Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Things You Probably Don't Want to Know About Megg: Marching Band

That's me in the middle. The redheaded girl with the red glasses trying desperately to look four inches shorter than she is. I've blocked out my two high school BFF's eyes for their privacy. Yeah, I was super hawt, I know. You can stop drooling now. ;)

I was the BIGGEST marching band nerd you could ever meet and I was proud of it. In 8th grade, I was too young for marching band but I volunteered to be a roadie. I ran around the football field setting flags for the girls in color guard dreaming of the day I would be one of them.

Fast forward one year and yes, I'd made it. I joined the color guard. Sophomore year I became color guard captain. Yes, I was that awesome at twirling flags and fake rifles. Sadly an injury, a marching band injury no less, cut my guard aspirations short.

My junior year I played my piccolo in marching band. Our show had a James Bond theme. You know that awesome high-pitch riff in Live & Let Die? Yeah, baby, that was me on piccolo. As the end of junior year approached and I heard there would be an opening for drum major I knew my time had come.

I tried out and became the lead drum major for my senior year. My mom tells me the band director told her I was by far the best audition (no, I wasn't the only one - there were actually quite a few). Nothing could have made me prouder. Seriously.

What's weird is that since then I've had many, many dreams about high school, and marching band specifically. And in every single dream I quit band my senior year. Weird, right? I don't know why either.

You'd think that since I've been out of high school for more than twenty years, I let go of my love of marching band. Nope. In fact a couple years ago I was outside sweeping my driveway. I felt the broom handle in my hands, so familiar to the size of the flags I used to twirl - and I did it. In my driveway, where I thought no one could see me because they were all at work, I let loose. I flipped that broom up into the air, spun around, caught it, and posed. I knew I still had it and was so excited until I heard a light cough behind me. My neighbor had come outside. He chuckled and said, "I see somebody used to be in marching band." I smiled, winked, and twirled the broom some more. ;)

3 comments:

  1. My daughter is in guard (freshman). The outfits sure have changed. Lol

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  2. That is a very good thing. ;) lol

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  3. I was in guard, too. Freshman year was Florida Suite, sophomore year was The Lion King (I even recruited two guys on squad), junior year was All That Jazz. I fell out Junior year due to illness (autoimmune and mono). Oh and not to be nit picky, but you SPIN a flag, you twirl a baton. :)

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