Band Is...
It's taking pride in being labeled as a "band geek"
It's the feeling after performing flawlessly
It's striving to be Drum Major (because of the sweet outfit)
It's racing to get the window seat
It's learning to work as a team
It's the endless inside jokes
It's finding out that people are more than they seem
It's braving the mosquitoes and sunburn
It's hitting the gong even though you're not supposed to
It's realizing that some things just can't be changed, no matter how much you want them to
It's inspiration to try your hardest
It's winning and losing and moving on
It's hugging your best friends and ignoring the strange looks
It's doing it anyways
It's making friends with people you never noticed or bothered to get to know
It's standing ovations
It's memorizing, forgetting, and pretending
It's being stupid and not caring what others think
It's catching someone's eye just before you play
It's doing things you never dreamed of doing
It's cramming for tests and homework on buses
It's carpooling and hitch-hiking
It's physically hurting yourself, but laughing about it later
It's football games and parades
It's sore muscles and bruises
It's a thousand tears, but even more laughs
It's the feeling after you've mastered a tough piece
It's knowing that you're cared about by people other than your family
It's not having to worry about fitting in
It's laughing until your sides hurt
It's realizing that the frosh really aren't all that bad
It's playing musical flip folder
It's joy, happiness, sorrow, and sadness rolled into one
It's daring people to go into the tuba case
It's broken hearts
It's living life to its fullest
It's making up new words
It's blisters and band aids
It's caffeine and sugar rushes
It's threatening to push others off the bleachers
It's actually pushing others off the bleachers
It's five minute water breaks
It's sleeping on a bus
It's humidity, heat waves, and thunderstorms
It's playing other people's instruments
It's learning a new instrument
It's experiencing new things
It's learning to accept the unchangeable
It's hurting your friend's feelings and getting your feelings hurt right back
It's forgiving and forgetting
It's only forgetting
It's misunderstandings and miscommunications
It's trying your hardest
It's rolls of film and home videos
It's reeds, mouthpieces, head joints, and valve oil
It's throwing things into the euphonium bell
It's staying up late joking around
It's living in the band room
It's thinking about how lucky you are when playing a simple Bb concert scale
It's cherishing moments like these
It's the clear and starry nights
It's hiding people's cases
It's breaking your instrument and crying
It's typing up the phone in the band room
It's making crank calls on the band phone line
It's falling in and out of love
It's drawing on the chalkboard
It's a never-ending soap opera
It's "borrowing" money
It's freshman orientation
It's figuring out which animal an animal cracker is
It's discovering something new
It's pounding on the piano
It's lying so you don't hurt others
It's not practicing for Solo Ensemble
It's not starting class until fifteen minutes after the bell
It's knowing that all the percussionist jokes are true
It's getting offended when someone puts down a flute
It's having other people carry your tuba or bass drum
It's cheering for the opposing team
It's going to sporting events, losing, and still having the time of your life
It's learning commitment
It's having fun when you're mosquito bitten, muscle sore, sun burned, and sweating
It's excitement for band camp
It's being the living example of a band geek
It's birthday parties in the band room
It's getting a *1 on a class A solo
It's using fingering charts as homework
It's 30 teenagers in one room for 50 minutes at a time and coming out alive
It's knowing that last chair is just as important as first
It's promises and lies
It's living up to your own expectations
It's sleeping, trying to sleep, and down-right not sleeping on the bus
It's burning CDs
It's trying not to laugh during rests
It's wanting to rent the marimba for the summer
It's helping your director take inventory, no matter how much you'd rather sleep
It's hitting other people with guard flags and rifles
It's running like a doofus on the field (purposely)
It's squirting water on your friends
It's making up your own cheers for football games
It's writing words for "Suite in Eb" and "In All Its Glory"
It's sleeping on the couch with your friends after school in the band room
It's being able to use your friend's butt as a pillow and not have any questions raised
It's freezing at football games
It's running through mud with the uniforms
It's trying to throw a bass drum over the fence
It's using your instrument in your Senior photos
It's bleacher butt
It's battles of the wits
It's having section wars
It's actually using dynamics
It's walking in step with your friends as you walk down the hall
It's knowing everyone's name
It's having freshman say hi to you and beaming when you say hi back
It's laughing at old yearbook pictures
It's trusting people you shouldn't trust
It's hair dye
It's sunglasses and farmer's tans
It's medals, letters, and "arrows"
It's jingling when you walk while wearing your letter jacket because of all the medals
It's not being a preppy freshman
It's learning to be yourself
It's playing when you are sick
It's calling your friends at school when you are sick to have them bring your instrument home
It's adopting your friends as children
It's snotting/sneezing/goobering/blowing up out of your nose on a strange Drum Major guy
It's having alter-egos
It's saying, "Respect my authori-tay!"
It's those long, comfortable silences
It's being best friends with a guy
It's getting first chair (or second chair, or third chair, or fourth chair, ect)
It's playing scales as 32nds
It's trying to be mean, but failing
It's going to every Honor Band possible
It's laughing more than talking
It's having your friends read your mind
It's making up a percussion salute
It's all this and SO much more...
I found this on one of those band sites and I thought that so many of those reminded me of our band. And since it's almost time for us to start again, I thought it would be a good idea.
But, there are a few more I just gotta add:
It's listening to Sara recite lines from songs at drumline
It's laying down in the backseat of Robin's van with Marissa cause she can't figure out how to put the seat up
It's complaining about Danielle's ceiling, but riding in her car all the time anyways.
It's loving duct tape like it's your child
It's being able to show everyone exactly how short Kim is compared to you (ie. "she comes to here on me")
It's hearing Dave say "I'm pissed!" a million times
It's knowing that hearing Adrienne say "Stop making out in front of my kids you stupid whore!" is the funniest thing you will ever hear
It's being in tune...and having someone notice
It's standing in the area outside the band room talking to people until 3:00, when we get out of school at 2:10
It's looking at your buddy list and having your buddies in groups like "Band People" "Guard People" and "Non-Band People"
It's having a sub that went to Glenn and asking them if they knew your instuctors
It's having to explain to the freshman that Dave is Connie's brother, Connie is Brian's wife, Kim and Becky are sisters, and Eddie and Bethany are cousins
It's playing the fight song too fast for the cheerleaders to do their cheer to
It's remember the dang hill from Camp Seagull....and remembering how people were carrying each other up it
It's sitting in someone else’s cabin comparing your cankles
It's licorice fights
It's afro contests
It's making fun of people and being made fun of right back
It's standing outside the band room in the morning and yelling at people when they push your friend
It's sitting/sleeping/living on the ground cause it's so much better then any chair
It's using your hard instrument case as a pillow
It's watching DCI on TV and knowing all of your friends are too
It's going to Red Robin with 20 of your closest friends
It's going TPing...then calling the people you TPed
But mostly...
It's the shiny instruments!!!
If you've got any more you can think of...comment with them!