Week 2: Famous Last Words

When I first saw how much we had to read this week, I was a little bit overwhelmed. However, after reading a couple of pages, it seemed like I was just reading for fun, not doing required reading. The story is so interesting and easy to read. For my storybook assignment, I came up with some ideas that I really liked. My favorite is probably the “good” asuras storybook. I think it would be really interesting to tell their stories. I felt pretty good about my writing this week. From my experience in Dr. Gibb’s class, there are some weeks that the creativeness just flows, but other weeks, it can be really difficult. So far, I feel like I have had a pretty good flow.

My favorite writing that I read this week was probably The Break Room, by Elena Morgan. Similar to my storytelling post, she also focused on the character, Kooni. However, she told the story from the perspective of Kooni, who secretly is overjoyed, while the rest of the kingdom cries about Rama’s exile. I thought it was a very interesting perspective to tell the story from.

My other classes are going pretty well. During the first week of school, I ended up dropping Physiology, therefore, my schedule has become much easier. I am now taking this class, nutrition, understanding statistics, tennis, and intro to biochemical methods. My most challenging class will most likely be biochemical methods. I’ve really enjoyed my tennis class, because I played tennis in high school and always loved it. When I got to college, I just kind of stopped playing, and I didn’t realize how much I missed it until taking my tennis class. I also am really enjoying working at the OU Tennis Club. I just started at the end of the summer. Up until this year, I had never worked during the school year, only the summers, because I am lucky enough to have parents who financially support me. It’s really nice to actually be earning on my own money this year though.

Outside of school and work, my boyfriend and I watched the movie, the Delivery Man. Personally, I think Vince Vaughn does a great job in those heartwarming comedy types of movies, like Delivery Man and The Internship. It was really nice being able to relax over this three day weekend. Unfortunately, I work every Saturday, so it is unlikely that I will be able to attend the football games. This week, my mom kept me updated through text, and it was like I was hearing about a touchdown every 5 minutes! Sooner football is back! 

Image information: Racquet with tennis balls lying on a tennis court

Web Source: Idaho Falls Community Tennis Association

Week 2 Storytelling: Bharata's story

As Bharata journeyed home from visiting his grandfather, he questioned why he would have been called home so early. Bharata had always been close with his father, much more so than his mother, so naturally he feared that his father may be sick. Instead of dwelling on these fears, he pushed them aside and thought about how happy he was to be returning home. His family was so important to him, and he had missed them greatly, especially his brothers.

When Bharata entered Ayodhya, he sensed that something was terribly wrong, but he tried to remain optimistic. Ayodhya, usually a festive, beautiful place, now looked seemed so melancholy. On his arrival at the palace, the servants, the advisors, everyone stared glaringly at him. What could he have done to warrant such a reaction? He soon found out. After learning that his father had passed into the afterlife, Bharata broke down in tears. His first thought was to find Rama, but Rama and Lakshmana were nowhere to be found. His mother, Kaikeyi was his last resort, and he wanted some answers.

Bharata questioned, “Mother, what has happened?”

“Your father became very sick after Rama left him, and he could not bear the separation, so the old man is dead,” Kaikeyi responded coldly.

“How can you be so heartless! That is my father you are talking about. Why would Rama leave?” Bharata asked angrily.

Kaikeyi told him the story of how Dasaratha owed her two promises.

“Now with Rama out of the way, you will be King,” she said triumphantly.

Bharata suddenly felt sick to his stomach as he realized what had taken place while he was away.

“You are not my mother! You are a terrible demon of a woman. I wish nothing, but tragedy for you. The only good thing that has come of this is that I am King so I can banish you from this kingdom. You are just lucky that I am not banishing you from the Earth. You will leave immediately and never come back, or your sentence will be death. I disown you,” Bharata raged.

Bharata turned to leave, but heard a terrible growl. Slowly, he turned and found in front of him, not his mother, but Kooni. Kooni, his mother’s servant who no longer maintained the appearance of a woman, but of a demon. Bharata pulled out his sword.

“Where is my true mother? Answer me, you wretched demon!” he yelled.

Kooni responded, “I needed her out of the way, if I was to control the throne.”

Bharata quickly understood the meaning of this. His adrenaline rushed. He took a step toward Kooni, who blew fire at him. Bharata stepped back and dodged another attack. After Kooni’s missed attack, Bharata saw an opening. He quickly took advantage of this and Kooni was soon vanquished. 

After Bharata’s battle with Kooni for what she had done to Rama and Dasaratha, the people accepted and loved him again. Bharata found Rama to tell him what had passed and to ask him to take the throne, but Rama refused. For fourteen years, Bharata served to protect Ayodhya, until Rama could return.

Image information: Bharata questions Kaikeyi on his return home 

Web Source: KidsGen

Author's Note: In my retelling of Bharata and Kaikeyi's conversation on his return home, I turned Kooni into the real villain of the story. In the original story, Kooni had planted the seed in Kaikeyi's mind that Bharata should be king. I was really bothered by what took place and how Dasaratha had died, so I wanted his death to be revenged. I thought about having Kaikeyi turn into a demon, but I didn't want Bharata to have to kill his own mother, and since Kooni was the real reason for Kaikeyi's change of heart, I had her true personality revealed. Another reason I wrote this story is because I really liked Bharata and wanted him to be seen as a hero as well. 

Bibliography: Narayan, R. K. (1972) The Ramayana.

Week 2: Reading Diary B

Starting out, I'm just amazed at how peaceful and accepting Rama is of what was asked of him. He seems to be very wise, even without knowing that he is Vishnu. He is definitely an old soul. Lakshmana, on the other hand, seems to be a very young soul. I'm really glad that Lakshmana and Sita insisted on going with him though. I don't think he should have to be alone all those fourteen years.

Although Kaikeyi is a terrible, cruel woman, her son definitely inherited more of Dasaratha's characteristics. He seems much more noble, and I hate that, because of what Kaikeyi did, he may be looked at in the same way as her. 

The author made an excellent point about how interesting it was to see two princes, arguing over who should rule, each thinking the other should. All of the sons in this royal family seem to be good men who care for each other deeply. That is one of the things I am finding myself to like most about this story. The author seems to have a much more optimistic view of humanity than other authors do. I also like how it gives me characters that I want to cheer for.

ENCOUNTERS IN EXILE

I don't think I trust this new Kamavalli character, as she is the sister of Ravana. It seems so weird to me that Rama's excuse not to marry her could not just be that he was already married! It's strange to think of any man being able to have multiple wives. I'm glad Lakshmana was there to protect Sita from that terrible demon. Soorpanaka is pathetic in her attempts to covet Rama. I can’t believe that any woman would be so desperate that she would offer to be a man’s slave.

THE GRAND TORMENTOR

Soorpanaka remains crazy in this chapter. How can she seriously think that Rama would ever want her, especially if she caused his separation from Sita. She is crazy! Also, what is with Ravana thinking that Sita is just some possession for him to collect. What is even more bothersome is that there are guys that I know that think in that same way! Ravana is impossible to please (talk about high maintenance!).

Also, he hasn’t even met her or seen her! He’s wreaking havoc on Earth over some woman he has never even met!

I actually felt kind of bad for Mareecha. There he was trying to turn his life around, and Ravana has to come and ruin it. Also, I was shocked out Rama’s foolishness! He is not usually one to fall for such obvious trickery. I guess love really can make you foolish. Rama and Sita fall for tricks that if had not been for their love for each other, they would never have fallen for. This chapter ended very badly. I was saddened that Jatayu, who had been so loyal, died, and that Rama lost his beloved to Ravana. I hope that Rama and Sita will be reunited. 

Week 2: Reading Diary A

The scenery sounded very beautiful with the description of the river. I already can tell that this is going to be an easy book to read simply based off how the author writes. King Dasaratha seems like a gracious leader, I think I am going to like him. It seems that the story may have a lot to do with his successor, Vishnu incarnated as a human. Ravana and his brothers appear to be the villains of this story. I'm kind of confused about the ten heads thing. Does that make him ten different personalities in one? Does only one head talk? I also was unsure what a sage was, so I looked it up. 

Sage:

1. wise person: somebody who is regarded as knowledgeable, wise, and experienced, especially a man of advanced years revered for his wisdom and good judgment

I'm not sure how I feel about Sage Vishwamithra yet. He just comes in and acts like it is no big favor to ask Dasaratha for one of his children to go and fight demons. I find myself liking Dasaratha more and more as I read the story. He is definitely a relatable character. I love how much he cares for his sons and wants to protect them. 
Rama seems to be a much more central character than his brother, Lakshmana, at least at this point in this story. I'm curious to see if Rama is Vishnu in human form. 

Thataka's Story 

• Thataka and her family are incredibly destructive people. I guess I can understand why Thataka became destructive, but it sounds like Sunda deserved his punishment. Revenge never actually betters anything. Thataka's destruction could not bring Sunda back, but instead left her and her sons cursed. She deserved her fate.
• With the deities of all weaponry at his hands, Rama seems like he will be unstoppable!

Mahabali's Story 

• SO Rama is Vishnu. It seems so weird to me that he is unaware of this. I really like how Vishnu tricked Mahabali in this story. Mahabali was very foolish not to listen to his guru. 

The Wedding
I think that it is really sweet how Rama and Sita find each other and have this epic love story even in human form. It started to sound a little bit like Romeo and Juliet when Sita proclaimed that she would take her life if the man who had won her hand wasn't the same man from the street. It seems that everything actually goes right in this story though. I hope that lasts! 


Two Promises Revived
I wasn't too surprised that Dasaratha chose to pass the kingdom over to Rama. I do wonder if any of Rama's brothers will have a problem with this. 
I really don't like this Kooni character! Kaikeyi would not have caused any problem if it weren't for Kooni. I really found myself strongly disliking Kaikeyi and her selfishness. Dasaratha seemed to be a good man, and for her to force those conditions on him is incredibly cruel. It's amazing how much promises and vows meant in this story compared to what they mean in our world today, which is basically nothing. 
Rama takes his father's orders so graciously. Although, it seems that Rama would have made an excellent king, I think that his journey and purpose in this life did not include being king, at least not for the moment. While I find Kaikeyi unbearable, I have hope that her son Bharatha is actually a good man. 

Google Timer Tech Tip

For this tech tip, I learned how to use the timer on Google. I definitely think I will start utilizing the timer to manage my time while on the internet. Last semester, while studying for the MCAT, time management was incredibly important. Generally I just used my phone timer to keep track of how long I had been studying for what. Another way that I manage my time is by typing up a study schedule using the sticky notes feature on my computer. I really like using that feature. I also like to put motivating quotes and to-do lists on some of the sticky notes. One other way I like to keep track of time while running is by listening to music. Four of the songs in my workout playlist amount to almost exactly 15 minutes. Those are the majority of my time management tricks.

Week 1: Famous Last Words

This week seemed a lot like deja vu in this class! I have already taken Mythology and Folklore, so some of the assignments for week one definitely overlapped, which was kind of nice. This week I was reminded how much I love the format of Dr. Gibbs' classes. I think it is so cool how we all interact with each other each week through our writings! This week, I read a story, The Echo of Tommy Lin, by Jessica Ackerman. Basically, she turned a nursery rhyme into a scary campfire side type story. I was really impressed with the haunting tone she was able to create. 

Outside of this class, I was enrolled in Human Physiology because I thought I needed it for Nursing, but I found out the Physiology I took last semester already fulfilled the requirement. This means that my semester just got a whole lot easier. My schedule is actually really light now, so I'm looking forward to my first easy semester since the first semester of my freshman year. Last night, I finally got my nursing applications in. I'm hoping to get into the accelerated program at OU in OKC since I will already have my bachelor's degree by the time that I am attending. 

I always have found the first week of classes to be overwhelming, but by the end of week, I feel like I am really starting to get a handle on things. I find it especially frustrating when professors don't really give you a couple of days to get acclimated to class. I definitely felt that way in Human Physiology so I was more than happy when I found out that I did not need to take it. This weekend, Austin and I went with his family to Great Wolf Lodge in Texas. It has been nice to get away, but sometimes it feels like our weekends would be better spent getting ahead or at least caught up in classes rather than just relaxing.

Image Information: Funny meme about syllabus week 

Web Source: Vidette Online

Week 1 Storybook Favorites

1. With Love From India by Paige Iven
This is the first storybook I chose to read. I was not at all familiar with the topic before I visited this page. I really liked that the author chose to tell the stories through postcards to her little sister. I thought that was unique. The introduction definitely made me want to read the stories, especially the one she described as Disney-like (I love Disney!). The images went really well with the background, which reminded me of Asia. Overall, I thought the author did a nice job!

2. Epic Couples: The Magical Book of Love Stories by Stacy Von Strohe
I chose this storybook because I am a sucker for a good love story. I'll admit, I thought the background was kind of dull, but I really liked the image on the title page, it seems very magical. Again, I was not very familiar with the stories, however, I did find it interesting that one of the stories from, With Love From India, of Rama and Sita was featured in this storybook as well. The really cool thing about this class, is that those two stories by these two authors are told in a completely different way. The introduction gave a great start to this storybook and left me wanting to learn more.

3. Ganges Gazette by Megan Hose
I thought this storybook was really creative! I love the newspaper background that goes along with their style of storytelling. You can tell that the author put a lot of thought into their storybook. I think the little notices on the sides about upcoming events and advertisements was a really nice touch. After reading the introduction, I wanted to learn more about all of the characters. This was probably my favorite storybook of the three I visited.

Week 1 Introduction: Vegas Vacation

Hi everyone! As my blog says, my name is Taylor Marie Haddad. I am a senior at OU, which is terrifying and exciting all at the same time. Luckily, just because I am graduating soon does not mean I actually have to move on to the real world quite yet, because I am planning to apply to graduate school. This summer, after much hard work, including taking the dreaded MCAT, I applied to medical school... and then about a month later, I withdrew my applications. I had been pre-medicine ever since I got to college, so this decision was a pretty big deal. A lot of factors went into the decision. I even made a list of reasons for not going to medical school before I talked to my parents. Mainly, I realized that my personality is not really that of a doctor. I prefer to be a team member, rather than the team leader. I also don't think that I would handle the death of patients well, especially due to how much responsibility I would have. I think that doctors often give up some of their quality of life to improve their patients' quality of life. I want to have time to be a present mother someday, just like my mother was to me. So, instead of pre-med, I am now pre-nursing. I hope to eventually become a nurse practitioner in a small town. I am taking human physiology this semester, which is definitely going to be difficult, I'm really nervous about it, because I'm already behind on reading! Oh, I should probably mention, I have taken Mythology and Folklore with Dr. Gibbs already and it has absolutely been one of my favorite classes! 

Enough about school. My family is incredible and I am so lucky to have them. I am the youngest of three girls. We have lived in Shawnee, Oklahoma our whole lives, where my dad practices medicine as a pulmonologist and my mom works at a local deli. My oldest sister, Jessica married her high school sweetheart and they are now expecting their first baby, my nephew, James! His ETA is November 29th and my whole family can't wait! Niki, my other sister, just graduated and is at the OU Physical Therapy school. I have been dating Austin, my boyfriend, for over three and a half years, and he is like a part of my family too. Over the weekend, before school started, my dad, mom, Jessica, Jake (her husband), Niki, Toby (her boyfriend and Jake's cousin), Austin, and I went to Las Vegas to celebrate Austin and Toby's birthdays! Austin and I went to the show Jersey Boys, which is about the band, the Four Seasons. We also gambled quite a bit, because, well it's Vegas. The night/morning before we left, the whole gang minus my parents, gambled until 4:30 in the morning (we had to leave for our flight at 6:30 a.m.). Luckily, we all made it out ahead. However, our luck ran out on the way home. Our flight was delayed by four hours, while our connecting flight was not delayed at all. We ended up missing our connecting flight and having to get a rental car to drive back here from Dallas. About two hours into the drive, we get a flat. My dad, Jake, and Austin changed it and we finally got home at midnight, the day of our first classes. It was totally worth it!

 

Image Information: Personal photos from our Vegas Vacation (August 2014)

First photo: Austin and I in front of the Paris hotel 

Second photo: From left to right, Jessica, Mom, Niki, Dad, and Me 

Week 1 Indian Epics

After taking mythology and folklore two semesters ago, I knew I wanted to take this class simply for the creative writing that is highly encouraged. That is what I enjoy most about these classes, getting to think outside the box. I am a little worried going into this class, because it seems that the topic will be more narrow than in mythology and folklore. I loved how broad that class was, and how many different types of stories we were able to read. However, I am looking forward to reading and creating stories in this class. I think all of the mythological gods will be interesting to learn about.The nice thing about this class is that if you don't like a story you read, you have the power to change it.

Week 1 Storytelling: The Turtle and the Eagle

There was once an ambitious turtle who dreamed of flying, however being a turtle she was stuck with a life on land. All of her turtle friends were content with moseying lazily around, however this turtle was different than the rest. While the rest of her friends feared leaving the ground, she feared an unfulfilled life. She tried to make the best of it and decided that she would build things, and maybe there would come a day when she would be able to make something that would allow her to achieve her dream of flying. One day, she met a kind, but melancholy eagle and they talked for a long while. The turtle shared her story and the eagle sympathized with the turtle because this particular eagle had recently injured his wing badly and was now unable to fly. He couldn’t imagine a life without flying and told the turtle that if his wing wasn’t injured, he would have happily given the turtle a ride.The turtle thought hard about the predicament that the eagle was in and decided that she would find a way to help the eagle fly again. She realized that her hobby of building could come in handy to help the eagle. Together, they constructed a wing-like contraption. The eagle found the items that the turtle needed, while the turtle labored away. Along the way, the turtle and eagle became great friends. Once the eagle was able to fly again, he told the turtle that he needed her to make one more thing. The turtle curiously ventured to ask what else he needed and he told her that he needed a seat made to put on his back so that he could have a special passenger fly with him. The turtle went straight to work, willing herself to hope that the special passenger was her. When she finished, the eagle thanked her for her generosity and together they flew.

No dream is too big when you have friends to help you achieve it.

Image of one animal friend helping another

Source: Give Forward

Author’s note: My characters were much different than those of Aesop’s fable and the moral of the story was drastically changed. In the original fable, the turtle was also a big dreamer, but he was not a hard-worker. Both the eagle and turtle expected things from each other, but neither did anything to earn these things from each other. In my story, the eagle and turtle helped each other to get what they wanted. The eagle developed a great respect for the turtle of my story, and therefore, rather than letting the turtle fall to her death, helped her achieve her dream. While the original fable taught that some wishes should not come true for a reason, my fable had a much more optimistic spin.

"The Tortoise and the Eagle" translated by George Fyler Townsend from Aesop's Fables
Web Source: About.com

Week 1: My favorite places

The northern lights in Iceland is definitely near the top of my favorite places. Although I have never seen them in person, it makes my top five on my bucket list. They are one of the mysteries of the universe that just leave you in awe. 

Photograph of Aurora Borealis in Sentjarnarnes, Iceland by Kristjan Unnar Kristjansson

Source: The Telegraph

I'm no city girl. There's nothing like a starry night out in the country. Although I grew up in Shawnee, my boyfriend of over three and a half years lives in a small town, Meeker. His families' land is one of my very favorite places. Whenever I'm older, I want to live on a ranch with a couple horses where I can just enjoy the nature around me. 

Ozarks Mountain Country Scenic Sunrise Panorama near Marshfield, Missouri

Photograph by Sid Hamm 

Source: The Panorama Point

Google Presence Tech Tip

For this assignment, I searched my name on google and bing. I have done this before, just because I was curious what would come up. Taylor is obviously not the most distinct name, but when you pair it with the last name, Haddad (lebanese in origin) and put Oklahoma, it narrows it down to me and a couple other people. I played tennis in high school, so a lot of the searches have to do with that. I also have a facebook and some google sites that I created in the mythology and folklore class two semesters ago. I am always very conscious of what I put on the computer and on facebook, because nothing is really private once you put it on the internet!

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