Getting lost on the way to the station

I'm one of the Southeast Missouri March of Dimes Family Ambassador people. I became one by a fluke meeting with the former March of Dimes director late last year, and I'm happy to help promote awareness and prevention of birth defects and premature births. That's why I agreed to record a few radio advertisement snippets for the organization. Sounds simple, right? Yeah, I thought that, too. Let me tell you all about my radio experience.

First, I had to find the radio station. The KAPE/KGMO radio station is up on a hill. The afternoon of my appointment it was pouring rain. I could barely see where I was going. I'd never been to the radio station before, so I printed a map off the Internet.

If you know me, you know that I'm terrible at following directions. Two years ago my best friend and I dropped a friend off at his house, and in trying to find our way home we ended up in a small town we'd never heard of. Guess who was trying to give directions? Me, of course. My friend has never let me try to give directions since.

That said, I suppose you can guess what happened. Yep, I ended up completely on the other end of town. After a phone call to my father to straighten out my directions, I found the radio station on its hill, just where I was told it would be.

Once I got into the station, I was led to a room with a microphone and a bunch of equipment that looked extremely complicated; I was told it would be used to fix the little mistakes in my ads. What mistakes? I thought. I figured I was going to have this done in fifteen minutes flat.

An hour and fifteen minutes later, I was exiting the radio station. I had to read, and read, and talk, and listen, and then re-record little pieces of the ads to mix in with the other parts I recorded. It was so complex.

This is what I've learned from this radio adventure: Always figure out where you're going the day before you go there, and even if you get it down, leave fifteen minutes early just to make sure.

Even though I've officially decided I hate the sound of my own voice, it was definitely for a great cause!

Emily Hendricks is a senior at Central High School.