Hello Internet! I have returned!
So it's been about a month since I last posted because so much has happened that I am either going somewhere, doing something, or finishing said thing and recovering from it in the form of excessive sleeping or Netflix binging, just to wake up and do it all over again the next day and the next and the next. Therefore, I have a lot to report.
October Reviewed
Band
Band has been insanely busy. October is make or break time for any marching band, and for the most part, I think we've done our best to make it. On October 4th we competed for the very first time this season and placed first in Prelims and in Finals, winning every category except one. Not a bad way to start, but it also gave us a little bit of a superiority complex, which has never served us well in the past. At a competition the next week, we went up against some "stiffer" competition in the form or long-time rival Fleming Island and a band from Georgia three times our size. We placed third overall in Prelims, even with an extremely biased judging panel. Needless to say we were angry and hungry to prove ourselves in Finals. The Finals show was in a word. Epic. The crowd was on their feet and the staff was bouncing up and down with joy and pride. The judges wanted a show, we gave 'em a show. Still placed 3rd in Finals but we were still ecstatic after that run. Then began, what I can see now retrospectively, the slump. Practices were lame and unfocused, final runs after rehearsal were unsatisfactory and we seemed to be losing the smile that band is supposed to put on our faces. It was now that Side 2, my unofficial officerial territory since only a handful of upperclassmen and one lucky officer were located within a 40 foot radius. So I took a little more responsibility over them, running sectionals (although only one successfully up to this point) and guiding them during practices. And they're improving, slowly but steadily and emphasis on slowly. Our competition was the next Saturday and I got to band guide my little brother's band. It was so wonderful because I got to watch my baby bro at his and his band's first competition in history and have the cushy competition job that does basically nothing for the whole day. They got absolutely terrible scores and as my brother put it, "two trophies for showing up". We had a pretty kickin' show for working 12 hours beforehand so the night was pretty chill overall. The next week was FBA. One run. No scores. No places. Just ratings. Our district is pretty lax when it comes to marching bands so we were the superstars of the show. That show was rockin' as well and we were greeted on the field by St. Augustine and Ponte Vedra High Schools shouting us a verbal Good Luck, just like we had to them 5 hours earlier and at the end the crowd gave us a standing ovation. Crazy and awesome. Afterwards we walked to our trailers and nearby Bartram Trail was chanting our name as we walked by. Then the infamous Senior Circle, where we prayed to Based God and sang songs and laughed and reveled in the wonderful moment. Our director came back with the plaque symbolizing our Straight Superior Ratings. It was the crowning gem on the extremely awesome night. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to get that feeling back recently. More bad rehearsals and time spent auditioning for Indoor Winter programs and less time nurturing our show to its full potential. We need a kick in the butt and we need it now.
Wow, that was just band. Yeesh.
School
First of all, damn, IB is hard. The month of October has been filled with EE deadlines and meetings (EE check-in - Topic is How were the usages of ancient Greek and Chinese horoscopes similar in their respective cultures? Total of 1000 out of 4000 words written. Due mid-December. Terrified), Internal Assessment outlines and drafts in at least 3 different classes and a general lack of caring about any of them. Never have I been so inclined to do anything other than my homework. I just doesn't seem worth it anymore. Calculus BC has simply become a place to recreate how they did calculator calculations when there were no such things. My argument is, I have a calculator, why can't I just use that? Notes don't seem worth it either because at this point I either know the material or I don't. I talked about having Senioritis at the beginning of the school year but I think I've gotten worse. It's progressed to Senior-bola or something like that. It's bad.
And then there's what happens after this year. College apps a plenty over at Casa Colleen. So far I have officially applied to UF and FSU and Rice, UVa, UNC Chapel Hill and spur-of-the-moment, last minute addition UC Berkeley are in the works. I swear, if I see another text box saying what words exemplify my character or what my life aspirations are, I'm going to go mad. I'll let you know how that pans out in Oh say, 3 or 4 months. Ughh.
Other Life Things
Haha, psych! I don't have a life outside of band or school, that would be just silly. But really, my job has been good. I finally got all my paperwork turned in so I actually got paid this month and a baby fell asleep in my arms and it was about the cutest thing ever. I skipped my last Homecoming dance to watch Halloweentown and eat food with a few of my besties, so really who were the real winners in that situation?
That's essentially October in a nutshell. A blog post to make up for all of the ones I didn't write this month. November will have interesting things to come so hopefully more frequent posts. Catch ya'll later, I have an IA draft to write :P
Have a hopefully stress-free November 9th,
Colleen
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