The Hillcrest Marching Band and the Majorettes took a trip to Central State University in Ohio to march in a parade. This was an overnight trip so I had to pack both uniforms and clothes for the cold weather after the parade and snacks for the team. Early in the morning, everyone started strolling into the school and we all got our band hoodies to wear for the bus ride to look unified. We loaded the bus with the band’s instruments, everyone’s overnight bags, batons, flags and at 8:30am, we hit the road. 

After a five hour long bus ride, we arrived at the Central State campus; where they were having a vendor’s fair. It had all kinds of food, drinks, and desserts; it was all really good. With money from mom, I enjoyed fried shrimp from a vendor and it was decent. I went to another vendor and got some authentic lemonade and it was delicious. We spent about an hour and a half at the vendor fair then headed to the hotel that we would be staying at for the night; Drury Inn. 

We got our room assignments and then unloaded the bus with our belongings and headed to our rooms. That night me and my teammates had a lot of fun in each other’s rooms, we played games, ordered food and we had a really good time. It was kind of like a girls’ night. We all went to sleep at around eleven or midnight because we had a parade to perform the next day. 

The morning of the parade we got dressed in our uniforms, made sure all of our bags and belongings were with us, and loaded the bus. After the parade and football game; we would be heading back to Illinois.

 On campus, the band played a few songs against another band and it was really fun. After about thirty minutes of standing outside, the parade got started. We performed a few songs, but overall, we just marched the whole way. 

 Ohio gets really, really, cold and we were all shivering by the time we finished the parade. Afterwards, we watched the football game and had some food during the game. When it ended we got back on our bus and changed into comfy clothes and rode back home. 

Overall, my experience at Central State was phenomenal and I hope to get to do it again next year. I highly recommend that students take an out of town trip every once in a while because it can be fun and educational too, as we get to experience college life.