Leadership: taking the initiative to establish a clear vision, share it with those whom are being led a certain direction, and coordinating all interests to accomplish glorious victories. A drum major is not simply the person who conducts the marching band, they are the one responsible for taking on a magnificent leadership role; they must be role model for all of its members and it is their job to make each and every member feel valued, no matter what their position may be. As a drum major, I would strive to lead the East Haven High School North Branford High School Co-op marching band to victory on and off the field. The first step to being a superb drum major is to possess extraordinary leadership skills. I have been a leader in various musical aspects, as well as in other areas that have prepared me to
Welcome to Marching Band. “Marching band is for dorks and nerds that have nothing to do”, I used to think to myself. After all, the media has portrayed band students to be this way. How could I not think that band kids had no social life and were all geeky! It was a flaw of mine to believe the stereotypes, but after my friend constantly insisted in me trying out for the color guard, I could not say no.
At Marcus High School, I stayed involved heavily with band and drumline. These extracurriculars demanded immense time management and a sharp level of focus. During sophomore, junior and senior years, I was able to join the student leadership corps and become the leader of the Snareline, an instrument that requires high concentration in comparison to the rest of the band. I was tasked with making sure the incoming students understood their music, and if unable, I taught them. This position led me to become an understanding leader with the desire for greatness.
Throughout my Life and high school career I have spent many hours with teachers and coaches. I have had many experiences, but the one that stands out most to me is my former cheerleading coach and gym teacher, Ms. Traska. She coached our team with no background in cheerleading. She brought us closer as a team and being part of this team has made a difference in my life. The two years that Ms. Traska coached were the most fun, productive, and memorable years that I have been on the team.
Children are intrinsically irresponsible in the sense that they have nothing to be responsible for. Even older children are only responsible for themselves and their actions and they are not held accountable for the actions of others or the results of those actions. I learned what it meant to be responsible for an entire group of people and the performance that we created when I became the drum major of my high school marching band. I had to stop being a child when I became the drum major for the Jesse C. Carson High School Marching Band because it was an immense responsibility that required mature skills such as commitment, trustworthiness, honesty, and leadership. Being drum major was a serious commitment of both my time and my energy because it required me to put marching band before anything else in my life.
I am very fortunate for the amount of involvement I was able to commit to in high school, as I’ve gained many valuable life skills that not everyone is able to carry with
As a proud member of the Mercedes Tiger Band color guard and drill team, a lifetime goal for me would be to join a marching band and/or college dance team. Coming into high school I never thought my passion would be to be performing in front of hundreds of people every Friday Night for four years. It has become my passion and it brings me much joy to perform and have the time of my life on that football field. I have had an amazing four years participating in many extracurricular activities but I have found that my biggest passion is colorguard.
My special place to remember is my high school band hall. I spent a significant portion of my high school years in that place. Our band hall housed approximately 300 budding musicians during marching season, and so it was spacious. There were practice rooms, a uniform room, and a room with shelving that housed our instruments during the day. Above that room was the library.
Now, the pride that came along with being in this band didn 't just come from "being in this band", but it only was achieved because of the people who were a part of it with me. I met so many people that all shared my love for music and it showed through our performances. Every week, Tuesday from 5:30 pm till 8:30 pm, and Thursday 2:30 pm till 4 pm, everyone would come together and put in the work so that way when Friday night came around, we could sit back after coming home and have that overwhelming feeling of pride take over. I could have put in all my efforts and then some, but if nobody else did there would be nothing to say for our band. The seniors had to organize and teach the underclassmen, the underclassmen had to listen and learn, and
I pulled down the sleeves of my army green jacket as I walked out of the front door of my high school. I was so glad to be done with this week and be able to go home and relax. I have never had anything that stressed me out more than school. It was only getting close to the end of first semester, and I had already lost all motivation. My teachers sucked.
Ballet dancers display lower coping and cognitive skills and higher catastrophizing responses than other athletes (Anderson & Hanrahan, 2008). Ballet is physically and emotionally, an exhausting endeavor. To think that all of one’s hard work and dedication towards the art form could be abruptly snatched away with one injury is devastating. One twist of an ankle could be the end to a dancer’s career. One persisting source of pain could take away the one thing in life that brings you the most joy.
