The countdown started not 187 days ago. No, the countdown to this event began when I signed up for band as a mere 8th grader. I was all planned on quitting, I didn't want to have to do marching band. The silly hats, the extra practices, it just didn't seem like something for me. But then, my best friend and I heard something that changed both of our minds. Every four years, our high school's band makes a trip to Disney World. I had some reconsidering to do. While my reason for joining band may have been a bit selfish, I'm so incredibly glad that I changed my mind. I can't even imagine my life if I hadn't called up my councilor and begged him to fit band into my freshman year schedule. Band is something I enjoy and look forward to. It's where almost all of my closest friends have come from. It feels like - while not everyone necessarily likes each other - everyone loves each other like family. That's why tomorrow afternoon, dressed in sweat pants and no makeup, we will all board buses to embark on the 22 hour journey to the happiest place on Earth.
The bus ride will be loud, excruciatingly long, and by the end, I'm sure we'll be smelled all the way from the Magic Kingdom. However, I'm actually looking forward to it. My friends and I have decided to look upon the journey as a good thing. Not a time to dread, but a time that we can spend with our friends; watching movies, playing card games, trying to sleep, failing at trying to sleep, laughing, and belting out Disney music.
I'm wary of this trip for one reason, and one reason alone. I'll miss my family. We're traveling during Thanksgiving, my second favorite holiday. I'll miss my sister coming home from college, the most delicious food of any Thanksgiving anywhere (aka, the kitchen of both of my grandmas), and preparing for the upcoming Christmas season. This is all stuff that I look forward to every year, and I'll be gone. Not only that, but in my past, I've only gone to Disney World with my family. We all know who likes what rides, and which rides are the biggest priority for fastpasses, and where everyone loves to have lunch. With friends, it's a different experience. Not that it will be a bad one. Just different. I'll have completely different experiences and opportunities that I would never have if I was just going with my family. But that doesn't mean I won't feel a pang of sadness when I go on Splash Mountain and my Dad isn't there to scream higher pitched than his three daughters. When I go on Haunted Mansion and my sister isn't there to throw doll heads into the deepest pits of the ride (yes that happened, don't ask). When my Mom isn't there to obsess over Norwegian food with.
I'll miss my family. But I'll be traveling with a different kind of family. My band family. No, it won't be the same. It will be great, new, and incredible, just in a completely different way. And when I am marching down Main Street, surrounded by Mickey and his friends, in front of Cinderella's Castle, it'll all be worth it. The days of counting down, missing Thanksgiving, it will all cease to matter. And with that, I urge you all to watch the Disney World Thanksgiving Day Parade, live streaming at www.banddirector.com
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