I step in front of a couple hundred people with my crate of records under one arm. I pull one out of its glossy cover, my first track for the night, and put it on the turntable. I gently place the needle into the groove, push the crossfader to my new track, and hear the crowd scream with approval. I smile and get ready for a long night of mixing. Welcome to a normal Saturday night for me, a DJ.

When I began, I had to learn how to beat match, which is basically using the pitch on the turntable to make the song go faster or slower, and matching the beats so they are in sync. Then I had to learn basic music theory, then more, to the point where I know much more than I ever expected. That was more than two years ago, and though I’ve spent every day working to get where I am now, I do not regret any of it.

My usual weekday schedule consists of taking a shower with music blasting on my stereo, and going to school with a CD playing in the car. When I get home, I search the internet for music to buy. My purchases are shipped to my house as a big round black piece of vinyl - a record. I shop until I realize it is getting late, and tell myself I need to do my homework, but I often ignore that and keep searching for music until I notice the clock again. Then I rush through my homework and crash into bed, listening to music as I drift away. Some days I make a long trip to record stores where I spend hours flipping through records to find a few I call special. As you can see, all my time revolves around music.

On weekends I usually have gigs, which means I have a job that varies from house parties to the occasional school dance. These gigs are the highlights of my week. I step up in front of the equipment and everything else fades away. I don’t worry about the test on Monday or the girl I met a few days ago, I just go into the world of music. I concentrate on the music and match it up perfectly. Just knowing that on the other side of the equipment are hundreds of people dancing to the music, I say to myself, “Oh yeah, it’s definitely more than buying records.”