From the Field: I Never Thought I Could Do This
A Guest Article from a Member of the American Fork Marching Band, as part of our 15 Minutes of Fame series.
I never thought I could do this.
I’ve been doing guard for a few years now, and I kept hearing for the longest time from myself and others, “I don’t know if you can do this.” Well, I’m here to show you that that’s wrong.
Starting when I was 4 or 5, I danced, but I stopped when I was 10. I never thought I’d get back into that kinda thing, but when I was in seventh grade, the color guard came to our school and showed us what they could do. My best friend at the time thought that was so cool, and so she joined and made me join with her. I didn’t really know what it was all about, even though my mom did it in high school.
That first year, I didn’t feel like I learned a lot. That was the year COVID hit, and I really had to decide whether it was worth it to me to keep spinning. I decided to give it a shot, though. I went into my eighth-grade year, and I still struggled a lot. It was super hard learning a lot of the concepts, but I pushed through. It was so hard trying to build that confidence, but when I got past that block, I was able to look back on the progress I had made in just a couple of years and see the difference.
When I moved on to my ninth-grade year, things got so much harder. Sure, there have been days when that little voice comes back, but I know I love this. It’s been so great having the upperclassmen there to encourage me and help me push through on those hard days. They keep reminding me to have that confidence in myself and not to let other people get to you or tear you down.
Having my mom around for support, though, has been super important. She not only did guard in high school, but she also did it at American Fork. Not only can she help me when I’m struggling with work, she knows what it’s like and can help me get through it. Having that bond is really something special.
So let’s talk about this year.
Moving from 9th grade to 10th grade was a lot. I had to really figure out whether I wanted to commit to this for the rest of high school, and I’m so glad I did. We’re doing so many cool things this year that I get to share with the people I love because if you’ve been in a band like this, you know they’re pretty much your second family. They see you at your best, and they see you when you’re struggling. Sometimes you have magical experiences like the first full run. We kept running like the back half of the show or the front half of the show, but putting it all together? There’s nothing like doing that for the first time. You get to see the hours and hours and hours of work you and everyone around you paying off. I just love that feeling of knowing we did this together.
If you’ve been in a band like this, you know they’re pretty much your second family. They see you at your best, and they see you when you’re struggling.
This year is the first time American Fork has gone to Grand Nationals since 2018, which means that no one in the band right now has been to Indy for a show. We heard a ton about it from the people who went there before us but also, at the same time, can you really know what it’ll be like until you’re there? I’m super nervous but also super excited. I’ve never performed in a stadium that big, and we all get to have that experience together for the first time, which will be amazing.
When we perform there, we’re gonna do great. This show is about having character, getting that confidence out there, and showing the world what Warhol and American Fork are all about.
Because you know what? We can do this.
I can do this.
And. I. Will.
Brooklyn Crim is a 10th Grade Guard Member at American Fork High School. This is her 2nd year performing with the American Fork Marching Band, and 4th year doing Color Guard overall.
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What an amazing article. Best of luck to you and American Fork at Grand Nationals!