I remember my 10 year old self sitting in the stands at the very first Roosevelt Rough Rider football game of the 2007-2008 season, and half-time had just began. My sister was in the marching band so I sat there scanning the field for her, but couldn’t find her. I stood up and looked one more time until I saw her, standing tall on top of the drum major podium, calling the band to attention and putting her hands in position to begin conducting the band. I watched her, in awe of how her hands moved as they hit every beat, giving the band the tempo to the music. I watched as 300+ pairs of eyes watched her as their feet moved in synch with her hands. I watched and fell in love with the power that one person had while standing on that podium.
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I sat at every football game, studying the drum major’s posture on the podium, the position of their hands and watched their behavior while in the stands, watching as they were the perfect example of leadership. I did all of this until I finally had the chance to try out for drum major. And when the day for auditions came, I felt prepared, I felt ready. I had had 7 years of dreaming and practicing, part of me felt I had the position in the bag. I marched a routine, conducted at different tempos and practiced the commands typically called out during half time in front of all of the directors and walked away feeling confident. The following day, the drum majors were announced, and I wasn’t one of them. I allowed myself to be upset. To be sad, and to even cry a little bit, but once I was done, I continued to practice and worked on trying out the next …show more content…
My band director had planned 2 Saturday leadership camps where you were trained on how to teach the incoming freshman the basics of marching (standing at attention, the first step, etc.,) however, I was scheduled to work on both of those days so I had to miss the trainings. I didn’t think it would affect my chances of being drum major, so I went to work as usual, and went about my days leading up to the auditions until my band director called me into his office and said, “There’s really no other way to say this, so I’m just going to tell you straight up not to try out for drum major.” I stood there with tears in my eyes, shaking, as he laughed and told me that I was just going to have to find another way to lead. I walked out and cried, more than I did the first time I didn’t make drum major and for much longer. It was my last chance and I blew it. After that, I did everything I could to lead, I ran for Band Vice President but was the only person out of the 4 people that were running to be picked, everyone else was “co-vice president.” I even suggested Color guard captain but only to be told that they had already chosen someone else. I realized that perhaps leadership in band was simply not my calling. I continued to pursue other leadership positions outside of band, and I am now working towards becoming the teen director for
I sat at every football game, studying the drum major’s posture on the podium, the position of their hands and watched their behavior while in the stands, watching as they were the perfect example of leadership. I did all of this until I finally had the chance to try out for drum major. And when the day for auditions came, I felt prepared, I felt ready. I had had 7 years of dreaming and practicing, part of me felt I had the position in the bag. I marched a routine, conducted at different tempos and practiced the commands typically called out during half time in front of all of the directors and walked away feeling confident. The following day, the drum majors were announced, and I wasn’t one of them. I allowed myself to be upset. To be sad, and to even cry a little bit, but once I was done, I continued to practice and worked on trying out the next …show more content…
My band director had planned 2 Saturday leadership camps where you were trained on how to teach the incoming freshman the basics of marching (standing at attention, the first step, etc.,) however, I was scheduled to work on both of those days so I had to miss the trainings. I didn’t think it would affect my chances of being drum major, so I went to work as usual, and went about my days leading up to the auditions until my band director called me into his office and said, “There’s really no other way to say this, so I’m just going to tell you straight up not to try out for drum major.” I stood there with tears in my eyes, shaking, as he laughed and told me that I was just going to have to find another way to lead. I walked out and cried, more than I did the first time I didn’t make drum major and for much longer. It was my last chance and I blew it. After that, I did everything I could to lead, I ran for Band Vice President but was the only person out of the 4 people that were running to be picked, everyone else was “co-vice president.” I even suggested Color guard captain but only to be told that they had already chosen someone else. I realized that perhaps leadership in band was simply not my calling. I continued to pursue other leadership positions outside of band, and I am now working towards becoming the teen director for