M.E. - 1st Trip To Seattle

M.E. (Memorable Experiences) - At lunch Friday afternoon Kyle and I were talking and it came up that I should share some of the experience I have been through. I will try and only mention the interesting experiences hoping that in sharing them and what I learned will shed some light on who I am.


My first trip to Seattle was for the National Championships with the Waterford Eagles Majorette and Drum Corp. It was my first year in the corp and on the very first night in town we performed before hundreds of people in the Grand Ballroom at the Eagles Hall downtown for the Parade of Champions. Many in the audience stood on chairs straining to see us as we entered into the room, the click of our boots matching the beat of the drums in complete unison. Then up on stage to do our routine praying please God don't let me drop my baton now. I had never been up in front of that many people before and I loved it. It was the first time I felt good about who I was and what I could do. It was during that trip when I was in the 6th grade that I said that someday I would live out here and it only took me 21 years to accomplish that.

For six years I was part of the corp and the experience was one of family and friends. My sister and I were majorettes and my brother started on the bugle and then moved up to playing the bass drum as he grew in to it. The members of this team ranged in age from 5 to 18 and traveled around the country each year staying together in hotels, campgrounds and cabins. Taking care of each other, the older kids watching the younger kids while the adults attended conference meetings.

This experience taught me how to stay dedicated, the value of team and preparation. We spent every Monday night of the year practicing two hours, indoors in the winter and out on a parking lot during the summer with sweatshirts on to prepare for the heat of marching in parades in full uniform.

I traveled on my first commercial airline to get to Seattle and we spent time in the hotel pool, riding the monorail to and from the food court at the Seattle Center during our off hours and going to the arcade where I won a number of stuffed animals for the young kids. It was a trip that I look back on with happiness. My years as majorette prepared me for all the travel I have done and gave me a confidence and poise before crowds that comes in handy today.



Next M.E. - Almost Arrested in DC.