Indian Epics Blog

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful couple, Rama and his wife Sita. They decided to go on vacation with Rama's brother, Lakshmana to a beautiful island for fourteen days. Throughout their two week stay, Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana spent a lot of time doing outside excursions. They really enjoyed snorkeling, swimming, hiking, and things of that nature. One day when they were on a new hiking trail they ran into a man named Ravana. Now it was obvious that Ravana was vastly taken with Sita and her beauty, as he would only speak to her and couldn't stop looking at her. Rama took notice of this and became a little protective and jealous over Sita so he suggested that they keep going on their way along the trail, but that it was very nice to meet Ravana. After this Ravana went back to his hotel, and he could not stop thinking about Sita and her beauty. He knew it was wrong that he wanted her because she was married, but in his mind he thought if Sita got to know him she would want h

Continued from Week A's part, this starts with Rama's exile. I love the comrardary his brother shows and insists on coming with him. I would probably change the chariot to a cool car or possibly a hippogriff. Another part of this story that I liked was the introduction of Ravana through his sister, even though it was a little grotesque to read about the mutilation but I liked the battle showing Rama's strength as well as how his brother protects him. If I choose to retell this part of the Ramayana, I probably would change the mutilation to something less disturbing. Part B, ends with the cliff hanger of Sita being alone and wondering if she would be abducted. If Part C continues with Sita's plot line of her abduction and Rama looking for her, I believe that could make for a very interesting retell of the story as maybe a Law & Order theme or CSI.  Life in the Forest - Web Source  Bibliography Title: The Ramayana: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the

This weeks reading I read part A of Narayan's Ramayana , I chose to read this version of the Ramayana because of how it was chronologically written and because it doesn't use any any old fashioned language which makes it easier for me to comprehend. I also really enjoyed having the reading guide for this option as well. For the special sacrifice that Dasharatha obtains rice, I could change it from rice to cookies that he must feed to his wives so that one can become pregnant. I liked that Thataka was once a god but was changed into a demon after her family's terrible behavior. I might change Rama's weapon to a supernatural knife from a bow and arrow. I could also change the obstacles that Rama must complete to win Sita's hand in marriage. Perhaps a Shiva creates an maze that Rama must escape from instead. I like how this story has a curse in it and I definitely want to keep that as well as the exile because it makes for a nice twist. Avatars of Vishnu - Web Sou

After doing some commenting on other student's blogs, I decided to give mine a revamp because the simple thing was just that...simple! So I updated my theme to one called Emporio because I really liked the layout it had on it as well as the color choices. I felt that it represented a calming presence which is the kind of personality I like to think that I have. I feel like this update has made my blog look a lot less blah and less like I'm a newbie, even though I totally am. I had to play around for a bit to get the labels where I wanted them as well but after fiddling with the layout I truly enjoy looking at my blog page now. 

Criticism is one of the hardest things to hear, even if it's constructive criticism because you have to hear that you're doing something wrong and not in the best way. Of course, no one is perfect and pretty much everything can be approved upon somehow, but we like to think that the way we're doing it is an improvement. Criticism is how we grow and become better, but learning to take it like a champ is difficult and requires you to take your feelings of failure out of the picture and instead look at it as a way to get better. For example in the article, Eight things students should do when they make a mistake , they talk about knowing you aren't alone and it's true, everyone everywhere is making a mistake that they can improve upon but only when we receive feedback will we know how to fix it next time and I think that is very important. Sometimes it can be hard to figure out how to fix it, but that is when you should go to the person who gave you the feedback or cri

I've decided it would be fun to do a Doctor Who storybook, and because of this decision I'll want to have the Doctor go on different adventures and experience different story lines. I would like the Doctor to have run-ins with multiple gods and goddesses. For example: Krishna, Vishnu, Shiva, Brahma, and Lakshmi. They are some of the main gods in Hinduism  and would be interesting to create adventures alongside the Doctor. My previous knowledge of the gods include my world religions class where we studied Hinduism. I think retelling the story of Krishna and Jarasandha: Krishna Outsmarts His Fiercest Adversary  with the Doctor meddling would be exciting. Another fun story would be The Tale of Shiva: The Mighty Lord of Kailasa  because having the Doctor interfere with battles and marriages would be exactly something the Doctor would do if he found himself stuck in that time period. Arjuna is another character is the The Tale of Shiva that I would like to explore with the story. A

Once upon a time, there was a senior student at OU named Jedrek. He was big and strong, and thought he was better than all the other students younger than him.  On the first day of class, he walked into a freshman level class he had put off until his senior year because he thought it would be easy - much to his surprise the professor assigns a group project due the next week and his designated partner was a freshman who, unlike Jedrek was small and petite and a beautiful girl named Helen. Jedrek, wanting to impress the beautiful Helen, asked when they wanted to get together and work on the project to show his motivation, but Helen answered "I am unable to work on the project tonight because my friends and I are throwing a party, and I was going to invite you both, but if you need to work on the project then never mind".  Now, Jedrek really did not want to work on the project. He thought by showing initiative that Helen would appreciate it, but now knowing that she also w

I really enjoyed reading all of the stories but there were two that really stuck out to me and these were the one about the Crane and the Crab as well as The Crocodile and the Monkey's Heart. For both of these stories I enjoyed how the tricksters who were able to outsmart the bigger animal were prey and they outsmarted an animal who is normally the predator. They reminded of the turtle and the hare story we're told as children. I also really liked how the Crocodile and the Monkey's Heart story ended with a poem to explain the moral of the story. I am looking forward to retelling one of these stories.  The Cunning Crane and the Crab  - deceitfulness never ends well for those who are the deceivers  The Crocodile and the Monkey's Heart  - just because you are bigger than someone does not mean you are smarter than them Image of the Crane and the Crab - Web Source

Last fall I took a world religions class in which we learned about Hinduism so I am familiar with the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, and because of my background I am interested in Krishna as well as Arjuna from the Bhagavad Gita. After researching some of the comic books I found a few that really caught my attention.  Tales of Arjuna: The Exploits of an Exceptional Warrior I liked how the first story was about teaching humility. I found the last story of the comic very interesting about the man having lost his 9 out of his 10 sons and seeking Arjuna's help to protect his last son from death. This is another story about humility.  Krishna and Jarasandha: Krishna Outsmarts His Fierce Adversary   I found this comic book interesting as well because I love a good villain and battle with a god, who happens to be Krishna as well Arjuna being a supporting character in helping Krishna defeat his mortal enemy.  The Sons of Rama: Luv and Kush - The Invincible Twins This was anot

As a person I am super organized, I keep two separate calendars and check them constantly, along with my email because I'm always worried I will forget a deadline or miss an important event. Part of the reason I am so organized is because I have so much going on between school, work, outside organizations, and having a social life, it can get pretty stressful if I don't stay on top of it all. For that reason I really like having create a weekly schedule that shows me what I need to do each day to complete all my assignments for the week on time. One of the most effective time strategies I use is setting certain times I need to do things. For example, I schedule everything from when I'm going to cook to when I'll work on homework, that way I make sure I'm utilizing my time to the best of my ability so I can have fun - the old saying is very true "work hard, play hard". I really enjoyed the article about building a realistic study plan because without build

I am fairly familiar with all the technology I will need to use for this class and have a good understanding on how to use them properly. I have taken quite a few online classes throughout college, so I am not worried about the use of technology at all. Although most of my online classes only really required discussion posts as compared to a blog, but I think they will be similar enough that it won't be too much of a learning curve.  One thing I am a little nervous about doing is how to create an aesthetically pleasing blog because blogging seems to be a little more confusing/more work than searching for memes or cropping pictures, but I'm sure with more practice it will become second nature. After a few blog posts already I feel like I'm getting the hang of it. I believe this will be a really fun learning experience and could possibly turn into something I keep doing after this class has ended, because I have always thought starting a blog would be cool but it seemed reall

I have always been a fan of online classes, and I especially enjoy when you can work at your own pace because it allows me to schedule my school work around the rest of my busy schedule so I really like how this class is set up and all of the extra credit opportunities there are! What I found especially helpful is creating my schedule to help structure what I need to do each day in order to get my assignments finished on time. I think the storybook will be very interesting, but I'm a little worried since I'm not that creative but I've been brainstorming a couple of ideas that could be fun to write a story about. All in all, I think this will be a very fun class to participate in and I look forward to crafting my storybook! Meme from The Office. Web Source

Before watching Carol Dweck's Ted Talk, I had never heard of her or the idea of growth mindset, but after watching her talk I find it to be a very interesting phenomenon. While I was watching her talk I couldn't help but ask myself if I have a growth mindset or if I am fixed as to what I believe I can achieve. I think in certain times of my life I definitely have experienced both mindsets. I have always tried to do my best in school, but it was mainly to get the A and not necessarily to understand the material; however, since coming to college I have had to change my way of thinking of learning. I can especially see this in my math classes. Math has never been my thing, but I enjoyed the subject and forced myself to work hard to do well. This is especially true when I was recently studying for the GRE, I spent hours upon hours performing practice problems and watching videos in an attempt to learn more and raise my score. During that time, I had a growth mindset, even when I wo

Hi! My name is Chelsee Aguirre . I just started my senior year here at OU and I am from Hydro, OK which is a really small town. My high school graduating class was only thirty-two students! I'm majoring in Psychology and minoring in Human Relations and I plan on going to graduate school for Higher Education Administration after I graduate and work in student affairs and hopefully eventually become a dean of a college! This semester I am taking a graduate class from OU's Adult and Higher Ed program, and I am a little nervous about it, but mainly excited since it's what I want to do as my career. I am also a TA for a gateway class, which I think is going to make for a great semester.  In my spare time I enjoy reading (Harry Potter is my favorite ), listening to Broadway soundtracks (Hamilton, Book of Mormon, Wicked, and so many more), getting overly attached to fictional TV show characters because I love Netflix (Doctor Who, The Office - which I am actually watching as a wr

Hogwarts: The Loyalty of Brothers I am a huge Harry Potter fan, so I was already extremely familiar with the content and with the title having the words Hogwarts in the name it was obvious what the storybook was going to entail. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this storybook's introduction, especially how the author brought in the four houses to bring in what that the story was going to be about. I also liked how the author linked a quiz so the reader could find out which Hogwarts house and corresponding storybook house they would be in. The design is also very eye-catching, it is very fitting for the theme that Hogwarts and Harry Potter have with the darker colors and white font. All the images were very fitting for each of the tabs and the navigation was very easy. From this storybook, I would like to use the same font that they used and make sure that my blog resembles the theme of the project I am righting about.  Gossip Girl Ayodhya Similarly with the storybook with a Harry

The summer of 2016, I had the privilege of studying abroad in France with OU's college of Arts & Sciences Leadership Scholars organization. We spent two weeks in France, and the main part of trip was spent in Clermont-Ferrand, France - OU's sister city. Oh boy, as you can probably tell from the image, Clermont is a beautiful town with a huge cathedral right in the middle. It is a gothic style cathedral, which explains it being black and the spires. Everyone in Clermont was so welcoming and kind to all of us, even though no one on the trip spoke French. It is a small town with so much personality. I one-hundred percent, no doubts about it, plan on returning to Clermont one day. Our group had our favorite coffee shop, Le Carnot, we would go every morning to get our coffee and wifi for the day. If anyone ever has the chance to visit France, Clermont should definitely be on one of the places to visit! Ariel View of Clermont-Ferrand - Web source: Student Mundial Blog

Testing, Testing, 1, 2, 3, is this thing on?