It was a late Friday night and my friends and I were told about something known as “Mike Check.”  “Mike Check” was directed towards bringing out artistically gifted people.  I honestly did not know what to expect when I arrived.  At one point I imagined there would be rap battles among whoever wanted to sign up from the audience.  Then I started to look forward to that even though I had no idea if that was going to be a part of “Mike Check” or not.

            The time was getting closer and closer to begin the show.  One of my friends, we call him Jo Jo, was seriously debating on whether or not he was going to sign up.  He has always been musically talented.  Whenever I am with him and we are walking around UK’s campus girls I, and sometimes he, do not even know come up to him and ask him to sing.  Jo Jo finally decided to put his name on the list.  His performance was going to be him singing a song, while he was playing the piano.  For as long as I have no him (at least 10 years) I had never seen him perform before.  This was a treat for me.

            “Mike Check” began.  There was one rule they had to follow:  each performer must say the phrase “Mike check” before they start their performance. Then the audience shouts “One two!” in response.  The first guy stepped up to the mike and instantly started to sing without saying the phrase “mike check.”  The crew running the show on the side of the stage stopped him and told him he had to say it. The guy forgot again!  He then stepped aside and started laughing.  It turns out it was just a short skit to explain how mike check worked.

            Now the first girl walked on stage and a D.J. started playing music.  She was rapping the song and dancing at the same time.  She really got the crowd energetic through the fast and very common song.

            I thought this was how most of the performances would go, but there were a wide variety of performances yet to come.  There was a lot of poetry read.  And all of the poetry read was by that person reading it.  I was amazed because I never really imagined people my age reading their own writing to a huge crowd of people.  I know I would never.  Some other people sang songs most of us were familiar with.  Some people had written their own songs and sang those.

            Before long it was Jo Jo’s turn.  He told me that he had never been so nervous before.  That was not a good sign to me.  Jo Jo walked on stage and casually sat down on the piano bench.  He shouted, “Mike check!” And we responded, “One two!”  Jo Jo worked wonders on the piano.  Once he found the rhythm he began to sing.  Before I knew it everyone was on their feet singing along with him.  I was so excited for him. 

            “Mike Check” was a completely new experience for me.  I got to witness people expressing their true emotion through the poems they wrote and the songs that they sang.  I felt connected to each of them in a unique way.

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