Marching Band Anxiety

720 Words2 Pages

In my six months here at Wilkes University, I have learned that I am capable of more than my anxiety tries to make me believe. In fact, I have surprised myself with how much I can accomplish when I put in effort. Even though I believe in myself and my skills today, I had a far lower self-confidence in high school. Three years ago, in my sophomore year of high school, I was a decent student and third-chair flutist who had just been asked to become drum major of the high school marching band. At that time, I was extremely anxious that I would never live to be the accomplished student my family expected, the talented musician my band director hoped for, and the perfect drum major I knew the band needed. Regrettably, I let those words of self-hate …show more content…

Nonetheless, I knew that I had to rise to the occasion. When I conducted the band at the first rehearsal, I noticed an innocent seventh-grade flute player, and realized that she, like the whole band, counted on me. The fate of this band season depends on my hard work and dedication. While my anxious thoughts persisted, I used the little mental strength I had to tell myself that I could not let the band down. During that whole marching band season, I pushed away my anxiety with an optimistic attitude. My confident motivation to have a successful band season allowed my true leadership style to flourish. Outside of those countless rehearsals, I practiced my musical skills, worked closely with the band staff, communicated with the student leadership, and ensured the new band members felt accepted to the band community. After the final championship performance, I looked out at the band from my podium and a sense of relief blew over me. I did it. We did it. I did what my anxiety told me I couldn’t do. The whole band exceeded my expectations. I felt incredibly proud of how far the band had come since that first …show more content…

I pushed away this anxiety with thoughts of positive self-worth. Thanks to my optimistic attitude, I once again exceeded my expectations. I studied for hours everyday, joined Kappa Kappa Psi (an honorary band fraternity), became a group leader for WEBS (We’re Empowered By Science), and stepped out of my comfort zone to get closer to my professors and fellow peers. Today, halfway through my second semester at Wilkes University, my dedication to my studies and activities allowed me to get recommendations from my professors for work study jobs, achieve a 3.84 GPA, accumulate 19 total community service hours, and earn a job as a WEBS summer camp counselor. These accomplishments have made my family, especially my nine Wilkes Alumni family members, extremely proud of me. While my family’s pride allows me to feel authentically loved and supported, I more importantly have made myself incredibly proud of my achievements. I, once again, have proved that my anxious thoughts are no match to my perseverance and devotion to

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