Band Geek Problems

by Karl

Ah the nerdy Band geek! Throughout history (not always) but more often than not, we’ve been called nerds, geeks, dorks, weirdos and, you name it: every derogatory categorization in the book.  The jocks, the cheerleaders and the popular kids were the epitome of cool and we are just…band nerds.  To defend ourselves, we stay within our little band circles, never leave the band room and never try to make friends outside of our band family.  No, not always, but how many of us have identified with this on some level or know others who have?  So, if our school or society in general considers us “un-cool,” how can we make ourselves “cooler” in the eyes of others?  Here are a few suggestions:

• Be unapologetically proud of who you are and how much you love band; I think this one is pretty obvious and most of you probably already do this, but you cannot use this as a “tactic” to defend yourself or your ego from people saying how “un-cool” band is

• Try to make friends with people outside of band; most of the time, people make fun of things they don’t know anything about or understand.  Being friends with people outside of band helps them greatly understand who we are

• It’s ok to only like band and only talk about band, but be ready to be completely unrelatable to someone else who doesn’t know anything about band; better yet, try to relate to other people about things that THEY like.  If you are open to liking or respecting what they like, they’ll be more open to what you like

• When you proudly proclaim that band IS cool, you cannot get offended or insecure if another human being does not agree that band is cool; it’s ok, everyone is entitled to their own perspectives and you can go on thinking band is cool, without trying to change their minds

• Do not compromise who you are or try to supplicate to others or shape how others see you just to be part of the cool crowd; people are more likely to think you are cool if you have ZERO insecurity about being a band member and have an unshakeable belief in how cool Band truly is

• If you read everything I wrote and defensively (key word here) say “I’m not insecure about Band,” then you are lying to yourself; you truly are insecure or else you wouldn’t be defensive

What do you think?  How much do you get made fun of for being in band?  If people outside of band in your school actually think band is cool, what do you think are the conditions that made it possible?  I would love to hear from you! @karldrumtech