I am from New Jersey and am six hours from home. This does not seem like a big deal to most, but being a family guy, I needed a group that I could call my family away from home. The Pep Band quickly found and recruited me.
I became the freshman representative of the club during my first year because I fell in love with the club’s environment. No other club helped me realize that while academics are important, so is having fun during the weekends.
I was the typical Honors student who always had an abundance of homework, only to cram it all into the weekends. One of the members of the band called me on a Sunday morning early in my first year. I had multiple essays due the next day that I had procrastinated writing, and he said, “Nick. You will not remember being up past 10, but you will remember having fun with the band.”
To this day, I take his advice because he is right. Am I up till 11 some nights? Yes. Sometimes I’m up until 1, but I do not remember the work I was doing. I do remember going to Lampson Falls with the band that Sunday though. We swam, hiked and hung out. I was able to leave my phone behind and enjoy being in the present for the first time in months. Whether it be participating in hockey games, kickball, black death ball, hiking trips, away games, apple picking or pumpkin picking, the Pep Band never fails to disappoint me. I am always in a good mood while I am with the band.