Senior Interviews

I first interviewed an RA in my building named Richie. He said you never really know what to expect going to to college obviously, but for the most part he thinks that he has learned more about himself than he had expected. You come to college and expect things to change but things that happen aren't what you plan and he has tried to embrace things as they came. He said his Business Major never changed. He thinks that when you let things develop you learn to accept what has happened even if they weren't the most admired moments in his life. He is definitely not happy with every decision he has made but he is happy with the way he has grown and what he has learned from everything that has happened. He said he wouldn't change anything because he might not have learned the lessons that turned him into who he is today. Regarding freshman he says one of the most important things is to actively try to find yourself and to pursue what you want to do and who you want to be. When you find that out everything else is secondary. Just find what you are good at and embrace it.

My Second interview was with one of my co workers in the student union named Felix. He says that in College the teachers teach you completely different than they do in high school because they expect you to learn on your own more. College is also much more diverse and of course the number of people can be overwhelming at times. When asked what he would do differently he said he would have taken things more seriously from the start of school instead of just going out and having fun all of the time. He says that joining a fraternity definitely helped him because he had much more resources and they even helped him find his first two jobs. Networking is key he says. He changed his major from international business to graphic design with another major in photography because he felt they complimented each other. His advice for freshman is to enjoy college while focusing on studies. Learn as much as you can while you are here and make the most of everything you're paying for. Money shouldn't have to be an issue because once you leave and go out into the real world your education will benefit you financially.

Muse Workshop #2

Today I went to a muse workshop about the A,B, C's of self-esteem. The professor Dr. Lee was a very good speaker and had many useful tips that might help the quality of ones life and how they can learn to improve the lives of others. Her objectives were to understand the sources of self esteem, gain skills in increasing self esteem, and being able to craft an action plan in order for you cultivate a stable self esteem level. It is not good for self esteem to fluctuate during the day and one of the goals is to prevent this from happening. The sources of self esteem is virtue, God's love, family support, academic competence, physical attractiveness, gaining others approval, and outdoing others in competition. Another tip is to never compare because there is no such thing as a fair comparison and this will only lead to less self esteem. At the end of the presentation Dr. Lee advised us to make a 21 day plan which will hopefully help us accomplish a higher level of self esteem. I chose to compliment others for 21 days since I feel like I have a healthy amount of self esteem and I know there are many people out there who do not and could use a push in the right direction.

Music List #4

1.) The Beatles- Most of their songs have a fast tempo and they sing about how it feels to love and be loved.

2.) Chris Isaak- Like the Beatles, 90% of his songs are about falling in love and having the strength to overcome pain from a lost love.

3.) Bob Marley- This man brought so many people together by his deep and powerful lyrics about peace, love, and hope.

4.) ZZ Top- Their songs are mainly about women and are always up-beat and have high energy.

5.) Van Halen- Very energetic band with an I-don't-care attitude that allows them to sing about anything and everything they want. I don't know one song of theirs that is depressing and slow. Eddie Van Halen probably wouldn't allow that.

All Shook Up Chapter 6 Review

This chapter basically told the story of several major Rock n' Roll pioneers and how they contributed to the downfall of a genre. Although these events didn't destroy rock, it had a negative impact. The fact that Jerry Lee Lewis married his thirteen year old cousin is very strange even for that time period. My grandma was only 14 when she married my grandfather which is odd enough but they were in no way related. Also I think it is very unfortunate that these performers can't live their lives without the media getting in the way. Elvis couldn't even go get his pre-army check up without cameras snapping his picture. Also this chapter finished by talking about Motown records and all of the hits that it produced. A lot of what was described in this part of the chapter were all things we had recently learned thanks to our guest speaker which I thought was pretty cool. The thing I found interesting in the epilogue was that Bruce Springsteen was offered 12 million dollars so a car company could use 'Born in the U.S.A' for a commercial. That basically means if you write one hit song you could be set for the rest of your life.

Fever Chapter 4 Response

I really liked how music in the 60's somewhat ended segregation in the musical world. White musicians could be heavily influenced by black artists and in a lot of cases White artists were even more heavily influenced by black women. Even bands as prestigious as the Beatles were taking songs sung by black artists such as "Please Mr. Postman" and making covers of them. Also while I was reading about bands pushing the envelope with sexual content I even listened to the whole song "Lola" by the Kinks to see if it was really about a transvestite. It turns out it actually was and I never knew that. I was especially interested reading about bands such as The Who and The Rolling Stones because they are two groups that I enjoy listening to today and I enjoyed learning new things about Mick Jagger's antics and Keith Moon's lunacy. I knew Keith Moon was crazy and I have heard the story of him driving a car into a hotel pool but I am surprised he didn't die earlier than he did after all of his drug addictions. I even heard a story that he took horse tranquilizer before a concert and they had to grab someone from the crowd to finish the set. The only thing about the chapter I didn't understand was the last part when Riley was talking about Tommy and Jimmy. I don't know who he is referring to.

Music Memories #2

I interviewed an old family friend Philip Sheridan about musical preferences. As a teenager he enjoyed listening to bands such as the Rolling Stones, The Who, and Michael Jackson. He has seen the Rolling Stones in concert 31 times, Bruce Springsteen about 10 times, The Who 5 times, Neil Young 5 times, Tom Petty 5 times, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, and U2 a couple of times. He still loves the same music he did when he was a teenager. "Gotta love the classics" he said. Phil says that his favorite bands then and now include U2, Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones, and The Who. Unlike Phil I have liked a wide variety of music over the years and have had many different favorite bands. He has stuck with the same bands throughout his life, The Rolling Stones especially. I haven't even seen the band twice in concert but he has seen them 31 times which is quite impressive. I went from liking rap, to 80's music, to classic rock, and then to metal. I still like all of these types of music but not equally. I would have liked to have been able to go to a Pantera concert but their lead guitarist was murdered so the band broke up.

Fever Chapter 2 & 3 Response

I thought it was interesting that men were said to be singing to women while women were said to be singing to other women as well. Not directed at them romantically but sort of like a conversation between them about men. Also more and more men started using women as back up singers and even guitarists. They were finally getting a chance to be center stage and they made the most of it. I can't say I understand completely what the author meant by Tina Turner sounding like a man but I can take a few guesses why he would claim that. Maybe it had something to do with her raspy, gravelly voice or maybe it had something to do with the fact that her on stage antics were just as sexual as Elvis'. She started pushing the limits of women could do in the industry and the fact that she teamed up with a critically acclaimed artist (Ike Turner) only gave her more freedom to express herself in that way. Also while I was reading I realized that Creedence Clearwater Revival wrote Proud Mary before Tina and Ike performed it. My Mom and I always argued about which version came first and I guess i am right. I honestly think CCR's version was better even though Tina's was more popular.

Music List #3

1.) Kryptonite (3 Doors Down)- I've always hated this song because I think the chorus drags on for too long and I hear it all the time.

2.) Ice Ice Baby (Vanilla Ice)- He basically took a classic song by Queen and David Bowie and destroyed it

3.) We are the Champions (Queen)- I'm not really sure why I hate this song, but I just do. Whenever I listen to We Will Rock You I change the song before this one comes on.

4.) Remember the Name (Fort Minor)- I just think this song sounds really cheesy.

5.) Welcome to the Black Parade (My Chemical Romance)- Hearing this song just makes me feel terrible. It is way too depressing