A Veteran's Day To Remember

Photo courtesy of Sherie Grossman

The morning started out with a default Android phone alarm ringing in my room, resulting in a brief moment of panic and overwhelming amount of fatigue. It was 5:30 in the morning. I glanced at my phone for a second before telling myself I could afford to sleep 10 more minutes before getting out of bed. Once that time had past, I tossed my legs over the side of the bed and walked out of my room in a dazed-like state. Although it may not seem like it, waking up an hour earlier does make a difference. I slipped on my black Vocal Ensemble polo shirt, a pair of jeans, and my classic purple tennis shoes. Then I packed my lunch, which consisted of leftover pizza from the day before, a bag of chips, and a bottle of water. The reason I was up earlier than normal was Mrs. Elliott informed Vocal Ensemble that we would be singing a salute to the veterans at an event before school. My friend Matt picked me up a little later than intended, but we still made it to the church in time to perform.

We ran inside quickly into the room everyone was warming up in. By that time they had just finished doing vocal warm-ups and were preparing to take the stage, so I just jumped right in. The group of us filed out of the practice room towards the sanctuary to take the stage. While we got in our places, I was instantly reminded of my middle school choir days where we performed on the same stage. Crazy how much can change. We sang the National Anthem in our normal arrangement after watching a short video, as well as sang along while the band played a medley of the fight songs in honor of the veterans. When a person's fight song was played, they were asked to stand if possible; that was the most touching part of the ceremony. Every time another song would start, another group would stand and the place would erupt with applause. Some wore leather jackets with patches on them, others wore uniforms, but overall just seeing those brave men and women stand with pride and sing along warmed my heart. I honestly got chills. Afterwards all the band and choir members exited the stage and went to enjoy breakfast provided by the Mt. Juliet Rotary Club. It was absolutely DELICIOUS and I am so thankful that they were willing to do that for us.

Next stop was school. First and second block were, well, normal, but third block is where the action begins to pick up again. Third block I actually got to eat lunch outside for the first time as a senior and performed the "Veteran's Salute" one more time with Vocal Ensemble during the pep rally. Again, we asked those who have family past or present in the military to stand when they heard their fight song, and it was incredible to see over 2,000 students participate. You never really think about how many families have had members who served time overseas and it really puts it into perspective. It was a tiring, long day in general but I enjoyed getting to experience new things and recognizing those who have served for our country. With all the craziness going on in the world today, sometimes it helps to reflect on the past to help us better appreciate the present.

Love always,
Allison