By Allison Owen
"April showers bring May flowers" is not the first thing that comes to my mind when I realize that it is now May. The first thing that comes to mind now is "April showers bring May camp and move-in." Of course it doesn't rhyme and it isn't as catchy as the traditional saying, but everyone in drum corps knows what the latter means to them.
As I've said before, there are so many things for me to do before move-in. I sit in class and all that I can think about are the things I have to do and how excited I am. Maybe that's why I had no idea what was going on in our chemistry lab the other day.
School is winding down, although I don't get out for three weeks, and before I realize it I'll be on my way to Memphis. Even then I don't know if it will sink in that I won't be coming back home until August.
Since I won't be home all summer there are extra things I have to do now in order to be ready for school. I don't know about other schools, but my first day of school is Aug. 9. So chances are I might not make it home from Denver in time to get to school. In the past week I've had to sign up for next year's classes and sign my contract for my school's color guard. I've had to inform some of my teachers -- and all of my friends -- that I might not be there for the first day of school. Most of the teachers don't care, but that's a long time to be away from my friends when I normally spend the summer with them. I think it's a fair trade though, because I'm in for a great summer. When I think back to this time last year I remember how much I wished that I could be moving in for a summer of drum corps-even though I had no real sense of what drum corps really is. Now that I've gone to camps and such, it's hard for me to think of how much I've changed in the past year and how much I'm going to change in the next three or four months. Now I'm getting ready for move-in just like I had wanted to, and my dreams are becoming a reality. In these past months I've come to realize that my friends might not ever "get it" and see drum corps the way I do; and I'm OK with that. I also know that this summer is going to be one of the hardest (yet most incredible) summers I'm ever going to experience. I keep getting random tips of advice from vets -- of my corps and others -- about things to expect and what not to expect this summer as well as what to pack or not pack. As the last camp approaches I get more and more excited each day; I'm really about to move in for my rookie summer of drum corps. All I can do now is prepare and keep counting down the days. Before I know it I'll be moving in for the summer of a lifetime. Until then I'll just enjoy the April flowers that bring May camp and move in.
School is winding down, although I don't get out for three weeks, and before I realize it I'll be on my way to Memphis. Even then I don't know if it will sink in that I won't be coming back home until August.
Since I won't be home all summer there are extra things I have to do now in order to be ready for school. I don't know about other schools, but my first day of school is Aug. 9. So chances are I might not make it home from Denver in time to get to school. In the past week I've had to sign up for next year's classes and sign my contract for my school's color guard. I've had to inform some of my teachers -- and all of my friends -- that I might not be there for the first day of school. Most of the teachers don't care, but that's a long time to be away from my friends when I normally spend the summer with them. I think it's a fair trade though, because I'm in for a great summer. When I think back to this time last year I remember how much I wished that I could be moving in for a summer of drum corps-even though I had no real sense of what drum corps really is. Now that I've gone to camps and such, it's hard for me to think of how much I've changed in the past year and how much I'm going to change in the next three or four months. Now I'm getting ready for move-in just like I had wanted to, and my dreams are becoming a reality. In these past months I've come to realize that my friends might not ever "get it" and see drum corps the way I do; and I'm OK with that. I also know that this summer is going to be one of the hardest (yet most incredible) summers I'm ever going to experience. I keep getting random tips of advice from vets -- of my corps and others -- about things to expect and what not to expect this summer as well as what to pack or not pack. As the last camp approaches I get more and more excited each day; I'm really about to move in for my rookie summer of drum corps. All I can do now is prepare and keep counting down the days. Before I know it I'll be moving in for the summer of a lifetime. Until then I'll just enjoy the April flowers that bring May camp and move in.