Writing Post: Week 15

My favorite writing for this class definitely turned out to be my Storybook stories. I also took Mythology and Folklore and found that my stories for my Storybook were my favorite. I really enjoy it because all of the stories are connected so you get to follow your characters for longer than just one storytelling post. This is why I prefer the Storybook over the Portfolio option. For commenting, I would suggest mentioning specifically what you liked about the stories that you read. I also think constructive criticism is useful, especially in the storybook comments. For me, I really tried to take into account the constructive criticism I received, and I think it really helped me to make my storybook something that I was proud of! This class definitely improved my creative writing skills, and my writing skills in general. As a nurse, my writing skills will be a very important part of my communication. Although the writing will be a lot different, this class helped me to improve my writing in general which I think will come in handy! My advice for writing in this class is to be creative! It can be turn out however you want it to, even if that means changing the ending. Make the story your own! Take time on your stories, especially for your storybook! The more you look over it, the more you can improve it.

Feedback for the Reading in this class: Week 15

I really enjoyed reading both the Mahabharata and Ramayana, but I definitely had a preference for the author's who told these stories. I much preferred Narayan's version to Buck's. Although I wasn't a big fan of Buck's version of the Ramayana, it did introduce new characters that were not in Narayan's version Two of these new characters were in my storybook (Trijata and Viradha), so I do think it should be included. I really liked that you are planning to provide the student with a choice between Buck's version and the India readings from Myth-Folklore. I thought this class had a good balance between reading and writing. Personally, I don't think anything needs to be changed with the balance between the two. By the time I got to reading the India stories from Myth-Folklore, I was already close to finishing up my points just based on my storybook assignments due to completing a lot of extra credit. Since I didn't read any of the Myth-Folklore India stories, I can't give you any feedback on those stories, but I do think it would be nice if those stories were offered earlier in the semester like your new schedule would allow. For advice for the students next semester, I would highly suggest working ahead and taking advantage of all of the extra credit options! It will allow you to finish up so much earlier! I would also suggest thinking of ideas for your storytelling as you do your reading diary and writing them down! My last piece of suggestion is just to be CREATIVE! That's what this class was all about for me! Enjoy the storytelling and coming up with new stories. It's a great opportunity to explore your creative side.

Famous Last Words for Week 11

Overall, this week was a good one! This will probably be one of my last posts because I am almost finished with the class thanks to all of the extra credit opportunities. I have almost 390 points so I’m hoping to just finish up the rest of my points by writing my last story for my storybook and then revising it. I decided to only do three stories for my storybook, but since I had four characters I am going to have two of my characters tell their story for my third story. I think it should work out well because my two characters I have left are Vibhishana and Trijata who are father and daughter. I used my two free storybook passes this week and last week, so I think I’ll write my new story for next week and then finish it up the week after. I’m also planning to finish some of the assignments for Week 15 because I know Laura wanted some feedback on the class.

Outside of class, I am really enjoying this Fall weather! Fall is absolutely my favorite season! I love how the trees change, there is pumpkin flavored everything, sweaters and boots, perfect weather, everything about Fall is wonderful! For Halloween, Austin and I had a low-key party on Friday. We got dressed up, played Cards Against Humanity, and watched the Purge with some of our close friends. The Purge was the only scary movie that I would watch. I hate most scary movies. We also had chili and beer bread which is what my family has always done on Halloween. This was the first time that I have ever hosted a party, and there is a lot of work that goes into getting it ready! Austin and I dressed up as Batman and Robin. I really love superheroes so I thought it would be fun. 

Personal photo from our Halloween Party 

I wish we had dressed up as Green Arrow and the Black Canary though because those are my current favorite superheroes. You should really watch Arrow if you don’t already! It’s a great show. Overall, I think everyone enjoyed the party! The best thing about my week though is what my sister just told me on the phone! Jessica, my oldest sister, is dilated to a 2! Baby James was not supposed to come until November 30^th, but it looks like he might be coming as soon as next week by which time he will be full-term! I CAN’T WAIT! I’m so excited to finally meet my nephew!

Famous Last Words for Week 10: I'M ENGAGED!!

This Saturday was one of the best days of my life! Austin and I got engaged!
So here's the whole story:

Austin and I will have been dating for 4 years on November 24th of this year. Around the time we first started dating, I made a bucket list. It included visiting every continent, seeing the seven natural wonders of the world, and going on a hot air balloon ride. So this year for my birthday, Austin wanted to take me on a hot air balloon ride since it was on my bucket list! The first thing that I thought was that he might be proposing, so pretty much as soon as he suggested it, I told my family how he wanted to take me on a hot air balloon ride and he might be proposing. Austin knew he had to get my dad's permission though, so I asked my dad and mom if he had talked to dad. My family is not usually very good at lying, so when they told me he hadn't, I was thoroughly convinced that he wasn't going to ask on the hot air balloon ride. In order to go on a hot air balloon ride, there is about a month wait. Austin and his mom got the hot air balloon ride set up, and we finally got to go yesterday. We needed to be there at 4:30 in order to get up in the air on time, so when we got stuck in stand-still traffic leaving Norman, I'm sure Austin was having a bit of a panic attack. We ended up getting there at 5:00, and the guys that were taking us were still able to get us up in the air by 5:40. Basically, they have to land before sunset due to all of these regulations, so we were originally supposed to take off by 5:30 and land by 6:30, but the sun didn't set until 6:45 so we ended up getting to stay up there an hour anyway. Once we were up the air, it was surreal. I mean once in a lifetime kind of stuff. It was so peaceful up there and just beautiful! Here's some pictures!

Personal photos from our hot air balloon ride! 

About 40 minutes into the balloon ride, I was looking out just taking everything in, and when I turned around Austin was down on one knee (which was quite a feat for how small this basket was). I was pretty shocked so I missed the first part of what he said, but as soon as he started saying "Will you marry me?", I was already saying "Yes". I cannot wait to marry my best friend! I'm so excited to be able to call him my fiance, because it is so much more official! 

When we landed, which was probably the only really scary part of the balloon ride, I saw my whole family and his family waiting for us. Apparently they had been driving below us the whole entire time! After taking some pictures and doing a champagne toast, we went to Hideaway Pizza, and I was surprised to find even more family and friends gathered there for our engagement party! It was the perfect day and even more than I could have imagined! 

The ring!

Austin's parents! I couldn't be more lucky to marry into such a wonderful family!

 My future brother-in-laws and sister-in-law! (Plus Justin's girlfriend, Hayley!)

My whole family!

Personal photos from our engagement party

Week 10: Reading Diary B

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: Action
Based on the chapter title, I'm going to assume that the war will begin in this chapter! Although, I think that war is definitely necessary in this situation, I do understand where Yudhistira is coming from. If only they could just fight Duryodhana, but to have to fight all of these elders and people that you grew up with as well would make the decision very difficult. I'm guessing we will have to see those elders die later in the story, and that makes me sad. Krishna is a wise character. He knows Duryodhana's character well, and that he will never agree to peace.
I also wanted to mention how much I love the character of Vidura. He always has such good advice for the king, even if the king never listens to a word of it. Personally, I appreciate how truthful he always is with the king, no matter what.
Although I knew Duryodhana's character to be very evil, even I was surprised that he would stoop to the level of keeping Krishna as a prisoner! I love Krishna called Duryodhana out as soon as he got there for being such a villain!
Duryodhana is such a rotten egg. I can't believe how disrespectful he is of his parents.
I did not really expect Krishna to pull Karna aside. Karna appears to have more quality of character than I thought. I was surprised at how respectful and appreciative he was of Krishna. I understand why he feels that he must remain loyal to Duryodhana, although I disagree with it.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN: Hesitant Hero
If I were Duryodhana, I would feel pretty anxious after all of those bad omens. He is so foolish for thinking it is in the cards for him to win the battle. I feel so sorry for the Pandavas since they have to fight people they love. That is so terrible. I agree with Krishna though, the war must happen. I think it's interesting in this book that Krishna is so aware of his godly status, while Rama was so unaware of it in the Ramayana. I also found it interesting that they were able to put the war on pause basically. That is so different than war today. Battles fought today use the element of surprise in their attacks, while these battles are set to happen during only restricted times when the armies are gathered in a specific location. That would be a relief to be able to truly rest without fear of attack after each day of battle.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN: Delirium of Destruction
Bhishma's death was not quite what I expected, but I am glad that he was able to die on his own terms. I was also impressed that Karna asked for his forgiveness.
Duryodhana is crazy! Does he actually think that the war could be ended by capturing Yudhistira and forcing him into another gambling game? That idea is about the stupidest thing I have ever heard. Duryodhana is also incredibly unappreciative of all of the people fighting for him. I can't believe he is complaining about how bad Bhishma and Drona are fighting. He should appreciate the fact that they are fighting for him at all!
I thought it was really sad that Arjuna and Bhima both lost their sons. I can't imagine the grief they must have felt.
I actually disagreed with Krishna about lying to Drona. That seems very cruel!
What Bhima said made me feel a little bit better about the Pandavas lying. I did not realize Drona had been so much in the wrong.
Bhima went a little far with the whole blood sucking thing! That was really gross!
Duryodhana seems to think he deserves so much honour, even when he has never been one to be honourable to other. I was glad to see he finally got what he deserved. So many lives were lost because of his evil, envious heart. Of course, he could not even realize how wrong he was, even in the end.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN: Victory and Sorrow
I didn't even think about how much Dhritarashtra and Gandhari would lose in the war. To lose one hundred sons, I'm amazed they did not just kill themselves honestly.
This definitely would be a very bittersweet victory. As Yudhistira said, so many mothers lost their sons during that war.
I would be pretty bothered too if I were Yudhistiras' brothers. They just lost their sons and so much during this war for their kingdom, and Yudhistira is over there complaining about how he just wants to live a life with no wealth or worry. It's mainly his fault they lost the kingdom in the first place! I definitely thought this ending was much more bittersweet than the ending in the Ramayana. Overall, I enjoyed reading this book though. It's amazing that all of the brothers survived everything they went through!

Week 10: Reading Diary A

CHAPTER NINE: Hundred Questions
Duryodhana is really getting on my nerves, and so is Dhritarashtra. Dhritarashtra is the king and his sons' father, but he doesn't act like it at all. How can he not stand up to his own son, what kind of father is he??
The pandavas are much better people than Dhritarashtra's sons. I was kind of surprised that they went to Duryodhana's aid. Duryodhana has never done anything but try to have them murdered and exiled. Even though they helped him, I'm sure Duryodhana will still be a terrible person and try to fight them.
Poor Yudhistira! Can you imagine finding all four of your brothers dead, having to answer hundreds of questions, and then choosing only one to live? I liked his reasoning for why he chose Nakula though. Although both mother's would have lost sons, at least one from each mother would live on. I also liked what Yudhistira said to the greatest wonder in the world. I never thought about that before, but it is very true. When someone we love dies, we mourn their loss, but seem to think our death is some very far off thing, when the truth is that it is inevitable. I was glad that Yama had come to them and granted them the boon of being unrecognized. They will finally be able to return to their kingdom soon!
I think it's kind of cool that the brothers were all able to create new identities for themselves. Personally, I would want Nakula's identity! I love horses too.
Although the book hasn't said much about Draupadi being closer to any of the brothers, I've found that Bhima and Draupadi seem to be closest. Bhima always seems to be the one protecting her.

CHAPTER TEN: Servitude
Duryodhana is so foolish! Why can't he just leave well enough alone? If he just chose to make peace with the pandavas, all would be well. Prince Uttara is such a coward! Aren't princes supposed to be brave? He is definitely useless to Arjuna. I was surprised that Arjuna revealed himself to Prince Uttara, but I suppose he didn't have much of a choice.

CHAPTER ELEVEN:
I was not surprised to see that Krishna would fight for the Pandavas. I was a little surprised that Krishna gave any support to Duryodhana's army, as he clearly favors the Pandavas.

CHAPTER TWELVE:
The family dynamic of the Dhritarashtra's family is so messed up. Even, Ghandari is willing to stand up to her son, but Dhritarashtra, the coward, cannot. I wish he was more brave. Everything could be avoided that way, but of course Duryodhana is already king basically. I can't wait for the Pandavas to destroy him!

Famous Last Words for Week 9

This week was kind of a rollercoaster of emotions due to some personal issues, but hopefully I am finally off of that ride. It is amazing how confusing and complicated life can get in a very short period of time. A month ago everything is going fine, and then somehow you find that your relationships are in a completely different state than they were only a month ago. It’s terrible how that happens.

Aside from some difficulties in my personal relationships, last week wasn’t terrible. In this class, I felt decent about my writing. I finally decided to do a storytelling post after skipping for the past two weeks before review week. I think it really helps when I brainstorm ideas while writing my reading diaries, because then I have an idea on Wednesday rather than having to come up with something. For this week’s story, I used a modern style of retelling which I hadn’t had a chance to do this semester so I really enjoyed it. I did end up skipping the second assigned reading this week due to my rollercoaster of emotions, but I’m hoping to go ahead and read that part when I read for Monday. For my storybook, I hadn’t been really happy with my second story so I ended up with a lot of revising to do, but now I feel much better about it. When I first wrote it, I just wasn’t in the zone, but during revising I was finally able to add some emotion into the story.

My other classes have been going well up to this point. I have a midterm in my biochemical methods class on Wednesday which I am pretty nervous about it. The problem is that it is my only really difficult class so if I don’t do well I’d be really disappointed.

Although this week was difficult emotionally, I found that visiting my little sister with Big Brothers Big Sisters could really benefit me, as well as her. Visiting her really cheered me up! We worked on a craft for Halloween with these toilet paper rolls. These are the product:

Image information: Personal photo of my Halloween craft with my "little sister" 

I also saw the movie, Independence Day, for the first time at the request of my roommates. It was a fantastic movie! "We will not go quietly into the night! We will not vanish without a fight! We're going to live on, we're going to survive. Today we celebrate our independence day!" 

Famous Last Words for Week 9

This week was kind of a rollercoaster of emotions due to some personal issues, but hopefully I am finally off of that ride. It is amazing how confusing and complicated life can get in a very short period of time. A month ago everything is going fine, and then somehow you find that your relationships are in a completely different state than they were only a month ago. It’s terrible how that happens.

Aside from some difficulties in my personal relationships, last week wasn’t terrible. In this class, I felt decent about my writing. I finally decided to do a storytelling post after skipping for the past two weeks before review week. I think it really helps when I brainstorm ideas while writing my reading diaries, because then I have an idea on Wednesday rather than having to come up with something. For this week’s story, I used a modern style of retelling which I hadn’t had a chance to do this semester so I really enjoyed it. I did end up skipping the second assigned reading this week due to my rollercoaster of emotions, but I’m hoping to go ahead and read that part when I read for Monday. For my storybook, I hadn’t been really happy with my second story so I ended up with a lot of revising to do, but now I feel much better about it. When I first wrote it, I just wasn’t in the zone, but during revising I was finally able to add some emotion into the story.

My other classes have been going well up to this point. I have a midterm in my biochemical methods class on Wednesday which I am pretty nervous about it. The problem is that it is my only really difficult class so if I don’t do well I’d be really disappointed.

Although this week was difficult emotionally, I found that visiting my little sister with Big Brothers Big Sisters could really benefit me, as well as her. Visiting her really cheered me up! We worked on a craft for Halloween with these toilet paper rolls. These are the product:

Image information: Personal photo of my Halloween craft with my "little sister" 

I also saw the movie, Independence Day, for the first time at the request of my roommates. It was a fantastic movie! "We will not go quietly into the night! We will not vanish without a fight! We're going to live on, we're going to survive. Today we celebrate our independence day!" 

Storytelling for Week 9: Taking a Stand

In the small town of Everett, everyone knew everyone. When anyone new came to town, they were the talk of the town. Most recently, a woman with her five sons, Dusty, Bison, AJ, Naka, and Slade, had moved there. Class was already halfway through, but their mom enrolled them to start immediately at Everett High School. Dusty, Bison, and AJ were all in their sophomore year, while Naka and Slade were freshmen. The boys quickly made friends at the school with a good group of people. They realized that something was off though when they went to the cafeteria. All the freshmen students hustled through the line with their heads down. They ate quickly and quietly, and then left the cafeteria. Bison went over to his new friend, Eli. 

"Eli, what is going on? Why do all of the younger students rush through lunch?"

Eli scanned the room with a hint of fear in his eyes, and then replied, "One of the seniors, Bane, picks out a freshman every month. Every day of that month, he steals the freshman's lunch. Bane also makes the freshman sit there while he eats the kid's lunch just to pick on him. At the end of the month, Bane takes the kid to the bathroom, gives him a swirly, and then throws him in the trashcan. All of the freshmen are terrified of him, and it is almost the end of the month." 

Image information: A bully picking on a child much smaller than him

Web Source: Investing Caffeine

"That's terrible. We have to stop him! If he picks me, I will make sure that this never happens to any freshmen ever again," Bison said. 

"Bison, that's not a good idea. We're new here, we shouldn't be starting trouble," Dusty said. 

"Bane started the trouble the minute he decided to pick on someone smaller than him," Bison replied. 

The next day, Bison brought his lunch and sat across from Bane. Bane looked at him with anger and demanded, "New kid, give me your lunch!"

"You have your own lunch, why would you need mine?" Bison questioned him.

"I'm hungry, and if you don't give me your lunch, I will beat you to a pulp. What more reason do I need?" Bane said aggressively. 

"I am going to finish my lunch, you cannot have any of it." Bison said firmly. 

Bane stood up and puffed his chest out, but Bison remained seated and continued eating his lunch. Bane grabbed for his lunch, but Bison was too quick. What Bane didn't know is that Bison was a very talented boxer in the town that he had lived in before. Bison stood up with his lunch and continued to eat. Bane's fist whirled through the air, but Bison dodged him easily. Next, Bane tried to tackle him, but once again Bison dodged him. As Bane's momentum was headed toward the ground, Bison just gave him a little push, and Bane found himself on the ground. As Bane started getting up, Bison set down his lunch which was now finished. Bane threw another punch at Bison, missing him again. Bison threw a punch back, hitting Bane square in the jaw. Bane went down immediately.

Soon after, a teacher arrived, but knowing how Bane treated the other students, she just turned and left. Bison kneeled over Bane, looking him square in the eye, and said, "You will not steal anyone else's lunch ever again. Do you understand?"

"Got it," Bane replied angrily, but defeated. 

Author's Note: I decided to modernize the story of when Bhima confronted the rakshasa, Baka, in the town of Ekavrata. Baka was basically a bully who would only leave the whole village alone if the families of the town sacrifice food, two buffaloes, and one member of the family based on some sort of schedule. In my modern day story, Baka is Bane, the bully of the cafeteria, who picks on one freshman monthly. Bison is the character of Bhima, who stood up to Baka in the original story. Bison, like Bhima, is very strong and skilled in fighting. In my story, Bison fights Bane, much like Bhima fought Baka, and makes sure that Bane never picks on anyone ever again. I felt like this story would be very easy to modernize because Baka is really just a big bully who picks on people who cannot defend themselves. 

Bibliography: Narayan, R.K. (1978) The Mahabharata.

Week 9: Reading Diary A

Chapter 1: THE EIGHTH BABY
Talk about love at first sight! How crazy that the first thing that Santanu to say to the woman was asking her to marry him! In modern times, that would really freak a girl out! This story definitely starts out rather strange! Murdering babies that you carried for 9 months by drowning? That's horrific! I feel much better after learning that their spirits went straight to heaven. Poor Devavratha! I think it's rather sad that he will never be able to marry and fall in love. That is definitely much different than our previous protagonist in the Ramayana. Based on the knowledge that Prince Devavratha must remain celibate, it seems like the logical decision for King Santanu should be to go ahead and marry the fisherman's daughter. Prince Devavratha may be the successor, but he will never be able to provide a successor for after he is dead. It's interesting how fate and destiny are portrayed in this story, just like the Ramayana. Everything seems to already be set out and people always seem to make the decisions that lead to the fate that has already been prophesied. Another common theme that I have noticed is how important it it to keep your promises. This was very important to Devavratha, just like it was very important to Rama that his father keep his vow to Kaikeyi.
I felt sad for Ambika in this story. Although the book didn't make a big deal out of it, it sounds like she was basically raped, and because of that her child will be born blind. How terrible would it be to find out that your child will never be able to see colors, to see your face, but instead will be condemned to a world of darkness. I felt equally sad for Ambalika too. These women did not have a say in whether they has sex with Vyasa, and they clearly did not want to have to do that.
I found it kind of humorous that Pandu died while having intercourse, What a way to go out!

Chapter 2: ENTER-- THE PLAYERS
I'm a little confused about how Dhritarashtra and his wife conceived one hundred children? That would definitely not be possible!

So just to keep track of who is who, I wanted to make a list of Pandu's five sons so I don't get confused!
The Pandavas
1. Yudhistira: truthful, courageous, and strong
2. Bhimasena: endowed with extraordinary strength
3. Arjuna: knowledgeable about weapons
4. Nakula: twin brother of Sahadeva
5. Sahadeva: twin brother of Nakula
*Also, Karna, the offspring of the Sun god

Sons of Dhritarashtra
1. Duryodhana: eldest son
2. Dussasana: second eldest son
3-100

It definitely seems like a quality over quantity thing here. Although Pandu's wives only bore 5 children, they were all blessed with special skills that made them stand out. Dhritarashtra's many children on the other hand all just sort of blended together, none of them sticking out. This must have really bothered Dhritarahstra. I thought it was interesting that Karna seemed to favor the sons of Dhritarashtra, even thought three of the Pandava brothers are his half brothers. Of course, none of them know that except for Kunthi.
King Drupada is definitely one of those examples of power going to a person's head. That's terrible that he would be so kind in childhood, but be corrupted by power in adulthood.

Chapter 3: HOUSE OF JOY- AND ASHES
I can understand why King Dhritarashtra would be upset that his nephews are being noticed so much more than his sons, but I'm worried that he will go too far in trying to change this, Also, why would he name one of his nephews as the heir, that is his own stupid fault! I think he will end up exiling all of them. This minister character seems like a weasel. I'm glad that Yudhistira can see through their devious plan. I'm curious to see how Yudhistira handles the situation. I can easily say that I find myself liking the Pandavas the most in this book so far. Yudhistira was very clever in faking their deaths. King Dhritarashtra would not have given up until he believed they were all dead.

Chapter 4: BRIDE FOR FIVE
Bhima, with his extraordinary strength, has taken up the role of the protector of the group. The five sons with their mother seem to make up a very tight-knit group who all care deeply for each other. For my storybook, I actually considered writing about Ghatotkacha, who is half human/half rakshasa. Although he has some rakshasa in him, he is a very noble character. I think that it is very strengthening to the characters of the Pandavas to live with nothing. They grew up with privilege, but to truly be able to understand how other people live gives them a lot of perspective. I loved reading about Bhima standing up to that bully of a Rakshasa. I think I could definitely use this for my storytelling post and modernize to a story about a bully in high school taking kids' lunches

I wonder how the princesses felt about these competitions for their hand in marriage. I mean, yeah it's cool and all that a bunch of guys are competing for you, but then you're stuck with the winner, even if you don't want to be with him. I'm glad that Karna did not force her to be with him. I hope that Arjuna will treat her well. I think he will.
Well I definitely did not expect that she would become the wife to all of her brothers. I guess it is the exact same concept of a man taking many wives, but you definitely don't usually hear of a woman taking many husbands. Interesting gender reversal!

Famous Last Words for Week 8

BOOMER SOONER! So glad that OU beat Texas this weekend! Unfortunately, I had to work during the game, so not only did I not go to Texas, I didn’t even get to watch the game. I was constantly checking the score on the computer at work. From what I hear, it was not a great game so maybe I didn’t miss much. Usually, I only work on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday, but this week I worked Thursday and Friday, as well, to cover some of my co-workers shifts who went to Texas. While I was sad that I missed going to Texas, I will probably go next year since I will technically still be an undergraduate at the OU nursing school and my boyfriend will be a senior. I really want to go at least once, so hopefully we can make it next year!

Image information: Oklahoma beat Texas... Again!

Web Source: Cargo Collective

In this class, I really enjoyed having a review week! I have liked the reading for this class, but it was nice to have a break from that. I’m glad that the next book is written by Narayan rather than Buck, because I definitely preferred Narayan’s version of the Ramayana. For my storybook this week, I added my second story about Mareecha. For my first story, I did not change anything major in the story, but for this story, I changed a major part of the ending. I’m really anxious to get feedback about this story, because I am not sure how I feel about it.

In my other classes, I had one test this week in Nutrition which went well. I finished up my tennis class this week. My tennis class was only half of a semester. I have a volleyball class the second half of the semester. I kind of wish tennis was just the full semester because I really enjoy that sport more. I played volleyball my first two years of high school, while I played tennis all four years. Overall, my classes this semester are going well. 

Reading Diary Assessment for Week 8

For my reading diaries over the first half of this semester, I would start reading the book and take notes as I read. I did not read the reading guides before or during as suggested in the instructions, but I did like to read them afterwards. For length, I just took notes over what I had definite reactions to in the readings and that always seemed to be long enough. I separated my notes based on the chapters. I would put the title of each chapter and then take notes in paragraph form and then start another paragraph at the beginning of a new chapter. I thought the instructions given to us were helpful. I think it really helped me to take notes while reading, rather than after reading, because I was able to talk about what bothered me or made me happy right in that moment, reading it for the first time. The length of my posts varied from about 400 words to 800 words depending on the content of the reading assignment. For example, when Rama sent Sita away, I was very upset, so that reading diary was probably pretty long.

Overall, I would say that the length of my reading diaries is just about right. One thing that I may start doing in my reading diaries is including an image. I think this would help me remember certain events when looking back at the post. Previously, I did not include images except for in one of my diary posts. I also included a favorite quote in one of my diary posts.

Before starting a new reading diary, I would always read the previous reading diary to remember where I left off. This was very helpful in reminding me of the recent events that had occurred in the previous reading. One thing that I think I could do to make my reading diaries more helpful for my storytelling posts would be discussing ideas I have for that assignment while I write my reading diary. Overall, I think I have been doing a fairly good job with the reading diary posts. In general, I remember most of the reading. I think it helped that we read two versions of the same story. For my other classes, I am pretty much always reading about biology. In all the different biology classes, many of the same concepts are reinforced, so I think I remember quite a bit of what I have read for those classes simply because I have read some concepts over and over again. For long-term memory, re-reading is most effective for me. I think that doing these reading diaries also helps with my memory of the book because it makes me read more actively!

Famous Last Words for Week 7

This past week was fairly good. In this class, I wrote my first storybook story about Viradha/Tumburu and revised it. I also ended up changing my background theme, because it was so difficult to see some of the words due to lack of contrast. I feel really good about how my first story turned out! I just hope that my next story will flow easily like the last one. My next story will be about Mareecha as the golden deer! One of my favorite storybooks that I have read so far is Epic TV of India by Elena Morgan. Her storybook is set up as a TV channel that has the shows: The Real Housewives of Dasaratha, Judge Dharma, Swayamvara: The Bachelorette, and the UMFC Championship fight. I thought it was so creative to model the stories of the Ramayana after popular TV shows. She even added in commercials with advertisements like Dr. Rama’s Magic Potion Lotion that could turn stone like Ahalya into a beautiful woman! How creative!

My other classes were pretty relaxed. On Thursday when I was supposed to have tennis class, I ended up sleeping in, but when I looked at my phone later, I realized that my class had been cancelled anyways! So that was pretty nice. This semester has been great, because I don’t have particularly difficult classes; however, I am a little worried it will be hard to adjust to next semester which will be much more difficult. It’s just been so easy to procrastinate this semester, especially since I am a senior. Hopefully, I can get out of that next semester.

Outside of classes, this week was pretty uneventful. My sister had a 4D ultrasound on Friday. Unfortunately, I had class so I didn’t get to go, but I did get to see some pretty amazing pictures, so I’ll share one here! Some of the things that we can do with technology now are just incredible! Can’t wait to meet my new nephew in less than two months!!  

Personal photo from my sister's 4D ultrasound of sweet baby James 

Week 7: Reading Diary B

THE WONDERFUL RETURN
I love that Rama took the time to visit his friends and allies as he journeyed home, like Bharadwaja and Guha, although I do wish he would hurry home so Bharata doesn't try to kill himself! I'm glad that he at least sent Hanuman ahead to send a message to Bharata.
Wow, Hanuman's story of what happened in the fourteen years is so much more condensed! Basically, Ravana stole Sita, so Rama fought for her and won, so Ravana is dead. Why would Hanuman think that would please them? Although, for someone to ask you to sum up fourteen years is a pretty crazy question to ask anyway.
I love the lyrics of Valmiki's about Ayodhya and what it is to Rama returning home after fourteen years. It sounded beautiful! Bharata's reunion with Rama and Lakshmana was wonderful. Even after fourteen years, you can see how much the brothers care for each other.
It sounds like such an amazing celebration!I was surprised that Manthara came to apologize to Sita and make mends. While Manthara did what she did out of bad intentions, you can't really upset when it was obviously meant to happen. It also made me happy that Lakshmana was finally reunited with his wife. How lonely she must have been! The coronation and telling of what the world was like during Rama's rule seemed like the happily ever after, so I am interested to see what happens in the last book and why in the world Sita was sent away!

IN WHAT DREAM
It seemed kind of strange to me that Pushpaka could talk since it is supposed to be a chariot, but then again how many chariots have you heard of that can hold thousands to millions of people!
ARE YOU KIDDING ME???
Rama is seriously going to send Sita away because the people are saying that Ravana touched her! She was nothing but loyal during that time, and clearly she didn't want to be there, she was kidnapped! This is ridiculous! How dare he send her into the forest? She is about to have their children! If I were Sita, I would never ever forgive him! Literally, this part bothers me so much! And that whole thing about "this is what must be, even though we have no idea" is not helpful at all, I mean it's like "well.. people are saying Sita's a whore for being kidnapped and held against her will even though she was completely loyal the whole time.. so I think I'll abandon her in the forest, but obviously this is part of destiny, so it's okay.."
Seriously, who thinks like that??

Well I was kind of surprised by the story about Lord Narayana, who is one in the same as Lord Vishnu. The craziest thing is that Vasishtha knows Rama and Sita, and he is the one who made this happen, although I still believe in the whole free will thing, so I don't really think that Rama had to do it.

FAREWELL AGAIN, MY LADY AND MY KING
No one else would probably take note of this, but since it applies to my storybook, I found it interesting that the book mentioned that Vibhishana and Trijata both came, because in some versions, including my storybook, they are said to be father and daughter. I love that all of Rama's allies came together for this festival, at a much happier time than during the war against Ravana.
I would definitely believe that it took Lava and Kusa a year to tell this story, especially with all the imagery and excessive details! I think it's wonderful that Valmiki's poetry is what brought Rama and Sita and their twin sons together after twelve years!
I found King Janaka's offers humorous in this chapter. He's starting at a billion dollars and going down to a hundred dollars.
Well so much for Rama and Sita being reunited in this life, but at least they will be reunited as Vishnu and Lakshmi.
The death of Lakshmana was definitely not what I expected. It wasn't really fair because that hermit was going to curse the whole city if Lakshmana did not interrupt! It seems that the end of Rama's rule is near.
I think Hanuman must be Rama's most loyal servant. He truly lived to serve Rama. It was interesting how many of Rama's supporters went with him into afterlife. Aside from Rama never really spending time with Lava and Kusa, I was very pleased with the conclusion of this book!

Week 7: Reading Diary A

RAVANA AND TIME

Malyavan was fortunate to be taken away before the impending battle. His story seemed very peaceful, and I think that he ended up somewhere very nice 

You definitely would not want to be in Ravana's army right now, especially with all of the bad omens showing up! Man, Jambavan is brutal! The way he kills them sounds very gruesome, indeed! Also, the corpses in the sea is also extremely creepy. The thought gives me the shivers! 

The names that they came up with for Ravana were quite humorous to me. This guy is not "the Defender of Love and Enemy of Hate", nor is he "the Protector of Heaven and the Guardian of the truth". He is literally like the complete opposite of those things! 

I was kind of surprised at how gentle Ravana was with Suka. Suka basically told him everyone blamed him and thought he was stupid for getting them into this mess, which is very true. Although Suka said those things, I think Ravana really appreciated his honesty and loyalty. Although Ravana clearly does not have good character, I like that he finally spared his people and chose to take on Rama alone. I also can't imagine him just dancing before the battle. What a funny sight! 

It's interesting to me how invincible Ravana believes himself to be, even after all that has happened! He goes around taunting Time, acting as if it has no power over him. Time will get us all someday, and Ravana's clock has just run out of time. Although it appears that Ravana overpowers Time, in the long run I think that Time will come out victorious.
I think that Indra's chariot definitely helped level the playing field. This is going to be such an epic battle! It really showed Rama's character that he displayed so much empathy and appreciation for his charioteer, Matali. I'm glad that Rama took the time to help him. I believe in Narayan's version, Ravana actually spoke everything, and there was not a letter. I think I like this version with the letter better though. It's interesting that he knew all along who Rama truly was, and still chose to go up against him. I almost forget that all of this story was supposed to be told by Lava and Kusa. The end of this chapter definitely sounded more like something that would be sung by them though.

PART THREE: THE DHARMA WHEEL
I thought it was sweet how impatient Rama became after the battle to see Sita! I also think that Vibhishana will be a wonderful king for Lanka. If anyone can turn things around there, it is him. Mandodari's story all kind of seemed a little confusing to me, like a riddle, but I am glad that her father took care of her.
I would have been so confused if I were Rama when Indra and Agni talk in all of these riddles about who he really is! I don't think he was ready for the truth just yet. I was happy to finally see Sita and Rama reunited, and this time Rama did force her to walk through fire or whatever that test was in the last book. Their reunion was very sweet.
I also thought the friendship that had formed between Vibhishana and Hanuman was really special. It was very lucky that Hanuman had been so trusting of Vibhishana the day that he had left Ravana and came to Rama's camp. I definitely would have wanted Hanuman as a friend as well. It was amazing that Hanuman was able to revive all of those that had died fighting for Rama. This chapter definitely ended on a happy note. I am very curious to see what happens in the last section of the book! I am especially curious to learn why Rama ends up sending Sita away, and also his reaction when he learns who Lava and Kusa really are! 

Pinterest Widget Tech Tip

Here is my Pinterest Board Widget for this class! Follow Taylor Haddad's board Indian Epics Portfolio on Pinterest.

Famous Last Words for Week 6

This week I was probably the world’s worst procrastinator. For the first time, I did not do a storytelling blog post, which I was kind of disappointed in myself about. I feel like I have earned enough points to make up for it though! For my storytelling post, I feel really good about my introduction, but I have not quite started my first story which I plan to do immediately after I finish this post! My first story is going to be the story of Tumburu/Viradha! I will probably go in order of how the characters were introduced in my introduction.

In my other classes, things haven’t been too busy! Biochemical Methods is still my hardest class! In lab, we have been doing chromatography which is actually pretty interesting. The concept is basically that you are able to separate a mixture on the basis of size or charge.

Outside of class, this week was my birthday! I turned 22 this Friday! On Thursday, I went to dinner and bowling with some of my really great friends! We went to Logan’s Steakhouse and Sooner Bowl. On Friday night, I went to the Phillip Phillips concert with my little. It was really good, but I didn’t know a bunch of the songs because I hadn’t realized that Phillip Phillips came out with a new album. His music is so relaxing though! On Saturday, I got off work to go to my oldest sister’s baby shower! She is now 31 weeks, almost to the safe zone! For her shower, my other sister and I got her a diaper bag. I’m so excited to meet my nephew, James Anthony in about 2 months! After the shower, my whole family went to Musashi’s. My favorite gift was the necklace that I got from my sister and brother-in-law that says “Aunt Taylor”. Overall, I had a really great birthday with awesome friends and family! 

Image information: Personal photo of my new necklace from my sister, Jessica

Week 6: Reading Diary B

THE NEW MOON (cont'd)
I thought it was interesting how much more detail this version of the Ramayana went into telling us how the troops crossed the ocean. Samudra, the Ocean Lord, appeared to be new character. Rama definitely seemed a little over aggressive at first with him. The little story about the squirrels and the mark on the back was also interesting.

THE BUILDING OF THE BRIDGE
It definitely makes sense that this book is so much longer than the previous book that we read. There was barely a mention of the building of the bridge in the previous book. I love how matter of a fact Vibhishana is when he speaks to Ravana. You can definitely tell how frustrated Vibhishana has become with his brother's foolish decisions. He finally reached his breaking point with Ravana. I was really glad that Rama accepted Vibhishana. Vibhishana is such an interesting character to me, because he was the brother of Ravana, but still chose to follow Dharma. He definitely proved himself when he caught Sardula and Sarana.
I love how Ravana gets caught in his lie about Rama's death. It was actually kind of humorous when General Prahasta came in talking about how Rama is crossing the ocean. I thought the idea of receiving what you believe to be your husband's head was very ghastly though. I can't even imagine how Sita must have felt before she realized that it was all an elaborate lie. Again, we get to see more of Trijata which definitely gave me more material for my storybook. She seems so kindhearted. It's so interesting how she can shape shift into whatever she wants! Malyavan was an interesting character. I really liked the idea that his devilish features faded, and I'm hoping to use that idea in my storybook.

THE SIEGE OF LANKA
The battle between Nala and General Prahasta was rather epic and intense. It seems that this version of the Ramayana is gonna talk about the battles in much greater detail which I like. It was really creepy what Ravana did with his dead. I thought it was very wrong, because he should have appreciated their loyalty and willingness to die for him.
I thought it was funny how Kumbhakarna immediately asked Ravana what he had done wrong and then just tells him in a matter of fact tone, well just give her back.  That would seem like the smarter solution, wouldn't it? It seems that he knows his brother well. I love how all of Ravana's brothers think he is an idiot. I don't know why Kumbhakarna fought for Ravana though, if he so strongly felt that Ravana was in the wrong. It must have been out of some loyalty to his brother. It was kind of sad how willing Ravana was to risk the lives of all of his warriors. Kumbhakarna's death kind of reminded me of the movie "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" where the character has each limb cut off one at a time, but somehow continues going, even saying, "'tis but a flesh wound",when his arm gets cut off. I thought it was nice to see a little bit of remorse from Ravana at the end of this chapter.

THE INVISIBLE WARRIOR
It definitely seems unfair that Indrajit can just go around being invisible in the battle. How is that honorable? Good thing they had Vibhishana on their side! It was really sad to see some of the characters we had come to care for die in this chapter, like Angada and Nala.
The part about Hanuman having to retrieve a plant in order to revive Rama and Lakshmana was new. I was surprised that they changed this part, because in the last book it just seemed like Rama and Lakshmana only looked dead, but were not. In this book, they actually die. I can't believe that Hanuman was able to pick up the mountain! What a crazy idea!
I did find myself liking Indrajit during his discussion with Rama, but then I really disliked him again when he cut that poor woman disguised as Sita in half. I feel like Ravana should feel incredibly guilty over Indrajit's death, because Indrajit didn't even think it was a good idea to continue fighting, but he did it anyway for Ravana.

Week 6: Reading Diary A

HANUMAN'S JUMP
What a terrible way to hear the news of your brother's passing! Poor Sampati! Jatayu was such a wonderful character, I was definitely sad when he died. It's so interesting how so many characters in this book have these supernatural powers, like Hanuman being able to grow large enough to just cross the sea in one giant leap. I also think it's interesting to meet characters in this book, that were not included in Narayana's retelling, like Mainaka. Her story kind of made me think of the new movie, Maleficent, with all the other people of her race getting their wings cut off. I think it would be interesting to retell Mainaka's story in my storytelling,
Sinhika sounded like such a terrible creature. The shadow thing made me think of Peter Pan. Her death seemed pretty gruesome. What a terrible way to die!
I thought it was weird how they described Lanka to be such a beautiful place. I would have thought it would have been dark and dreary since it is Ravana's kingdom. I couldn't help but think of Professor McGonagall from Harry Potter when Hanuman turned into a tabby cat. It was so weird how Lanka was both a city and a person, I was surprised at how diverse the asuras were described to be. Handsome, gruesome, pink, pale, dark, and anywhere in between!
How many beautiful wives can one man have! Goodness gracious! And he still feels the need to steal another man's wife? That's ludicrous!
It's was nice to see that Vayu, the wind god, was looking out for his son, Hanuman!

HERE I AM
I can't imagine how terrible things must have been for Sita! Hanuman's description of her is so sad. I love her attitude toward Ravana though! She has not given up hope on Rama and his ability to destroy Ravana! Those wives are terrifying! I think it's funny how they act like they're trying to be nice, but then threaten to "eat her up". Trijata was so kind and helpful to Sita! I'm so excited to include her in my storybook! I'm disappointed that her story is not longer than that, but she did save Sita! I love how Hanuman was so encouraging to Sita, and really lifted her mood. I'm sure she really needed that. I thought it was wonderful how Hanuman wreaked havoc on Lanka before he left!
Indrajit is such an interesting character. Definitely much different than his father! I thought it was interesting how he could take two such different forms.

THE NEW MOON
Vibhishana will be such a great character for my storybook! I love how he refuses to follow Ravana's orders in this chapter! Dadhimuska was not a very nice character! No one goes around kicking Hanuman, like he's better than him! I loved Hanuman's little pep talk at the end of the reading!

Google Search Tech Tip

I decided to search the classics subdirectory of the sacred texts website. I've always been interested in Homer's works, so I decided to search Homer specifically. I was surprised to learn that Homer's works were composed in the same period as the Ramayana. I read the Odyssey in high school and last year in Mythology and Folklore, so I decided to look into the Iliad of Homer. 

This is how the story begins:

"Sing, O goddess, the anger of Achilles son of Peleus, that brought countless ills upon the Achaeans. Many a brave soul did it send hurrying down to Hades, and many a hero did it yield a prey to dogs and vultures, for so were the counsels of Jove fulfilled from the day on which the son of Atreus, king of men, and great Achilles, first fell out with one another."

Week 5: Famous Last Words

         This week seemed to fly by for some reason! On Monday, I worked a double shift at work which was exhausting, but after that my week was really light! I was really worried about writing my storybook introduction last weekend, because I didn’t know if I would be able to write it as well as I wanted. After starting it though, I felt really good about it! The story really just started flowing. I think that I’ll definitely enjoy writing stories for it, and I hope y’all will enjoy reading them! I was really impressed by the story, The Time of a New King, by Jeremy Wiggins! He retold the story of when King Dasaratha passed and the messengers rode for Bharata. Instead of the messengers refusing to tell Bharata what had happened, they mourned with him. I thought that this made the story so much more emotional and touching.

            In one of my other classes, I had a nutrition assignment this week that asked me to do a nutritional analysis of an unhealthy recipe, and then modify it to make it healthier. I chose to analyze a banana bread recipe that has been in my family for years. To modify it, I substituted Splenda for sugar and fat-free sour cream for regular sour cream. I don’t know if that would still taste good though. I definitely will have to try it sometime and see if it is any good, because I’d really like to eat healthier. Also, if you use gluten-free baking soda, it really decreases the sodium content! In Biochemical Methods Lab, it seems that I finally got good data for once. It’s definitely one of those labs where you could do everything right, but still somehow get terrible data, so this week was quite an achievement. 


           Outside of school, I have started running again. Over the summer, I ran quite a bit, but when school started back up, my running routine was completely forgotten. Finally, I’m starting to get back into the schedule again, but it is so hard. The mental part of running has always been the hardest for me. It takes so much will-power to keep going when all you want to do is stop. I refuse to be a quitter though!

Image information: Quote about running

Web Source: Pinterest

Storytelling for Week 5: Asuras Anonymous

Author's Note: Hi everyone! After sending my storybook introduction to Laura, she suggested that I post my introduction for this week's storytelling and get some feedback on it since Tumburu/Viradha from this week's reading is the host of my storybook. My storybook is called Asuras Anonymous, and it is about all of the asuras who struggled to be good! Hope ya'll enjoy it! 

Here it is:

At a secret little building in Lanka, a number of asuras discretely shuffled in and took a seat.

After everyone had arrived, a heavenly character rose and spoke. “Welcome to this week’s meeting of Asuras Anonymous! I am delighted to see some new faces, as well as some familiar ones. Our hope is that these meetings can help encourage each of you to resist the demon within you and find your light. Through sharing with others that face many similar struggles, you will find that you don’t have to go through this journey alone. I understand that many of you have families that may not support your decision to be here tonight, that may not support your decision to follow Dharma and have good character. If this describes you, please know that you have a family here who supports your decision. Please, everyone, introduce yourselves and tell us what is on your heart. Everything that is said here, stays here. I shall go first.

“My name is Tumburu.”

“Hi, Tumburu,” the group echoed.

“I am a Gandharva. I hold these meetings because I was once cursed and found myself turned into an asura called Viradha. In this demon body, I was unable to resist my newfound evil, cannibalistic urges. Although I have now been freed from that life, I continue to struggle with guilt for the actions I committed while under this curse. I will share more about this later. Understanding the challenges that you are faced with, I feel that the best way I can help you is through these meetings. Thank you for being here. Whoever would like to speak, feel free to when you are ready.”

“Hi, my name is Mareecha, and I am an asura. This is my first time here.”

“Hello, Mareecha,” the group said welcomingly.

“Throughout much of my life, I have been surrounded by family who has only brought out the worst in me. My mother and father, Thataka and Sunda, led me down a wicked path, along with my brother Subahu. This path led to the destruction of both my parents. Soon after, my brother and I attempted to avenge the death of our mother, but I found myself brother-less instead. For a long time, I felt bitter and angry at the gods and the humans who killed my parents and brother, and I gave into my evil side. I regret that I have killed many people. After barely escaping with my life during one of my terrible episodes, I realized that there was a reason that my parents and brother were dead. Unless I wanted to end up like them, I must change my ways and live a better life in accordance with Dharma. I hope that my story, which I will share with you, can help each of you in some small way.”

“Thank you for sharing, Mareecha,” Tumburu said encouragingly.

“I’ll pass,” one asura said.

A few more asuras passed.

“I am Vibhishana, and I am an asura.”

“Hello, Vibhishana.”

“As you all probably know, my older brother is the demon king, Ravana. Oftentimes, I find myself torn between my loyalty to my brother and the ways of Dharma. I question if remaining in my brother’s presence is the best choice for my daughter and me. Sometimes, I think I may be able to make a difference in that position, because I may advise my brother. However, lately he has taken an interest in destroying the warrior, Rama. I worry that I may be forced to participate in his evil plans, and I am not sure I have the power to resist his requests of me. I come to these meetings, because they give me strength. I believe that I will really need that strength in the coming weeks as I share my struggles. Thank you all for listening.”

“Hi everyone, I am Trijata, and I am an asura.”

“Hello, Trijata.”

“I have been coming to these meetings with my father, Vibhishana. Although Vibhishana is my father, as a rakshasi in Lanka, I am forced to be a servant to my Uncle Ravana. As a servant, my uncle has made me do terrible things. I have held humans captive for him and stood aside cowardly while he has eaten innocent humans. I fear that a life in Lanka will force me to continue down this path. I hope someday to be taken away from this terrible place.”

“Thank you for being here today, everybody. You are not alone in your struggles. I hope to see you all again next week,” Tumburu said, closing the meeting. 

Image information: An image with a quote by J.K. Rowling 

Web Source: Pinterest

Bibliography: 
1. Buck, William (1976). Ramayana: King Rama's Way.
2. Narayan, R.K. (1972) The Ramayana.

Week 5: Reading Diary B

THE GOLDEN DEER
Ravana is so foolish for not listening to Maricha's advice. It is Ravana's foolishness that leads to his destruction, nothing else. I really liked that this story gave us more dialogue with Maricha than Narayan's version, because Maricha is one of my characters in my storybook! Although in this story, he still turns out to make the wrong decision, he really did strive to follow Dharma before Ravana approached him. I thought it was interesting what Maricha said about it being better to be killed by the better man. I don't think I agree with this, because in this case, it means that you are helping the more evil man succeed. I definitely found myself feeling sorry for Maricha.
Lakshmana was definitely more wise than Rama and Sita in this story. He sees through the illusion so easily. Although I like Sita, she is so stupid in this story! How could she not see through Ravana's plan! For both Rama and Lakshmana to be drawn away and then for some mysterious man to show up? Her gut instinct should be telling her that something is wrong with the situation!
I loved how bravely Jatayu fought to get Sita back. Although Jatayu was not a major character, I thought he was one of the most valiant characters in the whole book, and I felt very sad for his death.

HANUMAN
Ravana is such a crazy psychopath! I will kidnap you so that you will love me? How does that make any sense? Wouldn't that be great if what Indra said was true, that anyone who desires an unwilling woman burns himself. Rape is such a problem in our world, and I think men who think they can touch a woman when she resists should be punished to the full extent of the law. The story about Rambha was so incredibly sad. I felt so bad for her.
The story of Riksharaja was a little bit weird to me! What was the sex change after going into the water? And then after having babies, returning to a male? Definitely a strange story! Do Sugriva and Vali call Riksharaja, mom or dad? Just curious.
I thought Vayu's bonding with Hanuman was so sweet, especially after his mother abandoned him in that cave!
It was really interesting how Savari went into the fire to be returned to her younger form and taken away with Indra! It's like Savari was just waiting for Rama to fulfill her purpose in that life and could finally move on after telling him about Sugriva, Vali, and Hanuman.
I think that Rama was so sensitive to Sugriva's problems because he also had been separated from his wife. I wonder if that was not the case if he would have killed Vali the way he did. This chapter made me really sad, especially when Queen Tara killed herself after Vali was murdered. The way that Rama killed Vali definitely did not seem noble to me.

THE SEARCH
The imagery in this chapter is so incredibly vivid! It's amazing how descriptive this author can be. I didn't know that anyone could describe things so much.
I didn't realize in the last book how many people came to help Rama! It seems like all the different monkey species came to assist them, along with a bunch of bears!
The idea of a search party for the entire world seems so crazy to me! Searching the whole world for one person would be impossible!
What is with people being so willing to commit suicide and die?! I don't understand why everyone promises to end their life in this book if things don't happen at exactly the right time!

Week 5: Reading Diary A

BHARATA RETURNS
Bharata's dream, described in this chapter, was incredibly symbolic. It's like his subconscious could sense that something was wrong. It's amazing how strong human's intuition and subconscious can be in sensing when something terrible has happened. How ominous it must have been for Satrughna and Bharata when entering their city, but yet not knowing what had happened. I'm sure that there were so many different scenarios running through their heads!
I can't believe that Kaikeyi has the nerve to ask, "Why are you not delighted?", after telling Bharata that his father is dead and his dear brother has been banished! Is she mental?? Of course he is not delighted, that is his family, and he actually cares about them! What a terrible person, Kaikeyi is!
I like that in Buck's version, they give Satrughna a little more dialogue, I always thought it was weird how little he was involved in the story. I also like that in this version, everyone immediately trusts and consoles Bharata. This seems more appropriate because they all knew his character before he left, so why should they believe he would do something so out of character like they did in Narayan's version?
I thought it was interesting that Bharata was able to forgive his mother for her wicked actions. I did not quite expect that. I thought he disowned her permanently. I noticed that this part of the book deviated from Narayan's version. I was pleasantly surprised to find that Bharata was able to perform his father's pyre burning. I don't know how I felt about Kaikeyi being able to participate in mourning the loss of Dasaratha with his other two wives, because she caused his death. I thought she would have been banished.

THE SANDALS
How awesome would it be to have Viswakarman build your house and garden! I wonder if Bharadwaja will keep it that way after everybody leaves! Well I read a little farther,, and apparently not. Although I bet Bharadwaja prefers the simpler things. It's so true what Bharadwaja said about Kaikeyi. Although her actions seemed terrible, they were so necessary for the fulfillment of Rama's destiny.
I really loved this quote from Bharata:
"It is true, that nights gone by do not return, and every day shortens our lives. But I think some things endure. Surely love endures beyound our brief lives."
This is such a beautiful thought. While we may look at life as simply an hourglass that runs our leaving nothing behind, this is not accurate. We all leave something behind that remains, especially love.
I found the whole "walking into a fire and dying" sentiment to be a little dramatic! I mean at least give him more than a day to return!
I thought it was interesting how the sandals had a magical property to them.

PART 2: SITA'S RESCUE
It's crazy that all of the action of Rama's exile occurs only in the fourteenth year! I didn't realize that in Narayan's version.
That story about Ilwala and Vatapi was rather disturbing. How terrible and sadistic these two asuras are! I'm glad that they got what they had coming to them at the hands of Agastya.
I liked that the book introduced us to the Valakhilyas. It's nice to see who all Rama is protecting by destroying Ravana and his demon army. I like what they said about war being better than fear, especially when they are living out of fear of someone so powerful, but yet so cruel and immoral. It made me think of the current dilemma in the world with ISIS. People are living fear of these terrorists and I wonder if war would be better in this case.
The story about Garuda was interesting at all, but it definitely seemed quite drawn out when it did not contribute to the actual plot of the story at all. Based on the stories I have read, I don't know how much I like Indra. He kind of seems like he thinks he is better than he is. I liked Garuda though, especially since he went through all of that to free his mother!  
I actually already read the story about Viradha/Tumburu because he will be featured in my storybook! Although his story here is a bit short, I found him to be an incredibly interesting character! He must have felt so much guilt for the things he did while he was trapped in the demon's body!
This version was different in that Surpanakha did not even try to disguise herself. Lakshmana and Rama still try to be nice to her anyways, at least before she goes after Sita. Maybe I'm forgetting, but I don't really remember Khara in Narayan's version. It's not like he lasted long in this story either though!

Week 4: Famous Last Words

I think that this week was my best writing for this class! I wrote about Sita’s exile. I felt that this writing was especially strong, because my sister is pregnant like Sita, so I know of some of the fears that Jessica, my sister is experiencing. I tried to really capture the maternal instinct that Sita would have felt. For my storybook, I have chosen to write about some of the good asuras. Vibhishana, Trijata, Mareecha (not quite good, but he tried to be), and Viradha have made it into my storybook, Asuras Anonymous! I really considered doing a user’s choice storybook which I did last year, but I decided not to because I wanted to be able to focus on more characters. Asuras Anonymous is supposed to be sort of like Alcoholics Anonymous so I think it will be an interesting storytelling style!

In my other classes, I had my first test this week in Nutrition. It wasn’t too difficult, and I have really enjoyed the class. I definitely wouldn’t say I eat super healthy or anything, but through this class, I have changed my diet a little bit and really tried to add fiber into my diet and cut back on soda. I would like to cut out soda completely, but I just like it too much! I find that I am experiencing a little bit of Senioritis. Symptoms include severe lack of motivation, failure to study, and can lead to long all-nighters the day before assignments are due. My Senioritis has been especially severe in my Biochemical Methods Lab. I just really hate writing lab reports. I actually still need to write mine which is due on Tuesday at 1:30. You would think I have plenty of time, but I pretty much work all day tomorrow.

Outside of school, I went to a murder mystery dinner with my family and boyfriend. Austin and I were these young characters who were in love and engaged, but then we found out that our characters were first cousins, so that was awkward. Austin’s character was also only with me for my “family’s” money. Scandalous, right? All of the characters had these terrible secrets, and you would not believe how many of them were cheating on their significant others! It was a really fun night though, and I really enjoyed it! My dad’s character ended up being the murderer! Although, I had at one time pushed the victim down the stairs, so I was definitely a main suspect. If you want to do a murder mystery, there is one in Guthrie, OK at the Stone Lion Inn, and I would definitely recommend it! 

Image information: Personal photo of Austin and I from the Stone Lion Inn Murder Mystery (September 2014)

Image information: Personal photo of my father and I from the Stone Lion Inn Murder Mystery (September 2014)