favourite things #1

i remember something that band girls in sggs do (maybe..used to do?)...

don't know if this happens to every bandmembers in every school

but it happens to our members..

while they're walking,

when they stop talking..

someone would start to hum

'tat.tat.tattat.....tat.tat.tattat..'

'tattattrrrrr...tattattrrrrr...tattat.tat.tatatatatattt. *x infinity* (the rhythm/perc solo that we march to)

then from far,

you can see,their legs are in complete synchronization as they walk along the hallway,

across the field

to the science lab

or even the toilet...

sometimes,

they start to sing the songs we practice...

out of the blue...

confident.

they walk with their heads held high,

probably a habit from all the marching and scrutinizing by their seniors

'stomach in,chest out.'

'shoulders back.look up.'

clean footsteps as they walk

'pacak kaki. don't drag.'

it's strange when you find girls willing to join a fraternity(if i may call it a fraternity)

where they have to go under the sun in white long sleeve hoodies from 8-4pm (during competition period that is)

and do nothing but practice playing the same two bars of notes for hours

gets screamed at for not checking line, chin up, hands straight, bad posture...

spend their holidays on the school field,

accompanied by alloy, sweat, dirty shoes, 100plus, nasi kandar,

and bandmates.

through rain, or shine.

regardless of race,and religion.

juniors,or seniors.

rakan seperjuangan...

nothing suits the phrase better than them...

*****

practices may be hard,

but it gets easier one day after another

*****

one thing that i realised from all these years,

those girls...

they're easily satisfied.

they may be screamed at for one tiny mistake

or being made to repeat the same steps, same notes, same phrases for tens and hundreds of times.

one compliment.

'good'

one small smile,

a nod, from the instructor.

that was all that is needed.

the change in their eyes was instant.

'i can do this. i've made it.'

and those sparkles came back.

*****

this small little group of girls

may be out-numbered by the hundreds of bandmembers from other schools

their sound may not be as grand as the other bands

their size may be smaller than the rest of the students their age

their academics may not be as good as the best in their respective forms

their skin may be darker than their friends in class,from all that time in the fields...

their spirit,

their diligence,

their consistency,

their obsession,

were not something anyone can measure up to.

this, is the true,undying, Georgian spirit.

*****

sure,they may not be the best band in the country or the world..

or have the best uniforms,

best instruments,

outstanding knowledge in music,

amazing music-playing skills.

one thing's for sure,

an SGGS bandmember has soul.

we play music, not notes.

we don't leave anyone behind.

whatever we achieve, we achieve it as a group.

a unit.

*****

small,but strong.

i'd describe them.

*****

a lot may have changed in my life

people come and go

things bought, wear out, thrown/donated.

new memories made

some forgotten.

nevertheless

this is the one thing i'll never forget.

my band days.