Mi futuro - My future
I returned to a great place in my life recently - Marching Band camp. As part of my program at EMU, I'm required to have 40 hours of pre-student-teaching in my target age group, and helping with Saline's band camp fulfilled all of those. It was held at Spring Arbor University for 5 days and my job was to help with the music, help learn the moves for the show, and essentially be a chaperone for the 22 girls on my floor. This became a learning experience beyond what I thought it would be!
I was a proud marching band member all four years of high school (trumpets!) and I was able to relive the fun once again. The time with friends was still there for me since a lot of the other staff ended up being people I went to high school with and a few of them were close friends of mine. Nothing seems better than 5 days away from the parents, being with your best friends, and doing something you absolutely love... and being 21 didn't change that for me. The added difference was that I as handed extra responsibilities. The first day was spent with numerous hours trying to find out how to turn a blank soccer field into a marching band field (there was no football team in sight, so it became a marching band field). My middle-school band teacher, Mr. Mason, turned out to be a geometrical genius with the angles and equations needed to map out the distances on the field. "Hypotenuse," "congruence," and "A-squared plus B-squared equals C-squared" had to all come back to me quickly, but I realized that soon my role would lie in the physical lining of the field instead of the brains behind it (and I was ok with that). During those hours we also get to watch the beginning rehearsal where they started combining marching with playing, and as soon as I heard that drumline cadence again, I definitely got goosebumps. It's amazing how just a series of a few sounds can make you smile so quickly.
I gravitated to the piccolo section when helping in field rehearsals (where they learn the moves for the half-time shows) since their music teacher wasn't there most of the day. They had many freshmen and two of them freshmen boys! I immediately had respect for them to so proudly stand out in a section that's so predominately girls. They even eagerly learned a marching technique (backward right slide) that the band didn't learn in fundamentals until a few days later. I certainly struggled with the section at various times, but they eventually fought fatigue and the heat to be one of the most efficient sections of the band. When they heard Mr. Lampman say "Way to hustle, piccolos!", their energy went from a 9 to an 11 (and I promised a happy dance if he said that, so I got to make them laugh with my happy dance). I also had two of those great teacher moments when you realize that you've made a difference and a connection:
1) On the 4th day, the piccolo's sectional was changed from musical to marching without my knowledge. In voices of desperation, the girls asked me where I was that afternoon and I responded that I was actually napping. They told me about the change and said, "We needed you there! We didn't have our moral support! Why weren't you there?" I was heart-broken to realize that I wasn't there for them, but I was also so touched that they had come to rely on me. I promised that I'd be there for them the rest of camp and that if they had anything else they needed, I was in 201 Gamma and to wake me up!
2) On the day of the performance, right as they were milling on the back sideline right before the first step-off, I went to congratulate my piccolos and told them how great they'd do, a few of them gave me hugs and told me how excited they felt and how they felt very prepared. It was nice to see that they learned a lot and I was there to help them!
All in all, there was a good deal of stress, sunburn, and fatigue, but it was a great experince and I got to relive all the angst, hard work, and fun that is band camp. I think this gave me just another insight into what my job will be in about a year. It won't be my main definition, but it will be the best outlet for myself and my strengths. Who knows, I could be a Spanish Teacher and Assistant Marching Band Director...? :)