How can a short, chubby, shy black girl lead an entire team at a JROTC Drill Competition? Seven months later, and I still don’t have the answer to that question. But maybe I’ll figure it out as I type this essay.
It was still winter, so the air was cold and crisp as my vice drill team commander and I jumped out of my mother’s Exhibition. This is it. Months of intensive drilling, making them repeat the entire regulation if they weren’t aligned, begging Chief to not cancel the competition, that we were ready, has led up to this day. Stonewall High School JROTC Drill competition.
As we finally settled down the gym, they started with opening remarks. This part is extremely boring, so I’ll skip to the scariest part of that morning. As I was fussing at my cadets to quiet down and be professional, a booming voice was saying “we need a cadet from Laurel High School.” Being in charge of the the team, I assumed they were telling us if there were any changes. Once I marched up to the podium, they commanded me to state the Pledge of Allegiance. Immediately I almost had a panic attack. Even though I’ve been reciting it for 16 years, in that moment it disappeared from my mind. I slowly walked up to the podium that …show more content…
Seeing the fear suddenly leave their faces and replaced with a permanent mask of confidence had me to the edge of my seat. The cadets answering every question loud and correct. Their blues camouflaging them into one big rectangular wave. The flight moved like a powerful tsunami. The commanders shouting out every command and the flight following them flawlessly. The sound of their dress shoes stomping on the gym floor all at once sounded like one giant person. Seeing them drill reminded me that this is what I helped to create. This is what I can create. I’m not an artistic person, but the was the most beautiful piece of art I’ve ever seen, and I helped make that