Our Journey to Space Mountain

There I was, I looked to my left and saw the castle. I've been here a handful of times, but never have I felt as emotional as I did now. Overwhelmed by feelings of pride, nerves and accomplishment, I marched across the bridge on my way to Main Street USA. To others in the marching band this was just another parade. The same band had marched in the Rose Bowl Parade, NYC's Macy's Parade, and Pasadena, but for me, this was the biggest crowd I had ever marched in front of, as it was only my second parade. The journey here was a long one, one of dehydration and a dislocated knee. Enduring my first ever band camp and spending hours of practice out in the freezing cold where all part of the upward climb towards my goal- challenging myself my senior year.
The end of my junior year was the moment I decided that it was time for a change. My grades had improved and I felt like a new person. I decided to finally talk to our band director about joining our school color guard. I never expected it to be easy, but there was nothing that could have prepared me for what was on the way. It all began in March where we spent the first couple of two hour practices learning how to march, marching in spot, marching in squares, how to dress and cover, and how to stay in step. After that began the summer sessions. The color guard practiced once a week over the summer, where-in we learned the basics, drop spins, toasters, figure 8’s, and all that followed. Being new to the guard, I put in extra time of my own, coming home after practices to spend another hour or two attempting to master the art of a simple drop spin. Just as soon as I thought I had one move mastered, our section leader threw another two moves at us. The work continued up until we hit band ...

... middle of paper ...

...track or the parking lot- anywhere we could find an open spot, big enough to fit all 150 of us. The guard learned new flag work, and had new challenges to overcome, and so, we begun our journey to Space Mountain. Our practices at this time where cold, hitting as low as 17°, which stunk when you forgot your gloves and had to spin a metal pole while marking time. Every excruciating step we took in preparation for the parades was all worth it. That's how we got here. Our instructor, Bob, always told us, drive your feet, keep pushing, don't stop now, and that's all that rung in my head before our first performance in Universal Studios. The performance turned out almost flawless, but the best was still to come. On December 31st, 2013, the Marching Band proudly marched down Main Street USA, knowing that those Nine months of preparation paid off far more than ever expected.