Performing in front of a crowd is an adrenaline rush like no other.

The Pelham High School &8216;Tower of Power&8217; marching band just returned from Arizona where they marched in the Fiesta Bowl parade. Other Shelby County High Schools will perform during Inauguration Day in Montgomery in the next couple weeks.

These opportunities allow young people to have their 15 minutes of

fame.

For 10 years I danced for a company down in Orlando. I enjoyed every aspect of applying faux eyelashes, puckering up for red lips, shimmer tights, the pinned curly pony-tail attached to the bun on my head and the rush of my heart pounding a million beats a second before showtime. The halogen blinded the sea of audience members behind the front row. Blood in my ballet shoes and sleepless nights finally paid off for countless minute and a half routines.

My brother, Jimmy, a freshman at Florida State, is in his first year as a Marching Chief. He is a trombone player in the appropriately titled company, &8216;The Roamin&8217; Bones.&8217; The drum major his senior year of high school, he went through a rigorous &8216;weeding out&8217; session just to audition for the Chiefs.

I am confident in 2010, Jimmy will be the leader of &8216;The Roamin&8217; Bones.&8217;

This just proves that no matter how exacting an activity is, blood, sweat and tears do pay off