what to expect. I had never had to try out for anything before. We were all practicing by ourselves with Katie, the assistant guard director, watching and helping us newbies. She was an average height and not super skinny like a stereotypical dancer. She wore her hair up every day to keep all the strands from her face. The head guard director, Jason, arrived late, which we later learned to be normal. Everyone got tense once he entered the room. I could feel it. We all had to be on our best behavior. Jason was stern and fierce. He started out with some basics that I had already learned previously from two of the other girls who had experience. I knew some of the motions, which was helpful, but I still wasn’t perfect. I would drop the flag or get too far behind in the routines. It was always noticeable too because you could either hear the pole hit the ground or the silk moving in the wind out of time of everyone else. Katie tried to help me adjust to the new angles and spins. She demonstrated the correct forms with her own flag while I tried to copy her. My arms were too weak to keep up with the constant motions and tossing however. I didn’t have enough power to get the flag high in the air or with the right rotation. It was a stressful day, but I did it. Guard clinics went on the rest of the week and I persevered with the encouragement from Katie. By the end, I had made it and I could already feel myself improving in strength as my muscles ached from constant spinning.
Rehearsals to learn our show, Minimize, began a week after the clinics in the schools old gym. Mr. Fry was in charge of the whole thing. Jason only showed up once a week for practices, which was a blessing, but Katie was there for almost every day. She was a lot more care free with her instruction while Jason was mostly critical. At practices I would often embarrass myself. Many times I would drop the flag on the hard gym floor which would echo against the walls or I would hit the pole against the floor and it would glide on top of the tarp noisily. When I was practicing my tosses or performing them in the drill, I almost always wouldn’t have enough rotation or I would drop the pole or the pole would hit me because I would catch it wrong. But I worked my hardest to improve. I would practice my moves and tosses every chance I got in between sets. I even took a flag home with me to practice at my house, except it was not helpful when it started snowing. The cold air made it difficult to maneuver the pole and it stung when it hit my hands. At practice, we were constantly setting drill and running through the different parts of the show. Often times I would wheeze from lack of breath from the constant movement. The continuous flow of moving gracefully while spinning the flag and occasionally tossing the flag took a toll on me; I would lose my breath and my arms would ache. In marching band my main concern was having enough breath and putting my fingers over the keys to play the right notes and rhythms. My fingers would glide over the different keys and holes quickly. But in guard there was a different focus, and that was my whole body, not just my fingers. I was used to the posture and marching, but everything else in my upper body required a different focus than I was used to. I had to be graceful while spinning yet also stiff as to not lose control of the pole. Every practice was dedicated to adjusting to this change in performing.
Competitions were the best part of drumline and I got to show off everything I had learned in practice. We had one about every other weekend. The guard had to wear gaudy eye makeup and dark lipstick. We had to slick our hair back with lots of hair gel and hair spray into a bun so that we didn’t have any flyaways. My hair would be gleaming from all the gel and hair spray, but it was also extremely hard and stiff. All the girls usually helped each other in the girl’s bathroom before we would head out to the competitions. It was better to get ready than go outside in the cold and help load the truck. I wasn’t very good at slicking my hair into the tight bun so I would have one of the other girls help me. There would be lots of gel and pulling of my hair to get it just right. Also we would laugh as we all gave advice about the dark makeup we had to cake on so that it would be just right for our performance. We thought the makeup was ridiculous, but it was a part of our uniform.
I will never forget our last competition. The wind was blowing and the sun shined down brightly as we arrived early at UD Arena. The battery and pit warmed up for a while outside but the guard sat for most of the time; it was too windy to try and spin. Eventually, it was time to warm up for real inside. Everyone was nervous and upset. The guard uniforms were tight and the black velvet was warm from the sun and I felt like I was suffocating more than I usually did wearing it. I wanted to do well. I wanted to prove my strength.
On the first day of guard clinics I didn’t know what to expect. I had never had to try out for anything before. We were all practicing by ourselves with Katie, the assistant guard director, watching and helping us newbies. She was an average height and not super skinny like a stereotypical dancer. She wore her hair up every day to keep all the strands from her face. The head guard director, Jason, arrived late, which we later learned to be normal. Everyone got tense once he entered the room. I could feel it. We all had to be on our best behavior. Jason was stern and fierce. He started out with some basics that I had already learned previously from two of the other girls who had experience. I knew some of the motions, which was helpful, but I still wasn’t perfect. I would drop the flag or get too far behind in the routines. It was always noticeable too because you could either hear the pole hit the ground or the silk moving in the wind out of time of everyone else. Katie tried to help me adjust to the new angles and spins. She demonstrated the correct forms with her own flag while I tried to copy her. My arms were too weak to keep up with the constant motions and tossing however. I didn’t have enough power to get the flag high in the air or with the right rotation. It was a stressful day, but I did it. Guard clinics went on the rest of the week and I persevered with the encouragement from Katie. By the end, I had made it and I could already feel myself improving in strength as my muscles ached from constant spinning.
Rehearsals to learn our show, Minimize, began a week after the clinics in the schools old gym. Mr. Fry was in charge of the whole thing. Jason only showed up once a week for practices, which was a blessing, but Katie was there for almost every day. She was a lot more care free with her instruction while Jason was mostly critical. At practices I would often embarrass myself. Many times I would drop the flag on the hard gym floor which would echo against the walls or I would hit the pole against the floor and it would glide on top of the tarp noisily. When I was practicing my tosses or performing them in the drill, I almost always wouldn’t have enough rotation or I would drop the pole or the pole would hit me because I would catch it wrong. But I worked my hardest to improve. I would practice my moves and tosses every chance I got in between sets. I even took a flag home with me to practice at my house, except it was not helpful when it started snowing. The cold air made it difficult to maneuver the pole and it stung when it hit my hands. At practice, we were constantly setting drill and running through the different parts of the show. Often times I would wheeze from lack of breath from the constant movement. The continuous flow of moving gracefully while spinning the flag and occasionally tossing the flag took a toll on me; I would lose my breath and my arms would ache. In marching band my main concern was having enough breath and putting my fingers over the keys to play the right notes and rhythms. My fingers would glide over the different keys and holes quickly. But in guard there was a different focus, and that was my whole body, not just my fingers. I was used to the posture and marching, but everything else in my upper body required a different focus than I was used to. I had to be graceful while spinning yet also stiff as to not lose control of the pole. Every practice was dedicated to adjusting to this change in performing.
Competitions were the best part of drumline and I got to show off everything I had learned in practice. We had one about every other weekend. The guard had to wear gaudy eye makeup and dark lipstick. We had to slick our hair back with lots of hair gel and hair spray into a bun so that we didn’t have any flyaways. My hair would be gleaming from all the gel and hair spray, but it was also extremely hard and stiff. All the girls usually helped each other in the girl’s bathroom before we would head out to the competitions. It was better to get ready than go outside in the cold and help load the truck. I wasn’t very good at slicking my hair into the tight bun so I would have one of the other girls help me. There would be lots of gel and pulling of my hair to get it just right. Also we would laugh as we all gave advice about the dark makeup we had to cake on so that it would be just right for our performance. We thought the makeup was ridiculous, but it was a part of our uniform.
I will never forget our last competition. The wind was blowing and the sun shined down brightly as we arrived early at UD Arena. The battery and pit warmed up for a while outside but the guard sat for most of the time; it was too windy to try and spin. Eventually, it was time to warm up for real inside. Everyone was nervous and upset. The guard uniforms were tight and the black velvet was warm from the sun and I felt like I was suffocating more than I usually did wearing it. I wanted to do well. I wanted to prove my strength.
Mr. Fry gave us our last little speech, behind the giant curtain separating us and the performance floor before we went on. He told us how proud he was of everything we have achieved and overcome. As he spoke, his eyes filled with tears. Then everyone else, including myself, started to get emotional as well. This moment brought me back to my freshmen year of marching band when Mr. Fry was giving us a pep talk for our last marching band competition for the season. But there was more emotion in his voice this time because it was the end not just of the season, but forever. Mr. Fry cared a lot about us and the program and I knew it hurt for him to let it go. It hurt me too and everyone else. All of us had grown to be a family, from the years of marching band, symphonic band, and pep band. However, drumline brought a small group even closer together from all the long hours of practices. I cried carefully so I didn’t ruin my heavy makeup. Katie came minutes before our performance and hugged all the guard members wishing us luck, which made me even more upset. She had taught me a lot and I was grateful for her. I learned the most from Katie, and I was glad to have gotten to know her. But I had to put all my emotions aside and get ready for our last performance.
I walked out proud with my head up and shoulders back, but my nerves were eating away at me when I saw the large stadium seats, the feel of the tarp against my feet, and giant televisions hanging from the ceiling of every corner. The music started and I stayed in time with everyone else; moving through the routine with grace. I had to avert my eyes from the giant televisions showing our performance as it went on so that I wouldn’t mess up. Right before part three began all the guard unhooked a string to allow to the front cover (colored grey, pink, and green) of the backdrop to drop and reveal plain white to match our white tarp. I got through the difficult toss and then it was almost over. I moved my way through the last few sets and then behind the backdrop to disappear again. Everything went by so quickly. Our show Minimize was over.
Before drumline, I was weak and fragile but guard made me stronger. Everything I knew before was gentler, like playing the clarinet, but I learned how to push myself no matter how difficult. The whole experience made me realize why I love doing certain things, just like my first year of marching band. When Mr. Fry cried both times during my time with band, I felt like I had a purpose. I loved performing in marching band because I loved to play clarinet, but I learned to enjoy guard because the experience was different. I got to be like a dancer, which felt like something I’ve never know before. Drumline turned out to be the most memorable, exhilarating experience I’ve ever had. I learned through this experience that the small risks in life are the most important to march on and live life, no matter how minimal.
I walked out proud with my head up and shoulders back, but my nerves were eating away at me when I saw the large stadium seats, the feel of the tarp against my feet, and giant televisions hanging from the ceiling of every corner. The music started and I stayed in time with everyone else; moving through the routine with grace. I had to avert my eyes from the giant televisions showing our performance as it went on so that I wouldn’t mess up. Right before part three began all the guard unhooked a string to allow to the front cover (colored grey, pink, and green) of the backdrop to drop and reveal plain white to match our white tarp. I got through the difficult toss and then it was almost over. I moved my way through the last few sets and then behind the backdrop to disappear again. Everything went by so quickly. Our show Minimize was over.
Before drumline, I was weak and fragile but guard made me stronger. Everything I knew before was gentler, like playing the clarinet, but I learned how to push myself no matter how difficult. The whole experience made me realize why I love doing certain things, just like my first year of marching band. When Mr. Fry cried both times during my time with band, I felt like I had a purpose. I loved performing in marching band because I loved to play clarinet, but I learned to enjoy guard because the experience was different. I got to be like a dancer, which felt like something I’ve never know before. Drumline turned out to be the most memorable, exhilarating experience I’ve ever had. I learned through this experience that the small risks in life are the most important to march on and live life, no matter how minimal.