I love being a DJ. I love everything about it. I love the lights, the crowds and, of course, the music.

I’ve always loved music. It has this amazing power to create and build up energy. For an individual this is great, but for a crowd it is even greater.

There is so many different things I do as a DJ. I’ve done karaoke parties, weddings, birthday parties, game shows, casino nights, photo booths and much more.

I don’t think I have bad events. I have good events, great events and awesome events. Every once in a while I end up with an event that might not have as many people or not as many people are excited, but even then, I still have fun.

Basically my job is to have fun. As a DJ, I’m not just an iPod. Anyone can go up there and just play music. My job is to have fun and encourage others to have as much fun as I am having.

The most work I have to do is to set up and transport the equipment, which by itself usually just takes an hour.

After that, it’s all about creating a fun environment for people. Because people are different it means there is a different experience every single time.

Maybe some people are more into country music, maybe they hate country, but love ‘80s rock. It all depends on who is there. My personal music tastes tend to go to a little bit of everything (although I do actually enjoy more pop music then I should) However, if someone else likes a song, that can make up for me not liking it.

A perfect example, one night I was doing a wedding reception. It was pretty typical. People were dancing, but it wasn’t an epic party yet.

Then I switched into country. Now, I don’t really like country music that much, but the second I started playing Florida Georgia Line, the entire room exploded with manic energy. That turned a good party into an awesome party.

Being a DJ is a constant learning experience. Just when you think you have it figured out, there is always something new to learn. It’s a great way to look at life as well. No matter how much you think you have life figured out, there is always something new to figure out. There’s always a small improvement you can make it.

When I started, I was actually slightly timid. My voice was quiet, and there wasn’t a lot of energy. But now every single time I work a gig, I always bring 110 percent energy to it.

There are people I work with who I look up to and are much better than me, but even they have room for improvement.

It all comes from experience. Once I work a couple of gigs, I start to notice what kind of music some people like, and then I can start to predict what people want. That’s when I can start playing music that people want to hear before they even know they want to hear it.

The thing I love most about the job, is that it brings happiness into other people’s lives.

I’ll admit, I tend to be excessively cheerful, but it makes me even happier to know that I have a chance to make other people as happy as me.

That’s not to say it is without its disadvantages. In my job I tend to deal with a lot of drunk people. Most people are usually fine, but some drunk people get extremely whiny and demanding, which can be frustrating.

Also I work with a lot of electronics, which means that sometimes part of it will fail, meaning that a lot of time has to be spent trying to figure out how to fix it.

Altogether though, some drunk people and occasionally faulty electronics are nowhere close to enough to ruin what is my favorite job that I have ever had.

Like I said, I love everything about being a DJ. The drunk people make a fun story to tell someone, and the occasionally (although very rarely) faulty electronics are yet another learning experience.

I get to go to work and listen to music the whole time. It is the best job I have ever had.

Mike Rauser is a staff writer for The Dakota Student. He can be reached at [email protected].