Pft! So of my best friends I met in marching band and I still hang with them to this day. That was like 8 years ago!! Marching band is a great transition into HS because it allows you to make friends with a lot of older kids, who can guide you in the path you want to take, without the social pressures found everywhere else in HS. It taught me a sense of purpose, right from wrong, and most of all, how to have fun without thinking or caring what other people thought of you. You will literally learn to be a rockstar minus the drugs and random sex... That unnecessary stuff happens once you decide to make a punk rock band ;) Point is, for someone like this kid who may be sheltered, marching band is a great way to assimilate with your peers and to mitigate social pressures because band is a family! With that said, if you want to learn how to have sex, get to know a flute player, and if you wanna learn to do drugs, hit up the percussion section! But again, you don't need that stuff to be cool!!! I will always recommend marching band to anyone because it made me who I am today, and I am awesome!!!