The sound of yelling teens and trash can lids on the barriers on the front of the student section ring in my ears. 12 minutes left. Our section leader tells us to be back at five minutes till. I take my sweat-drenched hair down from its bun and take my uniform jacket off. Band kids darted past me as they hurried to the uniform racks. Guys, I can’t find my hat box! Hey, do you remember where I put my uniform bag? Ahhh. The wise words of this years freshman.

I hear the last few footsteps coming off the stands and wait for the rest of my section to get to our spot. My emotions are heightened. We just had an amazing run. I couldn’t be prouder of my band. My eyes welled with tears and my section gathered into a group hug. This is why I loved band. It’s like the world around us stopped and there was no screaming coaches or blaring buzzers. Just a bunch of sweaty, emotional teenagers. 

10 minutes left. We left the hug and many of us went on our way to concessions. I wiped my mascara-laden tears off my cheek and stayed at my drum to watch the game. 5 minutes left. My section quickly started showing up back at our stands in the next few minutes and we began gathering our stuff. As soon as our section leader arrived, we headed off to the student section. They saw us and the screams became earsplitting. Drumline! Drumline! Drumline! It’s your basic, cheesy movie scene. I see the kids that I walk past everyday in the hallway screaming for my friends and I. It’s in slow motion and the sound of my own heartbeat seems to overpower any of the noise coming from the stands. We begin playing. The student body breaks out in a choreographed dance and I can’t help but smile. This is why we do it.