Let Your Voice Be Heard

Open Mic- Let Your Voice Be Heard 

With the help of my partner Shyrize Leon Guerrero, we were able to come up with an open mic event for our Make A Difference Project. This wasn't just any open mic. While brainstorming, the two of us thought of our many peers who are stressed or overwhelmed and turn to drugs, alcohol, and self harm as their relievers. This being not only bad for their health but also bad for their future, is what concerned us the most. What we wanted this event to promote, was a different way of stress relief. We wanted to showcase that there are better alternatives to relieving your problems like through song, poetry, and even rap.

 Our event was held last Saturday on the
sixth of May. Although we did plan this event for months now, not everything went exactly the way we thought it would. Yes we did begin our program later, had technical difficulties, and didn't have all the participants on time, but I believe our project was a success. The audience we had were very supportive of all the participants. The performers were exceptional and were also supportive of one another. I felt like we did make a difference to our intended

audience. Them showing up and actually performing what they had prepared is a start to alternative stress relief. The open mic went really well knowing that there were so many things that went wrong prior the event. But imagine how better this would've turned out if nothing went wrong!

If I were to host this event again, I would love to do it over the summer on a date where there aren't other events on the same day. This will maximize the amount of participants as well as audience. I would also prefer it would be at a different venue where we can have access to it ourselves rather than wait for an admin to open the gates and cafeteria. I would also like to target not only public middle and high schools but everyone on island who would like to "let their voice be heard." I would keep the idea of having free raffle tickets as an incentive for the participants as well as the free water.

To continue helping my peers in a way related to my project, I plan to act as a role model. I believe that if I continue to be one who stays away from drugs, alcohol, and self harm, others will follow.