Family Weekend is a fun and relaxing time where parents of current Gamecocks come to the university to spend time with their children and go to a football game. Yet for me and about 400 other students, we don’t get spend much of Family Weekend with our parents.
Why? Because we’re in the Carolina Band.
Because of this, I decided to ask my parents how they feel about not seeing me much during the game. While they said they wish I could sit with them in the stands, they also said me being in band is exciting.
“It has been exciting to see my son be involved in the community at University of South Carolina and to be a part of an organization that takes pride in the school,” my mother, Shanna Stanton, said.
The Carolina Band practices and performs a lot, more than most people know. Whether it's waking up seven hours before a kickoff to rehearse, or practicing four days a week, Carolina Band leaves little room to hang out with family on Family Weekend. Yet my parents say understanding how much we practice gave them a new respect for the band.
“It was a learning experience to see how much work that you had to put into the band,” my father and alumnus of USC, Mark Stanton said. “I never imagined how much work there was. That was the good part about Parent’s Weekend.”
While not seeing my parents during the game can stink, being a part of the game day festivities is something special for both me and my parents. It instills a sense of pride in my parents to see me on the field and a sense of pride in myself when I perform for over 80,000 people.
“It was really fun for mom and me to see you be a part of the whole football experience,” my father said. “I grew up watching college football and the excitement of it and everything else. To see you be in band uniform, getting ready before the game, when we saw you in the park and marching in, and the show before the pregame when they came on the field, just knowing that you were there and part of the game was exciting for me.”
Bringing excitement to the game and getting the crowd going might be my favorite part of the fall semester. Being the spirit of Williams-Brice and creating excitement for everyone, including my parents, is something that’s worth a weekend away from them. In a way, I’m still with my family: my Carolina family.
That’s the thing. While I might not be sitting with my parents on Family Weekend, I’m still surrounded by my band family and my Carolina family — the people who make doing band worth it. It’s a truly special feeling being on the field, adding to a memory that so many people are sharing with their families.