Essay On Marching Band

What comes to mind when you hear “marching band”? A bunch of geeks playing musical instruments, or maybe that one episode of “Spongebob Squarepants” when Squidward assembles a marching band out of Bikini Bottom’s citizens? When I think of a marching band, I think of the time when I felt like a part of a community that helped me to help others.
In eighth grade, I moved to Nutley, and up to sophomore year, I had a handful of friends who were not always in my classes. I would freeze with anxiety whenever teachers would tell the class to pair up because I did not know anyone else in the class. In addition, I would spend countless hours at home studying, or doing my own thing, because my small group of friends would always be busy. Consequently, I felt that I was missing something crucial in my high school experience: being part of a greater community. So to change that, I decided to take a risk, put myself out there, and join the marching band in junior year.
Over three months in marching band, everyone bent over backwards and put so much effort into their work to reach the same goal: to qualify for and place in the top twenty bands at Nationals. The countless hours we spent

late at night running drills, the liters of sweat we had sweat under the sweltering sun during band camp, had led to this moment. I was surrounded by friends, who, after a period of three months, had became my second family. I did not realize that I could become so intimate with a large number of people in such a short span of time. Being at Nationals with the rest of the band, as well as other marching bands from around the Northeast, was surreal. The energy crackled through the air as we waited with anticipation for the ceremony to commence.
As the awards announcements began, I grabbed my friend’s arms from sheer nervousness.

All of us were shaking with anticipation as we waited for our band to be named. One after another, other schools were called, and band members screamed and applauded, as they learned that they had placed in the top twenty. “In seventh place...” There was a dramatic pause; everyone was holding their breath, “Nutley High School!” Everyone jumped out of their seats and erupted into cheers. We had placed in the top ten! Even though it was only seventh place, it was enough to make us feel proud of ourselves. Standing there, with the rest of the Nutley Raider Marching Band, I finally felt like I was part of a community where I could have friends, be a part of a bigger family, and just be

myself.
Going to Nationals after all of the hard work that I had put in made me feel like I was able to connect with the rest of the band on a deeper level than I could with the classmates in any of my classes. By deciding to take that first step, instead of choosing to stay isolated, I realized that I did not need to struggle to find a place where I can be myself and impact others more than just myself. It’s amazing what you can accomplish for
yourself and with others when you are a part of a community. Moving on, as I start a new chapter of my life in college, I want to put myself out there, find that community, and be able to impact the world more than what I would be able to achieve on my own.