Hello! Only one more week until school officially starts, and this past week was the second half of band camp! This week was long and hot, as the temperature got up to 98° consistently (with a RealFeel of 106°). Thankfully we pushed through and were able to perform our opening movement of the show! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgAz5dqOVx4&pp=sAQA

The thing I am most thankful for this week is my friends. I couldn’t imagine doing this week without them, and I am beyond blessed to have such fun, caring, kind, and helpful people to do band and life with. Especially because we all play different instruments (or none at all), it is so cool to share band from our different perspectives in how we hear and experience things and lead our respective sections. Through all of the week’s ups and downs, I’m so grateful for this group of people helping me through it, and it is an honor to get to help them through it as well (:

As well, the drumline made a new friend: our beloved pet ladybug Perkins. He landed on one of us on Tuesday, and clung to us, so we kept him safe, gave him a home, and declared July 31st to be his birthday! I’ve never seen the drumline care about anything more than Perkins, and it absolutely made my week to get to take care of Perkins. We love you, buddy <3

As I head into the final week of summer vacation, I’m looking forward to spending time with my friends and some of my mentors from church who faithfully walk alongside me, care for me, and help me grow in the things that God has placed in front of me. Stepping into August, I’m praying for a fresh start to the school year, increasing fire in my faith, and open doors to what the Lord has next for me! Each school year brings a unique set of opportunities to the table, and I look forward to what those are this year.

Here’s to one last week of vacation, leaning into faith, and faithfully resting in the shadow of His wings (Psalm 91).

-Luke Wanca

Hello! There are two weeks before school officially starts, but this past week was the first week of marching band camp! Band camp is pretty much learning a lot of the halftime show, being introduced to the other musicians in your section, as well as learning the very basics of marching technique!

Mmm, there’s nothing quite like “flex-push-one’s” under the southern July heat. The best part of band camp is always having fun with friends during the fun events of camp! Despite it being a lot of work, it is always rewarding to spend time with those you care about and suffer under the sun and keep doing reps “one more time”.

Over this week, I had the wonderful opportunity to meet the new folks in the drumline, as well as help teach them the procedures, basics, and applications of all that we do in the marching band. As a senior especially, it is really cool to think about the legacy we are leaving behind as members of something greater than ourselves. I think back to the seniors in the band when I was a freshman in 2018, and I marvel at the fact that these freshmen see me in the same position as I saw those leaders.

Although a fun week with friends, lots of change can creep up on you and change your world as well. As old things end and new seasons begin, I can only trust what the Lord has in store for me and my future, as well as the healing he brings as we grow deeper with Him. I thank God every day for the wonderful friends I have around me to support me, grow with me, and walk with me in life and everything that comes with it. I am so grateful for them.

As that week ended and the second week of band camp starts, I look forward to making more progress and walking with those around me to help improve us as musicians, as people, and as representatives of the school we proudly represent! Go Big Blue!

d u t

-Luke Wanca

Hello! My name is Luke Wanca, and I’m a high school senior in the Class of 2022. That’s me shown above, just vibing with some of my favorite things. A pretty cool guy, right? If you said yes, I think we’ll get along great.

I love Jesus, summer, Tampa Bay Rays baseball, drums, disco and soul music, and grilling great food. I believe I have been called into vocational ministry and plan to study to become a pastor after high school. My primary goals in life right now are to play clean beats with the drumline, care deeply for those around me, share the gospel with others, and ultimately glorify Jesus Christ in everything I do.

I’m using this blog as a weekly update for my senior year of high school! (Hence the title, and what a great pun it is, may I add…thank you, thank you.) In this blog, I hope to share memories, stories, and lessons I’ve learned in wisdom and in faith along the way this year. This is something for YOU to join me in my senior year and see what’s happening, as well as something for me to look back on and remember this year after it has passed! After all, they do say your senior year of high school is often one of the best years of your life.

I’d like to leave you with one of my favorite quotes:

“By perseverance the snail reached the ark.”

-C.H. Spurgeon

In this season of perseverance and seeing what the Lord does in our lives, won’t you join me in this adventure?

-Luke Wanca