Marching Band 2012

I could write a book on this.  Marching band.

No, we are not "band geeks" in a "marching band cult".  Well.. most of us, anyways.  ;).  

I am the drum major of my school marching band.
We march and perform at the half time show at every home football game. Our school sadly doesn't compete (perform and get rated). However, we still do take band seriously. I think my band director said it best - "We aren't a party band but we know how to party!"


My freshman year, I played the alto saxophone in marching band.  This was only fun because of a fellow freshman named Doug.  He is a really funny guy and made marching band really fun for me, as our section was always laughing at his jokes.  However, the whole year, I really looked up to the drum line.  They are (in my eyes) the coolest section in band. From talking to people in band, I am convinced that there is a little part in everyone that secretly yearns to be in the drum line.  I left the saxophone section for the drum line.  I made the bass line and played the second biggest drum (it was pretty heavy and I definitely gained some back muscles during marching band season).

When it came to the end of my sophomore year, drum major tryouts came up.  I really thought hard about being a drum major and decided to try out.  I got the position along with one of my best friends, Joe. 


In the summer leading up to band camp this year, I got together with Maria (a senior who was drum major last year and again this year) and Joe (the other new drum major who is a sophomore) to plan out band camp.  This is when I began to realize exactly what I signed up for.  I honestly tried out for drum major thinking that it wouldn't be that difficult.  I hardly ever saw the drum majors last year and thought they had it just as hard as everyone else.  What I failed to realize until the summer leading up to band camp was how much work the drum majors actually have to do.  Over my insanely busy summer (full of biking and traveling to bike races and cycling camps), I somehow had to fit in an extra summer camp in Wisconsin (http://daniellemullis.blogspot.com/2012/08/fjm-drum-major-camp.html) (to learn how to conduct), plan out how to conduct all of the music, think of multiple games to play during band camp, create salutes to use before starting conducting, and think of fun things for each section to do to bond with each other.


Having three drum majors, I had to learn how to efficiently communicate throughout the marching band season.  Maria already had a year of experience under her belt and knew how things should be done.  However, I had to learn that my ideas aren't always the best thing to do.  All three of us drum majors had different ways of dealing with issues this year which honestly caused conflict.  With three of us, there were three different ways of solving problems that arose which I had to learn to deal with, without getting frustrated.

Conducting pep band music during the game.

Leading the band out.



We did a latin themed show this year so all the drum majors dressed up.

 

Maria, Joe and Me

This was taken at the competition we went to later in the season. It looks sunny but was really cold and windy!

Mary (one of my friends on color guard), me and Joe very late in the season at a parade.
During the season, I created new friendships and strengthed friendships with old friends.

Something else I had to do was to learn to think on my feet.  Leadership.  I've never had a real leadership position in my life.  However, being drum major presented me with many opportunities.  I am very excited to be the head drum major next year because there are many ideas I have for the band. I don't want to give too many away but I would really like the football coach (who has been an inspiration to me in the past) to talk to the band kids about how important the marching band actually is.  The football coach is really big on school spirit and I think it would be really inspirational to the band kids if they realize that what they do is important.  Although I did sometimes miss playing in the drum line, I loved being drum major this year. I've grown as a person and as a leader.

Junior Year of High School

School.  Many kids have a love-hate relationship with school.  I know that I do.  I am in the IB (international baccealuriate) diploma program, which is kinda cool.  In very simple terms, we don't memorize facts (which is what a lot of AP is), but we learn how to apply facts we are taught.  We also have to write the "extended essay" and do CAS hours (creative, active, and service hours).
Anyway, the classes I'm taking at school this year are unique but also a lot of work.
I am taking a religion class. Last year I took New Testament and this year is morality.  Basically, we learn what is right and wrong and how we know what we know is right and wrong. It is required that we take religion at my school for all 4 years.
I am taking spanish 9/10 in preparation for AP spanish my senior year. We talk, listen to, and write in all spanish.We talk and write only in Spanish. Most of the conversations we have are on general, every day topics, such as our family and friends.  We read books and watch movies in Spanish, too.
And of course, I am in marching band!  I also take jazz band as a 9th hour class (after school class). 
All my other classes are AP, or college level, classes:
AP Statistics is the class which I am doing the best in. I've always prefered math class than any other class because of how logical it is.  There are a certain number of steps you follow to do a certain number of problems.  The end. In my mind, it doesn't really require as much thinking as writing a three page essay like we do in other classes. 
IB Biology is a 2 year course in which we do many, many experiments.  It goes very deep into the many layers of biology.  It's a very intense course as we cover a lot of material in a very short amount of time.
IB English is also a 2 year course.  We study how we interract with other people through different languages and dialects. We also improve our writing skills. Apparently after this class, everyone learns how to write a drop-dead amazing college application essay.
IB Economics.  This sounded incredibly boring to me when I signed up for it last year. However, it is actually sort of interesting.  In this class we learn about how businesses work and how customers react to different things such as sales and price changes.
Theory of Knowledge. This is a course required to get the IB diploma.  It is by far the weirdest class I've ever taken.  We walked into class on the first day and the teacher (who is an elderly priest) asked us "how do you know? how do you know what you know? and how do you know what you know is true?". This sounds confusing but my answer to the first answer was "We know because of what we are taught" but then the question arose, "well how do you know what you taught is true?".  We talk about simple questions for ages.  Another question he asked was "who are you?". Simple question right? But if you really think about it, who are we really?  Do our bodies, per say, make up who we are or is it just our minds who make us who we are?  And what makes me different from anyone else?  Anyway, I am very excited for this class because it's hardly any written work but mostly just a class in which I show up with 9 other people and talk about subjects such as the meaning of life, how the mind works, and how we interract with each other.
Many people may think that school is "boring".  That is very, very true at times.  However, I think that we should make the most of it while we're there and challenge ourselves.  Afterall, "The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you," (B.B King). 

Summer 2012

After finishing off my sophomore year with some solid grades in June, I had exactly 80 days of summer until my junior year of highschool started.  In the first week of summer, I really got to relax. I basically chilled, went swimming, and did a lot of biking.
The next week, I went to a Health Explorers Camp at the University of Michigan.  One of the professions that appeal to me is a trauma surgeon. It's something I'd like to look into at least.  This camp was four days and we looked into many of the health fields, such as dentistry, emergency medicine, and pharmacy.  Suprisingly, dentistry somewhat appealed to me. I learned a lot on this camp and it really got me thinking about college.  The campus was beautiful and I had a lot of fun. 
Soon after this camp, I went to the 2012 USA Cycling Juniors U23 Elite Road National Championships. In simpler terms, I went to junior road nationals. I was very pleased with how I did. I got 14th in the road race, 16th in the time trial, and 4th in the criterium.  These races pushed me to the limits.  It was very hot and the importance of hydration was really enforced into my head.  I am excited to do 15-16 girls again next year and hope to bring home some hardware.

My medal from nationals

On the podium.

After road nationals, I went to New York to my first USA cycling development camp.  This was an amazing experience.  We stayed at college dorms and woke up early every day to go a ride.  When I think of New York, I think of big cities such as New York, New York.  However, we stayed in the northern part of NY where there were many mountains, lakes, and trees.  Not only did we ride at the camp, but we also did tests which were sent to USA cycling to determine whether or not we will be invited to the Olympic Training Center. These tests were uphill and even though they were not very far in terms of milage, they were very hard.  Living in the area where I live, there are almost no hills, yet alone mountains (just to prove my point- even the local ski hill is built on a garbage pile, not a real hill).  I learned a lot about bike maintanence, turning professional, bike fittings, and bike handling.  This camp was really fun and it is definitely something I would recommend to anyone, whether they are 14 or 20 years old and definitely something I could do again.

Me, 20 guys, 3 coaches, and one world champion (Gordon Singleton--- it was awesome!
He talked to us about his racing experience - really motivational!)

The last day of camp, I left knowing that it was an experience I would remember for the rest of my life. I went to Canada with my mom to join the Mt. Borah team for the Tour de Rimouski. (Check out my blog on that race-- http://daniellemullis.blogspot.com/2012_07_01_archive.html).  
We spent a day in Montreal first...

Mommy Mullis  :)

Notre Dame Cathedral

Inside Notre Dame Cathedral

China Town.

People doing Tai Chi (this was so cool!)

Once I came back from Rimouski, I went to Wisconsin to a drum major camp (http://daniellemullis.blogspot.com/2012/08/fjm-drum-major-camp.html) then came back the next week for band camp (http://daniellemullis.blogspot.com/2012/08/marching-band-camp.html). 
Over the summer I did many Michigan races. I upgraded to a cat 3 on the road at the end of last year. I raced a lot of cat 3 races and gained a lot of experience riding with the fast pro 1/2 riders. 

I raced and set all new 200, 500, 1k and 2k records for my age group on the track.

I was in a team pursuit team with my brother and 2 other teammates.

My grandparents bought me a Trek Cronus cyclocross bike!

In the last week of summer, we adopted a new cat.  His name is Printz and is a very big cat! 

I also took my first online class. It was a government class and boy, it was a lot of work! If we turned in any assignments late, we got an automatic 0% for the assignment so I really had to be efficient and remember when my assignments were due. It was a lot of work but I'm glad I did the government class (which is a state requirement) online, instead of doing it at school.  
I also took a drivers ed class (segment one) towards the end of the summer and I will get my permit in September!
Speaking of classes, the summer is now over and I've started school.  It has been a great summer and one I will never forget.

Marching Band Camp

This past week, I have been going to school every day for band camp.  This is a camp my school has every year for the kids in band.  We learn to march some of our show and we also memorize our show music.  As a drum major, I had to help plan our band camp.  Joe and Maria, the other two drum majors, and I all had a big say in what games we played at camp and the overall schedule for the week.  We put a lot of time into planning the whole camp and it went quite smoothly.
On Monday, I arrived at 7:30. Everyone arrived at camp and we soon got busy reviewing marching with the people returning to band and teaching the freshmen and newbies how to march.

Freshmen and new people learning marching basics.

We had a jello eating contest, too.  After learning some of our show, practicing our music, and playing games, we all went to CJ Barymores.  This is a really fun place where there are many activities to be played such as mini-golf, rock climbing, go carts, dance dance revolution, and laser tag. It was fun catching up with some of the people I haven't seen all summer. We got back to the school at 9:30 and needless to say, everyone was tired.

On Tuesday we had a pin the tail on the donkey.

On Wednesday, we had a movie night.  We all watched the movie Drumline. 

Everyone had to do many pushups this week
as a punishment for forgetting their instument, folder, music, etc.

On Thursday, we did a pinata.  Everyone stood 40 yards away.
It was really funny to watch the whole band rush to the candy;
it was basically a free-for-all on the football field.

On Friday, we had a dance off, played Just Dance, took pictures in our uniform, and also gave a performance for the parents demonstrating to them how much we accomplished this week. For the dance off, each section (ex. flute seciton, clarinet section, low brass section, etc) picked a song and also had to make up a dance to go along with it. It was really fun to watch.

We all did Just Dance.

Me conducting. Our slip 'n' slide is in the background.

Another picture of me conducting.

One of the things I do as a drum major - make sure everyone stays hydrated.

At the end of the week we gave a performance to the parents
showing what we had accomplished in the week.  I am on the top riser in the right of the picture.
Joe is at the very right of the picture on the smaller riser.

Our color guard practicing. 

The 2012 marching band in our uniforms.  I am in the white at the bottom.
Drum major names left to right: Me, Maria, Joe

Left to right: me, Maria, and Joe.  The 2012 drum majors.

Many people asked me a certain question this week.  I will now answer it.  Yes, it DOES feel really weird to not be marching on the field and YES, I really do miss playing my bass drum in the drum line.  However, I love being drum major.  I am really glad I tried out and made it.  It has been a great experience for me to help take charge of the band.  I love helping the band out and I love conducting. Band camp this year was challenging but was a really big adventure.

FJM Drum Major Camp

A couple of weeks ago, I went away to a camp in Whitewater, Wisconsin.  I flew there by myself which was the first time I have done so. It was really hot the whole time and there was no air conditioning; my parents ended up ordering me a fan for me and my roommate! This camp was mandatory for me to go to because I am one of the drum majors for the marching band at my school (for everyone who doesn't know what a drum major is, I'm the one standing in front of the band conducting everyone). Honestly it was a little strange for me to go to a camp which everyone isn't talking about cycling every single second of the day! It was still really fun getting in touch with that musical side of me again.
Every day at camp we learned a new piece of music in the morning, then had to perform it in the evening.  It is actually quite hard to conduct and it takes a lot of coordination.  While one hand is doing a crescendo, the other hand has to conduct in a pattern indicating where beats 1,2,3, and 4 are.
I think that this camp was an amazing experience.  I went from not being able to conduct, to having the confidence and enough skill to be able to lead and conduct my marching band this year.  I learned a lot about leadership which is something I honestly didn't know much about.  I've never been the captain of a team or in Girl Scouts so I have never had much experience being a leader. However, I think that this camp has given me the tools I need to be a successful drum major this upcoming year.

Tour De la Relève Internationale de Rimouski

This week I pushed myself as hard as I could, learning my limits and getting to know my abilities. I raced for Mt. Borah at the Tour de Rimouski.  It was by far the best racing experience I've ever had.  I arrived with the team in Quebec not knowing what to expect.

Borah Development 3 (Girls 17-18)

Borah Development 1 (Boys 15-16)

Borah Development 2 (Girls 15-16) L to R: Hanna, me, Zoe, Rachael

I stayed in an apartment with my teammates in my age category - Zoe Reeves (from Michigan), Hanna Berkooz (from Michigan), and Rachael Jensen (from Wisconsin).  The first day I was there, I didn't race. The 17-18 girls on my team did a race in the morning in Rimouski. We cheered them on and also pre-rode the team time trial and individual time trial course. It is truly beautiful in Rimouski! It really reminded me of Germany because of all the mountains and rolling fields just outside Rimouski.

We went exploring :)

 

The team (except for Ian McShane - not sure where he is..)
Aren't our team kits cool?! Pink helmets, glasses, shirts, bibs,
and socks!  Definitely the coolest there!

The next day was the first day of the tour.  The course was 68.8 km long with some really huge hills.  I have never in my life climbed as much as I did that first day! (What I didn't know then was that stage 1 is not the hardest stage).  We took a school bus there and the bus did the course backwards to get to the start line.  I couldn't believe that we were going to have to climb all of these hills we were going down! We had to sign in before the race, just like in the Tour de France.  About half a kilometer into the race, there was already a big hill of 17%.  I got dropped after a few kilometers into the race. I eventually found some French-Canadian girls who worked with me until the end of the race.  I still cannot get over the fact that the hills just kept going up.  I remembering turning a corner after a huge climb and what did I see? Another huge climb!  I really respect everyone who wore the King of the Mountain jersey - those hills were insanely steep!  Two of my teammates were out after the first race. Hanna Berkooz had a flat about 10 km from the end and Karen Brocket (17-18) broke her derailleur. Josey Weik crashed a few kilometers before the end of the race but got back up and finished.
Later that afternoon, we had the team time trial. It didn't go very well but was again, really fun.  We didn't ride with aero bars because "the time trial is so short" even though most of the teams did.  It started raining just before the time trial and I was quite suprised how much I enjoyed riding in the rain. The results are really confusing to look at so I'm pretty sure my team (Borah Development 2) was 11th out of 17 teams.  I learned a lot about team time trials and I'm sure that I'd like to try doing the team persuit at track nationals next year.
The next day was almost as brutal as the first.  I stayed with the main pack for just over 20 kilometers but of course, got dropped again.  I was working with my teammate, Rachael Jensen and a group of around 8 girls.  Eventually, a big white truck pulled just in front of us when I realized what it was for - to pace off of! It was so incredibly cool getting to motor pace off of a huge truck and I really felt like I was in the Tour de France ;).  I finished the 75 km race a few minutes after Rachael did.  The best result from our team was Emily Elbers finishing 3rd in the group sprint.

Emily Erbers on the podium

On Saturday was the individual time trial and the criterium.  It was a 6km time trial.
 Later that day was the event I'd looked forward to the whole time.  I stayed with the main group the whole time and couldn't believe the rubber-band effect in the group.  I tried to get toward the front which really helped.  After being in a few quick breakaways (one with the girl in the Malliot Jaune!) and trying to slow the pack down once Zoe Reeves broke away, I felt really great. I was fourth wheel on the second to last lap, ready for the soon coming sprint finish. In the last turn on the second lap, Emma White, who was at the front of the group, crashed. We were going around 28/29 mph and of course, I went right into the back of the girl in front of me.  It all happened so fast but I do remember all the screaming.  My chain half fell off so I quickly put it on and finished the race.  I cannot begin to say how upset I was that I crashed in my best event.

Me in the criterium in the second place position

 But soon I realized that it just wasn't meant to be and that I was incredibly lucky. I know that there were girls on cruches the next day and a girl with a broken collar bone. I came out great with lots of road rash but hardly deep at all. Emily Bramel (Borah 3) ended up 10th and Zoe Reeves came 13th. The Borah boys did a great job sticking with the main group with Josey Weik ending up 21st and Michael Gaines with 29th in a pack of 90 guys!
The last day was the hardest day (when I thought it couldn't get any worse..). But was really fun! It was a 5 lap 10km circuit race. The hill was super steep and lasted about mile?.  It was probably the slowest mile I have ever done in my whole life.
Everyone in my team did a great job sticking with the main pack until the end of the race. I couldn't believe how well all the boys on Borah did considering there were 94 men who started the race! It was amazing getting to race this as it is seriously a mini-Tour de France! (There were motor bikes in front, a caravan behind the peleton, cars to pace off of!). I had sooo much fun meeting everyone on the team. I will miss every one of them.
This whole week has been such a blast! I didn't do very well but this event was a big eye-opener for me. It was amazing getting picked to ride this race and I would like to thank Larry Martin for picking me. I'd also like to thank Jean for being my mom away from home!  Also, Oscar the mechanic did an amazing job making sure our bikes were in perfect condition for the next race. These adults are really great people and I can't wait to see them again in the future.  I'd also like to thank everyone on the Wolverines who has helped me get where I am now so I can have an amazing experience like this! I really appreciate everything everyone has does for me.

Corey Osborne finished with the best result out of the girls
on our team - 5th place overall!

Josey Weik finished with the best result out of
the Borah guys in 36th place.

Just so everyone is aware... While I was away in Quebec, my brother was off winning his first national medal! (3rd place in the standing 500m with a time of 37.88 seconds)..