Hot sun. Sore calves. Again. And again. And again.

These are things junior Anthony Rodriguez experiences on a daily basis. It’s just his life as a band kid. But it’s his love of music and the success of the band that makes it worth all the demanding responsibilities that come with being in band.

“I love being part of the magic behind Marcus band,” Rodriguez said. “A really prestigious group of individuals who’ve won many championships.”

He practices several hours every week and sacrifices his weekends and part of his summer vacation for it.

“It’s taken a lot out of me,” Rodriguez said. “I’ve had to rehearse almost 8 hours a week, and obviously devote my time into the contests and also the games.”

There are many things he can’t do because so much of his time is already invested in band. His social life is very limited and managing time for homework is a challenge.

“I usually have to do my homework late [at] night,” Rodriguez said. “And doing extracurricular things with my friends and hanging out with my girlfriend has kind of been trouble to do.”

Band has taught him some important life lessons as well. He said he has become better at managing his time and is a more mature and dependable person as a result.

“Being in band makes you have to be responsible because it’s so demanding,” Rodriguez said. “It taught me how to be with a certain mindset, like “Oh, I gotta have this done and everything'”.