With it starting to get cooler out many students are getting sick. Usually when you don’t feel so well, you stay home and rest or just stumble through your school day.

However, that’s not the case for the students of the marching band.

The marching band practices outside during zero hour. They also are outside during their class time. So they can be outside anywhere from one hour to 2½ hours.

They work on putting their eight-minute show together and perfecting it for competitions. If you miss a rehearsal, then that puts you way behind.

If you miss two or more rehearsals, then you cannot perform that weekend or at all unless you make it up.

Being outside everyday at 7 a.m. can get tiring. Especially when you are out there running and marching the entire time.

This — on top of working and school work — wears out the students of the band.

This is what causes illness to spread though the band like wildfire. It does not give them an excuse to miss rehearsal though.

The mindset of the band is We/Us over I/Me.

Taking a sick day sounds like a good excuse for an I/Me day, but not to these students. Many power though their illness and still come to do their part.

They still run, march and play all while just wanting to be home resting. They know that they signed up to do a job and they can’t take a break.

After rehearsal is when they leave and go home to rest only to wake up at 6 a.m. the next day and be here ready to run at 7 a.m.