to be seen.
“As a collective society, we grow the most when people exist in a culture where they feel trusted, valued, respected, and appreciated for who they are. In ever-changing times, we must value & celebrate the individual spark that makes each of us unique. This must maintain a pillar to the foundation developing our youth.”
We would like to welcome you to the vastly diverse community of Chandler High School. In this year’s marching band show “To Be Seen,” we hope to inspire productive conversations both on and off the field that celebrate the value of one’s own individuality and independent thinking. We hope that our students can become confident in who they are and what they have to offer.
MUSICAL SELECTIONS
Movement I – “Three Libras” – A Perfect Circle – The lyrics of the song explore the frustration of somebody trying to connect with someone while they are too frightened or traumatized to show their true self. The lines “Difficult not to feel a little bit disappointed and passed over” and the shout chorus of “You Don’t See Me” illustrate a message of someone frustrated with not feeling a sense of self-worth or validated visibility. Visually, this movement isolates 2 musicians who symbolically see themselves detached and not valued or validated by their surroundings.
Movement II – “Iris” – The Goo Goo Dolls – The song is about unconditional love, sacrifice, and the deep vulnerability of wanting to be truly understood. Witten by John Rzeznik for the 1998 movie City of Angels, the lyrics are from the perspective of an immortal angel who is willing to give up eternity just to experience human love and pain. The melodic line to the lyrical narrative “I don’t want the whole to see me because I don’t think that they’ll understand” will be visually represented by the students marching blindfolded to represent the continued narrative of not feeling seen while also not having the confidence in themselves to want to be seen… yet.
Movement III – “This is Me” from The Greatest Showman – Just as the show opens with a component of visual isolation, this moment is represented by an isolated vocal moment symbolizing somebody coming to terms with their own identity and gaining the confidence to share themselves and their talents with the world:
“I am no stranger to the dark, Hide away they say,
We don’t want your broken parts.
I’ve learned to be ashamed of all my scars,
Run away they say No one will love you as you are
When the sharpest words want to cut you down
I’m gonna send a flood and drown them out
I am brave, I am bruised, I am who I‘m meant to be
I’m not scared to be seen, I make no apologies… THIS IS ME”
Movement IV – “Where the Streets Have No Name” – U2 – Bono wrote the lyrics after learning about the religious & societal tensions in Belfast, Northern Ireland in which a person’s religion and income could be identified simply by the name of the street that they lived on. This song has become a metaphor for a utopian society free from divisions. The texture of the song feels heroic and develops slowly like a sunrise. For our purposes, we find the lyric “I want to tear down the walls that hold me inside” coincide with the message of becoming confident with one’s own identity. If you listen closely, you will hear themes from earlier movements musically married within the U2 texture representing the successful journey of one becoming confident with themselves and finally feeling that they are ready…
“To Be Seen”
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
At times, celebrating individuality is a radical act of courage. These quotes empower you to stand tall, embrace your unique traits, and forge your own path in a world that often demands conformity.
“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment."
— Ralph Waldo Emerson
“The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud."
— Coco Chanel
“I think the reward for conformity is that everyone likes you except yourself”
― Rita Mae Brown
“I am my own experiment. I am my own work of art."
— Madonna
“Don't you ever let a soul in the world tell you that you can't be exactly who you are."
— Lady Gaga
“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken."
— Oscar Wilde
“Why fit in when you were born to stand out?"
― Dr. Seuss
“Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind.”
― Bernard M. Baruch
“I realized that the only big mistake I had made in my life… was that I never learned to love myself”
― Bruce Grayson
“Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life, but define yourself.”
― Harvey Fierstein
“The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently.”
― Friedrich Nietzsche
“I’m not in this world to live up to your expectations and you’re not in this world to live up to mine.”
― Bruce Lee
“Always be a first rate version of yourself and not a second rate version of someone else.”
― Judy Garland
“I like it when a flower or a little tuft of grass grows through a crack in the concrete. It's so heroic.”
― George Carlin
“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.”
― Robert Frost
“In order to be irreplaceable, one must always be different.”
― Coco Chanel