College Admissions Essay
Lambuth University - Admissions Essay
Stefanie A. Bush
The stadium light glared upon me as the sweat dripped down my back. I stood at attention thinking, “Please God don’t let me fall.” I’d never performed in front of a crowd before and this was it. The voice came over the loud speaker, “Drum Majors, is your band ready?” A few seconds later the command whistle sounded and onto the field we marched. Never in my life had I heard a cheer so overwhelming.
“Under the field direction of Mr. Daryl Clark, I present the Coral Reef Barracuda Marching Band with The Battle of Sherwood Forest.”
We were dressed in black costumes with teal and silver shields across the chests. We stood behind giant paper mache trees. When the command was given and the band began to play, the crowd was on their feet. I marched out from behind my tree and looked into the stands. The sea of teal I saw was overpowering. I took in a sharp breath as I read the banner flying high. “Good luck Cuda Band! We love you!” I knew that even if we lost this competition we were still winners in the eyes of our parents.
I marched that show with great pride and never messed up once. I was beaming with delight as I marched off the field. It took every ounce of control for me not to jump into the air and scream with pleasure. After all, our biggest lesson had always been that we were performing until we were back at the school.
I lined up with the rest of the band to take our group pictures and prepare for the awards. We stood in block formation and sent the drum majors to the acceptance stand. I made my way next to my best friend and without anyone noticing I took her hand in mine and silently said a prayer, “Please Lord let us do well.” I listened as the announcer gave out the awards. The anticipation was killing me.
And then, after I felt like I’d aged 10 years I heard what we’d been waiting for. “And the Grand Champions of the 2000-2001 Lely Trojan Tournament of Bands is the Coral Reef Barracuda Band!” I squeezed my best friends hand so hard. The smile that I had would take a lot to cease at this point. Mr. Clark tried to keep us professional but we new he was as proud as we were. At his command the drum line started a cadence and the entire band danced across the football field towards the busses.
I’d never been more proud in my life. All the hot frustrating rehearsals had finally paid off. We finally had something to show for all the work we’d been doing. I thought that nothing could make me happier at that moment.
Then I looked up. And I saw my grandma, my mother and both of my beautiful sisters making their way towards me with smiles as big as mine. My little sister threw herself into my arms telling me she loved me and loved our show and was so proud. And that smile, that I thought was already incredible, actually got bigger. I realized at that moment more than ever that my sisters were my best friends. In ten years it will be them who will remember and share these moments with me. And I realized exactly how much I do love them, how much I love my mother and grandmother, and how much I love music that brings us all together!