Personal Narrative: My Drill Team

Have you ever left the country? Better question, have you ever left the country without your parents at the age of sixteen? Back in high school my drill team was invited to a competition on a cruise to Cozumel Mexico that was an experience I’ll never forget.
My junior year in high school I was on the drill team, that summer before the school year started my coach received an invite to be in a competition, throughout the year we are typically in many competitions or shows, like the Macy day parade or the Dallas mavirkes competition. But this one was the most memorable one of all. In order to be able to go on the cruise we all had to raise the funds, by fundraisers and doing a few car washes, but it was all worth it. I come from a small town so going to a competition in Mexico was unheard of. Our coach had to do a lot of convincing to the school board and the principal to allow a group of drill team girls miss school for a week and leave the country. After about a week of going back and forth they finally came to agreement and it was a done deal. Typically going on a cruise from Texas to Mexico you don’t need a passport

because it’s an open ended cruise, but the school board said every student attending had a have a passport, in case something happened and we needed to leave for an emergency.
The first day on the cruise was so exciting; we were able to explore the ship before we departed from Galveston. Once we got settled in our rooms we met with the coordinator of the competition received our agendas and were on our way. Turns out we had two practices and one performance; once the competition was over we were free to do as we pleased. The first night on the ship was interesting, getting use to the swaying and rocking of the ship was very different, at times at night you could feel the ship move all the way to the left then back all the way to the right. Imagine yourself going from being completely still and on land to a huge swaying ship, it’s somewhat of an adjustment. Sadly some of the girls didn’t adjust to well and became sick the first night. But for myself I didn’t get sick and I was able to enjoy the trip.
As the cruise went on, I soon began to discover that none of the employees on the ship were American, they were all from around the world from China to Nepal.

They were all extremely friendly and always willing to help. Since we always roamed around the ship in little groups there was always someone there to take a group picture or give us directions. The day before we docked in Mexico we preformed and got second place, which was pretty cool considering there was roughly thirty other dance teams there. Now preforming on a sailing ship it a little bit more difficult than one would expect. The fact that the ship is always in motion and if the ship, sways to far left or too far right it could throw your balance off completely while doing a turn or posing for a second. Luckily for us the boat wasn’t swaying too badly during our

performance.
The day finally came when we docked in Mexico, the water was gorgeous and the beaches were amazing, nothing like Galveston beaches. Our excursion that they chose for us was a beach package, we got to be beach bums for the day and to explore the little shops in the area. Once we were at the beach the water was crystal clear, you could see the little tiny fish swimming around your feet and always know if you were going to step on something. As we explored the shops, I began to see a lot of the Hispanic culture come alive. From the Aztec drawings and paintings, the Mayan ruins to the mariachi bands. The people we encountered while docked in Mexico were once again all friendly and extremely helpful. My parents were concerned with the general things most parents would be; talking with strangers, getting lost into trouble, but after receiving a speech from them they told me to enjoy myself and to make memories that I’ll remember for the rest of my life.
Going on a cruise is exciting, whether it’s with family, friends or a mixture of the two. Getting to explore and learn about an area the area was an amazing opportunity for myself and I am extremely thankful I was giving the chance to perform with my drill team.