Famous Last Words for Week 5

I actually really enjoyed reading the Mahabharata this week. I was a little bit nervous because I was told from a student who has previously taken this course that it is a lot more confusing that the Ramayana. It did have a ton of different characters with names I had trouble remembering but I went to my Pinterest board and searched the Mahabharata and found a family tree. It was extremely helpful to have pulled up side by side with the story on my computer so every time the story mentioned a character I could quickly reference who it was. I also took more detailed notes this week focusing on story lines in order to minimize my confusion. I think this was helpful in terms of comprehending the story but wasn’t quite as beneficial for my story telling.

While I really enjoyed the story, I did have a difficult time getting inspired to write a story. I was having trouble getting passionate about an idea and decided to story plan this week. As I began just writing out ideas it slowly started to form and I was able to create an outline that I think will make for a good story next week. I had planned on writing my actually story this week but I think I am too inexperienced of a writer to always be able to jump into a story. Taking this step back to plan out what I’m going to write I think will have a positive effect on my stories.

This coming Monday I have my first midterm exam and I was afraid I’d have to sacrifice a few assignments in this class and rely on extra credit but I was actually more productive throughout the week and was able to get farther ahead of my usual schedule. It’s only Friday and I am almost completely done with the week including extra credit so I am excited about that. I hope I am able to keep this momentum going into next week so that I am less overwhelmed on Sundays.

Family Tree
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Week 5 Review: Let Another's Success Inspire You

I really like this growth mindset meme from Sunday’s announcements. I was just watching a TV show in which the wife become a little bit disappointed and jealous of her husband’s sudden success. I think it’s sometimes hard to not be disappointed when you haven’t had the success you had planned to have but I think it’s really important to let other people’s success inspire you and not bring you down. It’s not always easy but with that outlook I think I would be able to learn from others and gain motivation to keep pursuing my dreams.

Growth Mindset Meme
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Wikipedia Trail: From Ganga to Arjuna

I began my Wikipedia trail with the goddess Ganga. She is the personification of the sacred river Ganga and is worshipped by Hindus. It is believe that bathing in the river causes the remission of sins and facilitates Moksha.

Moksha is a Hindu term referring to various forms of emancipation, liberation and release. In Hindu traditions it is included in the four aspects and goals of human life. The other three are Dharma, Artha, and Kama. 

Artha translates directly as meaning, sense, goal, purpose or essence depending on the context. The proper pursuit of artha is considered an important aim of human life in Hinduism. Arjuna claims without artha, people’s abilities for dharma and kama fall apart.

Arjuna is a protagonist in the epic Mahabharata. He is considered the finest archer and a peerless warrior. He is the third of the Pandava brothers and was married to Draupadi.

Statue of Arjuna
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Wikipedia Trail:
Ganges
Moksha
Artha
Arjuna

Learning Challenge: Work for What You Love

I really love this meme because it put into perspective where we should be focusing our energy. I often get swept away in the fast pace environment of college and find myself getting stressed out. I have recently tried to step back and identify my passions and one of them requires that I complete my college degree. While I am not necessarily passionate about school, I think it’s important to step back and realize the big picture and why I am doing what I am.

Stress VS Passion
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Growth Mindset: Growth in Other Classes

This semester I am enrolled in a course on leadership and management for engineers. Until this point I had never had a class focused on how I learn and how I am successful and now my leadership and management course as well as this course have made me stop and think about what my strengths and weaknesses are and how I learn. I’m glad I waited until my senior year to take these classes because I feel I am better equipped to stop and be able to honestly evaluate myself.  I feel that by identifying these abilities and traits about myself will help be to better manage myself in school and my future career.

Managing Yourself
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