Reading Notes: PDE Ramayana, Section B

Bharata Returns
By: Donald A. Mackenzie
Earlier this week, I had wondered about how Rama's three brothers would handle the fact that Rama was continually praised and rewarded. While previous stories have shown Lakshmana's dedication to Rama, this is the first time we really see Bharata and Shatrughna displaying their loyalty to him as well. Bharata is murderously angry with his mother, and Shatrughna is ready to slay Manthara (the woman who deceived Kaikeyi) for causing the exile of their brother, but both stop so as to not lose Rama's respect. The three brothers obviously hold Rama in high regard and as of yet, have not displayed any disloyalty or jealousy towards him, with Bharata going so far as to refuse the throne to make sure Rama is king.

(Bharata heading out to find Rama and give him the throne; Image Source)

Shurpanakha and Rama
By: Donald A. Mackenzie
This is the first time we're seeing some humor from Rama. Up to this point, he's been super noble and straight faced in every story, but here he pokes some fun at Shurpanakha and Lakshmana. After she willingly tells him that she's a rakshasa, Ravana's sister, and is ready to devour Sita and Lakshmana, Rama has to hide his laughing face to suggest that she pursue his brother, which I think gives a more playful side to Rama that we hadn't yet seen.

(Rama refusing Shurpanakha; Image Source)

Shurpanakha and Ravana
By: Frederika Richardson
This is the first time we get a glimpse of Ravana and it certainly didn't disappoint. He is quite terrifying and you can tell in the way he talks that he is blood thirsty and ready to avenge his sister and his brothers. I could see him being portrayed by someone like Christopher Walken playing an angry mob boss. He's initially oblivious to what's going on in the world, just simply enjoying his power, but once he hears of his sister's shame, he is ready to unleash hell on those who caused it. This story is definitely the turning point, as now we have met our main antagonist.

(Ravana with his ten heads and 20 arms; Image Source)

Reading Notes: PDE Ramayana, Section A

In beginning the reading of the Ramayana, I want to start by simply laying out some of these important notes since this is a story, culture, and language I'm entirely unfamiliar with.

King Dasharatha
By: Donald A. Mackenzie
Here I focused mostly on the geography and characters so I can begin getting a feel for the story.

• Valmiki - The author of the Ramayana, revered as "the first poet."
• Two major kingdoms:
• Koshala, ruled by Dasharatha (Rama's father)
• Capital=Ayodhya
• Dasharatha has three queens: Kaushalya (the chief queen), Kaikeyi, and Sumitra
• At this point, none of them have given him a son
• Mithila, ruled by Janaka (Sita's father)

(Dasharatha and his wives; Image Source)

Dasharatha's Sons

By: Donald A. Mackenzie

Again, I just wanted to start by laying out some characters so I can come back to this if I get confused.

• Dasharatha has not been given a son, so he resolves to perform the Ashvamedha which is a sacrifice involving the king's warriors protecting a horse in the wilderness for one year
• If nobody is able to take the horse, then it is returned to the king to sacrifice, proving that he is sovereign
• Four gods attended the ceremony and they promised Dasharatha four sons
• Brahma - god of creation, one part of the trinity
• Vishnu - god of protection, preservation of good, dharma restoration, one part of the trinity
• Shiva - destroyer of evil, one part of the trinity
• Indra - king of the gods and heaven

(The birth of Dasharatha's four sons; Image Source)

Rama: Avatar of Vishnu

By: Donald A. Mackenzie

Ravana, the king of the demons basically, cannot be hurt by gods or other demons, so he's just running rampant enslaving and oppressing other gods. Vishnu decides that he's had enough, so he tells the gods to go to the earth as apes and he himself splits into four parts to become the four sons promised to Dasharatha. 

1. Rama - mothered by Kaushalya 
2. Bharata - mothered by Kaikeyi
3. Lakshmana - mothered by Sumitra
4. Shatrughna - mothered by Sumitra

I feel like for Vishnu to split himself and become human shows that he is noble and just, ready to give up parts of himself to fulfill his role as the god of protection. It'd be interesting to look into whether there are other instances of Vishnu fulfilling his role outside of this epic. 

(Painting of Rama and Lakshmana; British Museum)

Thataka

By: Donald A. Mackenzie

The celestial weapons Rama was rewarded with for slaying Thataka are pretty intriguing in that they appear whenever Rama most needs them. It reminded me of Mjolnir, Thor's hammer, or the sword of Godric Gryffindor, from Harry Potter. These are all celestial/enchanted weapons that are specific to their wielder and come in times of need which I think is a pretty cool theme seen throughout different stories. The idea that a hero's weapon knows his desires and needs speaks to the power of the weapon's creator, which may be interesting to explore. It'd be cool to know more about Rama's weapons - who forged them, were there special circumstances in their creation, can others wield them, etc. 

I also noticed that Rama is the one who was recognized as Vishnu, and here he is praised for slaying the demon, he gets the weapons, so on and so forth. I'm curious to see how his other brothers (who are also parts of Vishnu) react to the praise Rama so freely receives - will they take on human characteristics like sibling jealousy/comparison, or do they all recognize that they are a piece of Vishnu and don't care what happens as long as Ravana gets defeated? This is something to watch for.

(Rama with his mighty bow; Image Source)

Sita

By: F.J. Gould

Like Rama is Vishnu personified, Sita is Lakshmi personified. Lakshmi is the goddess of wealth, fortune, and prosperity, and she is Vishnu's wife. Upon the avatar's first glance at one another, they fell into a deep and unbreakable love. A classic love at first sight tale surrounded by the beauty of King Janaka's gardens. 

(Sita, the avatar of Lakshmi; Image Source)

Manthara and Kaikeyi

By: Donald A. Mackenzie

This story is one of deception. First, Manthara convinces Kaikeyi that she is being wronged by the crowning of Rama as king, even though Kaikeyi admits that Rama treats her well and she is not unhappy with him being the crown prince. Through manipulation and lies, Manthara weaves a tale of Rama enslaving his brothers and doing wrong to Kaikeyi and her son. This then turns into Kaikeyi being deceptive towards Dasharatha and forcing him to exile Rama, making Bharata king. Honestly, this seems like it's something straight out of a soap opera - I can just see Kaiyeki throwing her hand to her forehead and dropping onto a couch as she decides that Rama is out to get her and Bharata. It all just seems so melodramatic. 

(Manthara misleading Kaikeyi; Image Source)

Feedback Thoughts

Feedback is one of those things that people are terrified both to give and receive. They think if they give honest feedback that they are being mean or harsh, but in reality, they are helping someone to achieve their full potential. Receiving feedback is no walk in the park either, as it can be painful to receive criticism on something you've poured yourself into. The key thing is to find a balance - quality feedback often comes in the form of criticism, but that does not mean it needs to be degrading. In giving negative feedback, it is important to give it with the hopes to help the creator, rather than to tear them down. In receiving criticism, you must not take it personally and realize that this is necessary to grow.

I have always been a perfectionist, which is not the positive trait it is often made out to be. Being attentive to detail and doing your best is important, but perfectionism often takes it too far and puts undue pressure on yourself to attain the impossible. As "Recalibrating the Perfectionist Mind" points out, perfectionism emphasizes avoiding mistakes rather than growing - it's based out of fear rather than a forward outlook.  Once I started college, my perfectionism took a hard blow as I soon realized that I would make mistakes constantly throughout my years. I compared myself to everyone around me and realized I was lacking. At first, this really wrecked my personal identity - I was no longer the student receiving perfect grades in everything who was able to broadcast an aura of ease in everything I did. I was sinking and realized I needed to make some changes.

First of all, I had to stop comparing myself to my peers. They all had led different lives than me and of course they were going to do better in some things than me, and vice versa. I had to learn to take on the "racehorse mentality" mentioned in this article, focusing on moving ahead rather than what everyone around me is doing and achieving. This helped me be able to appreciate my peers, rather than envy them. There was no need for competition because the only person I was competing with was myself. This has really helped in my feelings of loneliness and isolation - I am no longer a single competitor in a crowd of people, but rather I am an individual with her own goals surrounded by other individuals with their own goals.

I also had to learn to control my perfectionism rather than letting it control me. I'm not saying I've completely cast out my perfectionism, because it often tries to peak in and poke my anxiety with a big stick, but I have begun handling it in a much healthier way. I really like the quote by Erin Hanson that says "But what if I fall? Oh, but my darling what if you fly?" because it's important to turn our what ifs from the negative to the positive. In tying this all back to feedback, it's important to turn my "what if someone hates this?" into "what if someone gives you a piece of advice that takes your work to a whole new level?" Rather than dreading feedback because someone may criticize me, I try and look forward to learning from others who have different experiences than I do.

(Erin Hanson quote; Image Source)

Topic Brainstorm

There are so many topics to choose from for this semester long project, as the epics feature so many interesting stories and characters that could each take on a life of their own. Since I haven't started really reading the epics yet, I can't be certain about what my favorite tales or characters will be, but in browsing some of the different topics, I was able to find a few subjects that I may really enjoy doing my project on.

As I've mentioned in a previous blog post, I find Ganesha really intriguing. Since he is the one who actually wrote down the Mahabharata, I think it would be best to keep him as the storyteller, but for him to also interject with his own thoughts rather than simply serving as a narrator. He is the god of beginnings, intellect, and wisdom, after all - so I think that he would have some important insight on some of the tales transcribes, and could interject with many of his own experiences. Ganesha also has a heck of a family tree that I'm sure he could discuss at length. A lot of drama revolves around Ganesha's birth and his experiences as he grows older, so that may also be interesting to take a look at!

(A depiction of Ganesha; Image Source)

Another project that would be interesting and could likely incorporate a lot of pop culture would be looking at the swayamvara. This is a practice in which a girl of age broadcasts that she is ready to be married, so suitors come from all around to either be chosen on site or by completing a task. I like that the girl picks her husband of choice, because that's not super typical in history. The epics have a lot of examples of famous swayamvaras, such as the marriage of Sita and Rama. It'd be funny to do a storybook as though it were like "The Bachelorette" or even just as a series of different rom-com type stories. 

(Rama displaying his prowess to win Sita as his wife; Image Source)

Speaking of Sita, I think she is a super intriguing character with so many adventures of her own. Her story is heartbreaking, having been exiled twice, once while being kidnapped and another being sent away from her husband's kingdom because she was kidnapped. I think it would be interesting to have a story in which Sita is writing to her sons, Kusha and Lava. She could be writing them a journal or a letter recounting her life stories and speaking about what she learned from each of them. I think this would be a sweet way for Sita to pass on some of herself to her sons before Bhūmi takes her back. 

(Sita in exile; Image Source)

I enjoyed the Jataka anthology from earlier this week, so I think I would also enjoy exploring the Jatakas in further detail. It would be interesting to look at the different lives of the Buddha and the different virtues he takes on. I think it's neat how he tells his stories in "layman's terms" so that they can easily be understood by his followers. I'm not sure yet how I would retell these stories, but maybe I could follow suit from my first story and try to tell the Jatakas in modern ways so that they are more relatable to people reading them today.

(Buddha with snapshots of many of the Jataka stories; Image Source)

Week 2 Story: The Nervous Student

Once upon a time, on a warm and sunny day, a student was taking a cat nap under a tree on the South Oval.

(My personal favorite tree to pass an afternoon away under, across from George Lynn Cross Hall. Image Source)

Her graduation date was just a few weeks away, but her dreams were plagued by exams and due dates standing between her and her diploma. There was so much to get done before she could walk across that stage, and this bit of stray sleep was the little she had gotten in the past week.

Suddenly, she awoke with a start and scrambled for her planner, exclaiming "Oh no! My biochemistry exam is first thing tomorrow morning and I've forgotten all about it!" She jumped up, stuffed her things clumsily into her backpack, and ran for Bizzell Library.

On the way, one of her classmates saw her running and asked her why she was in such a hurry. The student did not stop to respond to her friend, but shouted that their test was looming and she was absolutely unprepared. At once, her friend's face dropped and she too turned and ran toward the library, declaring that she had no idea the test was the next morning.

Before the girls knew it, a crowd of 15 other students were busting through the doors of Bizzell and frantically searching for a table to spread their notes out on for comparison. They all hurriedly began sharing their mnemonic devices and study tips, trying to cram in as much information as they could in the little time they had left.

Not long after, Dr. Najar stopped by their table and asked, "Why do you all look so panicked, what is wrong?"

"Professor, we are scrambling to prepare for your exam in the morning, none of us realized the big day was already here!" they all answered in unison.

Dr. Najar chuckled with a twinkle in his eye and replied, "I'm thrilled to see you all studying so diligently, but the exam is next Friday, not tomorrow!"

Then all the students pulled out their syllabus to find out that the nervous student had simply written the wrong day into her own planner. They all laughed at their silliness and went back to their business, resolving to study for the test in the time they had left, rather than waiting until the last minute.

Author's Note:
This story is based off "The Foolish, Timid, Rabbit," a classic "The sky is falling!" story. Basically, a rabbit is hit in the head with a coconut while sleeping and decides that the only explanation is that the world is falling apart, so he begins running with no particular destination in mind. Other animals along the way see his terror and decide that they too must run, because the earth is supposedly breaking up. It isn't until they confront the wise lion who recognizes the rabbit's mistake that the animals stop their running and move on with their days. I thought it'd be funny to tell a similar story from a student's worst nightmare - forgetting an exam. I know mine and other student's eyes have widened in horror at the realization that an exam or due date is closer than we realize, so I took this experience and exaggerated it to the likes of "The Foolish, Timid, Rabbit."

Bibliography:
"The Foolish, Timid, Rabbit" from Jataka Tales by Ellen C. Babbitt.

Reading Notes on Jatakas

The Foolish, Timid Rabbit
By: Ellen C. Babbitt
This story is such a classic one of "the sky is falling," but I thought it was really neat how it was presented in that an entire stampede of animals is running and running, yet none of them know the source of their fear. Fear spreads so easily between people, and it isn't until a wise and powerful voice calls the source into question that the stampede can be stopped. I think the reason this tale has made its way across cultures and for so long is because people grasp onto fear unlike anything else, and they are determined to spread it so that others are afraid with them and they aren't alone in their fear.

(The animals following the foolish rabbit; Illustration by Ellsworth Young)

The Cunning Crane and the Crab
By: W.H.D. Rouse
The crane in this story gets a taste of his own medicine when the crab outsmarts him and gets free transportation to the lake. At first, I thought the crab was just simply going to manipulate the crane into letting him go into the lake, but then got a surprise when the crab still killed the crane. The crane was desperate once he realized his mistake and that he was at the mercy of the crab, but he never gave a second thought to deceiving the fish for his own good. People are often willing to take part in something wrong, but as soon as they become the victim, the tables turn.

The Monkey who Gathered Lotuses
By: Robert Chalmers
I've noticed that crocodiles are kind of like the "big bad wolf" of these stories, they keep popping up as the bad guy who wants to eat the Buddha's heart. This story again touches on karma, which seems to be a recurring theme throughout these tales. The Buddha is a monkey in this story and his rival is his monkey father who tries to trick the Buddha into his own death. Using his wits, the Buddha not only survives his task to gather the lotuses, but also gains the respect of the water ogre. When his father sees this, he dies on the spot and the Buddha is chosen to be the new monkey king.

Reading Options

I never would've imagined how many different options there are for reading about the tales of the characters of the Indian Epics and their companions. While I'm not familiar with these stories and characters, upon first glance at the numerous options, it becomes obvious that they are timeless and lasting. They have inspired a countless amount of art in the form of the books, folktales, comic books, music, paintings, and more which shows their pervasiveness throughout the Indian culture.

Since this is all new to me, at first I was a little overwhelmed in looking at all there was to choose from. For the Ramayana, I am most drawn to the novel adaptation by R. K. Narayan. I think I would prefer this to the online collection because it is all going to be in the same author's style which may make this completely new topic a little more understandable than pulling from a lot of different sources. Of course, I'll be able to see how this goes before choosing my option in reading the Mahabharata. When looking through the different stories contained in the epics as well as other reading options available for the semester, I was able to find a few stories that caught my eye!

First, I was intrigued by the story of Sita in the Ramayana. This story talks about when Rama meets Sita, and they experience love at first sight, or love at first bangle jingle. I thought it was interesting how Rama instantly knew that he would love Sita forever and she returned the sentiment. The story ends with a bit of a mysterious air, begging you to continue discovering more of the story, as Rama and Sita end the day thinking of each other.

(A representation of Sita, from an Indian puppet theater; Image Source)

When looking through some of the comic book options, I was actually lured away to a Wikipedia page about Sugriva, the ruler of the monkey kingdom. When looking through the page, I thought his pact with Rama was interesting, in which Rama swears to kill Sugriva's brother (so Sugriva will become ruler), and Sugriva in turns promises to help find Sita, who had been captured by Ravana. I would like to read more about Rama and Sugriva's adventures together, as well as Sugriva's personal story as ruler of the monkey kingdom and what all that entails. 

(A depiction of Rama and Sugriva meeting; Image Source)

Another of the books that caught my eye was 99 Thoughts on Ganesha. While I didn't get to read the stories contained within this book, as I have not yet purchased it, I think it would be really neat to learn more about Ganesha. Ganesha is one of the few Indian deities I recognize by image due to his unique elephant head, and I think it would be interesting to learn more about him and his attributes. 

(Ganesha, the elephant-headed deity; Image Source)

Time Strategies

I've found that one of the most important time management strategies is the word "no." This is certainly no easy task, and one I was only regularly able to start implementing last semester.

I am a firm believer that you make time for what's most important in your life. This is touched on in The Myth of "Too Busy," in which the author, Tim Grahl, points out that you must prioritize what is the most important thing to you. This may change from time to time, as Grahl mentions, if there is something big going on in your family, your other responsibilities may slide, or if a big project is due in one class, you may neglect the others. Sometimes you need to say no to certain things to be able to succeed in others, and there's nothing wrong with that. It is not fair to yourself or your obligations if you take on too many things, because then you will be overworked and produce less than your best results in every situation. It's more important to do well in a few things than below average in many. 

By all means, I'm not saying to throw out all your obligations and just focus on doing one thing. That's unrealistic. I've had to prioritize what is most important in my life right now and make those my main focus. Within that, I do a lot of scheduling. During busy weeks, I literally plan every hour to make sure that I am driven and focused on a goal. Within this schedule, I also plan some relaxing time for myself to be alone (any other introverts reading this?) as well as time to maintain my relationships. You can read more about the importance of scheduling in this article, which discusses habits of unsuccessful people. There is no one way to be successful, but there sure are specific ways to be unsuccessful, which the article discusses in further detail. 

(My favorite method of keeping track of my to-do list and goals is handwriting them in a planner; Web Source)

This semester, I plan to continue on saying "no" to things I can't put my entire focus into and making sure that I am reaching my highest potential in the tasks I do take on. I won't go into the details here, but I plan on using every day fully to be effective in school, my sorority, and my relationships. 

Tangled in Technology

I often joke about being a failed millennial because I can't do a ton of fancy stuff with technology or make beautiful things on the computer. However, I don't think I give myself enough credit, because I generally can figure out most things when it comes to technology. It might require some research on my part and tinkering around with things, but I usually can get it done. I always get excited if I am able to figure something out especially if I can explain it to others. I find myself spending a lot of time trying to learn how to do something solely to help one of my friends or family members with it. 

(Doctor Who meme found on imgflip)

When looking at the list for the class, I am familiar with a few things like simple image editing, exploring blogs, and Google Docs. I haven't had a lot of experience with creating blogs, making graphics, or publishing websites. With every post I seem to be getting a bit more capable at using the Blogger site and I've got most of the basics down now, but I'm hoping to expand my knowledge both with blogging and the other things I've never done. I'm probably most nervous for publishing a website for the class projects, as this seems like a really daunting task. I keep telling myself, though, that making a blog also seemed really daunting and I seem to be doing alright at that.

I'm excited to learn how to use new tools that will be helpful far past my days in college!

Reaction to Assignments

I would be lying if I said I wasn't intimidated by the assignment list for this class. It's not necessarily the amount of assignments, because I'm used to devoting a lot more time than 6 hours a week to my classes, but more the type of assignments that makes me nervous. I'm very logic driven and, while I can be creative, it isn't really my comfort zone. 

One of the main reasons I chose to take this class is because I love reading, but don't get a lot of time to do it during the semester. I wanted to give myself a chance to read things other than textbooks and not feel guilty about it, since I would be doing it for a class. On that note, I'm super excited about reading stories I don't know anything about and being exposed to a new culture. Just about everything else scares me, as I'm used to a very set structure of lectures and exams. Telling stories and blogging to integrate information is a whole new realm. However, as we looked at yesterday, it's okay to not be good at everything and to not know everything. The assignments are certainly going to have me branching out and exploring things I never have, which is an exciting prospect. I also think it's really cool how the class is formatted so that I can set my schedule and can lessen the load in this class when other classes may be piling on the exams. 

(Meme I created using a meme generator)

Exploring Growth Mindset

A quote that always makes me smile to myself and puts a little more umph in my step is from Thomas Edison, "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." Edison is not concerned with what has gone wrong and is not limiting himself by what he hasn't perfected, but is ready to persevere, or as Carol Dweck would say, he's focusing on yet. 

I hadn't heard of Dweck prior to this assignment, but I am encouraged by her focus on what is to come. I think that in high school, I certainly had a fixed-mindset. My sole goal was to get perfect grades, be valedictorian, and get into the school of my dreams. However, I did those things and was unhappy still. It wasn't until I came to OU and began focusing on the opportunities out there, both in school and out of school, that I realized there is so much more to life than perfectly understanding everything. If I knew how everything worked and was never challenged, how boring would that be?

I would be lying to say that I'm thrilled that I don't understand everything in my classes, that fact still scares me sometimes, but I've been working on myself to be excited about what I don't know. Just yesterday, I sat through the introduction of my Animal Development lab and grew overwhelmingly concerned as they explained that throughout the semester each group would pick a gene of focus in Drosophila melanogaster (fruit flies) and try to figure out what it's purpose is. The catch is, most of these genes have never been studied before. As I sat in panic for a bit, I realized the opportunity that is there. By working with something I've never done, and possibly nobody has, I am going to learn so much more about biology than just doing a fixed lab every week where I could easily google what's going to happen. After watching these videos with Dweck, I grew even more intrigued as I thought about the possibility. It is likely that I will be overwhelmingly challenged this semester in that lab, but I will learn and the possibilities are endless.

(A meme that I hope to embody this semester! Web source)

Introduction to a Soon to be Grad!

Hello there!

My name is Baylie Locke and I'm a senior biology major here at the University of Oklahoma. The plan is to graduate this spring, so here's hoping that that stays put! My ultimate goal is to be a veterinarian with a focus in marine animals, but that's a bit down the road. I am currently waiting for responses from a few different vet schools I applied to, and I'm hoping to start at one this fall.

In the meantime, I work at an animal hospital here in Norman as a veterinary technician and I love my job! Getting to interact with the animals is obviously the best part, but my job isn't all puppies and kittens like most people assume. It's tough work and can really take a toll on you, but I wouldn't trade it for the world. I myself do have a dog named Lily, she's a Cocker spaniel who I love with my whole heart. I think she actually believes she is a human, her personality is so striking and she will sit up on the couch and watch TV or movies with us, barking when something exciting is going down.

(Lily watching Supernatural with me)

I am the chaplain for my sorority, Sigma Phi Lambda, which is my main time consumer. I love getting to know the girls and being able to meet with them where they are as we grow together. I'm a super shy person and would have laughed if you told me I was going to be an officer this time last year, but I wouldn't trade it for the world. I'm so glad that I followed what God was wanting from me in this time, as I feel it's really shaped this year for me and has given me such room to grow. 

I love to read when I get time, I am currently rereading the Harry Potter series. I don't often reread books, so you know that if you see me reading it more than once that it's one of my favorites. I also really enjoy superheroes, Doctor Who, and pretty much the majority of other science-fiction fandoms you can come up with. I take pride in the fact that I am now roping my little sister, Cheyanne, into also enjoying these things. I think she first started watching the shows and movies with me solely to be like me, but now she's starting to genuinely like them herself which I think is really cool! If I'm not doing schoolwork or working on something for Phi Lamb, I am likely with Cheyanne (she is my favorite person, after all), cherishing the bit of time with her I have left living at home in Norman. 

(Cheyanne relishing the warmer weather of months past)

That brings me to the fact that I do live at home, which is super convenient and helpful, although this is definitely not where I'm originally from. I've lived in nine different places, but I did most of my growing up in Farmington, New Mexico. My first year of college, my family moved to Norman and I went off to school in North Carolina. I ended up not finding my place at the university and transferred to OU, which has become my home. My family has always been OU fans, and I think I was meant to end up here, I just had to take my own detour first!

(A couple friends and me in Pasadena for the Rose Bowl before things got sad)

Three Favorite Storybooks

To be honest, I have no prior knowledge of Indian epics, so most of the things I've seen in regards to this class have been completely new to me. I've recognized some names of the gods, but reading about their stories and personalities through the different storybooks has been a whole new experience. It was hard for me to pick three favorites of the Storybooks, because they were all so interesting and well told, but here are three that caught my eye!

(Haunted Mansion in Disney World; Web Source)

The first story that appeared on my screen also happened to be my favorite of all the ones I looked at! It was The House to a Wife of Many, which told an intriguing story about a grand house and its mysterious inhabitants of generations past. The creator of this Storybook crafted her own story, and tied it back to Indian Epics in the author's notes at the end of each section, explaining how the story of Betsy was based on the epics of India, including the gods themselves, principles of karma, and other facets of Indian culture. I liked the incorporation of a journal as a storytelling feature, and the layout of these sections helped me understand how to follow the story. 

(Hogwarts Classroom; Web Source)

The next Storybook I found interesting was Hogwarts: The Loyalty of Brothers. I am a big fan of Harry Potter, so the title drew me into this story, but the storytelling kept me interested in discovering more about the brothers who defeated Lord Ravana and the fate of the students who would have to face him again. I really liked the layout of this page, with the large pictures and different interactive features allowing you to feel immersed in the story as you follow along with the adventures of the students. I think that I would also like to incorporate more interactive features into my stories to allow readers to relate more and place themselves within the narrative.

(Group Therapy Session; Web Source)

The third Storybook I really enjoyed was Character Therapy, which took a really neat approach to telling the stories of four different women in Indian Epics by having representations of their character attend group therapy, where stories similar to their own were told and their reactions were viewed from an outside perspective. I thought this telling made the story easy to follow and was an interesting way to look at how the characters in the stories may react to their own tales and fates. I thought the format of the page was also really neat, with it all appearing to be written on notebook paper. This incorporation of the theme throughout helped tie the story together I thought, and something like this may be useful for my own project!

Beaches Galore...My Favorite Places

My two favorite places both revolve around the beach, as my Dad was in the Navy growing up. My goal is to get back to the beach, wherever that takes me!

Honolulu, Hawaii. I was born in Honolulu and have always been so drawn to its beauty and captivating scenes. I likely would not live here again since it is so tourist driven, but I would love to visit again soon! I could see myself living in one of the less touristy areas of Hawaii if I ever get the opportunity to move back there!

(The city skyline of Honolulu: photo by Edmund Garman)

Nags Head North Carolina. I lived in Virginia for most of my childhood, and the Outer Banks was my favorite place to go. We generally visited Nags Head, and I loved the beach town vibe and being able to hear the waves from where we stayed. Some of my fondest memories occurred here!

(Looking out from a balcony in Nags Head: photo by Trader Scott)

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