Tuesday, February 27, 2007

When I Was a Band Geek

I don't play an instrument, but in my high school days I was still a band geek. Well, sort of. I was in Drill Team, which is sort of an auxilliary of band geekdom. I loved being in Drill Team! I liked learning the routines for football fields, basketball courts, and parade routes. I liked traveling around with my friends on those teenage body smelling buses. I liked the uniforms we wore. I liked the other girls in the Drill Team. Most of them at least. Sure there was always the odd bitch or two, but nothing unmanagable. I liked hanging out with the Band and the other auxilliary Pagentry people (Tall Flags, Rifles, Sheilds). I had many little flirtations and those tiny relationships that you have when you are in your younger teen years with clarinet players and drummers. Gerard, my first love, played the French horn... I was a really good student in high school and a nice girl, you know? I made a very concerted effort to get to know different people and not to limit myself to any one little clique. But, being on Drill Team took up a lot of my time and sort of defined me in some ways. I honestly have so many good memories of high school, which I know is a mine field for some people, so I feel lucky.
Now, when I go to football games or parades and I hear that band music and see the pagentry, it always brings a little well of emotion. Easy tears spring up in my eyes and I have to catch my breath. It is silly, I know. But when I was a band geek, life was pretty good. Who were you in high school?

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Metal Head. Catholic School Metal Head. My hair could only be to the top of my collar. We had to wear dress shirts and ties, so black was the color at most times. I got good grades, but did not fit in with everybody, nor did I want to.

AlienCG said...

I didn't fit in very well in high school. I didn't belong to any groups or cliques.

Mrs. Hairy Woman said...

I was a Band Geek.. I played the 2nd Cornet.. which is small version of a trumpet. I was quite good at it and I recall taking it home to practice and driving the dogs crazy.. They would howl when I played.. I was in the band and I'm proud..I didn't do the drill team cause we don't have that here..in the back woods of Ontario.. at least they didn't when I was a kid..

Rachel said...

I was a choir kid. I was in Chorale (freshman girls only) and then I also did regular choir. Then my sophmore year I was accepted into the Jazz choir (only 2 sophmore's in it) and still did regular choir. Junior year still did both.
Senior year I transferred to a new school and was in 2 choirs in that one too.
I found that being in choir allowed a large cross-culture of different cliques to interact. Other than choir I wasn't in any kind of clique.

laura b. said...

Evil-E: So you had to be like an undercover Metal Head.

AlienCG: But look at you now. An alien living amongst us and we all love ya!

BabyBull: That is really neat! I have always wanted to play an instrument and I really admire people who take the time and effort to learn.

Rachel: I got put into chorus one year...there was an accident on my schedule. I stayed in, because I love to sing. I have a horrible voice, though, and couldn't in good conscience continue with it.

minijonb said...

I floated between a few different groups. Stoners, goths, metal heads, new wavers, tennis pros, gear heads, debate geeks, drama geeks... but not the band geeks. I never hung out with them much. No particular reason.

laura b. said...

MiniJonB: I can appreciate a floater. You were what I attempted to be. Except you totally should have given the band geeks a chance ;-)