Week 2 Review: Being Prepared

I really loved this meme and found it to be very relatable to me at this moment. I love being prepared and being able to get things done ahead of time however this last week I was overwhelmed by many unforeseen events taking up more time than I expected. Hopefully for this coming week my planning and organization will be the well for me when I begin to feel stressed.

WELL Meme
Source

Famous Last Words for Week 2

This week I was still trying to figure out what my schedule is going to be and what routine I can settle into. Thankfully there is a great deal of flexibility in this class because I did not get done what I had expected to when I thought I would. I am currently enrolled in a senior capstone and until this week my team hadn’t met and figured out what schedule we will be maintaining throughout the semester. Finally we were able to block out the required hours throughout the week and I will now be able to adjust my time dedicated to this class and to my other online class accordingly. Nothing stresses me out more than waiting until the last minute to get something done so I am glad I have a more consistent routine and am hoping to be doing the assignments for this class farther ahead of time.

The reading this week went really well for me. I wasn’t quite able to do it all on Monday like I had originally scheduled to but I was still able to get everything done on time.  I think I will be better off planning to do a little bit of this class everyday rather than planning for large hunks of time a few days a week. We’ll see how this next week goes and hopefully I’ll work something out that works best for me. Sometimes trial and error is the only way to go.

While doing my learning challenge this week I really got to think about the effects my training has had on my overall happiness and attitude. I have officially been training for four weeks now and I am finally to the point where I don’t dread going to run. In addition to running I have also been trying to eat healthier and get enough sleep. I’m curious to see the effects this will have on my schoolwork and within my relationships with other people.

Scheduling Motivation
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Wikipedia Trail: From The Jungle Book to Big Brother

I began my Wikipedia trail with The Jungle Book, a book I stumbled across while looking for books for my project. The Jungle Book is a collection of stories that were written in 1894 by Rudyard Kipling. I then went to Rudyard Kipling's page and learned that he was an English journalist, short-story writer, poet and novelist. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature and George Orwell called him a "prophet of British imperialism." I then went to George Orwell's page and learned his name was actually Eric Arthur Blair and George Orwell was just his pen name. He was best known for being the author of dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four in which he was the first to use the phrase Big Brother. I then went to the Big Brother page that described the term big brother as the leader of a totalitarian state wherein the ruling Party wields total power "for its own sake" over the inhabitants and comes with a very negative connotation. 

The Jungle Book
Source: Wikipedia

Link Trail:
The Jungle Book
Rudyard Kipling
George Orwell 
Big Brother

Learning Challenge: Running toward Happiness

It's relatively well known that exercising is not only good for your physical health but also your mental health. As Elle Woods said it best, "Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy." I was a runner throughout high school and quit cold turkey when I began college. Getting back into a habit of exercising is extremely hard after taking a long break from it but this last year I set a few goals for myself which included running a half marathon. To achieve this I have been running or working out nearly 6 days a week and while I'm a little more exhausted than usual, I always feel so much happier and healthier after every workout. Outside of training, I also love to run as a stress reliever. While many people think that's crazy and there's no way stressing out your body during a run can reduce mental stress but it really does! 

Legally Blonde Quote
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Growth Mindset: Motivation after Failure

I really liked the motivation of this meme. I feel like a lot of the time when something gets difficult or frustrating for me, it's tempting to want to simply quit. However the most important learning situations to me are the one's in which you fail or nearly fail. Failure allows you to sit back and reassess the situations which can lead to bigger and better things. Then once failure occurs, it is crucial to try  again and again until you get the desired result. 

Growth Mindset Meme
Source: Cheezburger

Tech Tip: Pinterest Board

I am currently a user of Pinterest and created a new Pinterest board for this class. I usually use Pinterest for recipe’s and decorations but I think this will be really useful to gather meme’s and look up other pictures related to our readings, which I will be able to use in future blog posts.

Link to my board: Indian Epics

Feedback Thoughts

I really enjoyed the 5 Tips for Taking Feedback Like a Champ article where it talked about understanding that being uncomfortable when receiving feedback is healthy and normal. While I love to receive feedback because I like to know where I am able to improve, the situation in which I am receiving the feedback always makes me feel so uncomfortable. That section of the article made me realize that other people must experience that too and I appreciated that. The only time I have formally received feedback is through performance reviews at the end of each of my internships. Being a very competitive person and a borderline perfectionist, receiving imperfect scores was hard for me. While it is hard for me to take, it’s the best way to communicate the ways in which I can improve. As a student with only a few internships of experience I would silly to think I was perfect at my job. After reading the articles they made me feel more comfortable with the feedback I had received.

I found the articles about giving feedback to be interesting as well. I have never really been in the situation where I was required to give feedback but I am sure when I am in that situation I will naturally be very uncomfortable and feel awkward. Though both of the articles I read on giving feedback were regarding a teacher giving feedback to a student, I feel that the same mindset can be applied in a professional setting.

Articles I read:

5 Tips For Taking Feedback Like a Champ

Using Harsh Feedback to Fuel Your Career

Presence, Not Praise: How To Cultivate a HealthyRelationship with Achievement

Be a Mirror: Give Readers Feedback That Fosters a GrowthMindset

Feedback Meme
Source: Meme Generator

Week 2 Story: To Learn to Fish

Once upon a time there was a beautiful princess named Sita. She spent her days wandering around her father’s kingdom with a book in hand or picking flowers and admiring the land the gods had blessed her with. She had never left the kingdom but had an adventurous soul and often dreamt of the wonders of the outside world. That was until she locked eyes with Rama, the man she knew she was destined to be with.  They didn’t speak a word but she instantly fell in love with him and knew he would be the one to take her from this kingdom and share with her the rest of the world.

Sita knew the man must win her father's approval and to do so, he must bend the god Shiva's bow. Many men had tried to bend the bow and failed but she could feel in her heart that this would not be the case for Rama. The gods answered her prayers and Rama successfully bent the bow. 

She shrieked with joy when she heard the news as the day she never thought would come was finally here. The wedding occurred with no delay and Sita wed Rama on a day filled with sunshine and surrounded by the blooming flowers. Sita was overflowing with joy and ready to depart with her new husband to discover the world.

The wedding bliss came to a screeching halt when Kaikeyi, Bharata's mother, demanded Rama to be sent to the forest in exile for fourteen years. Kaikeyi knew Rama was to be the crown prince so she demanded his exile so that her own son would become the heir.

Sita was devastated and confused. She wanted to blame the gods but knew nothing good could come from that. Instead she choked back her tears and made a decision. She knew she could not go on without her beloved and refused to let Kaikeyi steal her happiness. She would go with Rama into exile in the forest.

After only a few days in the forest with Rama and Lakshmana, she began to grow bored. Because she was a lady, the men insisted on providing all food and shelter and essentially protecting her in every way. Without her books or the ability to go on walks alone she felt more and more useless and desired something more. 

"Rama," she said "I simply can't waste away out here. I need a purpose to this life in exile." 

"Your purpose is to be my wife," Rama said. "Are you unsatisfied with your accommodations?"

"No, Rama, I am very happy but I would like to be able to provide something, anything of value to our group."

"You are my queen," Rama said tenderly. "I am here to protect and provide for you. Your assistance is not needed."

"Rama, please," she begged. "Teach me to fish so I can provide a meal for us."

Sita knew she could never master the survival skills Rama and Lakshmana had but she simply wanted to learn whatever she could. She wanted to know she could be of use if circumstances required it and Rama agreed to teach her how to fish.

Early the next morning, Rama and Sita set off to the closest river for the promised fishing lesson. They found a nice clearing and sat down on a rock overlooking the river. The sun was just rising and the water was quietly flowing below their feet. Sita, too impatient to enjoy the scenery, looked to Rama and asked how to begin. 

On the walk to the river, Rama had kept an eye out for sticks of the proper size and length that could be sharpened into spears. He found the two they would use and began scraping the bark off with her knife. He quickly sharpened the spears and handed one over to Sita. She was giddy with excitement but kept her face serious as she was determined to succeed. 

The couple took their weapons and walked a little ways down the river until they found a good spot to wade out. Rama took Sita’s hand and cautiously guided her into the river where fish were swimming all around their toes. Rama quickly demonstrated to Sita the proper motion and technique and plunged his spear through the water and into a fish. 

Sita steadied herself and looked hard into the water closely following the fish’s every move. Mimicking Rama’s technique, she flung the spear into the water and deep into the dirt bottom causing the spear to stick straight up. She let out a sigh of disappointment though she did not let it ruin her determination. 

She retrieved her spear and tried again, and again and again with no fish. After what felt like hours of trying she was nearly ready to quit. Rama continued to offer her advice and would stay by her side until she was satisfied. She decided to give it one more try with her full concentration and all her strength. With all her force she launched the spear into the water. 

When she pulled the spear up she had expected nothing but her eyes widened and she let out a gasp. “Rama!” she cried. “I did it! I did it!” she exclaimed as she danced and splashed around the river waving her fish and spear around like a trophy. Rama wrapped her in a deep embrace and congratulated her on the victory. 

Rama and Sita hiked back to their campsite unable to wipe the smiles off their faces, built a fire and enjoyed the delicious fish Rama and Sita had caught as a team. Surviving fourteen more years in the forest wouldn’t be as bad as she had originally thought.

Spear fishing
Source: Clipart

Author's Note: This story is based off the characters Sita and Rama from the Public Domain Edition of the Ramayana. At the beginning of my story, I rewrote the events that occurred in the Ramayana from the meeting of Rama and Sita until they were exiled to the forest from Sita’s point of view. Once they were exiled, I created the following story in which Sita in interesting in learning to fish. Rama takes Sita to the river and she is able to catch the dinner they eat that night.  

The image I chose is of two boys spearfishing in a river. While the image is of two boys, I chose this drawing to represent Sita and Rama spear fishing in the river. I like this image because one of the boys is clearly older and I wanted that to represent Rama in terms of experience and Sita being the smaller of the two learning.

With this story, I hoped to give Sita an image larger than just simply a wife who does what she is told. I wanted to empower her and add a new aspect to her character development. We never really see throughout the Public Domain Ramayana many sides to Sita and with this story it shows her determination and adventurous side. 

Bibliography: PDE Ramayana, Authors: M. Dutt, R. Dutt, Gould, Griffith, Hodgson, Mackenzie, Nivedita, Oman, Richardson, and Ryder.