I can’t wait to see the groups perform and see how good I need to be to get there. I want to join a group and play for people. Drumming is a really big part of my life. When ever I am mad or sad I like to drum, it calms me down. It is really fun for me and my brother also, we both play drums and I can’t wait to play with him. He taught me and I am very glad he did, it changed my life.

Winter Guard International (WGI) is a competition that teens drum at. There are groups like The Cadets, Genesis, and Matrix. They march and play drums, which are
snare drum, tenor drum, and bass drum. It is a really high level of drumming that is really amazing to watch. They combine the notes together so it sounds like one person drumming and not like 30. They also practically act when they are performing to tell a story and get the audience involved.

We got there and almost didn’t find a parking spot. It was packed with cars plus there was a jerk that pulled in right in front of you. Jeez how can we find a spot if there are rude people every where to cut us off I thought. It’s like everyone is here to make us walk even further or just annoy us. We really don’t have patience for bad drivers so this was really making us mad.
“Why are people so rude?” I questioned.
“I have no clue I just wish I just had a minigun,” my dad said. He is a little on the no patience side too. He gets angry very fast and doesn’t like people much. Jeez Dad a little angry aren’t we? Every day you're angry why aren’t you happy?
“No you don’t need a minigun,” mom disciplined.
“But please, I really want one,” He said bashfully. Mom almost always declines his ideas and make him look silly.
“No,” mom said finalizing the conversation.
As we were walking up to the arena  I was considering its size.  It was huge compared to anything I’ve seen in my life; so that scared me a little. It was Dayton University’s basketball arena. They took out the court and let the groups put mats down which let them create even more of a setting then just props.
“This is loud, I don’t really like it,” I yelled. I don’t have the ears for loud stuff yet so this kind of hurt.
“Yeah you’ll get used to it,” mom said.
“I really hope so because this isn’t what I want to happen the whole time I'm playing,” I said with a ringing in my ear.

We walked in when a group was playing so we had to wait for a while until they were done. They don’t let people walk around when groups are playing because they don’t want much distraction or people blocking views. Our seats were more in the front of the arena so we didn’t see the shapes the groups marched but we heard them. As the first group in the division we wanted started, I got a really weird feeling like I was about to perform but I wasnt.

“This is awesome I can not wait for my brother to come,” I exclaimed.
“Yeah I wish he could be performing but they were in 17th and needed to be in 10th or better,” my mom said. They performed the day before in a semifinal but didn’t make it. They lost by a few points and that made us sad but it wasn’t their best show by far.
“I wish they could have had a better show for his first year,” I said quietly.
“Yeah it wasn’t the best at all,” Mom said trying to hide it.

We watched a few of the groups and decided to go and get snacks. When we were walking up I saw how many people were there. There were like 5,000 people there and it was surprising. There are a lot of people here it must be even more of a popular thing that I thought. Once we got up there, there was a really big line for snacks. They had the normal concession stand stuff like nachos and hot dogs. As we were leaving my brother was there but didn’t have a ticket so we didn’t sit with him.

We came out, as a group was performing so we had to wait for some time until they were done. We sat down and I saw that my favorite group was about to perform! Their name is The Cadets and they have an outside groups as well who plays in the summer. They were wearing black, grey and white suits and had a nice floor cover. Their show was about being copies of each other so they all did the same movements. I was amazed at how good they were because my brother was in a mediocre group. This group is really professional and has the best people.

At the end of the competition they handed out trophies and The Cadets won. They had a really big confetti storm to celebrate and it was sad to see all the seniors crying because it was their last year performing. Its a pretty big deal because that means they’re the best group out of the whole world in this division. It was a big reward but not really for them because they are professionals who changed leagues so it was easy. They will be moving up to the highest division and that will be amazing to watch.

“Im so glad they won, they deserved it.” I said joyfully.
“Yeah they deserved it,” Mom pondered.
“I wonder if Chris will be doing this next year?” I asked.

I want to be apart of this huge drumming community but I didn’t know how good I had to be until I went and saw that competition. I was really wanting to see the groups to decide if I want to do this for a long time or not and now I see I want to do it for a long time. It inspired me to practise harder and be stronger in my drumming. I will be the best I can be and never give up  on my dreams.