# What Have You Learned?

Being so close to the end of freshmen year of college, I have learned a lot. I feel like I have learned a lot about myself personally. However, I still feel a bit lost educationally; by this I mean I still am very unsure of what I want to do as a career. Living in a new environment for a school year without anyone familiar to me has taught me to be more independent, realize the importance of motivation, and that you should not be afraid to take risks.My first year away at college was harder than I had expected it to be, socially and academically. 

I grew up in a state of familiarity and comfort that was stronger than what I was aware of at the time. I have had the same core group of friends since elementary school, and have always had my family by my side. Moving from St. Louis to Kansas City was exciting to me because not only do I love Kansas City, but it was a chance to get away from the norm that I have been so accustomed to. However, this proved to be a bigger challenge than I had expected.

Not knowing anyone here at UMKC really pushed me out of my comfort zone. One thing I learned about myself was that I initially am very shy around people I do not know. Compared to being around my friends I have had by my side forever, and being in a new place with new faces I had a complete different personality, which is something I did not expect of myself, it just sort of happened. This made me realize I need to be okay with putting myself out there without any familiar comfort by my side. By doing this it led me to meet people I would never think I would get along with. I learned you cannot truly initially judge people because you may surprise yourself and have things in common with someone you would never expect. 

Academically, I learned how important motivation is. In high school I did not have a lot of motivation. Coming to UMKC, I got a job, and balancing school and work was something new to me because I normally only have a job in the summer. Not playing sports or having any extracurricular activities was also something new to me with school. In addition to this, I came into my first year of school unsure what to do as a major and enrolled in Ucollege, which is a program designed to help you find a right fit for yourself. Going into the program I was optimistic, however going through it made me wish I would have just settled on a major to begin with and then figured it out from there. I feel like I took a lot of prerequisite classes that I am still not even sure what I will do with because my major is still undeclared. 

All of this was very stressful and not having any of the people I have always had by my side to help me through it made me realize I had to really motivate myself. It was a struggle to do work that I felt was getting me nowhere, but I now know how important it is to have motivation to do well and be successful.

Before coming to UMKC, I wish I would have had a better idea of what I wanted to do as a career. I also wish I would have had more confidence to put myself out there and not stay in my comfort zone so much. However, I have learned from these things and now know that in order to better my life I need to be sure of myself, and work harder to succeed in the future. 

#10: Music Copyrights

Pharrell Williams was given a lawsuit worth $7.3 million for the verdict in a trial disputing his famous song "Blurred Lines" credential's. The song is said to have a beat that is stolen from Marvin Gaye's song "Got To Give It Up". Williams, along with Robin Thicke are said to be "firm, rock solid in, the conclusion that they wrote this song independently from the heart and soul" (Kreps, 4). This lawsuit arguing "Blurred Lines" and "Got To Give It Up"similarities not only affects these two  songs, but could cause conflict with music creativity for all musicians.
The main beats of both songs are very similar, which is what is resulting in the Gaye family filing a lawsuit. However, listening to both songs it is apparent that rhythm is used in very different ways. "Got To Give It Up" is a smooth, upbeat song from 1977 whereas "Blurred Lines" is a modern, pop song from 2013. When comparing both of these songs it is possible to tell they sound a bit similar but "Blurred Lines" had obviously taken the sounds and made it into something completely different with additions to other beats and instruments. Both songs were created from successful musicians who probably share the same understanding that their creativity to create music is important, so why is it such a big deal? Being that the songs have very different vibes it can easily be argued that the shared sound was used as inspiration and not meant to copy a song from Gaye.
Musicians all are creative artists, and much like artists they get inspiration from many things. If two painters were to both draw a bowl of fruit, each painting may have its own unique elements to it. However both artists used the same source for their inspiration. I think that in many cases, if a musician is inspired by another musician's music it should be flattering. Using similar sounds in music is interesting because musicians personal interpretations of it can have completely different meanings, thus creating completely different songs. It seems it would be unfair to limit the creativity in making diverse music if every beat was owned by someone. Yes, maybe credit should be given to the original musician, however, if the sound is turned into something completely new maybe we should respect their imagination.
Similar cases of shared tracks in music have happened with other songs such as "Under Pressure" by Queen in 1891, and "Ice Ice Baby" by Vanilla ice in 1989. In addition, "Call Me" by Blondie released in 1980, and "Uprising" by Muse released in 2009 also share similar sounds. All songs are successful, but are very different. What all of these songs have in common as well, is that the original songs were released years before the ones that were created from their sound's inspiration. I think this is important to point out that each new song had a completely different kind of music genre than the original, which goes to show how inspiration can come from any sort of music.
Musicians arguing over certain rhythm's that they claim to be their own seems to put a disability on creating new music. I think that maybe to ease any tension between artists there should be permission or credit given between the two for the shared sound. Williams fighting a lawsuit worth $7.3 million seems to be an extreme example of how the music industry has changed the way we hear songs. However, I believe all musician's should have the right to find inspiration from any source they want.