Zion Climbing Center hosted an open mic night on Thursday, January 25.<\/p>\n
According to senior Brad Hendrickson, a Zion volunteer, this was Zion\u2019s first open mic night. Hendrickson said he proposed the idea of an open mic night at Zion because he thought the venue would be perfect to share his love for open mic nights with people in Searcy.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want it to be a safe space for artists to perform\u2013that they can step on that stage and no one is going to stop them for the next five minutes,\u201d Hendrickson said. \u201cIt\u2019s their stage. They get to perform. People can critique them later, but that five minutes won\u2019t be touched.\u201d<\/p>\n
There were 23 people present in total, four of whom chose to perform. A variety of music, poetry and comedy was performed by those with the courage to share.<\/p>\n
Sophomore Noah Turner performed his original song \u201cBleed,\u201d a song about his struggles with depression, during the event. Turner said he has enjoyed performing since coming to Harding and especially enjoyed Zion\u2019s open mic night because he likes the accepting atmosphere.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the reasons that song, the reason I decided to play it was because it\u2019s a song about past struggles with depression,\u201d Turner said. \u201cTo be able to perform it in front of people and in a place like that, I guess feel confident in that. People immediately were saying \u201cI appreciated so much, you played a song about (depression). It put me at ease and made me feel like those people were already my friends and part of my community.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stephanie O\u2019Brian, director of the center for student success has experience with the effects of storytelling on mental health.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen someone shares their story, it means they had the courage to do so,\u201d O\u2019Brian said. \u201cIt takes true courage to share your wounds and experiences.\u00a0 It is vulnerable.\u00a0 But when people find the ability to speak out, it means that whatever their story is\u2013mental illness, trauma, grief\u2013has less power than it did before.\u201d<\/p>\n
O\u2019Brian said people telling their stories gives them power over their problems and can connect them with other people with the same struggles to help them find support.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we keep our hurts within, they grow stronger,\u201d O\u2019Brian said. \u201cThe sooner we share them, the sooner we become more empowered within.\u201d<\/p>\n
Zion plans to host open mic nights on the second and fourth Thursdays of each month, according to Hendrickson. The next open mic night will be held at 7 p.m. on Feb. 8 at Zion Climbing Center, located at 118 N. Spruce St. in Searcy. Signups to perform will be taken at the beginning of the event.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Written by Sarah Brister and Natalie E. Smith<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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