Indian Epics Spring 2018

        Once, there was a farmer and his wife. On this farm, there were cows, horses, chickens, and pigs, but there were no children. The couple found happiness in their work and had great love for one another, but there was a gap in their lives that they could not fill. Try as they might, they could not have children. The wife was especially depressed by this. She longed for the joy of motherhood. The farmer wished for a child as well, but he also worried who would take care of them when they grew old. They experimented with many natural remedies and prayers to all kinds of gods of different religions.         On a particularly dreary morning, an old witch wandered out of the woods and knocked on the couple’s door. The farmer’s wife, a very kind woman, allowed her in and offered some food. The witch gratefully accepted. When she had finished eating, she looked gravely at the wife’s stomach.          “Something is...

Bharata is furious with his mother for her actions and immediately plans to set out to bring Rama home to sit on the throne. Rama refuses to come back because it would be against what his father commanded. Bharata argues with him but Rama remains strong. I felt like Rama was being kind of rude about this. Everyone wants him to come home, but he's stubborn and trying way too hard to be this impossibly and annoyingly moral person. I would rewrite the ending for this. I'd have Rama put up a bit of a fight, like he doesn't want to steal his brother's thunder. But, after Bharata's insistence, I would write him coming home and taking over the throne. Rama's wife, Sita, tells her birth story of how she is born from the ground when her father was ploughing. I would like to make a story from this. Maybe a couple has trouble with having children, so they pray to a god and are granted a child which is grown from the ground like a plant. This could even be combined wit...

A king is unable to have children with any of his three wives, so he calls for a sacrifice of a horse. I'd never heard of a horse sacrifice before, so I think I would enjoy playing around with the idea a bit. I could tell the story from the horse's point of view. It wanders for a year, doing as it wishes, all the while knowing that at the end of the year it will be killed. A female demon is fought by two boys who are reluctant to kill her because she is female. I could write something similar where the demon is not slain but continues to pursue the boys until they are dead. A man disguises himself as a woman's husband, but she discovers the truth. Her husband is furious and kills the man and curses his wife. As a present-day rewrite, I could have the husband murder the impostor and frame his wife for the crime. She would go to jail and that would be her curse. Two young princes discover a king's beautiful garden. The princess is wandering around and sees...

        I generally like getting feedback. A lot of times I ask my friends to trade papers with me to offer and receive feedback before turning in a big assignment. I want to make myself and my work better. Sometimes I'm defensive or I get angry, especially when I disagree with the feedback. The article Using Harsh Feedback to Fuel Your Career  points out that feedback is generally not a shot at your personal self and sometimes it's hard not to feel that way. People who give feedback are working to help you. It also mentions demonizing someone you disagree with and I'm definitely guilty of this, but I generally come to my senses later.         The second article I read, 8 Things to Do When You Make a Mistake  focused more on reaching out for help from the university and other students. I don't do this much and try to work on my growth mindset instead of reaching out. I have gotten better about talking to other students for feedback...

The first topic idea I'm considering is creation stories. Nobody really knows for sure how everything came to be, so seeing how different cultures explain different aspects of the beginning of our world is so interesting to me. I know a little bit about Hindu beliefs on origins from an introductory religions course my freshman year. I think the infinite cycle idea that Wikipedia's Hindu Cosmology Article mentions is really interesting. The next idea was to write about supernatural characters. We read a story this week, Goblin City , about Rakshasas and it's actually the one I chose to write my story about. I enjoyed the sinister magical creatures and would love to learn more about other beings in Indian writings. Another creature called Asuras interested me. Wikipedia's Article of Asuras says they are like demigods but can be good or evil. That kind of confusion could make a good story. Another possibility would be food. I love food and trying new things. Reading ...

        I met Janine in a bar less than a year ago. She was the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen. She had this long blonde hair that looked impossibly soft. The second I saw her I knew I had to know her. For some reason, she was just as enraptured with me. Within a few months we were married. I never thought I was the kind of person to rush into a marriage, but I felt it was right and so did she. I'd never been so in love before.         Not long after that, I started to notice things that were odd. Janine would get out of bed in the middle of the night and not come back for hours. When I asked her about it, she claimed she had forgotten to do something for work and was on her laptop in the next room so as not to disturb me. The next time it happened, I checked the whole house for her, but she was gone. I didn't question her though. I thought there must be some kind of explanation. It was like I was under her spell and she could do no wrong...

I liked that, in the story of the rabbit, the lion saved the day. Lions are often portrayed as the king of the jungle, but they are generally not merciful and kind. This one did not harm the rabbit even after learning of the chaos he'd caused. The first turtle story is a great example of how foolish we are when we are afraid of something we don't understand. I'd like to rewrite this with something even more terrifying than a turtle. Maybe a spaceship or a foreign animal is discovered and the human race bands together to see what to do about such a horrifying thing. The combination of turtle stories shows how an animal like a turtle can be displayed in a wise or foolish light. Humans are the same way. One person can be both smart and stupid at the same time. I could write a story of a human who is very intelligent and successful but sometimes does dumb things. I enjoyed the characters in the crane story. One is cruel but smart while several others are foolish and ho...

For the weeks 3 and 4 readings, I'll likely choose the PDE Ramayana . This is mostly because the reading is available online for free. In Myth and Folklore, there were so many reading options. I enjoyed having lots of choices, but it was also a little overwhelming at times, so it's refreshing to have limited options in this section. The Ramayana comic books really interested me for week 5. I've never been much of a comic book person, but I think the images will be really interesting and helpful since I'm unfamiliar with the culture and writing of India. Specifically, Vali: The Downfall of an Arrogant King  caught my attention. I enjoy a good story of family drama. The description also made me think of Cain and Abel for some reason. I think, in week 9, I might try watching the  Mahabharata: Karmic Revolution . The video from another week looked interesting but it was very long. The playlists for this one seemed shorter and more manageable. Image Information: V...

The first article I read was  4 Questions to Help You Overcome Procrastination . I noticed that I actually already do some of these things. When I'm feeling really stressed about starting an assignment, I try to ask myself exactly what I'm going to need to do. I even list out the steps and it makes the assignment feel more manageable and less overwhelming. Instead of just telling myself to study for a test, I list out what tools I want to study with, like quizlet, and what material I want to focus on. Another tool I use is an app called myHomework . I'm able to list all of my assignments and their due dates. This really helps me to manage my time, plan ahead, and keep my stress level down. I'll include a screenshot of the app below. (Image Information: Personal Screenshot of myHomework app) The other article I read, The Psychology of Checklists  kind of explains why I find lists so satisfying, especially checklists. The author, Lauren Marchese, explains that our ...

In Myth and Folklore last semester, I learned how to use a lot of technology and tools I'd never seen before. I didn't do much image editing or graphics creating, so I might try to experiment with those a little more this semester. I remember being a little frustrated with the lack of customization options for Google Sites. I thought about experimenting with another option, but I'm not sure if I want that challenge. I definitely recommend starting a bookmark/favorites folder for all the links in the class. I hated trying to navigate the Class Wiki every time I needed something. It's definitely worth getting everything organized now so I don't fumble around looking for things all semester long. (Image Information: Technology, Source: Pixabay )

Like I've mentioned before, I took the Myth and Folklore class last semester, so I'm very familiar with the way these assignments go. I enjoyed them last semester and there weren't really any of them that I dreaded. Before these online classes, I'd never really done assignments like these. I think my favorite assignment of the week is the readings. I found a lot of interesting stories as well as inspiration for my own writings. However, I don't think I ever tried any of the extra credit options. I was very busy and stressed last semester, but I think my workload will be a little lighter now. I look forward to trying these out so I can finish early! I've always wanted to try out the Famous Last Words assignment, so maybe I'll give that a go this week. (Image Information: Typing, Source: Pexels )

I took Myth and Folklore last semester so I heard about the growth mindset and Carol Dweck then. I have noticed that since then, I've been hearing about this topic more and more. My psychology professor brought it up later last semester and I heard it again in my statistics class this afternoon. When I addressed the topic of growth mindset last semester, I admitted that I've pretty much had a fixed mindset my whole life. Last semester I really tried to make an effort to believe in myself and try different strategies if I was not doing well. I noticed that I no longer made excuses for myself like "I'm just not good at this." If I did really poorly on an Organic Chemistry test, I tried to start studying earlier and looked into new ways to study. I ended up not getting the grade I wanted, but at the end of the semester I was able to tell myself that I had really done everything I could to help my grade. If I struggle with a class this semester, I plan to take the sam...

Hey everyone, my name's Casey. My major is Biology-Pre PA(Physician Assistant) and this is my second year at OU. I've considered changing my major and career path multiple times, but I keep circling back to this. Lately, I've been thinking more about applying to PA school and how in the world I'm going to get in. I'm really nervous about starting to get the required hands-on experience so if there are any other Pre-PA kiddos out there I could definitely use your advice! Outside of school, I spend a lot of my time with my boyfriend Carlos. He's the one who has pushed me to start traveling. He is the reason I went to Naples, Florida last spring break (this was the trip from my  favorite place post ). Here are a couple more pictures from Florida because it was so beautiful and I'm kind of proud of my impromptu iPhone photography skills. (Image Information: Personal picture from my trip to Florida) (Image Information: Personal picture  of Carlos an...

Indian Horror             I liked that this storybook was a bit creepy. It kept me in suspense and made me want to continue reading to the end. I wasn’t familiar with any of the origin stories, but the ideas behind them are not uncommonly found in horror movies. I suppose Indian Horror was a fitting title. I felt a bit of a disconnect between the introduction and the story. I thought that the first story would have done better as an introduction. It was almost like the intro spoiled the ending before I’d even started reading the story. I enjoyed the diary style of writing, but wish that the author had placed more photos throughout the stories, almost like the photographs were wedged between the pages. Photos at the end of a page always feel like an afterthought to me. The Ganges: From Head to Mouth              I feel like I’ve heard of the Ganges before, but knew no history or relig...

I don't get out of Oklahoma much, as my family doesn't really believe in traveling. However, I was able to go to Naples, Florida with some friends and their parents last spring break. It was still a bit too chilly to swim in the ocean but it turned out to be an awesome trip. We stayed in the family's condo which was backed up to a little wildlife area. There were so many lizards, birds, and squirrels to watch. (Lizard, Source: Flickr ) I was very impressed with the food as well. At one point, I was hesitant to order what was essentially fish sticks, but it turned out to be delicious and fresh. I'd kill for some of those fish sticks any day. I also really enjoyed our walks. I'm not usually a very active person but the area lacked Oklahoma's normal heat and humidity. Being outdoors was actually very enjoyable. The following photo was taken at the end of one of our excursions. There was a nice little gazebo-type structure out in the middle of the water to...

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