By  Marissa Hayes (Whetstone Reporter)

Tanisha Jackson had the shaking-knee syndrome right before her performance at Open Mic Night on Sept. 14.

“I was scared at first,” she said. “However, it felt good once I became comfortable in front of everybody. The audience helped me feel welcomed.”

Sponsored by Howl at the Moon, students were able to sign up or walk-in and perform, whether it be through rapping, singing, reading poetry or playing an instrument.

“We just wanted students to have an alternative event on their Friday night,” said Howl at the Moon president Hawa Turay.

Turay said that she was nervous about the event because people were late, and she feared no one was going to come to perform or to be audience members.

“Nobody was showing up,” she said. “As time when on, though, more people came to show support.”

Some student performers were accustomed to the spotlight, though.

Freshman Anthony Sammons performed three times throughout the night.

“I’ve been rapping since I was 13,” he said.  “Performing in front of a large group of people comes natural to me.”

Sammons said he plans to continue to show his talent at Wesley in upcoming events.

“I was going to save some of my raps for the variety show, but I’ll just come up with new ones for the people who missed out on tonight,” he said.

Senior Nick Thompson agrees.

“I was nervous just a little bit, because there were more people than what I expected,” he said.  “Once I began watching and listening to what everybody had to say, all my fears went away.”

Students said they enjoyed the event.

“I had a fun time,” said freshman Taylor Lynch.  “There was a huge variety of talent.  It was nice to see students support one another’s talent.”

Junior Crystal Meredith said she enjoyed the performances too.

“Some performers brought tears to my eyes,” she said.  “It was amazing to see the audience embrace the performers.  I will definitely encourage more people to come support next year.”