Personal Narrative: My Field Position

I am, as of a December 2015, a third year participating member of the Southern Pride Marching Band here at Georgia Southern University. Music and the performing arts plays a huge role in my life, as it has given me the opportunity to travel and perform at various venues around the country. I have also met most of my closest friends through music, sharing experiences that I will cherish for years to come. Since my freshman year of high school, my skill as a percussionist has continued to grow. This past summer, in fact, I was presented with opportunity to march with Alliance Drum and Bugle Corps.

I was sitting on the bench in the last inning of our fourth game wondering if I was ever going to get to play when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned to see my coach gazing down at me. He gave me a sly grin and said, "get a helmet, you 're on deck. " I had to swallow my shock. I jumped up and hurried over to the on deck circle.

My BIST placement was at Highland Pines School, a special needs school. I was in their gym class and in their pool classroom. I was giving the opportunity many times to run gym class by myself, take attendance, do paperwork, organize practices and help run slideshows for assemblies. I was able to get a great idea of what it would be like to be a physical education teacher for special needs students. I learned many things about the work world from my experience.

For my Diverse Field Experience this semester, I spent fifteen hours at the Mclean County Juvenile Detention Center. This particular center was occupied by about 8-14 juveniles at a time, all depending on court dates and occupancy of other nearby detention centers. This center usually had 3 staff members working the shift every time I went, which was seven to nine on weekday afternoons. I was intrigued to go to at this time because I thought it would be the time of the day were the juveniles had no school work or other obligations to do while I was there. I wanted to see what they liked to do in the free time before bed, the only stipulation being mandatory snack time at eight pm.

I know exactly how to motivate my underclassmen when they tell me “I can’t do this anymore.” Over the last four years, I have succeeded in leading my group of 13 saxophone players to two State

It happened on June 11, 2015. My lacrosse team won our regional quarter final game the previous day—I scored my personal best of five goals and was named Player of the Game. As a reward for the win, my coach gave us a three hour practice the next day that was strictly conditioning—leaving the seniors 30 minutes to go home, shower, change, and drive to our Senior Dinner at Bowdoin College. I raced home from practice, my sweat sticking to the car leather seats, music blasting, and the wind in my hair. I had the future on my mind: playoffs, graduation, summer, and college.

I was a little nervous that I was going to mess up either playing notes or my feet wouldn’t be in line. “Mark time mark,” shouted the drum major. When the parade started and we started marching I thought that I was going to do a great job this parade. The big booming brass section sounded amazing for Funkytown and Our School Song. While we marched my back felt like fire.

To the average person, the high school marching band is nothing more than a bunch of geeks that play during half time at the football games or monopolize the benches by the band hall, but to me, it is so much more. To me it is a family, a safe haven, a creative outlet, a home. I have been involved in marching band for three years, going on four, and I wouldn 't trade the experience for anything. When I entered high school as a scared and awkward freshman, I immediately had three hundred people that I could rely on. The program quickly became like a second home to me and opened up a whole new path in my life.

The harmonies between our bodies are the same as the harmonies that come out of our horns. Every player is so integral to each other’s success that we become a family; a unit of music lovers and determined peers. To me, marching band isn’t just an extracurricular, it’s a place where I can work hard for a magnificent show while spending time with amazing people. To me, it’s a place to express my feelings through my instrument and feel the goosebumps rise while playing with others.

But in my haste I realized there was something that I had forgotten. Something that I have always done before while in a public restroom. I had forgotten to check for toilet paper. It was times like this that I would smack the palm of my head to my forehead. But the truth is, forgetting to check for toilet paper, for your keys before you get out of the car, or why you came in the room in the first place.

We are doing a career day at school I choose 3 career jobs. These are mathematical engineer, chemical engineer, and youtuber. I really likes these jobs because I love math, science, and youtuber, I also want a job that I would love to do everyday and not a job that i would hate for the rest of my life. My first career choice is mathematical engineer.

It was late at night when I ran. There was police sirens everywhere around the prison yard .I tried finding a safe place back home but there wasn’t any. All I could do is run and hide.

The person who I am working with is a 29 year-old Caucasian female. She is single with no children. She graduated from college with a Bachelor 's in psychology. Currently she is attending graduate school full time, and works part time for the local city in the sporting events. She is the eldest child in her family, and has one brother and sister.

I have learned many of the values, qualities, and struggles of the real world. Even though am eighteen years old, for the past two years I have had four jobs. Each of those jobs have taught me the qualities it takes to live in the real world, but I believe my personality is one of my greatness trait. I am a person who is sociable, friendly, and trustworthy. And the jobs I have had have only improved my personal traits, in every way.

While no longer young, I was over forty without a serious career. With an interest in ballroom dancing, I worked as a volunteer disc jockey for my uncle’s dance club. This gave me a new set of acquaintances to interact. This was also a place to network. I was willing to work any job, even a low-level one or a side job to pay bills.