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Aw, seriously?
WOW, I bought myself an external drive today so that I could have more storage space (I now have 310 GB of storage total, lol, I'm never going to run out for the rest of my LIFE, haw), and in the process of moving around files, I actually found a journal entry of mine from LAST March that I NEVER updated with! This journal entry was supposed to go in my old account after I returned from our trip to Dallas, TX (which came directly after our final UIL appearance that year), but I stopped in the middle of it and NEVER finished it. I can't go without sharing it, though. Reading it made me smile. Old band friends of mine, people that enjoy/have enjoyed being in band, or just people that know what it feels like to work as a single, unified and successful group may find this worth their read. ^_^
Words cannot describe how much I really enjoyed the trip I came back from Sunday night.
Friday morning started perhaps way too early, but it started, nonetheless. My mom and I began the morning with irritable fights over petty things, ending with her storming off from the band hall to go buy me breakfast that I had to call and cancel two seconds later because the band parents had THEN decided to walk in with the promised donuts. I made the mistake of grabbing a kolache, thinking it was sausage filled. *facepalm* Ham and cheese. Ewwww.
So yeah. I had to be at the band hall at 6:45 am, mounds of luggage at hand, clad in my black performance dress, a change of clothes at my side. We locked our things for the Dallas trip up in the tuba room, flicked off the lights, loaded the truck and buses with our instruments and ourselves, and then took off to Dobie High School. We arrived 45 minutes later, after I had successfully pumped my tired mind full of inspirational/favorite tunes (such as "Are You Ready?" by Creed, "All I Really Want" by Alanis Morissette, "Bohemian Rhapsody" by the infamous Queen, and "Chevette" by Audio Adrenaline). We geared up and trecked into the quiet halls of the school. We were going to be the first band to perform.
We warmed up on stage. Things kind of seemed amiss... The air was definitely full of nervous tension. If you've been tuned into my life for at least a year or more, you know how bad a reputation our band gained over the two previous years, what with the change of directors and all. But this year was different. We really wanted to do well. Mr. Goforth had pumped us so full of inspiration and musical knowledge that we were HUNGRY for a first division and beyond. We had busted our butt so long and so hard... we were just sick with anxiety over the whole judging system. It was natural, of course, that we had a few problems when warming up... some strange percussion counting, a few clarinet squeaks, rushed and dropped tempos... However, the moment finally came.
We performed rather beautifully, really. It was absolutely amazing. The auditorium was full of admirers of ours, come to see our very best. When we had ended with our final note of Candide, the auditorium immediately filled with resounding applause. For the first time I can ever remember, I was able to look around at my band mates and see a smile on their faces... and a flicker of passion in their eyes. There was definitely a sense of a job well-done all around, and we were all just bubbly and near-drunk with pride in how well we had done... how far we had come.
But the happiness and celebration would have to wait. Once exiting the stage, I and my band mates had to quickly regain our wits... I reminded myself and those around me aloud that the part that we should really be worrying about had yet to come... Half of earning a trophy at UIL is sight reading, which is something that we had NOT been doing well at in the weeks prior to contest. It had been almost a full week since we'd read anything infamiliar, so I had a right to be worried.
When we were finally seated in the sight reading room with our music, the air was definitely as thick as mud. The tension had returned, and a whole new form of concentration had captivated the band. We nervously turned our new music towards us on cue...
... and were plesantly surprised! The music was of medium to easy difficulty, really. With the help of Mr. Goforth's flawless instruction, we were able to give perhaps the most EXCELLENT sight reading performance we've ever managed. We left the room positively livid. The chatter on the way back to the buses, for the first time since I can even remember, consisted not of "How bad do you think we sucked?" or "Well, at least THIS went right..." but of things more along the line of "Wow, I can't believe we just played that well!" and "I made one small mistake, but it's not gonna cost us a rating!" Before resting on the buses, Mr. Goforth called us into a traditional gather-round, and spoke to us quickly. He made sure to mention that it was unfair of us to cause him bleeding ulcers all year over the sight reading, only to go in and perform that well, to which we all laughed. He told us how much he loved us, and how well he thought we played... and then departed for the checkout room. A few of us boarded the buses, and the rest went to go change...
About 20 minutes later, I was talking with a few of my good friends on the bus. I caught the sight of a few billowing concert dresses out of the corner of my eye out in the parking lot, and promptly turned my attention to the horizon. There was a yelp and scream of glee behind me, followed by the clomp of feet as a few of my band mates whisked past me. Excitement caught in my throat, I leapt to my feet and ran from the bus, ignoring the high heels I wore. I tore across the parking lot, wind tossing my hair and tickling my ear drums. Elated yells filled the air as, from all areas of the parking lot, black-dressed adolescents found themselves magnetized at top speed to one piece of mighty attractive wood and metal- the UIL trophy.
"WHOOOOOOOOOO!!!" The large group of budding musicians materialized at lightning speed, each new member of the group taking extra special care to reach out and touch the trohpy that they had sought- some, for only a single year, and others, like myself, for three, seemingly hopeless years. Victory was sweet. The trophy was lifted for all to see from one of the students and into Mr. Goforth's arms. He towered above us all as he bellowed, over our screeching voices, "SWEEPSTAKES!!!"
The moment was entirely too surreal to even begin to imagine. All six judges- three from the two events, had been so impressed with us that they had given us straight 1's. There was no mistaking our victory, or our deserving it. After a few kind words, we all gathered for a picture or 50, as parents happily snapped our smiling faces next to our trophy. Everyone pointed their index finger towards the sky and held a victorious '1' for all to see.
Words just completely escape me about the feeling that I had at UIL. It's amazing to be proud of what you've created... I've spent such a long time being an individual... being responsible for things on my own, creating my own artwork, getting my own awards... that it's almost as if a part of me longs for the unity that I experience when I'm with my band. I've been waiting four long years to feel truly proud of the group I'm in and representing, and now I can really say I am. It's just really really hard to describe how important and collassal the unity of band is. I can't do it.
Heh. I miss being that happy about band. It's seriously lost its luster now. You know, that's okay, though- I'd much rather go out this way than to have given it up straight away. See, NOW, my interest in it is wavering, and I'm starting to concentrate more on art. Had I given band up straight out of highschool, I would have spend a great portion of my LIFE wondering what would have happened if I would have kept with it. Because I wouldn't have known the difference between highschool band and college band. I know my lukewarm feelings have a lot to do with where I'm attending school (and that, if I was looking for a good BAND experience, I should have gone to a real University or something of the sort), but I think it's better this way still. Sheridan has no band/music program. Had I still been attached, I probably would have been devastated to leave, so much so that I MAY have let it alter my decisions. Bad. Never let lesser passions stand in the way of your one true one. That's probably the principle thing I preach more than anything else. It's called sacrifice. It's okay. It works out. That path wasn't for me.
I really hate that Spring Break is coming to a close for me. What I wouldn't give for another week of freedom. Hm. Now I'll have to anxiously look toward the end of the term. Just a bit over a month... ngh, my birth month, of course. It's going to be hectic. Summer is sounding more and more welcoming by the minute. What I wouldn't give to daydream without guilt biting at my resting laurels...
Words cannot describe how much I really enjoyed the trip I came back from Sunday night.
Friday morning started perhaps way too early, but it started, nonetheless. My mom and I began the morning with irritable fights over petty things, ending with her storming off from the band hall to go buy me breakfast that I had to call and cancel two seconds later because the band parents had THEN decided to walk in with the promised donuts. I made the mistake of grabbing a kolache, thinking it was sausage filled. *facepalm* Ham and cheese. Ewwww.
So yeah. I had to be at the band hall at 6:45 am, mounds of luggage at hand, clad in my black performance dress, a change of clothes at my side. We locked our things for the Dallas trip up in the tuba room, flicked off the lights, loaded the truck and buses with our instruments and ourselves, and then took off to Dobie High School. We arrived 45 minutes later, after I had successfully pumped my tired mind full of inspirational/favorite tunes (such as "Are You Ready?" by Creed, "All I Really Want" by Alanis Morissette, "Bohemian Rhapsody" by the infamous Queen, and "Chevette" by Audio Adrenaline). We geared up and trecked into the quiet halls of the school. We were going to be the first band to perform.
We warmed up on stage. Things kind of seemed amiss... The air was definitely full of nervous tension. If you've been tuned into my life for at least a year or more, you know how bad a reputation our band gained over the two previous years, what with the change of directors and all. But this year was different. We really wanted to do well. Mr. Goforth had pumped us so full of inspiration and musical knowledge that we were HUNGRY for a first division and beyond. We had busted our butt so long and so hard... we were just sick with anxiety over the whole judging system. It was natural, of course, that we had a few problems when warming up... some strange percussion counting, a few clarinet squeaks, rushed and dropped tempos... However, the moment finally came.
We performed rather beautifully, really. It was absolutely amazing. The auditorium was full of admirers of ours, come to see our very best. When we had ended with our final note of Candide, the auditorium immediately filled with resounding applause. For the first time I can ever remember, I was able to look around at my band mates and see a smile on their faces... and a flicker of passion in their eyes. There was definitely a sense of a job well-done all around, and we were all just bubbly and near-drunk with pride in how well we had done... how far we had come.
But the happiness and celebration would have to wait. Once exiting the stage, I and my band mates had to quickly regain our wits... I reminded myself and those around me aloud that the part that we should really be worrying about had yet to come... Half of earning a trophy at UIL is sight reading, which is something that we had NOT been doing well at in the weeks prior to contest. It had been almost a full week since we'd read anything infamiliar, so I had a right to be worried.
When we were finally seated in the sight reading room with our music, the air was definitely as thick as mud. The tension had returned, and a whole new form of concentration had captivated the band. We nervously turned our new music towards us on cue...
... and were plesantly surprised! The music was of medium to easy difficulty, really. With the help of Mr. Goforth's flawless instruction, we were able to give perhaps the most EXCELLENT sight reading performance we've ever managed. We left the room positively livid. The chatter on the way back to the buses, for the first time since I can even remember, consisted not of "How bad do you think we sucked?" or "Well, at least THIS went right..." but of things more along the line of "Wow, I can't believe we just played that well!" and "I made one small mistake, but it's not gonna cost us a rating!" Before resting on the buses, Mr. Goforth called us into a traditional gather-round, and spoke to us quickly. He made sure to mention that it was unfair of us to cause him bleeding ulcers all year over the sight reading, only to go in and perform that well, to which we all laughed. He told us how much he loved us, and how well he thought we played... and then departed for the checkout room. A few of us boarded the buses, and the rest went to go change...
About 20 minutes later, I was talking with a few of my good friends on the bus. I caught the sight of a few billowing concert dresses out of the corner of my eye out in the parking lot, and promptly turned my attention to the horizon. There was a yelp and scream of glee behind me, followed by the clomp of feet as a few of my band mates whisked past me. Excitement caught in my throat, I leapt to my feet and ran from the bus, ignoring the high heels I wore. I tore across the parking lot, wind tossing my hair and tickling my ear drums. Elated yells filled the air as, from all areas of the parking lot, black-dressed adolescents found themselves magnetized at top speed to one piece of mighty attractive wood and metal- the UIL trophy.
"WHOOOOOOOOOO!!!" The large group of budding musicians materialized at lightning speed, each new member of the group taking extra special care to reach out and touch the trohpy that they had sought- some, for only a single year, and others, like myself, for three, seemingly hopeless years. Victory was sweet. The trophy was lifted for all to see from one of the students and into Mr. Goforth's arms. He towered above us all as he bellowed, over our screeching voices, "SWEEPSTAKES!!!"
The moment was entirely too surreal to even begin to imagine. All six judges- three from the two events, had been so impressed with us that they had given us straight 1's. There was no mistaking our victory, or our deserving it. After a few kind words, we all gathered for a picture or 50, as parents happily snapped our smiling faces next to our trophy. Everyone pointed their index finger towards the sky and held a victorious '1' for all to see.
Words just completely escape me about the feeling that I had at UIL. It's amazing to be proud of what you've created... I've spent such a long time being an individual... being responsible for things on my own, creating my own artwork, getting my own awards... that it's almost as if a part of me longs for the unity that I experience when I'm with my band. I've been waiting four long years to feel truly proud of the group I'm in and representing, and now I can really say I am. It's just really really hard to describe how important and collassal the unity of band is. I can't do it.
Heh. I miss being that happy about band. It's seriously lost its luster now. You know, that's okay, though- I'd much rather go out this way than to have given it up straight away. See, NOW, my interest in it is wavering, and I'm starting to concentrate more on art. Had I given band up straight out of highschool, I would have spend a great portion of my LIFE wondering what would have happened if I would have kept with it. Because I wouldn't have known the difference between highschool band and college band. I know my lukewarm feelings have a lot to do with where I'm attending school (and that, if I was looking for a good BAND experience, I should have gone to a real University or something of the sort), but I think it's better this way still. Sheridan has no band/music program. Had I still been attached, I probably would have been devastated to leave, so much so that I MAY have let it alter my decisions. Bad. Never let lesser passions stand in the way of your one true one. That's probably the principle thing I preach more than anything else. It's called sacrifice. It's okay. It works out. That path wasn't for me.
I really hate that Spring Break is coming to a close for me. What I wouldn't give for another week of freedom. Hm. Now I'll have to anxiously look toward the end of the term. Just a bit over a month... ngh, my birth month, of course. It's going to be hectic. Summer is sounding more and more welcoming by the minute. What I wouldn't give to daydream without guilt biting at my resting laurels...
no subject
I saw your comment on the Read_HP community regarding interest in the different breeds of dragons. You might like Naomi Novik's series that starts with His Majesty's Dragon.
She's a veteran fanfic author whose original work got published last year & the rights were immediately snapped up by Peter Jackson of Lord of the Rings movie fame. It's an alternate history set during the Age of Sail (England is at war with Napoleon) where dragons & their pair-bonded riders are a branch of the armed forces. Think an Earthside version of Anne McCaffery's Dragonriders of Pern series crossed over with Master and Commander.
The narration of the books is in a somewhat formal style (in keeping with and appropriate for the main character's POV), which some people found offputting but I loved. Check it out.