I didn’t know what to expect when I showed up at the first day of marching band. I didn’t know anyone, and I knew basically nothing about the club. I had, however, heard a lot about the competitions, something I was looking forward to. So I, like a lot of others, was very disappointed when it didn’t happen.

As a freshman, I have no idea what marching band would be like any other year. That could be a good thing; it means that normally we would be able to do a lot more. But that also means that I can’t judge whether or not I should stick with the sport because I’ve only experienced half of it. 

The lack of competitions this year is just one thing that has changed; marching band itself has been wildly different than a normal year. This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone—almost all the sports and clubs have been restricted due to covid-19, and these restrictions have made it a lot more difficult to stay with the club.

One of the biggest parts of marching band is the competitions, which didn’t happen this year. The closest we got to an actual performance was when we played music for our parents at the Stutler Bowl. And even then, all we did was march in a circle and then stand in the middle of the field—we did more at practice. Instead of marching at football games, we just played music for the few people that were there.

Obviously, marching band is not the only club or sport that has been affected by covid-19. Many of the clubs at Creek have been restricted to meeting on online video calls. Just getting to practice is what makes us so lucky—most of the marching bands at other schools were cancelled completely.  

Like many other high school clubs and sports, marching band is an activity that allows students to experience new things, make friends, meet new people, and discover what you enjoy and don’t like. In short, it allows you to explore who you are and understand yourself better. It’s a huge part of high school. Sadly, covid has prevented students from experiencing the fully realized high school experience. 

There is an upside to all of this, though. Now we have something to look forward to next year. Covid can’t last forever—some of us will hopefully be able to have a normal year in high school, or a normal freshman year in collage. We will be able to appreciate what we took for granted before covid.