Assignment 6- Angelica Malkowski

Prompt #1: Write about an activity that has changed your life or perspective in some way.

Prompt #2: If you were any periodic table element, which would you be?

Prompt #3: If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? (Including physical appearance, personality, likes, dislikes, talents, etc.)

1. An activity that both infuriates and motivates me is marching band. I both hate it yet could not live without it. I have never invested so much time nor energy into something else in my life. And by energy I mean emotions and pieces of me. In many ways, I would not be who I am today without marching band- many of my close friends, my plans for the future, and my personal growth over the past two years would all be different. I have learned so many lessons because of marching band. One of the most important being putting a group above yourself. Marching band is one of the few activities where everyone participates. There are no “bench warmers.” There is no, “Sorry, I’m just having a bad day, put someone else in.” Everyone- instrumentalist, guard member, or percussionist- is irreplaceable, with no one waiting to “sub” in for them. If someone misses rehearsal, it makes everything harder for everyone else. For example, if a trumpet player is missing, there will be a hole in the drill where they should be. This makes the job of everyone around them that much harder, because they can no longer depend on that person. Of course, a good marcher should be able to march an entire show all by himself. But in order to properly “dress a form” (make a straight diagonal, a correctly curved arc, etc.) there cannot be holes from people missing. So even if I’m exhausted and I have a ton of homework, and it’s hot out, and there are a million other things I’d rather be doing, I come to practice anyway, and I give it my all. Because that is the only way the group can get better. I say all this not to boost my own self-importance, but rather to demonstrate how marching band has taught me to put the group before myself.