From November 1st through 4th, the CA Band took its annual tour. This year, the destination was Florida, the objective basement of the United States. Needless to say (but I will say it anyways), I abhorred both the idea of going to Florida and of missing a week of school during November—which is the one of the most important periods of the pre-finals season.

However, I discovered throughout the course of Band Tour that I was wrong. Band Tour actually taught me a lot things, even when I wasn’t enjoying every aspect of it. It taught me lessons in teamwork, gave me experiences with patience, and showed me that things don’t always have to go as planned. But most importantly, it taught me that if I love something I should make time for it.

I came to this conclusion during a conversation I had with Tyler Vaudreuil on the return trip from Florida. It was late (about 11 PM) and there were still two and a half hours standing between me and the comfort of my own bed. We were talking about our hobbies, and I had expressed my frustration about how busy my schedule had been this year. Tyler told me this: “You have the time to do everything you want. You just have to commit to making that time. I’d have more free time if I didn’t take band, but I like playing my trombone.”

When I thought about it, I realized he was right. If I can make time for things like Netflix or YouTube then I can make time for the important things in my life and the things I love. I already do this to some extent with Echolier. It takes some extra time, but I do it anyways because I love writing. The key is that I have to prioritize what I spend time with. Activities that I either don’t enjoy or aren’t necessary should not be prioritized, and if an activity is both of those things than it should most likely be abandoned. Which is why, as of next year, I will be dropping Band as a class.

Band is something that I have enjoyed doing, but in the long run there are things I enjoy more and would like to put more focus on. Take a look around and ask yourself if what you’re doing makes you happy, and if not, ask yourself what you can do to change that.