Page 11 - 2019 UDMB Senior Will

picked me up for my first day of band camp, I met you formally for the first time. I don’t know if I thought that we’d be friends then, but by the time band camp was over, I knew we would be. I loved your confidence and your zeal for life. You made me feel comfortable with this strange new experience in band and I was so thankful to have a friend at a new school where really none of my middle school friends would be there with me.
As the years went on and high school got more annoying, I valued your advice above all others. You were the one I turned to when lost and confused. You were (and are) like a big sister to me.
You are the reason I am here. You were the one who helped me along my way, who introduced me to this world of Marching Band. You were the person I clung to in that scary transition into high school, and then, later, the scary transition into college. You are the reason I have grown more confident and less anxious, because you always showed confidence and strength, and inspired me to do the same. You have been a hand reaching out to me, pulling me through the most important moments in my young life, as well as a support system in the hardest and most traumatic ones. You have been that constant presence that I have never worried about losing, and one of the most valuable friends I have ever had, ever.
(Are you crying yet? No? Well, I’ll keep going then)
Without you, who knows where I would be? I likely wouldn’t have continued marching band, certainly not into college. I would have been alone in that car in November 2014, to be left with the result of my failure all alone. I might have not gone to Italy in 2018 because I would have been too nervous to go to the meeting by myself and would have never experienced the most amazing views and experience that I have ever had. I might have not even been in the Associates in Arts program if you hadn’t have been in it, too (yes, the program is weird and it’s questionable, but I saved a lot of money so like thanks for that). To go further, I may not have even gone to UD and gone as far away from Delaware as possible like I’d wanted to do, and would have ended up far away and alone, and I never would have had all of the experiences that I’ve had at this University, and in this band. I would never have the inside jokes, the laughs, and the triumphs of being a part of this band. I never would have been able to experience the feeling of being on the field for the last time, knowing just how much I loved what I had done, in the home I found there.
You are my origin story, dude. You are why I am who I am. And I am so thankful for your friendship throughout these years and look forward to being friends for life, all because your mom offered to pick me up for band camp "#$%
(At this point, you had better be crying because I literally am right now.) Thank you so much, Madison.
Conclusion
So, to wrap this thing up, thank you so much to the UDMB for everything, and an even bigger thank you to Sarv and Jim, you guys are the beating heart of this organization and I know we all appreciate how much the two of you do for us. I loved being a part of this band and hope to come back in years to come and watch this awesome organization do its thing.
Now is about the time where I get sappy and traditional and quote the song, and I really wasn’t going to but fine.
In my life, I’ve loved them all.