Similarities Between Show Choir and Cross Country

        Show choir and cross country may seem like they are from two completely separate spectrums of the school extracurricular universe, and they are in many ways. Cross Country is in the athletic galaxy and show choir is in the arts galaxy, but they are similar in a few key ways.

        Both show choir and cross country involve the idea that the performances of individuals come together in end to determine how well the group does as a whole.  In both cases the performers/competitors do not necessarily interact with each other throughout the whole competition. When you are on stage competing for show choir, the judges are looking at all 40+ members of the group as a whole and seeing how the individuals and different vocal parts blend and sync together. In other words, performers are meant to add to the overall appearance and sound of the group and try not to stick out too much, except of course in the case of a solo. Everyone does their own performance and tries their best but strives to match the intensity of sound and cleanness of choreography as the person to their right and left. In cross country, the individual success of each member all add up to the grand total of the teams score; so while each person on the team is pushing themselves to run their best and is not extremely worried about everyone else on their team, in the end they want everyone on their team to do well so that when their efforts come together, they can discover that they have been successful as a whole.

        Cross country and show choir also share in common the fact that they involve a cognitive focus on breathing during the competitions. Though this might seem a little far fetched, I have certainly found this to be true in my experience. In regard to running, many focus on their inhaling and exhaling with the pace of their footsteps. This helps ensure that they are not breathing too quickly or deeply and can help prevent injuries (I will go more in depth on this topic in an upcoming blog). Whether a certain runner concentrates on how they breathe during a race or not, breathing it is clearly an important aspect of running (and life in general, but you know what I mean). In the show choir universe, breathing is highly regulated and planned out during a performance. One must breathe during the rests of a song and concentrate on inhaling enough air so that they can have enough juice to belt out the next few words before the next rest.

        In an attempt to add a few other, simple points of comparison I would like to make light of the fact that show choir and cross country also involve competitions in which a large number of schools compete against each other. In addition both activities involve a huge amount of time and preparation to be at a competitive level. Runners train for years to reach their prime level of fitness and success, and show choirs put countless hours in to learning the dynamics and diction of a song as well as cleaning and altering choreography.  

       My point in sharing all of this is to prove that although two activities may seem completely different from one another, all extracurriculars are important in their own ways, and they all share a level of competition and respect that brings them into the same universe. All activities should all be seen as equal in regard to the worth and talent of the participant, because every extracurricular is a huge part of the daily life of someone.