My Best For You

Good, better, best

Never let it rest

Until your good is better

And your better is best

When I was younger, a banner with those words hung in the foyer of my elementary school.  Today, a banner with those words hangs in my high school band hall, and it was in that room that those words became more than a phrase, more than a banner.

They became a mantra, a saying that the Lewisburg Band lived by.  By my senior year, I believed it wholeheartedly, and I loved everything that it represented.  

We have this tradition in the band.  Before every performance, our director says, "freshmen," and the freshmen say the first line: good, better, best.  The sophomores continue with the second line, and the juniors with the third, and finally the seniors close it out with the last line.  After that, our director shouts, "My best for you!" and the whole band repeats, "My best for you!"  It started my freshmen year, and I said, "good, better, best," knowing I was a part of something bigger than me.  Every year I moved up the ladder, and every year it became more important.  My senior year, when it came to us, me and all of the other seniors screamed our part at the top of our lungs, full of emotion and pride.  

My class had seen all of the ups and downs of the Lewisburg Band program.  We knew what it felt like to shock the world and come in second place our first time at State Championships, we knew the disappointment to be so close to first the very next year.  We knew what it felt like to be one of the first Lewisburg Bandians to have a gold medal placed around our necks, knowing we still had three years ahead of us to become even better than we were.  We were there when we dominated practically everyone our sophomore year, becoming back to back champions and scoring two points higher than the first place 5A band (in band world, that's a lot, especially when the only bands that scored higher than us were 6A bands, the highest division).  We felt the regret and guilt as we stood on the field during awards our junior year with tears falling on our silver medals, wondering how much more effort would it have taken to three-peat.  

Senior year, we were determined.  We were determined to take back the gold medal, to take back the title.  Soon though, we learned that the first place title wasn't what My Best  For You Was all about.  After we learned what it really meant, we embodied, "My best for you," in every sense of the phrase.  "My best for you," means doing your part and setting the example for others to follow.  It means learning your music, it means perfecting your drill, it means coming to practice ready to work.

It means realizing that band is a team effort, a huge family project of sorts, with everyone working together towards one common goal.  What is that goal, you say?  Not a gold medal or championship trophy as some would believe, but satisfaction.  The goal is having that satisfactory feeling, knowing that you did your part to help the group succeed, that you didn't hinder the progress.

When that was the goal, we've always done exceedingly well.  When we could walk off of that field after a finals run and know that that run was the best, there was nothing we could have done differently, that's when we were the real winners.  That's one thing we didn't exactly have in 2011, and that's the reason why I was so disappointed with the results.  I knew I could have tried harder.

And so, with this being the week of State Championships, that's what I want this year's band to know.  I want those kids to know that the medals aren't the final destination, the feeling of satisfaction is.  The goal is walking back to the bus that night after such a long day with a smile on your face.

The goal is believing the words that they'll say before a performance, the words that the parents and families and alumni in the stands will shout as the band sets up on the field.  

I know I'll shout it for them at the top of my lungs.  I'll cheer for them the entire day, I'll applaud their efforts.  Because I believe in the Lewisburg Band.  I believe in My Best For You and everything it stands for, for the encouragement it has given us over the years, for the numerous alumni that have said it in the past.  It's a feeling you never forget, that feeling of satisfaction, and it's a feeling that I want every Lewisburg Band to have.

And so I'll never stop supporting the Lewisburg Band, I'll never stop believing in those kids, because as long as that banner hangs in the band hall, as long as everyone that walks through the door knows what it means, as long as every band member takes it to heart, they'll always give me a reason to believe.

MY BEST FOR YOU

Mo

 

My band family from senior year