The gifts drum corps hath given me.
Efficiency. I am now so fast at showering and/or getting ready to go somewhere, it’s unbelievable. I’ve put boyfriends to shame. Drum corps also made me a firm believer of getting it done right the first time (although I’m pretty sure that if you did this in drum corps, you would still have to do more reps…just to make sure that right time wasn’t a fluke).
Appreciation for convenience stores. Have you ever paused to wonder what life was like before there were stores like Wal-mart, the one-stop shopping solution? You can pick up almost anything you need here. Or at least, anything you need to survive in the drum corps world. This includes, but is not limited to, sunscreen, bathing suit tops, musical electric toothbrushes, deodorant, tampons, and candy.
Appreciation for two-ply toilet paper. Do you know how many high schools in this country only use single-ply toilet paper? And how many public restrooms only use single-ply toilet paper? Let me tell you, almost every single one. I will never again take for granted the feeling of double-ply toilet paper.
Hatred for shoes. In drum corps, when you don’t have to be wearing tennis shoes, you don’t. You wear flip flops (or Crocs, but those aren’t my style).
Friends. Yet I curse Glassmen for giving me friends all over the globe who I can never see. Everyone from the years I marched will NEVER be back together in one place. That’s a weird feeling. So to you Glassmen-folk who read this, know that I love you dearly and I wish it was possible for us to talk/hang out out more. Please come to California and visit. Kthnx.
The ability to quickly articulate what I want to say. You learn to talk and get your point across fast when you’re not supposed to be talking. Oops, I mean….I would never talk during rehearsal.
Multitasking skills like whoa. Have you ever tried to march 4 to 5 at 200bpm AND play your horn at fortissississimo AND not run into the colorguard girl spinning a flag 2 inches from your face? (Do you even have any idea what I’m talking about?) Yeah, it takes brainpower.
A sleeping disorder. I swear I’m still catching up on missed sleep from the 2 summers I marched…
A giant collection of athletic clothing. I probably own 30 sports bras, 12 pairs of running shorts, and 20 pairs of dri-fit underwear. Oh, and 6 bathing suit tops that don’t have matching bottoms (or they DID have matching bottoms but the tops have faded from the sun so much that they no longer match the bottoms).
Abs. No amount of frequenting the gym will ever leave my torso looking as good as immediately following tour.
Props.