By Joseph Provine, Phoenix staff writer

GSU’s Story Slam is an open mic like event where students and other participants were encouraged to participate by simply sharing a story from their own experience that illustrated the theme of “when the wheels fall off.”

Passersby couldn’t miss the event — it was held in the middle of the Hall of Governors. There was a microphone connected to a speaker where the sound echoed through the building so that everyone was able to hear what the speaker was saying.

The audience was seated in chairs arranged in a semicircle around a single microphone on a stand. This setup made it nearly irresistible for anyone who passed by to keep going without stopping for a brief second to listen.

When it came to the stories, there were many as they took names from those who were interested in participating and had them write their names on a sheet of paper and pulled from the box shuffling before selecting the next speaker’s name.

Although I only came to report on the event, I was encouraged to join. The enticement worked, and I was drawn into the participant pool. I didn’t think my name would be called, but my name was the final one chosen. I told a story about a time when the wheels fell off in my life.

Afterward, guest host Shannon Cason encouraged everyone to give a warm round of applause for all the speakers, whether if they felt they did well or not. Little did I know, there were judges in attendance. Cason asked everyone to stay so that the speakers who were selected to participate in the final Grand Slam competition for cash prizes could be notified right then.

This event gave everyone the chance to laugh, crack jokes, vent, let lose, and just be themselves while enjoying each others’ stories. It gave everyone a platform to tell a story about a time when the wheels fell off in their life so that the wheels of others could keep on turning.