Personal Narrative: Lebanon High School Marching Band

I am a leader. I have all the qualities that make a great leader, but I was not born this way.Experiences and how someone reacts to those experiences are what truly make a leader. One of the most influential experiences I have gone through is called the Lebanon High School Marching Band. I am certain that I wouldn’t be who I am today if it weren’t for marching band. Before coming to high school I already had leadership qualities, but band helped bring all those great qualities together and helped me get past my two major flaws: my lack of self-confidence and the fact that I was probably one of the shyest people you would EVER meet. When I joined marching band, I spent most of my waking hours sweating and suffering alongside wonderful people that I longed to
I went from the girl who was terrified of speaking her mind to someone who can easily give speeches in front of people and can lead a clarinet section of 20 people. Being responsible for 19 other people is a challenge that freshman me would never have been able to do, and in this way, band has helped me grow into both the leader and the person that I am today. However, band didn’t just help me grow, it made me happy. My memories of band are some of the happiest memories of my life. Memories ranging from praying to all the band gods above for a water break or possibly a nice cloud to shade us from the evil sun to marching and winning sweepstakes at our very first competition and crying our tears of happiness together. I will always cherish these memories.Band acted as my salvation in how it forced me to grow into the leader I am today and how it made me happy. I want college to act as my second salvation. When I first found Arcadia, I wanted to go there simply for the accelerated forensic science program it provided. Then, I visited the campus and realized that I adore it and would love living