Confession 3

Hey Bandies!

So my parents are getting me a new clarinet for Hannukah. Yay! Except that it's about $1000. Not yay...

Also, a friend of mine is also getting a new clarinet for Christmas, and she keeps talking about it. She's getting a really nice, hella expensive one that even I don't have the audacity to ask for. I wonder if she's really as entitled as she sounds? I don't know. Life is always so competitive. It's cutthroat to be the prettiest or the smartest or the most involved. But I never realized that it's the same in band. Anyone but me find that weird?

-The Band Geek

My Headstart on 2010

Hey Bandies!

I've never been big on new year's resolutions. You beg, borrow, and cheat them until they're almost meaningless anyway, so what's the point? Sure, when you're young, they're an assignment for class, but beyond the third grade, does anyone actually keep them?

And for the people who make them, STOP STRESSING YOURSELF OUT! If you resolve to eat less, work out more, get straight A's, become president of a club, make honor roll, be a team captain, get more sleep, be neater, act your age, be nicer to your siblings, get a job...aren't you just making this hard on yourself? So many of my friends already flip out about college. Some have been doing this since middle school practically. As a collective, my generation needs to take a chill pill.

That being said, this year, I'm taking the guess work out of New Year's resolutions. I'm throwing out all the guilt and postponing, failure and defeat. I'm eliminating breaking promises to myself and others. I'm not going to claim to be something I'm not. I'm covering all my bases. I'm devoting trillions of lucky charms to all the superficial things I want to gain out of life and school and band this year. This year (and since I'm getting a headstart, that means from today on), I intend to smile more. Not because someone tells me to. Not because I feel like I should. I want to smile more because I mean it more. I want to be my best, sure. Do I want to make good grades? Of course! But if and when I score well on my audition next spring, or accomplish something great, I want to be standing there smiling my face off.

Because it doesn't really matter how much you do or how much you say. It matters what you do and how you say it. And how you feel about it.

So, 2010, bring it on. May the year be full of happiness, prosperity, and band.
-The Band Geek

Confession 2

Hey Bandies!

Marching season is a little bit like being a part of a crazy group of amazing people that you spend a ridiculous amount of time with until you're all sick of each other.

Concert season is like...sitting in class, playing music and getting scolded for talking. A lot.

We got new pieces to sightread, but we're all really just killing time because break starts on Wednesday!

And of course the big shake-up: challenges. I'm not concerned because my chair is secure, but I'll be sad to see some of my fellow clarinet buddies go...

-The Band Geek

Confession 1

I am in marching band withdrawal. It's only been, what? A week and some odd days since we epicly failed at Grand Nats. So I'm still reeling a bit from that horrible end to such an amazing season. We recently had a concert. Insert joy and or rapture. That went okay, but I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who actually cares about band.

And now I'm off to play my clarinet.

-The Band Geek