"I don't know what you're going to perform, but I know it'll be excellent!"

If you are acquainted with Nashville, then you might be accustomed to live music at restaurants wherever you go. The music provides a unique ambiance to the dining experience, enhancing everyone's enjoyment of the food and each other's company. At Pforzheimer House (Pfoho), we deeply resonate with this idea. So, once a month, we host an open mic night where the community comes together and enjoys a similar experience of live entertainment.

For the uninitiated, an open mic night at Pfoho is a community event that is hosted during dinner hours. All students are invited to showcase their talents. By no means is it limited to singing or playing instruments. Though those are the most common performances, in the past we have had people read their creative writing samples, perform stand-up comedy, and much more! Hardly any event in Pforzheimer house attracts a larger crowd than when students display their talents for their housemates to see.

This October, Pforzheimer House hosted its first open mic night of the semester, and it was amazing! Even before the night of the event, the house had circulated promotional advertisements for the open mic, and all those invested in the event were urging their friends to perform. Even those who think they have "no talent" were spurred on by us Pfohomies. Everyone has a talent that the house can benefit from seeing! As the clock struck 6:45 P.M. on the night of the event, and with me as the host, the festivities commenced.

And it was a festival! We had so many fantastic and talented "Pfohomies" performing that night. The first, and one of the most memorable performances, was a talented trio made up of a College student, a dining hall staff member (Tommy), and a house tutor. When we say it's a community night, we mean the ENTIRE community!

That first performance was incredible. Both the celloist and pianist, combined with Tommy's booming voice, set the tone for the night: be not afraid, and just perform! From then on, we had a slew of performers. One of my intramural soccer players debuted a wonderful song he wrote, which touched the hearts of all in the audience. You could really feel the emotion in every note and every word he sang. In a similar vein, one person, who I had never met until then, performed a song from her culture in English that was just the most melodious tune to ever grace one's ear. She seemed so shy at the beginning, but once I handed her the mic, timidity became an afterthought. We even had a brotherly bagpipe duo perform twice that night. They blessed us with the sweet sounds of that wonderful instrument, although many may not like it. But if you heard them harmonized by a couple of professionals, you'd grow to like the bagpipes. I felt like I was transported to Ireland and Scotland right then and there! All that was missing was for Mel Gibson to tell me to fight for my freedom. These few performances are just a snapshot of the talent on display. For if I could, I would sing (no pun intended) the praises of all performers that night in this blog.

Even I could not avoid performing in front of my housemates. I thought that being the MC could spare me from taking the stage, but alas, I was urged on by my housemates to perform. So to appease the crowd, I gave my rendition of Frank Sinatra's "I've Got You Under My Skin." It is my personal favorite Sinatra song, and I had been listening to it nonstop for over three weeks. Needless to say, I knew the lyrics by heart after those three weeks. Normally, I would have been nervous to perform because I never sing in front of anyone ever. But tonight felt different. Seeing everyone so fearlessly display their creative selves for their peers reassured me that my performance, though not better than everyone else's, would be another chapter in the night's festivities. So I sang Frank Sinatra's song as I had done countless times in the comfort of my dorm. It was special. I did not think that I could confidently sing in front of my peers. They only knew me as the loud soccer player, not a singer. But the performance became another avenue from which to express another component of my personality. Not a boisterous one, but an artistic side of me that I seldom feel comfortable sharing.

At the end of the night, as I was helping to clean up, Tommy came up to me and said, "I didn't know you had that in you!' I thanked him for the compliment, and we started reminiscing on the night. From piano performances, bagpipes, and a lovely acapella performance, we agreed that this house is full of talent just waiting to burst to the fore. But much more than that, this house has such humble artists. They never boast about their passions. They just seize a moment to share with the world what they love in a way that brings a community together. And as I reflect further on that night, I continue pondering just how priceless that is. People from all walks of life feel comfortable enough to share their creativity with a community that values their unique expression as an invaluable part of the house.