Page 73 - 2019 Senior Will

for pushing us to be the best you know we could be which translated on AND off the field. So, thank you I will remember each one of you whether I met you personally or not.
To my fellow leaving seniors (all sections): I am SO proud of all of you. When you look back at the past 4 years we have experienced so much both fun and cringey. The many inside jokes that we have within our sections and between each other will forever be remembered. We persevered and learned a lot, so I hope you take a minute or five to reflect back on your experiences in this band. Every single one of us was an important part of the band and we will continue to be as we are proud alumni of the UDMB. We are a part of something bigger than ourselves. I hope each and every one of you comes back to see what the next year has in store and those after because I know I sure will.
To my fellow clarinets: I am proud of every one of you. I know I can’t wait to see what you do next whether that be in the band and out of it in your lives because I know that all of you will do great things. By the way Alyssa.. I included you in this because once a net always a net! Upcoming sophomores it’s crazy you were just a rookie now you’ll be looking at the incoming rookies next season and how clueless they’ll be just like you were. Continue the traditions of the hayride, netsgiving, and that secret thing during band camp we do that shall not be spoken of.. I sincerely hope that every one of you continue with band even if you don’t feel like you are a part of the band because you most definitely are we’re all a big family that has each other’s back. From the inside jokes to the good memories I will cherish all of the memories even the cringey ones as an alumni next season because you’ll see this face at a game again that I can promise! You guys got this I mean did you hear us this year?! I’ll miss every one of you.. Netline bestline!
To other sections (other woodwind sections, brass, drumline, pit): I may not have been close with many people outside of the clarinets or other seniors.. but just know that I want the best for each and every one of you. I may not have known you personally yet knowing that YOU were part of something bigger is just about good enough for me. Keep being amazing and stay in band it’s the best family, place to learn skills for on and off the field, and sense of community that will be a constant throughout college.
Oh, the many memories that I will forever cherish and laugh at. I’ve learned so much while being in band whether that be about marching band in general or things that I have gained while being a part of this band. Speaking of being a part of the band, over the years I’ve really come to know exactly what that means.. At first I didn’t realize how important a role I hold within the band because being a part of this band means being a part of something that is much bigger than yourself and we all work as a team as one in order to perform. I can now say that marching band helped me to grow in who I am as a person. I am more flexible with changing times, dates, and being able to work around timing issues without being too stressed because of the amount of times that a date or time had to be changed during events for band. How to be professional due to representing the University and the band in public causing me to have to learn how to be more professional and cooperative with others. Definitely perseverance when I thought that I couldn’t keep marching or even when I wanted to quit band but I stayed (oh how glad I am that I did stay!) to give it my all and a bit more making me give just about everything I do my all especially when I want to give up. One last time is almost never the last time which we all may have hated during the process, but it seriously taught me to strive for excellence and to keep practicing until it’s close to perfect because something will never be perfect even though it can come close with time.
I’ve been given a sense of community whether that be with my section or anyone that’s in band which I once again didn’t realize how important that was in the beginning. Until.. I would wear one of my UDMB shirt(s) or my sweatshirt and someone in the band would just come up to me to talk about the upcoming rehearsal or game. Or when I was going through mental health issues,