A familiar voice ran through our mind, as we would hear our band director say after every practice, “We actually have a chance at State this year.”

It is contest day and we are all prepared, month after month of training has not trained us for the moments to come. We have been through rain and shine, and intense heat that could cause metal to melt. Our hearts went to the seniors and the juniors who will probably never march again for White Oak High School.

“What if we don’t place?” Everybody was thinking this but nobody wanted to be the one who said it out loud.

“Let’s get going.” We here Mr. Steele say as we finish loading our horns onto the band trailer.

“We are about to experience something that many people won’t ever get to experience.” Mr. Steele stated as we were hours away from marching in the Alamo Dome.

After a bus ride of pure silence, like the world had complete stopped, we arrived at a beautiful building that we would soon be marching in. The building had obviously seen some years, but it was a marvelous sight to see. Looking at the towering stadium in front of me, I was reminded of the ocean, because the pillars on top rose and fell like the waves on open sea.

As the hours went by my heart started beating harder and harder, the nervousness was setting in. We would soon be marching in front of all of our fans, and in one of the biggest marching competition in Texas for our region.

The moment finally arrived, we were now standing in the tunnel entrance for the moment we had been working towards for around 4 months. Every day in whatever whether.

“Next for the 2a state, White Oak High School.” We heard the announcer boom into the microphone. Our fans stood up and screamed for us, then there was a drum cadence, then we were off.

“You know what you are doing,” I herd Mr. Whatley state.” Y’all have performed this drill many times.”

We could only focus on the people around us, they were the only ones who the true excitement of what we were doing. We performed our drill with all the crossing and the cool military songs that were singed into our minds, and at the end the crowd clapped whether they liked us or not.

When it came time for the announcer to announce the bands that placed, we weren’t one of them. Sadness fell upon us, like the dark of night. No one wanted to say what could have been, because for a lot of people this was the last time. The ones who would have the opportunity to experience this again were thinking what we could do to win next time.

It was a sad moment for some, and some were just glad that we made it that far. It is an experience that we will never forget. After all very few bands in the state of Texas get to experience.