It is finally my senior year, which is nearly impossible for me to believe. All of the things that I have loved for the past 12 years of my life are coming to an end. One of the toughest pills to swallow is that band is almost over.

Since the fifth grade, I have loved music. I had the opportunity to take the recorder class that all of the parents dreaded. In this class, I learned simple quarter notes and how to figure out the correct tones for the notes. After I completed this simple, yet dreadful class, I made the decision to try and play the french horn. I instantly fell in love with the instrument and never regretted it. 

I have played the french horn since sixth grade and the fact that after this year, I will no longer be able to play it anymore is heartbreaking. With my extreme passion for the band, last year I decided to try out to be a drum majorette for this year, and was accepted! In order to get a head start on some of the new things that I would have to learn, I helped out with the middle school summer program. This included the summer parade. Doing this made me realize how fast middle school actually went by. It feels like only a couple of days ago I was learning how to hold the french horn, and now I am months away from graduating. 

So far this year, there have been three band performances for football games at halftime. I was nervous to stand up in front of, not only my peers but an entire crowd full of people. After the first performance, though, I loved it. I am constantly craving that adrenaline rush of being in charge of so many band members. 

Once I realized how much I loved being a drum majorette, I regretted not trying out sooner. This is my final year as a high school student but has been one of the best for me. I am going to miss all the early morning band practices, all of the long days of marching out in the street, all of the hot days painting lines on the practice field, all of the bus rides and most importantly, my band family. I am forever grateful that I was able to be a part of this amazing band, and I will miss it a lot.