I sat there with tears in my eyes, proud, and filled with a new sense of confidence that I had never felt, all because of one song, one song with a few simple lyrics which has changed, to this day, the way that I view myself and the world around me. I had probably heard this song twenty other times, but until that moment I had never really listened and analyzed its words. I probably never would have either, if it hadn't been for the events of that day and that one simple question: "Can you go the distance?"
It was the day of the Lake Shore Marching Band Association's championship competition and the last practice of the season. Dean Schrecengost and Lori DeAngelo, my band director and color guard instructor, were trying to give us the confidence that they knew we all had deep inside, the confidence to return home as champions after all of the endless hours of practice during the previous two months. The two of them had made a simple video tape. This tape showed the way that we, as a marching band, had developed over the past two months. It let us now that we could attain our goals, and according to the music in the background, "go the distance." From that day forward the song "Go the Distance" from Disney's Hercules has not been just a song, but a new way to look at life.
It is hard to believe that a song from a children’s movie, in only four minutes and forty-two seconds, could have such and impact on me, but it has. It's lyrics are so simple and at the same time so deep and complicated. They have changed the way that I look at life drastically. I look at life as a long unfamiliar road, a road filled with many bumps, turns and surprises. Most people will probably get lost somewhere along this road, but I feel if you follow your heart and stay strong and focused, you can find your way back, and this road can take you anywhere you choose. It can lead you to a place where you find true happiness, a place where you have that feeling deep in the bottom of your gut, and you just know that everything is the way that it was meant to be.
My road, for the most part, has been very smooth and easy riding, but you never know when life could make your road bumpy or curvy. On July 12, 1998 I woke to a telephone call that turned my life up side down. Life decided to make my road curvy and bumpy all at once. The voice on the other end said "Schrec(Mr. Schrecengost), Lori, and Angie(A former band member) were killed in a car accident late last night." I was speechless and had not a word to say. All I thought was "why did this happen" and "they both had so many people to touch, change, and mold as they have done to me." Well Some time has passed since then, and I know that they had both gone the distance in there own way, in a way that no one else will ever be able to challenge. Life is hard, and nothing has ever given me the indication that it will get easier, but thanks to all of the things that they have taught me about myself and life in general, I now know that I have what it takes to get on my road and go the distance, the distance that will take me where I am meant to be.