Reading Notes: PDE Ramayana Section A

For this week I read Part A of the Public Domain Edition (PDE) : Ramayana. I very much enjoyed reading and listening to these stories. I think the option of being able to hear the audio of the story is a great benefit. One story that really stood out to me was, Sita. I like how this story was love story between the prince Rama and the Princess Sita. In my own story, however, I’m going to make Rama a worker of the king perhaps a gardener. Further, in the original story Rama and Sita just looked into each other’s eyes and instantly fell in love for forever and always. I want to make my story a little more realistic and have Sita and Rama fall in love in a more believable way like through spending time with one another and getting to know each other. I also want to incorporate the theme of nature into my story perhaps in the way of a flower representing Rama and Sitas love.

The Flower Garden. 

Bibliography: The Divine Archer by F. J. Gould, Link to reading. 

Topic Brainstorm

Topic: Goddess
I think it would be really cool to learn more about the goddesses of the Indian culture. I’ am pretty familiar with the goddesses of Greek mythology and I always find those stories very exciting. I think it would be interesting to do a storybook about the different Goddesses of the Indian epics. I’ve done a little research on the topic and I really like the Secrets of the Goddess video series! I think its neat to have a visual representation when you are learning new things.



Topic: Weapons
In almost every culture I’ve studied there has always been the use and creation of weapons. When it comes to Indian mythology there are many different weapons that are used within the epic stories. I think I would want to do a storybook about four key weapons that show up a lot in the mythology. I’m not sure how I’m going to be able to just choose four weapons since there really are a lot to choose from but with more research I think I’ll be able to narrow it down!



Topic: Loving Couples
I have always been a hopeless romantic and I love watching romantic movies or reading a romance novel. With that being said, I think being able to do a storybook about the different couples in Indian mythology would be really fun! Further, I like the idea of how I get to decide and create the ending for the couples that I put into my storybook. I for sure want to include the couple, Rama and Sita into my project. But I ‘m not sure yet if I want all of my storybook to focus on them or if I want to incorporate some other couples as well.


Topic: Animals
I love animals and I feel like animals always bring a special quality when they are in a story. The type of animal it self normally has a symbolic meaning and then the writer can also incorporate a certain type of personality in order to personify the animal character. I think I would want to do a storybook over the important animal characters that show up in Indian Mythology, like the elephant for example. And expand on what that specific animal is known for and how they are portrayed in Indian culture.

The Indian Elephant

Feedback Thoughts

I read the articles “5 Tips for Taking Feedback Like a Champ,” by Megan Bruneau and “Silence the Critical Voices in Your Head,” by Sabina Nawaz. I thought both of these articles were very insightful and gave some really good points on how to use feedback to your advantage. Personally, I think feedback is vital for one to improve. I like tip number 2 from the article by Megan Bruneau, which talks about how it is good if you have room for improvement because this means you have the potential to get better and grow. Further, for most people you are your toughest critic. So, its really important to keep a positive mindset when you here or give feedback. Lastly, I think giving feedback is most effective when it is done in a positive and constructive way. For example, if you were giving feedback on a paper and you didn’t like how the introduction was constructed its not helpful to just right BAD in red next to the paragraph. Instead, if you give them an example of how the introduction could read more smoothly that would be much more beneficial to the writer. Also, I think its important to also comment on what people are doing right and give them praise for that as well.

The potential for growth is endless. 

Time Strategies

First, this is my last semester! In my time leading up to now, I have become very academically disciplined with respect to time management. For example, it has become increasingly easier to be more efficient with my time. Mostly, this is owed to the fact that I have been around the block a few times. In addition, I have had plenty of time to realize what methods work for me and which things to avoid. In this course particularly, I know that I’ll check in with canvas daily, including weekends, since assignments can be completed ahead of time or during grace periods. Also, I will check my email daily, since I know that Professor Gibbs takes the time to reach out to the students via email at different times, especially to keep them on pace. Lastly, I am going to make sure to check my weekly progress with respect to my projected standings in the class! It is very helpful and encouraging!

I read the article, The Important Habit of Just Starting by Jory Mackay and How to Beat Procrastination by Caroline Webb. Both articles were very insightful. Some ideas I took away from this article is that the feelings and stress I get from procrastinating are worse then just sitting down and doing the work.

A clock to represent time management.

Technology

When it comes to the tools for this class, I really enjoyed the blogging aspect of this course. Last semester was my first time to ever be exposed to blogging and I absolutely loved it! I didn’t really experiment to much with image editing last semester but that is something that I want to do more of this time around. I think it would be really cool to take a basic image and but my own unique twist to it.

Typing on a Keyboard. 

Assignments of India Epics

From last semester, I really liked the extra credit options because they allowed me to stay on track with the course when my schedule would become hectic. Also, by utilizing the extra credit I could get ahead and have the opportunity to finish the class early. Further, I thought the reading assignments permitted me to be exposed to a lot of different stories from many kinds of cultures. This semester I’m excited to learn more about the Indian culture and all the stories that go along with that!

India Epics. 

Introduction to a Future Physician

My name is Sydney Warrick and my major is Biology Pre-Med. This summer I was super busy with taking my MCAT (a test you have to take in order to get into medical school), filling out my medical school applications, and volunteering at some local hospitals. My goal is to get accepted into a medical school program this year and then start medical school in fall of 2018, with the end goal of becoming a physician. Even though my summer was filled with studying and deadlines I did manage to find some time for fun. For instance, I live on Skiatook Lake, which is a small town about thirty minutes away from Tulsa. At the lake I enjoy taking the boat out and tubing, wake boarding, and hanging out with friends.

Skiatook Lake. Skiatook

I also enjoy hanging out with my family, which this summer was my brothers last summer before he goes off to college. My brother, Danny, is going to The Kings College in New York City. He’s going to be living in an apartment in Manhattan on Wall Street, which is only a five-minute walk to his school. I’m super excited for him and now that he’s going to school in New York it gives me an excuse to come visit him in New York City more often! Since this summer was the summer right before my brother left for college my mom organized a big family vacation to Charleston, South Carolina where we have a lot of family. We rented a beach house for the week In Charleston and had so much fun. While we where there we toured historical downtown Charleston and went on a dinner cruise, which had amazing seafood. I also got to catch up with my cousins that I haven’t seen in a while and of course waking up on the beach everyday wasn’t to bad either.

Growth Mindset a Review

I re-watched the videos on growth mindset from last semester, just to help recap some of the main ideas of growth mindset. I really enjoyed Carol Dweck’s Ted Talk and I think her point of view on studying and learning is something that I’m really going to try to adopt for this semester. I remember from last semester the growth mindset assignments were both interesting and helpful. The information I learned was very beneficial in not only this class but my other classes as well!

First day of School Necessities. 

My Storybook Favorites

Hogwarts: The Loyalty of Brothers

The storybook “Hogwarts: The Loyalty of Brothers,” by Katie Nichols was designed very well and easy to navigate. I really appreciated the links she incorporated such as the character list link. I think this gave the reader, who especially if they are not familiar with the harry potter series, a good insight into some of the main characters. Further, I really liked how Katie used the theme of Harry Potter in her storybook. I am a big fan of Harry Potter so I really enjoyed reading her stories! The images that were used I think really captured the main theme of every story! Lastly, I think the introduction did a good job at capturing the readers attention and making them want to keep reading the other stories in the storybook.



+IMAGE.PR

The storybook “+IMAGE.PR,” was really creative and unique. I think the design and theme was original and different which got my interest immediately. I thought it was clever how the author designed their storybook like an actual service website with the About Us tab and the title of the last story being Customer Appreciation. Further, I thought it was really neat how the stories were written in a dialogue format. I think this made the story more interactive for the reader as if the reader was a fly on the wall observing the story unfold.



Barney’s EPIC India Playbook

The “Barney’s EPIC India Playbook” storybook was… Legen (wait for it).. DARY, It was LEGENDARY! I’m probably a little biased because I am a huge “How I Met Your Mother” fan, but nevertheless I really did enjoy reading every story of this storybook. I thought the images that were incorporated into each story complemented the theme perfectly. Overall, I feel like this storybook was creative and kept the reader engaged. I wasn’t that familiar with the original Indian stories such as “Narayan’s Ramayana.” But after reading this storybook and the autobiographies of the original stories I think the author did a good job of taking elements from the original stories and creating something new and original.

The Storybook. 

The Beach, My Favorite Place

My Favorite Place to be is by far the beach. I love the sounds the waves make when they crash up on the beach shore and how the sand feels when I dig my toes into the ground.  Growing up I have always loved being around water and some of my best childhood memories have been spent playing on a beach. Some of my favorite beaches I have visited throughout the years were located in Destin, Florida, Miami South Beach, and Hawaii.

                                            Destin Florida Beach. Sunset Resort Rentals

It's ME!

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