Student Entry #4

Nicole, 8th grade, flute and piccolo:

At morning band rehearsal Mr. De Stefano told the band that the Midwest letter might come. As afternoon band practice came close, my friends and I got extremely anxious. We all walked into the band room and saw Mr. D smiling but we didn’t know if it meant that we made it or if it meant that he just hadn’t found out yet. We were all jumping up and down in our chairs and squeezing each others hands until our knuckles turned white. Finally it was time for band to start. Mr. D started read the letter. It went something like this:

Mr. D: Dear Chip, On behalf of the Board of Directors, it is my pleasure to invite you….
Band: YEAH!!!!!!!!!!

After cheering, we were all speechless. After he dismissed most of us because we had to go to a special swing choir practice, everyone exchanged hugs and high fives. When we were out of the band room almost all of my friends and I started to cry. Some people were already crying while we were still in the band room. We went into the girls’ bathroom and through tears of joy and hugs discussed how amazing it was. My tears of joy soon turned to tears of sadness though. We’re all eighth graders and since the conference is in December we won’t be able to play. But one thing we all agreed on is that we were going to go to the conference together. The feeling I got when I found out we made it was indescribable joy, I was going to burst with happiness. I had been dreaming of making it since I found out about it. It was one of the best days of my life.

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