Year End Thoughts by Schwaeg

So Malbert gave his year end thoughts from the old people perspective. I guess I'll take the job of looking over the marching year from the freshman point of view because I have something Catt Albert [ed:meow!] probably lost at least a few years ago: self-esteem. My spirit has yet to be squashed by constant exams, papers, quizzes, homework assignments, and changes to MLA.

So here it goes:

So you're still in high school...
It all started my senior year of high school. I had three colleges in mind that I would go to if they accepted me and one college my parents thought I would probably end up having to attend. The reverse order goes thusly:

4: Blackhawk College (the dirty bird): The local community college at our school. Great if you want a cheap two years or some classes during the break or summer. Campus life? Meet your dorm room buddies… I call them Mom and Dad.
3: Northern Illinois University: Huskies. They’re dogs. Cute. Dekalb isn’t so bad. Close to Chicago. I have friends there. There’s just something missing.
2: The University of Missouri (Mizzou): This could be my home. Out of state, sure. But they have a Big 12 marching band that plays at Rams games. I sure do hate the Rams, but hey, free NFL football game.
1: The University of Illinois: It has some of the cleanest water in the country, the fresh air of the test fields, and last but not least, a Big 10 Marching Band. The Marching Illini has been a dream of mine ever since I saw them first perform in my hometown of Moline, Illinois as a showcase on their way to Iowa.

So I sent in three applications (never sent in an app. to Blackhawk because they’ll accept you if you can walk in the door) and I started the waiting game. In April there were auditions for MI. I was going to be down in Champaign anyway for a Model UN conference. So I figured what a perfect opportunity to just go and audition. I found a solo that wasn’t the Haydn trumpet concerto and I started to practice. I got there, did my thing, went back to Nerdfest 2006, and then went home and waited. I was then waiting for two things: my acceptance to the U of I and my acceptance to MI. I’ll skip all the suspense because if you don’t know what happened, I’ve lost all hope for you.

Schools out for the summer
After the acceptance fun and then graduation and graduation parties, it was time to fill out all the forms I received in the mail from MI (there are a bunch. Send them in promptly or you cause problems for everyone). It was also time to start memorizing the stack of music that came. All that has to be memorized is the pre-game music, but I had a broken lyre so I got to memorize everything.

Meet your friends
Between the frantic memorization of music and actual band camp are two sectionals. One is usually in Champaign and then the other one is close to Chicago. These are excellent opportunities to meet section leaders, other freshmen, and vets. Number 1 tip: be yourself and don’t be afraid. They’re trumpet players. They are just like you… unless your name is Jenny Nance. She’s not like a lot of people. There will be inside jokes that you are soon brought inside of. Stories? Hell yeah stories.

After the sectionals, you are feeling more confident. You have the screen names of a few other people and you proceed to have internet conversations about how much you can’t wait for school to come and how sweet band camp is going to be. An example of a conversation I had with one Chris “oh, am I Italian? I didn’t notice” Paolinetti.

Chris: Hey dude.
Me: Yo
Chris: Dude, I can’t wait for band camp.
Me: Me either. Hell, I can’t wait for college.
Chris: Yeah, it’s sweet. I need to get grades.
Me: Grades?
Chris: err, good grades.
Me: You’re well on your way.

This one time...
After the countdown to band camp is complete, you realize what you have gotten yourself into. It has its ups and downs. You will get frustrated. TAs will talk to you, section leaders will talk to you, drum leaders will talk to you, and other people will talk to you. Some of it is hard work. I had never done ankle knee before. Sounds easy enough. I have ankles… I have knees. Put them together? No problem… after a few weeks that is. Don’t dismay. The camp is set up like you’ve never marched a day in your life. You might even have never marched a day in your life. There are people in MI who have never been in a marching band ever. After it’s all over, we have one of the best products in the world.

Half time is game time
The season flies by. You probably won’t get to march every game. I didn’t. There will be times where the drill is hard or the music is hard or you just can’t get a certain step right (ankle knee). But when you do march that first game and you run-on to the field and hit that first note of Revised, you know who you are. And you are who we thought you were.

Things I should have mentioned in this narrative that you can find earlier on the website so I won’t go back and edit this thing and I’ll just mention them here (breathe):

Trumpet Football League (TFL): Fun
Trumpet Capture the Flag (now just CPT as other sections and non MI members have been incorporated): Fun
Trumpet Basketball Association: Funny, sad, pathetic, FUN. Also nice because it starts after the marching season has ended so you still get to see your favorite friends.
Trumpet Poker: Nothing says fun like gambling more of your money away.

That wraps it up. You’re ready. Alright, your baldrics are on backwards and you shoved your plume into your bell…but you’re almost ready. We’ll see you in the summer and

“It’ll be great, Band.”