Gratitude
For the past five years, the presence of marching band has been a constant in my chaotic life. Because the pandemic altered every aspect of normalcy, this was not the case this year. I forgot what life was like without its weight. Instead of three weeks of band camp every day from 2 pm to 9 pm, we had one week of two-hour rehearsals. Competition days beginning at 8 am and finishing at 2 am the following day were replaced with thirty-minutes of recording our show and then submitting it to a virtual competition.
I never realized how much I needed to spend every day making music with the funniest and most genuine people in this claustrophobic town. I do not love the workouts, basics blocks, and lack of water breaks, but the connection between us is indescribably strong; and this makes 20 hours of practicing a week worthwhile. I became so accustomed to being surrounded by my band friends, and I took it all for granted. I miss 7 am Dunkin trips before a five-hour practice in the bitter cold. I miss bus rides sitting next to my best friend, Cat. I miss winning national championships, and the hugs, oh the hugs.
While it is not healthy to dwell on the past, these memories bring more joy than sadness. I am so grateful to have grown up with a group as tight-knit and warm as this. I do not know who I would be without this marching band full of extraordinary people.
Living through COVID-19 has taught me so much about who I am and who I want to be. I have learned to be grateful for every aspect of life, no matter how insignificant it may seem. I am so thankful to be here, now.
Although most, if not all of you know nothing about marching band, I know there is something you can substitute for that. I miss the sense of togetherness in both band, and things as small as walking into school to see people laughing while sitting on the floor with their friends. I urge you to think about the things in your life that you weren’t necessarily grateful for earlier but now would do anything to have again.
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| Cat and I after awards :-) |
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| The band before competing in nationals (we won)! |
Reflecting on ourselves and on life in general is very beneficial! During quarantine, I took a lot of time to self-reflect and realize the things that mean the most to me. I learned to be grateful for all things and all people. This past year has changed my whole perspective on life. I wish it wouldn't have taken me sixteen years to realize to be grateful for the simple things in life, but I'm glad I finally did!
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry that you can't experience the same joys as you could before. It's a shame realiing all that has been taken away from us because of this pandemic. The most important thing to remember is exactly what you were talking about; gratitude. Obviously you and I are apart of choir together and I have found myself feeling down recently about the experiences we've missed out on this week, but you post has made me feel a lot of gratitude for everything that we can do.
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