Written by Brookwood Senior Carlee Kirkpatrick
Community is defined as a feeling of fellowship for others who share similar beliefs, interests, and goals. People who come together who share the same passion in their hearts. These people become family to you, people who you hold near and dear to your heart. If you ask anyone in the marching band, that is what they would say. It’s a community: we are one, huge family; That love everyone has for each other, you can’t get that anywhere else.
Marching band is an extracurricular activity that takes place in high schools all over the country. It is where students incorporate their love of music with marching, elevating their knowledge as musicians. The Brookwood Marching Band takes a week in summer to learn all things marching, but the most important thing we learn is friendship and comradery. Every section has its own dynamic, and each group adds to the band dynamic as a whole. We start these friendships within these sections and then branch out to the rest of the band. Band camp is where everything starts, though.
At band camp, we are learning how to march, everyone’s name, the new dynamic with a new senior, junior, sophomore, and now new freshman class. It can be intimidating to these freshmen who see these close-knit sections and see the absolute chaos connected with it. Band camp is where we integrate these young, fresh minds and create a whole new family with them. You carry the memories you make through this amazing program with you throughout the rest of your life. It is quite literally the best time of your life. What you take away from this program, it’s all due to what the people who inspire these students put into the program. The sense of togetherness we gain just after one week goes on to influence our lives in high school.
It is something other students miss out on, already having built friendships with all the different classes in high school before the first day of school. That is one thing I have cherished and have passed along to all the other students: hold onto these friendships, because when you walk into high school being already established with a community, your life flows with such ease afterwards. Marching band is a special place where we grow, learn, and have fun. It’s a place where the Brookwood spirit radiates among everyone, where we are so passionate it’s contagious. You can’t find this level of dedication, spirit, discipline, or community anywhere else. It’s a Brookwood thing.
