Wednesday, April 29, 2020

Learning Challenge: Deskercise

Article Title: 6 Yoga Exercises You Won’t Be Embarrassed to Do at Your Desk

Sometimes when we sit for long periods of time our body gets a little stiff and we feel the need to stretch. I read the article about 6 different yoga exercises that you can do at your desk at work. I chose this article because I have been getting really into yoga so I figured I would be able to recognize some things and relate them to yoga poses. From those 6, there were 2 that I regularly do. I often do the open chest stretch and the chair twist. I do the chair twist the most often because I feel like it stretches my back so good. I also like the idea of doing shoulder rolls and you can do those without even having to think about it!

Tuesday, April 28, 2020

Google Timer Tech Tip

When I am doing homework or other things I often like to give myself a break. What I usually do is for every 30 minutes that I work on something I take a 5 or 10-minute break. I usually make that decision based on how hard the assignment is. I don't usually set a timer tho. I just look at the clock and keep track of time. Knowing that I can keep a timer on google as I work tho just makes it so much easier.

Monday, April 27, 2020

Tech Tip: Canvas Profile

I made a few changes to my canvas profile. First, I changed my name on there. It was my full first and last names, but I changed it to my nickname. My name is Gabriela, but I always go by Gabby so I went ahead and changed it. I also added a profile picture, which I made my dog. My dog is so important to me and the cutest thing ever so I put him on there. Lastly I added my pronouns because as most of us know they are very important in 2020.

Tech Tip: Canvas Mobile App

The Canvas mobile app has been so helpful throughout my college career. I did not find out about it until halfway through my freshman year. All of my friends knew as soon as something had been graded and I did not know until I had time to pull out my computer and go look at my grades. At times it was so much easier to just be able to pull it up on my phone. As most college kids know, one of the things that give us the most anxiety is waiting on a test grade to come through. It is such a relief to know that as soon as an assignment gets graded I get a notification right away and it is greatly accessible. It is also helpful when you need to quickly check what assignments are due soon. My favorite part is being able to see when a Canvas message is sent out. My favorite one to receive is the one that says the class is canceled that day! Without the app, I would probably show up to a canceled class because I do not check my email too often.

Learning Challenge: Your Sleep Schedule Can Make You Sick

Article Title: Yes, Your Sleep Schedule Is Making You Sick

Before reading this article, I already knew that your sleeping schedule can make you sick. A lack of sleep can cause irrational behavior and can make you lash out. However, sometimes it is hard to get a good amount of sleep with the busy life that some people live. Something I learned in this article is that traveling can have an impact on your circadian rhythm, which in turn affects how much you sleep. They say that traveling if you travel east you need morning light and evening melatonin and when traveling west you need morning melatonin and evening light. The reason for this is so that time zones do not affect your circadian rhythm as much. I sometimes deal with depression and according to this article., waking up in a room with a window facing where the sun rises can help with depression. In a study that they did, people got released from a facility faster if their room faced the sun because the light helped with their depression. People's whose rooms did not face the sun were kept longer because their symptoms were not cured as fast.

Keys to life with health being the main one.
Source: Flickr

Thursday, April 16, 2020

Reading Notes: English Fairy Tales Part B

In this story, an old, ugly, little fellow went to DAME Goody's home to ask her to come care for his wife's baby as she was sick and could not do it herself. She hopped on the horse with him and they went to the fellow's cottage. When the wife handed the baby over she gave DAME Goody an ointment and told her to rub that on the baby's eyes when he started to open them. She was curious as to what that ointment did so when she rubbed it on the baby's eyes she also rubbed it on her right eye. She saw everything much more elegant and realized that she was in a house of pixies. 

DAME Goody caring for the baby


The next day when she was home she went to the store and noticed the little fellow was going from stall to stall and nobody seemed to notice. When she saw him she went up to him and he realized that she had put the ointment on her eye as well. When she told him what eye she had rubbed it on, the little fellow struck her on the right eye and she became blind. 

Bibliography: Fairy Ointment from English Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs

Reading Notes: English Fairy Tales Part A

This story is a lot of repeating but each time they add one more thing to the sequence of things that must happen in order for the pig to jump over the stile. The woman could not go home until the pig jumped over the stile.

Illustration from the storybook
Source: Flickr


Example: From end to beginning

The cow ate hay and gave woman milk.

The woman gave the milk to the cat.

The cat began to kill the rat.

The rat began to gnaw on the rope.

The rope began to hang the butcher.

The butcher began to kill the ox.

The ox began to drink the water.

The water began to quench the fire.

The fire began to burn the stick.

The stick began to beat the dog.

The dog began to bite the pig.

The little pig in a fright jumped over the stile.
Bibliography: The Old Woman and Her Pig from English Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs




Saturday, April 4, 2020

Reading Notes: Alaska Part B

A man married the only woman that they knew of at the time and she lived in the south. A while after they married the son of the headsman went to the south to get the woman and grabbed her by the shoulders. When the husband awoke he noticed what was happening and grabbed his wife by the feet. They both started to pull in different directions and the woman's body broke in half.

The son of the headsman took the top half of the woman's body up north and her husband took the bottom half to the south. They each completed the rest of the woman's body by carving wood to make the body complete.

The woman in the north was great at sewing and needlework but not so great at dancing because her legs were made of wood. The woman in the south was good as dancing but not needlework because her arms were made of wood.

So to this day, all the women in the north are skillful with their hands and the woman in the south are good dancers.



Bibliography: The First Woman from Myths and Legends of Alaska, edited by Katharine Berry Judson


Image source: Alaskan Eskimo women from Wikimedia Commons 

Reading Notes: Alaska Part A

Man burst out of a pea pod when he stretched. He stretched and moved his arms and legs and realized that he was full-grown and there was a hole in the bottom of the pod that he came out of. The ground was very soft and was moving under his feet, which made him feel uneasy, so he stopped to get a drink of water from a pool underneath him.

He saw a black figure flying towards him and it turned out to be a raven. The raven moved his beak up to the top of his head with the help of his wing. When he did that, he became a man. He was shocked at what he saw and started looking at Man from all different angles.



Raven went to get Man some berries so that he could eat and came back four days later. When he came back they went to the river and they molded animals out of clay. Then Raven would flap his wings over them four times and they would come to life.

When he was done with the animals, he created a girl so that Man would have a companion.



Bibliography: The Raven Myth: Raven's Creation from Myths and Legends of Alaska, edited by Katharine Berry Judson

Image Source: Black Raven from Wikipedia

Friday, April 3, 2020

Week 10 Story: Black Bear and Squirrel

You can find the updated story in my portfolio.

In a mountain far away lived a very friendly black bear named Sobig. He was very friendly and was always willing to help the other animals that lived in the same area. Throughout the years, He had mastered the skill of balance due to there being a tight rope that connected two mountain cliffs. The rope was usually used by humans, but every so often Sobig liked to cross over to the other mountain cliff. He found it easier to cross on all fours than trying to cross standing up on his two hind legs.

One day, he was getting ready to cross over to the other mountain when he ran into a squirrel named Scrat. Scrat needed some help getting over to the other side and getting Sobig to help him was his only chance of making it across. Scrat was very clumsy and there was no way he would make it over on his own.

"Hi Sobig," said Scrat.

"Hey Scrat, what are you up to today?" asked Sobig.

With a big grin on his face, Scrat said, "I need some help getting across to the other mountain cliff and I have heard that you seem to do it pretty easily."

"I have indeed mastered crossing to the other cliff. I would love to help you, why don't you sit on my head between my ears? replied Sobig.

Scrat replied, "I am afraid If I do that then I will fall off."

"Well then you can sit on my back if it works better," said Sobig.

"That brings us back to the same thing though, I am afraid that I will fall," replied Scrat. 

"How would you like me to get you across then?" asked Sobig.

"Let me hop inside you and you can carry me across in that way," said Scrat. 

"Sure, sounds like a great idea!" said Sobig.





So, the two of them went on their way and started to head across on the tight rope to the other mountain cliff. While in Sobig's body, Scrat was slowly gnawing away at Sobig's carotid, which is one of the biggest blood vessels in the body. When they made it to the other cliff, Sobig collapsed because of how much blood he had lost. Scrat climbed out and began to look around. 

"I need to find a sharp, jagged rock to butcher Sobig," Scrat said to himself. 

As Coyote was walking by, he heard Scrat talking to himself and wanted to be a part of his plan.

"Hey Scrat, let's make a deal. Once we find a good rock to butcher Sobig with, the person who can jump over him without falling should be the one to butcher him," said Coyote. 

Scrat agreed, but as sly as he is, he had a plan in mind. Coyote went first and did not quite clear the body of Sobig without tripping and falling. Scrat is significantly smaller than Coyote so it is nearly impossible for him to fully clear Sobig. So, he jumped over his head since it is not as big as the rest of his body. 

Scrat started to butcher Sobig and gave Coyote his internal organs to go wash in the stream. When he got back, Scrat noticed some of the organs were missing and he checked his mouth only to find remnants of food in there. He was about to kill Coyote when he saw that, but Coyote was quicker and killed him with a flint that he had found. He left all of the food sitting next to Scrat's dead body as well as a tick and went to go get his children. 

Scrat got up, and when he did the tick flew to Coyote and informed him that Scrat was not dead. So, Coyote went back to the site, killed him again and went back on his way. Once again, the tick flew to Coyote and told him that Scrat had once again got up. So, Coyote went back one last time to assure that Coyote was dead. When Scrat got up and saw that the tick was about to go get Coyote, he killed the tick. 

With Coyote being gone, Scrat got all the food and climbed up a nearby tree. It was late when Coyote got back everything was gone and Scrat was nowhere to be found. Scrat finally called to Coyote from the top of the tree and told them that they could lay down at the foot of the tree and he would throw them some food. Once they had all fallen asleep, Scrat grabbed the biggest, heaviest tree limb that he could find and threw it down at Coyote and his kids. It killed all of them and Coyote took them to the edge of the mountain cliff and threw them down into the canyon. 




Authors Note: In the original story, Buffalo helped Porcupine cross the stream by letting him crawl inside him. Porcupine gnawed at one of his main blood vessels and when Buffalo got to the end of the stream he instantly fell over. Coyote and Porcupine found flint and the one that could jump over the buffalo without falling would be the one to butcher Buffalo. Porcupine fell when he tried to jump over the body and Coyote just jumped over his tail. Since Coyote got to butcher Buffalo, he sent Porcupine to the stream to wash off his organs and noticed that Porcupine had eaten some, so he instantly killed him. Coyote's feces, that he left at the site, told Coyote when Porcupine had got up. After two times of this happening Porcupine threw dirt in the feces mouth so that they could not alert Coyote. So, Porcupine climbed up in a tree and when Coyote came back with his kids, he killed them all. 

In my story, I kept the same plot for the most part but changed it in some instances. I also changed the animals in the original story to different ones in mine. The lesson that is taught from this story is that sometimes the one that is known to be kind and helpful is taken advantage of by sly ones. 



Bibliography: Coyote and Porcupine from Jicarilla Apache Texts edited by Pliny Earle Goddard


Image Source: Mountain cliffs at Yosemite National Park with a tight rope between them from    
                        Wikimedia Commons 


Sunday, March 29, 2020

Reading Notes: Apache Part B

In this story, Porcupine needed the help of Buffalo to get across a stream.

Buffalo offered Porcupine several different ways that Porcupine could get on him, but Porcupine said no because if Buffalo moved then he would fall off.

So porcupine said that he would just get inside him and cross the stream the way.

While Porcupine was inside Buffalo, he was gnawing at a large blood vessel which caused Buffalo to collapse when he got across the stream.

When he was about to go out and find a flint, Coyote heard him talking to himself and he convinced Porcupine that the one to butcher Buffalo should be the one who is able to successfully jump over him.

Coyote won that and he got to butcher Buffalo. He gave porcupine some of Buffalo's organs for him to go wash off and Porcupine ate some while he was at it.

When he came back he Coyote checked his mouth and saw some food remains which led Coyote to kill him.

He stood back up a total of three times with Coyote having to go back and kill him. On the third time, Coyote did not come back and came back later with his children.

Porcupine had taken all the food to the top of a tree and told Coyote and his children to lay at the foot of the tree and he would throw them food. However, he threw a backbone at them and killed them all except for the youngest one because he saw it coming and ran.

He climbed up the tree with Porcupine and when he sat on a branch Porcupine knocked him off and he fell into the canyon and burst.

Picture of Porcupine;

Bibliography: Coyote and Porcupine from Jicarilla Apache Texts edited by Pliny Earle Goddard

Reading Notes: Apache Tales Part A

In this story, Naiyenesgani turned corn into snakes several times before the Pueblo Indians realized that he was a true medicine man.

The Pueblo Indians told him about a sinking hole that kept taking his people and they never came back.

So Naiyenesgani went over to the sinking hole and made 4 different colored hoops. When he threw the first hoop in the water it made a hole in the center. As he threw the others in, the hole got bigger and bigger until there was no more water left.

 A ladder was sticking out and when he went in the sinking place there was an old man and woman.

He filled the place with smoke and started telling the people to come out from behind the doors that they were in.

As they came out he told them to follow him and when they went back up the ladder he told them to go home.

Taos Pueblo





Bibliography: Naiyenesgani Rescues the Taos Indians a part of Jicarilla Apache Texts edited by Pliny Earle Goddard

Thursday, March 12, 2020

Reading Notes: The Jealous Wife

A man had two wives. One was younger and one was elder.

I can only imagine that his wives were jealous of the other at times. He went away for some time and while he was gone, the wives decided to get ready for him by going fishing and getting some fish to cook. The elder wife went first. The younger wife went second and her son was brighter than the elderly wife's son.

That made the elderly wife jealous and she sharpened a razor throughout the day. She planned on using the razor to kill the young wife's son while the boys slept.

She killed the boy while they were sleeping and the next morning when she went to move the body she realized that she killed the wrong boy and she killed her son.

When she realized it was her son, she took him and ran into the forest. When the husband got home and found her missing he went to go look for her in the forest and they found her and killed her too.

Forest 
Source: CIA

Bibliography: The Jealous Wife by Notes on the Folklore of the Fjort by Richard Edward Dennett

Friday, March 6, 2020

Week 8 Progress

So far this semester, I am not very content with where I am in the class. While I have enjoyed it, I have had trouble staying on top of it and managing my time well enough to work the assignments into my schedule. I have missed lots of readings and that has affected me. I have done some extra credit, but not a lot of it and I need to take more advantage of it. My portfolio, however, is coming along great and I couldn't be happier.

As we get into the second half of the semester, I am wanting to stay ahead of schedule to ensure that I get all of the assignments done and turned in on time. I also want to utilize the extra credit that we have available to us so that I can increase my grade and be where I want to be. I am really excited to keep working on my portfolio and get to the final product.

Motivational quote to finish this semester strong;
Source: Flickr

Thursday, March 5, 2020

Week 8 Comments and Feedback

      The feedback that I have been getting from my classmates has been awesome. The comments have been extremely helpful and have bettered my writing. On the stories that I have re-written, the feedback has been constructive criticism and a lot of it has been suggestions on how to make the story better. In the story that I wrote about the lion and the villager, I took some of the suggestions from my classmates and included them in the story when I did my revisions. The comments on my introduction post were much more light-hearted and fun. It was mostly about things that my classmates had in common with me or found to be pretty cool about my life. 

      I believe that I have been giving great feedback to my classmates and the strategies that we have practiced have really helped. My favorite one that I use most often is the 3 W's. It stands for "WOW," where you mention something in their story that really wowed you. The second one is "Wonder," which is where I mention something that I am confused about or something that I am more interested in or questioning. The last one stands for "What If," and that is where you suggest a change that they could make or something that they could add-in. 

      Reading people's introduction posts really makes me feel like I know them. They mention so many facts about them, and anything you have in common with someone could be something that we can connect over. Most people with dogs will comment on other people's dog pictures and talk about their puppies as well. That is a connection in itself. 

      To be more successful in the future, the only change that I would make would be to spend a little bit more time on my writing and taking into account the feedback that my classmates leave on my page. I always read through them, but I do not always incorporate the changes and most of them can actually be pretty useful. 

Feedback cats meme created on Cheezburger.

      The reason that I chose this meme is that I personally believe this. Criticism is not always bad. Constructive criticism is one of my favorite things because you can learn so much from it. It is important to have an open mind when it comes to criticism and using it to learn rather than taking it the wrong way and getting upset. 

Wednesday, March 4, 2020

Week 8 Reading and Writing

          Writing has always been something that I struggle with. When I first read the syllabus for this class I was terrified because it is all about writing and that is one of my biggest struggles in school. I am really proud of how far I have come. My first set of notes that I took in this class were super detailed and I took notes over every story. After that, I realized that it is easiest to just pick my favorite story to retell and write detailed notes about that one story. For my me second and third set of notes. I basically just wrote a summary of the story I read, and when I retold it all I did was change the names of the characters. For the most part, I kept the same storyline with some minor changes. However, on my last set of notes, I took notes about the plot, the conflicts, and wrote down ideas I had as I read. I found this a lot more helpful because I had written down all of the main events. I decide to venture out with this story and instead of just changing the character's names, I decided to keep the names and change the setting of the story. My project is going well so far. The detailed feedback that we get every time we do a revision is extremely helpful and helps me understand my mistakes to make me a better writer. I am really enjoying this class because I am working on one of my biggest faults in college, but my grade isn't suffering from it. Instead, I am learning and becoming a better writer and I am not scared to change things up because I know that it will be a learning experience.

          My favorite story that I have read so far has been Tricksters: Tiger, Brahman, and Jackal. I thought this story was funny and clever, especially when the Jackal tricked the tiger into getting back in his cage. I enjoyed retelling it because rather than having the tiger trick the Brahman, in my story the lion and the villager became good friends all because the villager gave him a chance and saw the good in him despite what others thought. The image that I used for this story was also my favorite image so far.

Lion being fed in a cage;
Source: Pixabay

         This picture goes perfectly with my story because of how the lion looks so innocent and sad. You can draw the conclusion that he wants to be free and is tired of being locked up. Also, there is food hanging on his cage, so this could be the lion talking to the villager as the villager is trying to feed him. 

          In my future stories, I want to venture out of my comfort zone and get more creative. So far I have remained very close to the actual story, but moving forward I want to make more changes when I retell them. 



Friday, February 28, 2020

Week 7 Story: Brer Fox and Brer Rabbit on OU's campus

You can find the updated story in my portfolio.

Brer Fox and Brer Rabbit attend the same university and have the same major, but have a small rivalry. They would often find themselves studying in the Bizzell Library especially during finals week.

Bizzell Memorial Library;

Brer Bear and Brer Fox were heading to the Bizzell Library to study for their chemistry final. On their way to the library, Brer Bear was giving Brer Fox a hard time because he wasn't friends with Brer Rabbit and they shared mostly all of the same classes. 

When they got to the library, Brer Bear broke away from Brer Fox and went to study with some other friends. Brer Fox continued down to the collaborative learning center where he saw Brer Rabbit. Brer Rabbit told him that he was full of fleas so it was best for Brer Fox to sit away from him. They talked a little bit but kept a fair distance. 

Brer Rabbit, a freshman in college, was living in the dorms. He asked Brer Fox if he would like to go eat dinner at the caf the next night. Brer fox accepted and they agreed to meet each other in front of the caf. 
That next night, Brer Rabbit saw Brer Fox coming so he started heading into the caf. He waited and waited but never saw Brer Fox come in. When Brer Rabbit walked out to go look for him, he saw his tail poking out of the red telephone booth that is located in front of the caf. Now knowing that Brer Fox was trying to hide from him, Brer Rabbit went back in and enjoyed his dinner. 

The next day, they saw each other in the Bizzell Library and Brer Fox apologized. He invited Brer Rabbit over for dinner at his dorm room in Waler Tower. Brer Rabbit agreed to meet him for dinner.

When Brer Rabbit arrived at Brer Fox's dorm room that night, he heard a painful moan coming from his dorm room. When he walked in, Brer Fox appeared to be really sick and was sitting on his bed wrapped up in a blanket. Brer Rabbit looked around and did not see any food prepared for their dinner and the only thing Brer Fox had was some chicken for them to cook. 

Picture of the dorms at OU;


Brer Rabbit asked, "Do you have any calamus root to season that chicken?"
"No, I do not have any of that," replied Brer Fox. 

So Brer Rabbit took off into the Walker-Adams Mall to look for some calamus root and kept an eye on the doors to see if Brer Fox would come out. A few minutes later, Brer Fox came out of the building looking for Brer Rabbit. He finally spotted him and started heading closer.

Brer Rabbit yelled, "I am going to leave this calamus root on this swing set for you to come and get."

With that, Brer Rabbit ran home and decided to call it a night. Brer Fox was always looking for a way to trick Brer Rabbit. but he outsmarts him each time.

Bibliography: Brer Rabbit: The Calamus Root from Uncle Remus: His Songs and Sayings by Joel Chandler Harris (1881)

Author's Note: In the original story Brer Rabbit and Brer Fox are trying to catch each other. At first, they talk but they keep a good distance between them as Brer Rabbit claims that he has fleas. Brer Bear was giving Brer Fox a hard time because he wasn't friends with Brer Rabbit. They made plans to have dinner together and when Brer Fox got there he just hid on the side of the house and Brer Rabbit saw his tail so he knew he was there. The next day when they saw each other, Brer Fox apologized and invited Brer Rabbit over for dinner at his place. When Brer Rabbit showed up Brer Fox was all wrapped up in a blanket as if he was sick and had nothing cooked for dinner. So Brer Rabbit leaves to go find Calamus Root and shortly after he sees Brer Fox go out after him trying to corner him, but he wasn't successful. Brer Fox never caught him and he is not going to. With my story, I followed the same storyline, but just changed the setting of the story. I thought it would be cool to make this story take place on OU's campus since that is the university that I attend. 

Thursday, February 27, 2020

Reading Notes: Brer Rabbit Part B

A Story About the Little Rabbits

Brer Rabbit had several chilluns who were well behaved and listened to their momma and daddy. They kept their clothes nice and clean and they listened to everything that they said.

One day, Mr and Miss Rabbit were both out of the house and the children were playing hide and seek when Brer Fox stopped by.

The chilluns looked very fat to Brer Fox and he needed an excuse to be able to gobble them up.

They were very skittish and kept an eye on Brer Fox.

So Brer Fox asked them to break off a piece of the big stalk of sugar cane. The chilluns could not figure out how to do it until a little bird started singing a song that told them how to break off a piece of the sugar cane.

Since that did not work, Brer Fox needed another excuse to eat them, so he told them to grab a sifter and go down to the spring and fetch him some water. Once again, they couldn't figure it out so the birdy sang them a song with instructions on how to get it done.

Since that didn't work, Brer Fox told them to put a big stick that he had found on the fire. Once again the birdy started singing and told them how to do it.

Brer Rabbits chilluns pushing the log and the birdy telling them how to do it;
Source: Flickr


As soon as they got that stick on the fire, Brer Rabbit came home and the bird flew away.

Brer Rabbit offered Brer Fox to stay and have a snack but Brer Fox went ahead and left.


If the chilluns would not have been able to complete any of those tasks, Brer Fox would've had the perfect excuse to eat them. However, thanks to the bird, he never had that opportunity.

Bibliography: A Story About the Little Rabbits from the book Uncle Remus: His Songs and His Sayings by Joel Chandler Harris

Wednesday, February 26, 2020

Reading Notes: Brer Rabbit Reading A

Brer Rabbit and the Calamus Root

Brer Rabbit and Brer Fox are trying to catch each other.

At first, they talk but they keep a good distance between them as Brer Rabbit claims that he has fleas.

Brer Bear was giving Brer Fox a hard time because he wasn't friends with Brer Rabbit.

They made plans to have dinner together and when Brer Fox got there he just hid on the side of the house and Brer Rabbit saw his tail so he knew he was there.

The next day when they saw each other, Brer Fox apologized and invited Brer Rabbit over for dinner at his place.

When Brer Rabbit showed up Brer Fox was all wrapped up in a blanket as if he was sick and had nothing cooked for dinner

      Side note: this was clearly a trap to get Brer Rabbit inside

Brer Fox wrapped in a blanket when Brer Rabbit came over for dinner;
Source: Flickr


So Brer Rabbit leaves to go find Calamus Root and shortly after he sees Brer Fox go out after him trying to corner him, but he wasn't successful.

Brer Fox never caught him and he is not going to.

Bibliography: Uncle Remus: His Songs and Sayings by Joel Chandler Harris (1881)

Maybe I can turn this story and tell it with Tom and Jerry as the characters since they as well have a small rivalry but live in the same area. This could be fun as many of us grew up watching Tom and Jerry...

Friday, February 21, 2020

Week 6 Lab : Crash Course Videos

Video 1:

Mythology is is a subject that touches on literature, history, anthropology, sociology, psychology, religion,  and even science. It is a little bit of everything. Many myths are extremely old and exist in many forms or versions. Mythology is open to many different interpretations. Some scholars spend their whole lives arguing over these interpretations. The line between myth and religion is blurry. In this video, we focused on myths as stories and not facts. Most myths do not have nameable authors, even when they do they are just recasting already existing stories. It is very difficult to find a good definition for the word myth. Myth comes from the Greek word "Mythos" which means story.

Most myths that I have read have Gods in them, but in this video, I learned that not all myths must have Gods like some people believe. Stories can have superheroes as well or none at all and it can just be a story. We heard the story of Persephone and the underworld which is why some people believe that we have winter. Winter is supposedly the 6 months that Kore spends in the underworld. I had heard this story before but hadn't heard the meaning behind it.

The pomegranate with seeds that Kore ate in the underworld. Each 
seed that she ate was one month that she had to spend in the underworld.
Source: Crystalinks


Video 2:

Mythology as a study did not take off until the 18th or 19th century. In the 20th century, anthropologists conducted fieldwork to see how myths worked in society. Recent mythologies have tried to base their work on living individuals. Joseph Campbell was the most famous mythologist in the 20th century. Everyone sees myth differently depending on what their work is. For example, anthropologists and psychologists both view mythology differently and have different beliefs about it.

Video 3:

Heroes in most myths are going to be males, especially in myths in the English language. Some female heroes do exist in the stories but they are not as common. In this video, I learned about the story of 7 girls who conquered hunger, pain, and fear.

Link for the videos: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrWYQjLLbXcigjUCnKKR86F5zrcQqfiP-

Friday, February 14, 2020

Week 5 Story: Ramo's Pond

In a jungle far far away, there is a dolphin named Ramo, who was king of the pond that he lived in. One day a year, many animals came from all over the jungle to bathe in King Ramo's pond.

Ramo's pond in the jungle;
Source: Pxhere


On that day, a lion named Royal showed up to bathe in the pond. While he was there, a beautiful cheetah showed up to bathe as well. She was beautiful and lit up as bright as the moon. She stole the lion's heart and was left breathless. Not knowing what to do, Royal asked the dolphin, "what do you know about that stunning cheetah and where did she come from?"

Ramo replied, "Her name is Diamond and she lives with her father very deep in the jungle."

When Royal went back home, he did not eat, he was lovesick. His parents asked him what was wrong and he just sat there. Eventually, he told them that he had seen a beautiful cheetah named Diamond that stole his heart while he was bathing in King Ramo's pond. His dad's face lit up and he said, "I know her father, I can ask her father to let you have her hand in marriage." After hearing this news, He eagerly ate his dinner and the next day they set off to find them in the jungle.

They traveled a far distance until alas they came across the area of the jungle where Diamond and her dad Larry live. Royal's dad explained how his son had seen her at Ramo's pond and it was love at first sight. He asked Larry if Royal could have Diamond's hand in marriage and he agreed.

A few months later, Larry officially handed over his daughter and she married Royal. Happily married, he took his wife and they went to live together at his parent's area of the jungle.

One day, Diamond's brother came to visit and was welcomed with open arms by his sister. He informed them that Larry had sent him to invite them to a festival that was taking part where his parents lived.

The next morning, they set off to travel across the jungle to where Diamond's family lived and on the way, they stopped at Ramo's pond. Royal went to speak to the King and as he was worshipping him he had an idea. He thought to himself, what better way to worship him than to sacrifice my own life. So he found a very sharp boulder, took it to his neck and sliced his head off.

His brother-in-law went looking for him because he was worried about what was taking him so long. When he saw what Royal had done, he was mad, upset and in grief so he did the same exact thing and sliced his head off.

Diamond walked in and instantly fell to the floor crying when she saw what had happened. She started to scream and yell while pounding the ground and crying. She yelled to Ramo, "Why should I even live, what is my life good for now?" She was about to kill herself and started praying to the King.

The king answered her prayers and said, "My dear Diamond, do not do something that you will later regret. If you put their heads back on them then they shall come back to life." So Diamond listened to the King and did as she was told, but made a mistake. She put her brother's head on Royal's body and Royal's head on her brother's body.

They both awoke and were happy listening to each other's adventures. They worshipped the King one more time and went on their way. Diamond was troubled and had no idea what to do.

The Girl, Her Husband and Her Brother translated by Arthur W. Ryder

Author's note: In the original story, White, who was a laundryman, came to bathe at a lake called Bath of Gauri. While he was there he met a beautiful woman named Lovely. White's dad asked Lovely's dad if his son could have her hand in marriage and Lovely's dad agreed. They got married, and when her brother came to visit them and invite them to a festival back at Lovely's parent's house they set off on a journey. They stopped at the temple of Gauri to worship the Goddess and both While and his brother-in-law beheaded themselves with a sword to show some sacrifice. Lovely was distraught and the Goddess told her that if she put their heads back on they would come back to life. However, Lovely accidentally switched their heads and was confused about what to do. I put a twist on it and used animals instead of people.

Friday, February 7, 2020

Biography: First Pet

For nineteen years, I begged my parents to let my dream come true and get me a dog. The answer was always no, and my mom assured me there would never be a dog in her household as long as I shall live under her roof. A few months into the nineteenth year, she saw a lady walking her Shih Tzu and fell in love with that breed. That's when I stepped in and started to once again nag her about getting a dog. She finally agreed and I could not have been any happier. That next week we drove to Stigler, Oklahoma and made the best decision. We picked up our little guy and brought him home four days after Christmas. 


The first picture of Skye the day we brought him home. 
Personal photo from December 2018. 

I never knew that this little bundle of joy could bring me so much happiness. It might have taken nineteen years but he came at a perfect time right when I lost my grandma, who was practically my best friend. I was really struggling and spending time with him really helped me fill the void that my grandma had left me with. This was my blessing in disguise and one of the things in life that I am most thankful for. We are attached at the hip and he is now the most spoiled baby. I wonder what my life would be like had my mom not given in to getting me a dog. 

Skye's first Christmas outfit.
Personal photo from December 2019. 

P.S. Enjoy one of my favorite pictures of him at the end. The little hoodie he is wearing says, "Who needs a mistletoe when you're this cute." This was his Christmas 2019 outfit and also the first Christmas that he spent with us. 

Author's Note: I chose to write about my first pet because it is one of the moments that changed my life for the best. I have struggled a lot trying to figure out who I truly am these past few years and getting him felt like my world was finally looking up. He is very special to me in many ways and if I am going to write any kind of biography he is an essential part. I loved writing this story because I got to relive the day that we got him and all those memories came running back. 

Thursday, February 6, 2020

Reading Notes: Cupid and Psyche Part A

The Captive Woman

This story starts off with some robbers getting together, pouring wine out of golden glasses to remember their dead comrades, and singing songs to honor their God Mars. shortly after this, they fell asleep. An old woman gets some barley and the horse starts eating it, meanwhile, the donkey went to go search for some bread because he was starving and hadn't eaten. The robbers woke up in the middle of the night and grabbed their weapons and left where they had been staying. Lucius who was previously a person and had been turned into a donkey was on his third basket of bread as dawn approached. Lucius went to the stream to get some water when he noticed that the robbers were returning to the site where they had been staying. They came back with no goods, but instead with a girl who you could tell came from a very well respected family of that region. The robbers tried to calm her down by talking to her and telling her not to be scared, for they just needed money and poverty had led them to do this. They were sure that her parents would not hesitate to pay to have their daughter back. The girl was not soothed by this so they called the old lady over to try to comfort her, but nothing was working and the girl was crying uncontrollably. She was crying and telling the old lady that she had been taken from her family and deprived of the comforts that she was born and raised to. She said, why should I stop crying, for how do I even know if I will live. She finally fell asleep and after a bit, she arose suddenly and started tormenting herself violently by pounding her breasts and tearing her face. The old lady was now starting to get angry and asked her why on earth she was crying. She said, "You better not try to cheat my men out of profit or I will see you roasted alive. 

The donkey that Lucius was turned into;
Source: Wikimedia


Bibliography: The Captive Women, Translated into English by Tony Kline 

Tuesday, February 4, 2020

Famous Last Words: A Hectic Week

This past week has been extremely crazy and hectic. I have had several different doctor appointments to go to. I started and finished my application for the rest of my Communication Sciences and Disorders degree at OU Health Sciences Center. There were so many parts to it and a lot of paperwork that I had to get from my previous college and fill out so it was very time-consuming. I also work a full-time job and work six out of seven days a week. My schedule is very busy and some weeks I really struggle to fit everything in.

The reading that I chose this week was "Adam and Eve" from the biblical unit. I grew up going to church with my parents and going to bible school on Sundays to learn all about different stories of the bible. Reading those stories brought back old memories from those days and it was fun to read stories that I do not remember so well. I read the first part of the unit, but due to time restraints this past week I was not able to read Part B and write the blog for it by the time that it was due. I did the extra commenting assignments to make up for those points, but I really liked that unit so I want to go back and finish reading it soon.

I enjoyed the assignment where we have to comment on other people's posts because I find it interesting how everyone uses their imagination to recreate stories and change things about them. I read a lot of good ones and enjoy doing my work for this class because I am invested in it. This class is a lot of writing and I usually hate anything to do with writing, but it is so easy to get carried away typing when you are into the topic that you are writing about. There are not any limits in this class and that is a great opportunity to grow.

My goal for this week is to get all of my assignments done and do some extra credit to get ahead a few points. I have been procrastinating a lot these past few weeks and this week I really want to work on getting ahead so that I am not so stressed out.

An accurate description of the word tomorrow for procrastinators;
Source: Flickr

Week 4 Review

Escaping reality by reading;
Source: Tumblr

I really like this image that I came across on the H.E.A.R.T. part of the daily news. This picture is very relatable in my life and probably in other people's lives as well. We all deal with different things on a day to day basis and at times it can be too much and all we want is to be able to escape reality. I love reading and it is my favorite hobby. When I read books I catch myself getting so invested that I forget about what is going in on in my life at that very moment. In a sense, I escape reality and it is such a freeing feeling. It makes me feel like I am living whatever story I am reading and I am a character in the book. This graphic is a perfect representation of how many people use books to escape from reality, even if it is only for a little bit.


In my opinion, anything that an individual creates is a work of art. The way memes work, we have to find a picture and then write a caption for it. In a way, that is an art that is being created. It is something that they created with their imagination. The fact that they are made on the internet does not make that any different. Just like somone painting or drawing something is art, so are memes. 

Monday, February 3, 2020

Typing Tech Test Tip

The first typing test that I took was the KeyHero.com typing test. I kind of like this one more than the other one that I did because It has a set amount to type and then it gives you your results. The second typing test that I took was on TypingTest.com and I was not a fan of that one. It gives you one minute and has a bunch of words on the page to type. Once that minute is over then it just cuts off the screen. The KeyHero.com typing test also tells you your accuracy percentage while the other one doesn't. I will say that my results on both of them where within 2 words per minute so I feel like they are both accurate.

The farther into college that I get the more that I try to improve my typing skills. When professors talk really fast it is helpful to be able to type fast because so that you can take good notes and keep up. What I am working on right now is trying to type without looking at the keyboard and memorizing where all of the letter keys are.

In Junior High, I took a computer class and every single class period we started off by doing a typing lesson and taking a typing test to improve our typing. It was fun and every day I was competing to beat my score from the time before.

Feedback Strategies

Why Rejection Hurts So Much
Rejection hurts us in a way that we would never think it would. Rejections can come in very different forms. Many forms can come from person to person interactions such as not getting that job you wanted or being turned down by someone that you like. As mentioned in the article, I believe that in today's generation our biggest concern is getting rejected by others on social media. Rejection is in a way painful and this may be related to the same part being lit up in an MRI when someone experiences pain and when they have talked about the most recent rejection that they have experienced.

Rejection quote; 
Source: Flickr


Why Do So Many Managers Avoid Giving Praise?
After reading this article and comparing it to my past few workplaces, I could not agree more with the author. According to this article, almost half of the managers that were surveyed said that stressful or difficult to give negative feedback to their employees. However, with that being said, managers were also giving much positive feedback or praise. When leaders are always giving negative feedback and not positive, it reflects back on them as leaders. Managers often feel like if they give too much positive feedback then their subordinates see a sign of weakness in them and that can lead to them feeling like they have more and more power.

I can really relate to this article myself as I see a lot of this at work. My managers are always so quick to give employees negative feedback, which can often lead to them getting down on themselves. When we have really good shifts they fail to give people praise and recognition, which makes employees feel like they are not appreciated. I believe managers need to focus on the good and the bad equally and not focus on one or the other too much.

Topic Research: Nursery Rhymes

My three favorite nursery rhymes that I want to start researching and include in my project are Humpty Dumpty, Hickory-Dickory-Dock, and Hush-a-bye baby.

I want my project to be modern stories for kids to read before bed, but I will be combining different nursery rhymes to come up with each story so that they are still short stories, but not too short.

For my story based on the nursery rhyme Hickory-Dickory-Dock, an idea that I have is to change the clock to another object and instead of a mouse maybe use a hamster or some other animal in the rodent family that is not a mouse. I have not decided what other nursery rhyme I want to combine with this to come up with a new story, but I have the part for Hickory-Dickory-Dock.

Hickory Dickory Dock nursery rhyme;

Hush-a-bye baby is a story that I am thinking of combining with Rain Rain Go Away and possibly one other nursery rhymes to be able to tell a story with events for a whole day. I was thinking about possibly changing the baby to an animal, such as a monkey. Monkeys are my favorite animal so I would like to somehow incorporate that into my story.

As for a story with Humpty Dumpty, this was always my favorite nursery rhyme growing up. It makes me laugh every time because it is a silly story. I picture trying to put Humpty Dumpty (an egg) back together and it seems quite impossible. I want to change the ending of this story to where somehow Humpty Dumpty is put back together again, just in time for something else to happen to him and break him again.

Picture of Humpty Dumpty sitting on a wall;
Source: Pixabay


These are the two links that I used to find stories to do my project:
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/18546/18546-h/18546-h.htm
http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/04/myth-folklore-unit-nursery-rhymes.html

Friday, January 31, 2020

Week 3 story: The World of Dogs

God wanted to create the perfect world for dogs. He set out to make everything perfect. God wanted the dogs to be the rulers of the earth. So he set out to create the perfect world filled with toys, treats, and water for them to drink and play all the time. It took six days of nonstop work and creation to finish this beautiful dog world. On the seventh day when God had finished everything, he decided it was time to take a break, relax and make that day sacred. He created the first dog from dust and named him Mylo. That dog was the first living soul in this doggy world. He was going to be the ultimate leader, the dog that they would eventually all look up to. The Lord needed a place for Mylo to live, so he created the dog park of Eden and that is where Mylo was to live. The dog park had everything the dogs would need, such as treats growing from trees, food raining from the sky and water in the river than ran across it. There were many trees and in the very center of the park, there was a huge tree that stood out named the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Mylo was to care for the dog park and that would be his home. God said to Mylo, "You may eat treats from any tree in the garden, but you shall never touch or eat the treats from the tree of knowledge of good and evil or you shall die." He also said, "You should not be lonely so I will bring others unto you." Once God said that he started creating creatures out of dust and bringing them to Mylo so that he could name them. Whatever name Mylo gave them was the name that would stick forever. Then he put Mylo in a deep sleep in which God took one of his ribs and created another dog named Skye. They both happily coexisted in the garden of Eden.

Picture of two dogs coexisting and playing with a toy;
Source: Pxfuel


Author's Note: This story was derived from a story in the bible called The Creation. This is the story where God created the world and on the seventh day rested and sanctified the seventh day. This day is now known as Sundays and that is why we go to church on Sundays. He created and Adam and put him in the Garden of Eden where he was to care for it, and he could eat from any tree as long as it was not the tree of knowledge of good and evil. He created animals and brought them all upon Adam so that he could name them and any name that he gave them was kept. God then put Adam to sleep and took his rib to create Eve. They were naked and not ashamed. I kept the same story plot but instead of humans, I used dogs. the names of the two dogs in this story are the name of my two dogs.
Bibliography: The Creation, King James Version Chapters 1 and 2. Source: Sacred Texts Archive

Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Reading Notes: Adam and Eve Part A

The Creation
God created the world for 6 days and on the seventh day when he finished, he took the day off and sanctified it. God then created Adam and told him that he was to live in the Garden of Eden and he told him that he could eat any fruit from any tree except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil or he would die. God told Adam he was going to get him help and took one of his ribs while he was asleep and created a woman naved Eve. They were both naked around each other and were never ashamed.

The Fall
The serpent convinced Eve to take a fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The serpent convinced her that she shouldn't die and it would open up her eyes to good and evil. She gave Adam some and when God found out he punished Eve by giving women the right to bring forth children into this world. Since they could now see good and evil they could now see each other naked so God made them clothes to cover up.

The Ideal Man
Adam was fully developed with extraordinary size and physical perfections. The later generations of men all had one of his characteristics, but they were not like him. He had a perfect soul and he created names for mostly everything on earth.

The Fall of Satan
Satan was jealous of how blessed Adam was and attempted to consume him with fire, but the protection of God did not allow that to happen. God made Adam and Satan basically have a standoff by asking them to name animals and the one that named them correctly was to be superior to the other one. Satan refused for humans to be superior to him and so God threw him out of the heavens onto the earth and from that moment on there have been problems between Satan and humans.

Lilith
Lilith was given to Adam as a wife but did not last long because she wanted full equality with her husband so she vanished into dust. When Adam told God he sent three angels to capture her and bring her back. They threatened her that she would lose a hundred of her demon children daily by death and she still refused to come back. She takes her revenge by injuring babies.

Eve
God made Eve from Adam's ribs because he did not want her to have any faults that she would have had she created her from another part of the body. However, it turns out that women have all of the faults that God didn't want them to have. The physical function of women is also different than that of a man because they have to be able to give birth to a child. The intelligence of a woman also matures a lot faster than that of a man. Men need women and that is why they got a rib taken from them. God made Eve when Adam was asleep because the last time he had made a woman in front of him in his presence he repelled her. When he woke up and found Eve the way that she was he found her very beautiful.

Paradise
In order to get to paradise, otherwise known as Heaven, there are seven portals that you must pass through before being admitted into Heaven. There are also 6 basic commandments that one shall follow and not break.

The Fall of Man
The serpent tricks Eve into eating a fruit from the one tree that they shouldn't eat from because she would be easier to convince than Adam. This led to the fall of man. When they ate the fruit they heard God from up above tell them that they were warned not to eat that fruit. The first thing that happened was that they saw each other naked and try to find some leaves to cover themselves up.

Picture of Adam and Eve with fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil;

The Punishment
God started punishing Adam by making shorter than what he originally was. Adam and Eve now get scared when they hear God's voice because they know that they have sinned. They hide in the forest so that God cannot see them. He punished the serpent by making it have to move on its belly rather than being the king of all animals and standing tall.

Moral: there are consequences for all of your actions.

Bibliography: Adam and Eve by Genesis and Ginzberg


Monday, January 27, 2020

Project Topic Brainstorm

Topic 1: OU Ghost Stories 

I have always been interested in ghost stories and have once been on a ghost tour when I was in Saint Augustine in Florida. I really enjoyed learning about ghosts and seeing how into it the ghost tour guides get. When we did the assignment over storybooks, I read one over ghosts at OU and it really got my attention. As a student that goes to OU, I feel like learning about the history of OU even in ghost stories would be very interesting and something I am looking forward to. When retelling these stories, I would probably change the plot just a bit and add more details to the stories.

Topic 2: Dogs

Dogs are my absolute favorite animal in the entire world. The amount of love and happiness that a dog can bring into your life is unreal. I experienced it first-hand last year when I decided that I need a dog. This project would be fun because I would get to research things and stories about my favorite animal. With these stories, there are endless possibilities on how you can change them up to create your own. A good way to change them would be to either change the plot or change the location of the story and modify the story accordingly.

Topic 3: The Little Mermaid

This topic catches my interest because growing up I loved watching The little mermaid. It is awesome how things evolve as time passes. Mermaids evolved from sirens in the Odyssey that were half-bird and half-human. Now we have mermaids which are half-human and half-fish. I read some of Hans Christian Andersen's story of the Little Mermaid and I loved it. My idea to create my own story for the little mermaid would maybe be to change the personalities of the characters or maybe switch the characters as a whole and create new ones following the same storyline.

Topic 4: Nursery Rhymes

Nursery rhymes are always so much fun because they all rhyme and you can sing along to them. Some of my favorite memories in kindergarten and some in grade school are singing nursery rhymes together as a class and all just having so much fun. I even have memories of singing these with my parents and they once bought me a huge book full of nursery rhymes and bedtime stories that I loved. This topic would be fun to play with because I feel like you can go anywhere with this. I could change the characters and create a nursery rhyme with different characters or I could easily keep the characters and change the plot in the story.

Picture of the clock that the mouse runs up in Hickory Dickory Dock 
nursery rhyme; Source: Wikimedia Commons