Clara's Blog

This week I really focused on putting my plan of getting ahead in this course into action. I’ve managed to finish all of my week 6 assignments before the weekend and even started the readings for week 7. I’m about to begin studying for the MCAT, and I want to have as little other schoolwork as possible towards the end of the semester, so I’ve been prioritizing finishing assignments in this class a lot recently. I also got hired for a job I’ve been wanting, so my schedule is about to get a bit hectic. I’m hoping that getting ahead in this class will ease some of the stress I’ll have in a couple weeks. I’ve enjoyed the reading this week, but I think most of my future readings will be based around the Ramayana since my storybook is over Sita. For my writing, I’ve been working on stepping outside of my comfort zone. I usually just write retelling or stories from third person, but I’m working on being more creative in my stories. I’ve really grown to love the self-grading system of this c...

I have completed the backup for my blog and checked on the Progress Chart to make sure on I'm on target with my desired grade. For my video this week I watched  "Bheem meets Hanuman"  by Epified. The video was about Bheem goes to find flowers and ends up lost in a forest, while trying to find his back he meets Hanuman. Hanuman is upset that Bheem woke up the other animals while he was trying to find his way back. Hanuman blocks his path and Bheem tries to get past him but he is unable to, so he asks Hanuman for forgiveness. Then Hanuman greets Bheem as his brother and they part ways. I really enjoy the Epified videos because they give me an opportunity to learn more about characters that usually aren't main characters in the epics. My favorite graphic this week was the diagram that helps identify what tasks need the most focus. I find when I'm overwhelmed with school work or problems, I struggle to know where to begin and I think this graphic will be helpful for o...

I don’t know how I got down here, or where exactly “here” is. I fell so quickly and without any warning there was nothing I could do about it. It’s been months of darkness and I don’t know if I’ll ever be found. I think I’m in a car because day in and day out I hear the engine start, and if I’m correct I know I’ll never be found. I’m a gold shiny bracelet, I can’t be that hard to miss? I’m a beautiful rosary and I was used to pray every day; I don’t deserve to be treated like this! Maybe if she would just try to look a little harder, she would be able to find me underneath all these clothes. Before I was down here, I was always complimented for my beauty and daintiness. I hope I'm found soon! A gold bracelet, but unfortunately not my gold bracelet ( Piqsels ) Author’s note: For my biography I wrote about an object I lost. I wrote from the point of view of my bracelet that I used to wear daily until I lost it. I wanted to write from the objects point of view becau...

Sita Sings the Blues  by Nina Padley After intermission, Sita is pregnant. The narrators tell a story about a man who beat his wife when she was unfaithful and negatively compared her to Sita. Lakshmana takes her to the forest and leaves her in exile. Sita sings a song about Rama being a mean man and she doesn't deserve to be treated that way. During this time, Sita wonders what she did in a previous life to deserve such a suffering current life. She meets Valmiki and gives birth to her two sons. The narrators had an interesting debate about Sita's choices and her issues. One point was Sita was so devoted to Rama that she made him come rescue from Ravana instead of going with Hanuman. If she would've gone with Hanuman, she would've saved thousands of lives. Also, they questioned her for being so devoted to someone that was so toxic to her and treated her so poorly. They concluded that Sita had an unconditional love for Rama even though he treated her poorly. Sita san...

For my Story Lab this week I watched the TED talk given by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie called  "The danger of a single story" . During her talk she states that describing someone as one "thing" or one characteristic continuously can cause that person to become that in someone else's eyes. For example, she heard many negative things about Mexcians from the media coverage that they had become the "abject immigrant" in her eyes. By starting the story differently, the story can completely change. Adichie emphasized the negative impact of single stories on causing incomplete and hurtful stereotypes. The second TED talk I watched was  "Imaginary friends and real-world consequences: parasocial relationships"  by Jennifer Barnes. Barnes asks why we engage with fictional characters and what effect does engaging in fictional characters has on us? One reason is parasocial relationships, which is relationships we form with someone without ever meeting them,...

Naga I started my Wikipedia Trail with nagas after reading about them in the Mahabharata. Nagas are half-human half-serpent beings that reside in the underworld. They are brought up in the Mahabharata when they attack Bhima when he is in the underworld. Garuda Next I clicked on a link to Garuda, since he is an enemy of nagas. Garuda is a bird or bird-like creatures in Hindu mythology. Indonesia uses the Garuda in a a different form for it's national symbol.   Phoenix Indonesia uses the symbol of the Garuda intertwined with a phoenix, which led me to my next Wikipedia link. A Phoenix is associated with the sun and obtains new life by rising from ashes. It represents renewal, as well as concepts such as the Roman Empire, time, and the Sun. Roman Empire I clicked on the Roman Empire because it was one of the things a phoenix symbolized. I was also interested because I took Latin the past two semesters, so we were constantly learning about the history and people in the Roman Empi...

For my week 6 Learning Challenge, I decided to read an article about empathy called,  "10 Reasons to Stop Judging People"  by Barbara Markway. Before reading this article, I knew judgement was a natural instinct and hard to stop. The article elaborates on the idea of being mindful as a way to try an understand someone else's perspective before responding too harsh. One new thing I learned is someone that feels good about themselves are less likely to be judgmental towards others. I really liked all the tips given to be less judgmental towards other people, although I don't consider myself a judgmental person, there's always room for improvement and I plan to incorporate some of these tips into my life. Quote about judging others ( Flickr )

PDE Maharabharata  by Arnold, Besant, Devee, Dutt, Ganguli, Kincaid, Macfie, Mackenzie, Nivedita, Seeger, and Tagore Vidura saved the Pandava's and their mother by an underground passage to the woods, so they wouldn't be hurt by the fire, but many believed they died in the fire. Duryodhana and Dhritarashtra rejoiced when they heard they Kunti and her sons died. While Bhima was taking care of his family in the forest, a rakshasa named Hidimba wanted to eat them and sent his sister to bring them. Instead, the rakshasa woman falls in love with Bhima and warns him about her brother. Bhima kills Hidimba and he marries the rakshasa woman. Bhima and Hidimbi had a son Ghatotokacha, she eventually left the Pandavas with her son. Bhima returns to his family in Ekachakra where he defeats Baka, a monster that was conquering the town. Draupadi and Dhrishtadyumna are born supernaturally with the purpose to defeat Drona and the Kauravas. The Pandavas went toward Panchala disguised as brahm...

For my week 6 Tech Tip, I decided to learn about the Google Reverse Image Search. This is something I've always wanted to learn, but never had any reasons to use it before. The steps were extremely easy, by just copying the image's address and pasting it into the search bar I discovered the image was of Ravana. This tool will be helpful in the future for finding image information for blog posts. Mystery Image of Ravana 

PDE Mahabharata  by Arnold, Besant, Devee, Dutt, Ganguli, Kincaid, Macfie, Mackenzie, Nivedita, Seeger, and Tagore Since this is the beginning of the Mahabharata and many characters are introduced, I decided to base my notes on the characters and how their relationships are intertwined. It's confusing to keep track of the origin of each character and their motives, so hopefully these notes will make the further readings less confusing as the story continues and characters from earlier episodes return. Characters Vyasa: author of Mahabharata, son of Satyavati and Parashara, Island-born. Ganesha: Vyasa's scribe. Satyavati: daughter of king, foster daughter of fisherman, beautiful, fishy smell but lost it by having Vyasa, marries Shantanu. King Shantanu: powerful, married to Ganga then left by her, loves Satyavati. Ganga: goddess, wife of King Shantanu, divinely beautiful, mother of Devavrata. Devavrata (Bhishma): son of Ganga and Shantanu, possesses powers of Vasus...