OK2BOTAY
During the summer, I took a steel drum class at the TCSBA, (Tri-Cities Steel Band Association,) studio in Richland. At the time, I was set on trying out for Mr. Hampton's middle-school-age marimba band, Baduku. Then, once I started taking the steel drum class, I realized that I was enjoying it so much more than marimba. I quickly made great friends, though, unfortunately, most live in Richland or Pasco.
At the end of the summer, I had a decision to make: whether I would try out for Baduku, or whether I would try to beat the odds and make it into a band playing an instrument I had played for a grand total of three weeks. After waaaay over- analyzing the subject, I found myself standing in front of the TCSBA studio with sweaty palms and a pounding heart. I had expected this to be a "Go up there and play a solo for a bunch of people" sort of audition. Instead, it was exactly like the summer class, but with a bunch of adults walking around with clipboards watching you like a hawk and a brief interview at a random point in the jam session.
Once the audition was over, I waited for a week to see if I recieved an acceptance letter, or whether my expected fate came about and I had to resort to trying out for Baduku. OH THE HORROR!!!! :) One day when I came home from something, (I honestly have no clue what it was,) my mom wordlessly handed me a small beige envelope with my name printed on the front. And the return address? TCSBA Studio. With shaking hands, I carefully opened the envelope and, after a moment's hesitation, pulled out the folded half sheet of paper, dreading having to read the words that would alter my middle school music experience drastically. As soon as I pulled the letter out, my eyes widened in disbelief. There, printed on the front of the letter in ultra-fancy cursive, were the words Welcome to Ok2Botay. I stared at it for a second, blinked hard to make sure I wasn't dreaming, and then proceeded to do what any normal teenage girl would do when given this kind of news: squeal like a scared gerbil. The next five minutes were a euphoric concert of high pitched female hysteria, along with me repeating the words "I got in! I got in!! I can't believe it!!" over and over and over and over and over.....
We went on retreat in October to Camp Touchet for one and a half days, which basically means we played a bunch of group games, ate a ton of food, learned new songs, and stayed up way too late only to fall asleep in the car. In other words, it was the funnest (is that a word?) thing I've ever done, and the second-most exhausting (girls camp gets first prize n that category, no contest.) I came home looking like a zombie that got hit by a car, and fell asleep promptly after coming home. Best two days of my approximately 4775 days on planet Earth. XD
Since then, my life has been a flurry of weekly hour and a half rehearsals, surprise cancellations/extra practices, and concerts that generally leave me with the most amazing blend of giddiness, accomplishment, pride, and amazement that I didn't forget something major and flop on at least one of our sadly small selection of songs. Our last concert was on New Year's Eve at the Southridge Sports Complex, and I personally think it was amazing!! We performed the song Numa Numa for the first time ever, and i can honestly say that I did not mess up too bad. :)
All in all, Botay has been the best thing that has ever happened to me, even though I am part of the ten percent of the band members that lives in Kennewick, and the two others are home schooled/ attending Horse Heaven Hills. I feel so sorry for her! Mr Legget is an amazing teacher, and like forty percent of the people there are Mormon, so I'm not alone!! I've made tons of awesome friends, and the music is absolutely amazing to listen to, and even more fun to play. I love Ok2Botay!
All in all, Botay has been the best thing that has ever happened to me, even though I am part of the ten percent of the band members that lives in Kennewick, and the two others are home schooled/ attending Horse Heaven Hills. I feel so sorry for her! Mr Legget is an amazing teacher, and like forty percent of the people there are Mormon, so I'm not alone!! I've made tons of awesome friends, and the music is absolutely amazing to listen to, and even more fun to play. I love Ok2Botay!
