The atmosphere makes an obvious shift as we enter into our final and twelfth hour of rehearsal. Drooping eyes widen, attitudes ease, and the group’s determination reappears when we realize we have just an hour left until our day off.  Then back to work Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, hopefully not Friday, and dreadfully Saturday all over again. While I do take tremendous pride in having the opportunity to be a part of a group so determined for its goals, it’s obvious that putting forth the required time and effort to achieve success is sometimes a pain. 

During my four years of being in Indoor Percussion Theater Ensemble, my class mates and I have been asked “Why do you do it?” only near a hundred times. For me, the answer has always been obvious. I love being a member of this passionate group that pushes each year to beat its best. I enjoy revealing to the audience the show we have worked endlessly to perfect. I’m afraid that if I don’t do it, I will be missing out.

This past year has been strangely different, however. Our goal for the past three years has been to make it into Indoor Percussion World Class Finals at the World Championship. After two frustrating years of barely being cut from Finals, last year we pushed through and not only made it into Finals, but placed twelfth in the world. Since my class had spent its whole Indoor career fighting for Finals, after attaining it, we’ve found it difficult to move on to a new goal. While we know what an achievement it is to make the top ten, striving for the next place up still doesn’t seem as rewarding as being a finalist for the first time. So, as seniors, when are asked, “Why do we do it?” for some of us, while our love for our art remains true, the answers that I’d had before don’t seem satisfying enough. We’ve run the race. We’ve ridden the ride. Yet, we willingly continue to participate during this final year. So why?

The answer, of course, is not the same for every senior. But through observation and conversation I’ve concluded that the reason most of us choose to continue in the group this year is basically because we love to stay busy and out of obligation. Now, while obligation isn’t bad – it promotes responsibility and commitment - sacrificing 24 plus hours a week to a group just because you feel obligated can create resentment. That’s where the apathy as well as the entitlement we tend feel as seniors comes from. We feel as if the group owes us for our time and effort.

Remaining in the group because we feel the need to stay busy is a different story, however. I believe this is something our culture has taught us, and can be found not just to be true in our indoor group, but everywhere. We feel like we have to pile up our tasks, so no one can ever have a resting moment. Life is a competition, and if the person next to us is busy busy busy, we feel we need to be too. This goes back to part of my answer, “If I didn’t do it, I feel like I would be missing out.” So, for me and most of the seniors, when we look at life without indoor, we feel as if we would be bored. What would we do every night? Our lives have grown accustomed to never having enough time. The stress and exhaustion are what we are used to. Without so much piled on our plates life would be too easy. 

But, I’ve decided, that’s a part of life, not just indoor. You stay loyal to your passions, whether through obligation, necessity, or choice. Our culture’s encouragement of business isn’t necessarily harmful – it creates hard workers – but it creates that sense of entitlement. We just have to harness our attitudes and remember it’s a blessing to participate in such an incredible group and the passion that pushed us from the start.