Career Exibition

Have you ever heard of a career exhibition project? Most school's have one, either in the junior or senior grade. Let me explain what this actually is before I go on. After high school, what will you be doing with your life? This project helps you with that. You pick a career that you seem interested in and research it. By the end, you know if it's the right job for you, or if you would hate doing it for the rest of your life.1

The high school I went to for my junior year had this project. I didn't really have to do it, because I already knew what I was going to do after I graduated - become a professional football player. Earlier that year, I had been accepted to a team, but the only requirements were to graduate and turn 18. When the rough draft was due and I didn't turn anything in, my teacher told me that I couldn't pass the class without turning in this project, thus I couldn't graduate, so I whipped something together. It wasn't my best work, needless to say.2

Then my parents decided to go and get a divorce the next year, and I had to choose who to live with. My mom was moving all the way to California, and my dad was just going across town. I stayed with my dad, hoping I could stay at the same school. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. We were right on the border of the new school, and the school officials said I had to go to that one. And guess what? Instead of Junior Exhibition, they had Senior Exhibition.3

When my new teacher asked me how I was doing on the project a couple of days before their rough draft was due, I showed her my project I turned in at the other school. She sighed and told me that I couldn't use the same subject as I did last year; that I had to pick a different career. What was another career that might interest me? I protested. The only thing I was interested in was football! She shook her head, and it seemed like I got my way, until she brightened up and went to the back of the room. She told me, when someone doesn't know what they want to do, they pick out of the hat. But the rule is, whatever you pick, you use, and you also enroll in it. So if you pick art, you enroll into an art class.4

She takes out an old, musty, green thing that barely looked like it used to be a hat many years ago. Apparently, it hasn't had to have been used for awhile. Will I do it? Remember, what I pick is what I pick. I shrugged and said might as well. I need to graduate. I stuck in my hand, and twirled the papers. They were also musty. I moved my hand around, and stopped on this one slip. It felt so much like football. I felt it; it was magic.5

My teacher takes the football slip from me before I could confirm that it was indeed football, and a smile creeps up on her face. I stare at her in horror as she says, who let the football team on the band field? I screech and quickly take the paper from her. On it, it clearly says Marching Band. It happens on a football field, but it's not football!!!6

Her smile fell when I told her that sadly I couldn't do this activity, because I was going to be on the football team, and marching band had practice the same time as they did. The next thing she uttered made me have to grab the back of a chair and promptly sit down. The Principal had forbidden me to be on the team. Didn't I already know?7

I sputtered and spat. What? What did I do? She shook her head and shrugged. As things turned out, she had forbidden me because they already had a star football player at this school, and there didn't need to be two. When my teacher asked me if I would still like to follow her directions and do marching band, I nodded glumly. It's not like I had anything else to do.8

The first time I entered the band room, I saw everyone turn their heads to look at me. They all knew I was the star football player at the other school, and most likely figured I would be playing over here; just like I thought I would be, too. The band director came up to me and told me that they were glad I could join the team, and what instrument did I want to play? I used to play saxophone in the third grade, so I said sax.9

Great, he said. He handed me a school instrument to use and we walked out to the field. The next few hours went by quickly, and by the end of the practice, I started to actually think I would like it. As the next few practices went by, and I got more and more into marching band, I realized that I hadn't thought about football in forever. It used it be that I would think about it at least twice a day. When the first competition came, and we performed, I knew that somehow that green, musty hat was psychic. A music career was for me. What the hell was I doing with football for all my life?