Dang... it just goes to show that flutists are competitive! It's different for bassoonists at my school. The dilemma for me is that there's a huge gap in between all of us. It's easy to be in a high band, but hard to advance. I'm in a position where the second highest band is boring, but in order to reach the highest one I have to play better than someone whose had 3-4 more years of experience! D:
(By the way, I'll be on vacation soon, so if it takes me a week to reply... that's why!)