I recently separated from the Marine Corps after five years of honorable service. I'm currently attending school for business and recording arts and technology. Prior to entering the service, I was the quintessential "band nerd". Even in high school I had finished my requirements a year early so I could enter the foreign exchange program. After I returned from Japan, my senior year was spent solely in the band room. I was in multiple bands, playing different instruments in most. They included Symphonic Band, Concert Band, Wind Ensemble, Pit Band, Pep Band, Jazz I & 2, Music Theory I & II, Marching Band, and more. I would even travel to various elementary schools in the morning to help my music teacher instruct 5th-graders. Outside of school, I was involved with bands ranging from polka to rock.