Feedback Thoughts

A 5- Second Habit to Rewire Your Harshly Self Critical Brain: text here

This reading concerns the practice of REBS, reality-based short-congratulations. By using REBS the author believes that it reduces self criticism by distracting your brain from perfectionism or comparison. As you use REBS more and more, stress caused from setbacks will impact you less and less. I really enjoyed reading this article. I definitely struggle with perfectionism and it has become such a habit I do not even notice it anymore. It is not until my friends or family tell me how stressed I have been or how much I have been working on one project that I even become aware. Perfectionism leads to being self critical. I loved how this reading contained examples of self criticism and how to utilize REBS for each example. It is so important to become self-aware of doubt, stress, and self-criticism and then nip it in the butt with REBS.

Seven Ways to Crush Self-Doubt in Creative Work: text here

Self-doubt can be crippling. This reading discusses the seven ways to remove self-doubt from your life and become the most efficient and happy version of yourself. I have a love two art forms: painting and dancing. While I do love both, they both bring me a lot of self-doubt and can put me in a funk for days if I do not believe I did well enough. Painting is more so a private hobby of mine, but dancing....not so much. I dance in dance classes with several other great dancers, I tryout for teams made up of several talented dancers, and I put myself in situations that create self-doubt. This reading makes it a point to not just ignore self-doubt, but to grow from it. Not comparing yourself to others, losing perfectionism, allowing yourself to vulnerable, adopting the growth mindset, setting realistic goals, experiment, and trust yourself. These are all steps to replace doubt and fear with growth.

(More Important Than Grades: picture by Padlet: Feedback for Growth)

Topic Brainstorm

(The Big Dipper: by Creative Commons)

Idea I: How the Moon Came to be 

The stories of the Moon are endless and are open for creativity. This topic stuck with me after reading stories such as The Man in the Moon and the Rabbit in the Moon. I enjoy learning about space and I am excited to dive into topics about the Moon. I want to learn about what astronomers and other scientist have discovered as facts and utilize story to tie those facts together in a creative way. Concerning the style, I want to make the story for children. I will use simplistic language, imagination, and answer questions a child would ask about the Moon. Some questions to answer are: what is on the other side of the moon, what are the dark spots of the moon, why does the moon orbit earth, and how was the moon made? 

Current folklore of the Moon and current news on what is on the dark side of the Moon:

• Man in the Moon 
• Current news on the Moon

Idea II: Where Amelia Earhart Has Gone

In the past few years I have fell in love with aviation. Throughout the last three years my boyfriend has been working on his Private Pilot degree, and has subsequently taught me just about everything he knows about aviation. I have a love for physics, so aviation is absolutely fascinating to me. One of the great pioneers in aviation is Amelia Earhart. She set many world records and was the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean. While she was making an attempt at a circumnavigational flight around the world, she disappeared along with her navigator. There are many conspiracies surrounding what happened that caused the disappearance. I would like to utilize some of these stories and create a new one. Again, I adore children's books, so I would use simplistic language, imagination, and definitely make a happy ending.

Conspiracies of Amelia Earhart's disappearance: 

•  Amelia Earhart
• Conspiracies 

Idea III: Tiger's Foster Child 

I am interested in this topic because the Jungle Book was one of my favorite movies growing up. The idea of children being raised my animals provides endless stories and imagination. This topic specifically came from the story Tiger's Foster Child, but I would also utilize the Jungle Book. The main change I would make will be the length of the story, I will extend it and add more detail. I may also change the Tiger to Polar Bear and the location to the Arctic. The possibilities are endless. I want to keep with the basis of the story and follow the same story line for the most part: child is abandoned or taken, animal finds child and raises it, child can no longer stay with the animals, and the child goes home. 

Animals raising children:

• Tarzan of the Apes
• List of Feral Children

Idea IV: Greek Constellations 

Greek mythology is a big interest of mine as well as space. I would like to learn about, and be able to identify, constellations in our sky. When creating this story, I would break it up into several stories about different constellations and their creation. Some ideas I have for constellations to focus on are: The Swan (Northern Cross), The Lyre (Harp), The Pleiades (Seven Sisters), Ursa Major and Ursa Minor (The Big Dipper/Bear and The Little Dipper/Bear), and Delphinus (Dolphin).  I am not sure how I would change the stories, but I would most likely change the entire story while keeping the characters the same. I would like to stay true to the constellations and how they originated, but create a story filled with magic and imagination for each one. 

Other Constellation Resources:

• Project Ideas
• The Sky

Week 2 Story: The Cat, The Goddess, and the Bunny

Authors Note: This story is inspired by The Tiger, The Brahman, and the Jackal. I replaced the Tiger with the Cat, the Brahman with a Goddess named Hestia, and the Jackal with a bunny. The Goddess is opposite of the Brahman in terms of personality. The general flow of the story stayed the same, but there is a greater emphasis on the setting now. I wanted to create a story that explained why the Earth is the way it is, so less emphasis was placed on the lesson. The trickster is still included, along with similar conversations leading up to the trick.

Many years ago, and many worlds away, the Goddess of fire traveled throughout our galaxy in anger. Her name was Hestia. Hestia set an everlasting flame to occupied planets. These are the stars you see in the sky. She went to billions of planets and not a single creature could stop her anger. When she reached the solar system she stopped at Sol, a planet covered in life, and burned everything. Hestia went to many other planets but there was no life, until she came to Earth. Earth was covered in ice and snow, but after Sol went up into flames, the ice began to melt. Hestia had grown tired after her travels and decided to rest on Earth.

While searching for a place to rest, she came across a large white cat like creature. It was six times her size. The Cat was stuck on a floating piece of ice moving far from the coast. It peered at her with big blue eyes.

"Please bring me to shore Goddess"

"And what should you do on this shore? All ice will melt the same when I set Earth to flames."

"I will serve you eternally. I am the Cat of great power. I will protect you Goddess."

Hestia saw the power of having the Cat and set her hand in the icy water. The water began to boil and a dessert emerged in its place. The Cat pinned Hestia down, "What a fool you are Goddess, I will destroy you like you destroyed my ice and snow." The cat was too powerful for Hestia and she cried out for her life. Seeing that Hestia was much too weak to do any harm, the Cat lifted his paw and told Hestia to bring him one animal that could explain why she should not die for her actions.

The first day Hestia found a small white fox in a dark icy cave. She told the fox about the cat and explained herself. She explained how she was a fool and promised the fox she would not burn the Earth. The fox exclaimed: "You and the Cat are one in the same. You are both liars. I used to hide in my cave from the Cat, and now I must hide from the heat. Go away Goddess."

The second day Hestia found a large whale in the water. She told the whale about the Cat and explained herself, begging for forgiveness. The whale exclaimed "You boiled my home away to save the cat, now you are enemies. You and the Cat are one in the same, liars. Go away Goddess."

On the third day a small white bunny with floppy ears emerged from the snow, "You look quite cold, you will die out here, let me help you Goddess." Hestia told the bunny what occurred and the bunny tilted its head in confusion. Frustrated, but out of options, Hestia picked up the bunny and took it to the Cat.

The Cat stood, revealing itself from the snow. "You have been away much too long Hestia. Set the bunny down. I have put off killing you much too long"

Hestia set the bunny down reluctantly, "The bunny is here to justify what I did." She glanced down at the bunny "Please tell the Cat why I should not die." The bunny tiled its head at the Cat. "But how did you get on the ice?"

"The Goddess"

"But how did you swim to it?"

"I do not swim Bunny, I was on the ice and it melted"

"Are you the ice?"

"No, I am the Cat"

"I do not understand, how did you get on the ice?"

"You stupid bunny, I will show you what happened" the cat hissed as he jumped on an iceberg next to the coast.

"Why did you not jump back?"

"Because the ice floated away"

"Like this" grinned the bunny as it pushed the ice far away "please enjoy the swim home Cat"

After the bunny saved Hestia, she swore to return home, but much of the Earth had already become hot and dry from her presence. The source of her anger may never be known, but the destruction she left still remains today.

(Bunny Tracks by Creative Commons)

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

The Tiger, The Brahman, and the Jackal by Joseph Jacobs. Website: Indian Fairy Tales

Reading Notes: Week 2 Anthology

Notes: The Tiger, The Brahman, and the Jackal

(The Tiger, The Brahman, and the Jackal: by by John Batten)

THE PLOT:

• Surprise: When the Jackal tricked the Tiger into the cage by acting ditsy and confused. The Tiger became frustrated that the Jackal could not understand how he was in the cage. After explaining it several times, the Tiger went back in the cage to show the Jackal what he meant. Once in the cage the Jackal shut the door and trapped the Tiger, saving the Brahman.

• Setting: There was not much information on setting. If I was to rewrite the story I would add details of location and the mood of those locations. Perhaps making the environmentof the buffalo, road, and pipal tree dark and ominous, but that of the Jackal bright and a maze filled with twist and turns.

CHARACTERS:

• Brahman: The character who's heart softened and let the Tiger initially out of the cage. Due to this, and the Tiger not keeping his promise, the Brahman must go out a seek advise from things. The Brahman in Hinduism is higher than God in personal form. Brahman is described as bliss, absolute truth, and good. It is a supreme power.

• Tiger: The Tiger is the liar in the story. We first meet him in a cage. He told the Brahman that he would be a slave for the Brahman and would not eat him. Once he sobs, the Brahman lets him out and he proceeds to plan to eat the Brahman for dinner. The Tiger lets Brahman go ask several things about how just the Tiger's actions are. In the end, the Tiger is tricked back into the cage by a Jackal.

• Jackal: The Jackal plays dumb in this story until the very last sentence. In the end, the Jackal is wise and filled with whit.

• Things: This things that are questioned about the Tiger's actions by the Brahman. They include a road, a pipal tree, and a buffalo. All believe the Brahman should be eaten because their life is cruel and filled with suffering.

STYLE:

• Beginning: "Once upon a time" intro that went immediately into the story.

• End: Abrupt ending, but it was a statement ending. It fit very well with the story and I thought it was a great contribution to the story. I would like the utilize statement ending sentences in my own writings that have lessons attached to them.

• Repetition: The Things that the Brahman asked all repeated the same judgment, emphasizing the Tiger's point.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

The Tiger, The Brahman, and the Jackal by Joseph Jacobs. Website: Indian Fairy Tales

Week 2 Reading Overview (2.1)

I am really excited for these readings!

As I was searching through the UnTextbook, I found myself liking continuous stories and Greek mythology. Greek mythology is fascinating to me and I am eager to learn more about it. The other type of readings I selected were specific to a region. I lack cultural knowledge of places such as China, Nigeria, Russia, and etc. This is a great opportunity for me to discover new styles and themes of readings along with expanding my knowledge of the world. I found several readings I was excited to read that I did not list too, especially in the biblical and classical unit and the Middle Eastern and Indian unit. Concerning the style, I enjoy there being a single long story instead of several small readings. I think it will be easier for me to focus and stay attentive if I can get lost in a story rather than switching around and being distracted by how many readings are left. Children's stories also appeal to me, along with readings that have an easy to understand language. With that said, I may surprise myself so I put in different types of readings. You can check out the readings I initially found the most interesting below!

(Cupid and Psyche: by Creative Commons)

My Reading Plan: 

Choose from CLASSICAL and/or BIBLICAL units for Weeks 3 and 4.
Week 3: _Cupid and Psyche___
Week 4: _Aesope (winter)____

Choose from MIDDLE EASTERN and/or INDIAN units for Weeks 5 and 6.

Week 5: _Ancient Egypt________
Week 6: _The Life of Buddha________

Choose from ASIAN and/or AFRICAN units for Weeks 7 and 9. [Week 8 is review week.]
Week 7: _Nigeria________
Week 9: _China________

Choose from NATIVE AMERICAN units for Weeks 10 and 11.
Week 10: __Alaska_______
Week 11: __Inuit_____

Choose from BRITISH and/or CELTIC units for Weeks 12 and 13.

Week 12: _Beowulf________
Week 13: __Faerie Queen_______

Choose from EUROPEAN units for Weeks 14 and 15.
Week 14: _Russian________
Week 15: _Librivox________