Yesterday I had my very first color guard practice of the season. *A pause for scattered applause and cheering*
So I met the new instructor, and she's the non-yelling, positive-attitude-enforcing, "let's work hard and make this fun!" kind of instructor. Hooray! Also, the rest of the guard knows her because she helped out with this past season (the one that I spent the entire time inside and breaking my already injured back moving the stupid timpani).
Our show this year? West Side Story. At first I wasn't too thrilled about it. I mean, it's an amazing show, but the music for marching band? However, I listened to the arrangement and it's pretty good. If we combine this music with the amazing drum corps level of the drill (field choreography, where the band moves on the field) that this dude is writing for us, then we should be in good shape. And, well, we're not known as the little band with a big sound for nothing. Sure, we're now class one open as opposed to 2a, but hey, we have a close-knit group and mistakes are easier to hide.
The pieces are mostly medleys. "Tonight/America" is the opener, followed by "Maria/Cool", and then the drum feature of "The Jet Song." The closer is pretty much the ballad, which pissed me off at first, but it's a good ending regardless. It's a medley of "One Hand One Heart/Somewhere."
So in the story, characters die, and the final death is (Spoiler alert) Tony's. Just like with Romeo and Juliet. However, unlike Romeo and Juliet, Maria (the modern Juliet) doesn't kill herself. And since we're doing this show and the main character dies, one of the color guard girls is going to "die" too. Of course, our instructor hasn't revealed who yet. I have a feeling it's going to be our captain. I thought yesterday it could possibly be one other girl, but then I remembered that she's not going to be in attendance of one of our competitions. Also, she's our "friendly neighborhood cripple," so she had to sit out of a couple performances last year due to being sick or injured. So it's most likely going to be the captain who "dies."
Something about how small our band is; 35 people including the color guard. We don't even have a pit this year. So during "Cool," two guard girls and myself get to play some pit stuff. When I first heard this, I was pissed. "Crap, the BD doesn't think my back is well enough, so of course she put me back into the effing pit for a song. Ugh." But then I realized that the other two girls are also the only girls who know how to play instruments and are in band class all year long. And all the instructor knew about me when we met was that I was transferred from the pit, so it's safe to assume I know something about music and can play a cymbal on the correct jazzy beat.
Another thing. I think I wrote a while ago, during my sophomore year, about my chance to be on rifle line, but missing out because of my lack of confidence. I always regretted that. Of course, I gave up the position so a senior could have it. Now that I'm a senior and it's my third and a half year on color guard, I think I deserve this position on rifle line.
Of course, I'm going to go about this differently. Everything's going to be done differently. I'm going to practice. I practiced yesterday and today and I'll practice tomorrow. I'm not in any pain when I'm practicing or when I'm active, so I need to keep as active as I possibly can. I'm not going to do anything with Tarot cards or divination or the power of positive thinking... none of that. Because Jen, our instructor, said that she'll choose next week, at our next practice, and it'll be because of who looks the most natural with the rifle. Our assignment was to practice basic spins for left and right. We should be just about up to fifty by next week. I can almost get fifty on my right, but I need to be able to alter my rhythm and keep it steady. I did a lot of practice with my left arm (my forearm and shoulder are a bit stiff, so I'm stretching them periodically) and got up to 15 smoothly. I just want that side to feel more natural and smooth.
There is only one spot, and I think I'm going up against one or two girls. These two girls are the same level as each other; this is their second year. They are both seniors like me.
I hope I don't resent either of them if they get the position. However, I kind of feel like I won't be able to control it. Of course, we can never control our feelings. We can only control our actions.
I feel I deserve this position. But I will work for it. I've been working for it since I didn't get position as captain. As Zack's told me, things happen for a reason. I realized that the Universe denied me the position of captain because of my injury and my inexperience and lack of confidence. Also, I wouldn't have been able to handle dealing with last year's instructor. And maybe the Universe made my injury prevent me from doing guard for a year because I would have gotten sick of it, or hated it, because the last instructor made the girls nervous and feel bad.
The world works in mysterious ways.
I want this rifle position. I will work for it. I am working for it. I've been working for it for a long time. Please, let me make my comeback.
There I am, putting my faith in a prayer. Irony in that statement. I think it was Jesus in the Bible who said that if you denied believing in him in front of your buddies, he'd deny believing in you in front of God when you died. Of course, I'm not a Christian or anything related, but this Jesus dude had some good ideas.
So my left arm is sore and I have a writer's block. I'm gonna go for a run tomorrow morning and hopefully NOT get bitten by another horsefly. Or whatever the hell it was that bit me. I've never been bitten by a horsefly before. Ironic, again, since I have a horse.
This is Horse lady, who hates bugs and got her first horsefly bite the other day, singing "Maria Maria Maria..." because her name is the most beautiful sound in the world, kind of hoping to "die" in the show if not getting the rifle position, listening to the show music over and over again, fearing getting sucked back into the "pit" of despair (HAHAHAHA!), signing out.
Katie Sea Community Member 
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