Week 7 Essay

I absolutely love the Untextbook. It is so helpful because it allows you to read things on your own time and breaks the readings up in a way that keeps your focus. It is also incredibly flexible. There are so many things to keep up with and read as a college student, and the untextbook allows you to stop in the middle of something you are reading and pick right back up. Last week I was reading and I was trying to read as much as I could before a meeting, and I was able to just close my laptop quickly and pick right back up. It is also easier for note taking. What I hate the most is when I have to balance holding a book open while I try to write something and read at the same time. The book never stays open well and always flops over. I computer stays open perfectly for you!

I definitely think length is an important criterion when deciding what to read. Obviously I am not going to pick a longer unit to read when I have three tests that week, so I am able to pick something a little simpler to fit my time. The audio option is another favorite of mine. Everyone likes listening to people telling stories and sometimes it can be really helpful. I used the audio with one of the stories because I became a little bit confused with the wording. It really helped to clarify things for me. Sometimes, especially after a long day or late at night, it is nice just to follow along while you are listening to the story.

I actually looked at the Ramayana in the Untextbook to compare it to the book, and I definitely liked it better. Personally, I like the way that the untextbook breaks up stories. You can see that there are twenty-something sections that are roughly the same length rather than holding a giant chunk in your hand. It gives you a smoother goal to accomplish.

Indian Market (Source) 

Week 7 Storytelling: The Diary of Ka Mattah the Snail

Day 1

Today is the day I begin my travels.  It is a month before Luri Lura Fair, so I must begin my long journey, which is made even longer by me being a snail. The fair is such fun, although it is really more like a giant market than a fair. It will be good to see all of the other animals and the rest of my family.

Day 10

Journey is taking longer than expected. I became delayed when I reached a raging river. I found a way over it, but it set me back two days. Must continue on.

Day 17

Taking a nap under a giant leaf. I think I will eat it when I wake up.

Day 25

I am almost to the large Rubber grove in the forest where all of the animals meet before the fair. I can hear other animals racing ahead. They must be tired from all of that work.

Day 30

If I keep moving all night I will finally be able to make it. I can almost feel the breeze from the groves cool shade.

Day 31

Made it! It is good to see all of the other animals. I am so glad that we all meet here to rest a few days before the fair. I love chatting with everyone.

Day 32

Well I probably did the dumbest thing I could ever think of. Today, for some reason, I challenged the stag to a race… And he said yes! What was I thinking! I can’t possibly beat him in a race. He does need to be taught some respect though. The buffalo, stag, and other animals were all bragging about being the “swiftest” animals in the jungle. I don’t know why you would want to be swift covered in that much sweat!

Day 33

Everyone has begun to head into the fair. I am still annoyed with that stupid stag. He revved me up, that’s what happened. I was fine with the laughter, but when he started showing off by cantering around the grove I just lost it! How think could you be? The whole thing was like an outer-body experience.

Day 34

The other snails approached me at the grove today. They said that they had heard about how the stag and I were to race once the fair was over. Some of them called me foolish, but they are family and they can’t let me lose. We decided that all of us snails would form ourselves into a long line edging the path all the way from the Rubber grove to the finish line at Mount Shilong. If we hide ourselves in the grass no one will be able to see us. We might actually win this thing.

Day 40

Well, everyone has sold his or her wares at the fair. That’s the only way to get into the fair you know: everyone must bring merchandise if they want entrance. I didn’t get to go in this year. The other snails and I decided it would be best if we stayed at the grove and prepared for the race. I guess I better take off this shell and get ready to face the stag. He should be along any minute now. Let’s do this thing!

Day 41

You won’t believe it! I can barely believe it! Snails won! Snails won!!! That race was amazing! As soon as that signal was given I dove into the grass, just as we had planned. The stag ran off towards the mountains. After a little while he stopped and called out my name. One of the other snails hidden along the path answered him, and the stag began to run more swiftly. Again the stag called out for me, and again a snail answered. The stag tore off at a terrific pace. He kept calling out my name only to hear one of the snails answer him each time, and he began running faster and faster until he was panting and quivering from exhaustion!

The stag could barely move his legs. Then, just before he reached the finish line, one of the other snails started yelling, “I win, I win” from the other side of the finish line. Exhausted and shamefully defeated, the stag threw himself on the ground. I guess he had put too much strain on his body because when I got to him he was all green and had this pathetic look on his face. That’s when the stag spit out his gallbladder! It was disgusting, but I didn’t mind. We won! I will never forget the look on his face.  

Snail on Railing (Source)

Author's Note. This story is based off the Indian folktale The Stag and the Snail. It is a story about Ka Mattah the snail and how she challenges a boastful stag to a race and she wins. In the story Ka Mattah does not like that the stag is bragging about being the swiftest animal, and so she challenges him to a race. The snails gather together and decide that the only way to win is if they line up along the edge of the race path, so as to stay hidden and teach the stag not to look down on others simply because they are an insect. During the race the stag calls out for Ka Mattah and he hears a reply. This causes him to run even faster. The stag continues to do this over and over again until he is so exhausted that he can barely move his limbs. Once the stag nears the finish line, one of the snails crosses the finish line and yells, “I have won.” This causes the stag to collapse from exhaustion and sickness, and the stag then spits out his gallbladder.

I chose to write this from the perspective of Ka Mattah because I thought it would be interesting to hear it from her perspective. I was also curious what a snails journey would be like, so I thought it would be fun to include that.

Bibliography. Folk-Tales of the Khasis by Mrs. U. K. Rafy (1920).

Week 7 Reading Diary B: Khasi Folktales

Khasi Folktales

One similar theme I noticed was that a tiger was always put in charge. Stags are also used quite often in the stories. 

These stories seem as though the best style to rewrite them in would be a diary format. Each story is somewhat composed in chunks so a diary would be the best way to facilitate this. This seems as though it is the best way to keep the stories from becoming too long, but still make it interesting. 

How the Cat came to live with Man was also a cute story. Similar idea to the dog one, but different in its own way (as it should be).

Double Decker Living Root Bridge (Source)

Week 7 Reading Diary A: Khasi Folktales

Khasi Folktales


The story of The Stag and The Snail was definitely my favorite from this unit. It was a much more fun, and morbid, version of the Tortoise and the Hare that I grew up hearing. The Stag brags the entire time about a long journey and the Snail does not like the Stags arrogance. The Snail challenges the Stag to a race, but the snail family is concerned and decides to line-up, hidden, the entire length of the race. Once the race begins the Stag runs off and after a certain distance he yells for the Snail, where he the hears a reply right behind him and starts running faster. The Stag continues this over and  over again until he collapse near the finish line. The Snail ends up winning and the Stag, from sheer exhaustion, spits up his gallbladder, which is why Stags do not have gallbladders to this very day.

Another story I enjoyed was The Legend of the Iei Tree. It reminded that wisdom and help can come from the smallest of places. In the story these men want to chop down a mighty tree that is causing much damage to their homes. They spend all day trying to cut down the tree, and when they return to it the next day all of their work from the previous day is gone. A little bird then comes to them and offers assistance. The men laugh at the little bird. The bird they scolds them and tells them that the tiger has been healing the tree at night. The men feel ashamed and end up defeating the tiger and finishing their task of cutting down the tree.


How the Dog Came to live with Man was another story I greatly enjoyed. It would be interesting to hear the entire thing first-hand from the dog.

Stag (Source)

Indian Epic Untextbook

I read the Iliad of the East: The Ramayana


I read The Reunion of Sita and Rama.

I liked how it clarified what was happening in the margins, but I did not like how squished the text was.  Sometimes it can be difficult to understand what is happening so I am definitely on board with the clarifications in the margins.

It was nice being able to compare the two version of The Ramayana. I would definitely be on board with this version.

I really like the idea of an untextbook for this class. It makes it easier as a student. It gives me something to reference easier and it breaks up the chapters much better than the actual book does.

Week 6 Famous Last Words

This was a pretty good week. Shocking, I know. It seems as though all I do in these is complain, but not this week! It is very exciting that we finally have snow, other than the fact that I have lost my winter jacket.

Other than that, this week was an exceptional week. I was able to get the majority of my work done on time and had enough time left over to see my friends. I was even able to sleep in!

Classes are going fairly well. I am a bit behind in a few of my classes, which is something that I am currently attempting to correct. It is difficult at times when you can see the finish line right in front of you.

You know what I really want to do? Travel the world. If I could, when I graduate, I would just travel all the time. I probably would never even go home. Although, I would probably be broke doing so. There are way too many places I want to go. Going to every continent is on my bucket list. However, the number of places I want to go to is so much larger. So far I want to go to Italy, Germany, Poland, France, Spain, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, Austria, Norway, Greece, Ireland, Scotland, England, Egypt, South Africa, Israel, Russia, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, India, Peru, Brazil, Canada, Argentina, Costa Rica, and Antarctica. 

Told you, too many places. I honestly could not think of a better way to live. I want to take in so much information, learn so many new things. I think I would live in the majority of the countries for at least a month so that I could learn the language and the norms of the place. I am just ready to graduate and start my life.

The World (Source)

Week 6 Storytelling: Dinner Party

I understand that siblings don’t always get along, but my brothers are complete assholes! Seriously! 

Sun, Wind and I (I'm Moon!) were invited to dinner at our Aunt Lightning and Uncle Thunder’s house. The boys and I were totally up for it! Free food, right? So we went off to their house, leaving Mother home alone.

When we arrived at our aunt and uncle's, there were a bunch of others there. Orion was there, Mr. Big and Mrs. Little Dipper were there, and even Halley was there, in her flowing sparkly dress.

Well, I thought that my childish brothers would stay and hang out with me, their little sister, but those selfish greedy boys ditched me the second they laid eyes on Virgo and Libra. Of course they would ditch me for “the ladies.” Yuck!

Aunt Lightning was so nice. She let me sit next to her and some other girls at the head of the table, and then the great feast began. I had never seen so much food in my life!

As I watched my brothers shove food into their mouths like little pigs, obviously forgetting all of the table manners they had learned, I thought about my poor mother. Even though she was one of the most beautiful Stars in the sky, she was still home all by her lonesome. That was when I decided that I would bring back some food for her.

Every time a plate from Aunt Lightning’s beautiful china set was placed in front of me, I placed a small portion under one of my beautifully pink polished finger-nails so I could bring some back to Mom.

Why Aunt Lightning was using her good china I will never know. Seriously, those boys are a menace! But I digress.

Anyway, we got home and the three of us were completely stuffed from dinner. I had no idea those boys could ever be full! So our mother "all bright-eyed and smiling" asked us if we brought anything home for her.

My eldest brother, Sun, scoffed and said, “I didn’t bring anything home for you. I went out to enjoy myself with friends – not to fetch dinner for my mother!”

Then, my other brother Wind, the arrogant jerk he is, said, “I didn’t bring you anything either, Mom. You could hardly expect me to bring you back anything good when I merely went out for my own pleasure.”

I could tell Mom was getting upset. After all, she had stayed up till the late hours alone to make sure that we were safe.

That’s when I stepped in. I told her to grab a plate and when she brought it to me, I shook my hands so that all of the food I had collected showered down in front of her. She looked so happy after I did that! Unfortunately it did not last long.

My brothers, who had now started their stupid shenanigans, had no idea what they were in for!

Mom whipped her head around and glared at Sun. She took a deep breath and said, “Because you went out to amuse yourself with your friends, and feasted and enjoyed yourself, without any thought of your mother at home – you shall be cursed. Henceforth, your rays shall every be hot and scorching, and shall burn all that they touch. And men shall hate you, and cover their heads when you appear.”

My brother had the audacity to look shocked. I mean he had it coming. He knew better than to push Mom like that. But that is why Sun is so hot to this day. It makes it difficult to see him sometimes.

Then Mother slowly turned her head and looked at Wind. With a look on her face so terrifying it would make the bravest man run in fear, she said, “You who also forgot your mother in the midst of your selfish pleasures—hear your doom! You shall always blow in the hot dry weather, and shall parch and shrivel all living things. And men shall detest and avoid you from this very time.”

The look on Wind’s face was absolutely priceless! It took everything inside of me to hold back my laughter. But that is why Wind is so disagreeable, even in hot weather.

Suddenly Mom turned around and looked at me. I was afraid, for myself. I was the good kid; I had done nothing wrong. Why was she looking at me?

The look of anger fell from her face, and in its place was a warm, kind smile. Then she said to me, “Daughter, because you remembered your mother, and kept for her a share in your own enjoyment, from henceforth, you shall be ever cool, and calm, and bright. No noxious glare shall accompany your pure rays, and men shall always call you ‘blessed’.”

I could feel her love for me with every word she spoke. I always knew I was her favorite. And that is why I, Moon, have a light that is so soft, and cool, and beautiful, even to this day.

The bright side of the Moon (Source)

Author's Note. I chose to do my storytelling from the story How the Sun, Moon, and Wind Went Out to Dinner. In the story the Sun, Moon, and Wind go to a great feast at their aunt and uncles, leaving their mother (who is a distant Star) home alone. When the three of them return, neither the Sun nor the Wind brought anything back to the Star, but the Moon had saved some food for her mother. Due to their actions, the Star decides to curse the Sun and the Wind and gift the Moon, this giving them the characteristics that we know of them: the sun being extremely hot, the wind being horrible, and the moon being calm and beautiful. Keeping the wording from the mother's curse and blessing the same from the original story allowed my retelling to have some of the same feel as the original, thus keeping to the same basic frame of the story. It also allowed for a more dramatic contrast between the mother's way of speaking and her children's, thus demonstrating that the mother is older and more sophisticated. 

I chose to write the story from the Moon’s perspective because I thought that playing off of sibling competition would add a fun element to the story. We are able to see motherhood, and how mothers reward and punish their children, in the original story, but hearing it from the daughter’s perspective gives the story more life and a humor. I added more details, like the zodiac stars (Libra and Virgo), constellation names (Orion), the description of Moon's nails, and the overall dinner party. I believe that the added elements of humanity demonstrated through each character's specific personality made the story seem more life-like. 

Bibliography. Indian Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs with illustrations by John D. Batten (1912).

Week 6 Essay

This week I read the stories from Indian Fairy Tales, and it was amazing! I really enjoyed how much more flexible this week was in reference to the readings, and being able to read a grouping of different stories really helped to grab and focus my attention. There were a lot of great stories to choose from, so it was definitely a difficult decision to pick which story to write about. 

There were so many stories that I loved during this weeks readings. I felt as though the morals of the stories where very applicable to real life. Like the story The Talkative Tortoise was a hilarious way of somewhat combining two stories, or imbedding a story within another.  The original story is Aesop fable called “The Tortoise and the Ducks.” Basically there is a tortoise that cannot stop talking and these two ducks want to show the tortoise their home. They decide that the tortoise will hold onto a stick with his mouth while the ducks hold it on either end and fly. Unfortunately the tortoise is unable to hold his tongue for long, opening his mouth to sleep, and thus falling to his death down below.

In The Talkative Tortoise there is a king that will not stop talking, not even to let another person get a word in edgewise. The king’s advisor wants to teach him a lesson about the dangers of talking too much and luckily for him that tortoise suddenly falls to its death in the middle of the king’s courtyard. The king then realizes that it was the fact the tortoise could not hold his tongue that caused him to die, thus the king became a man of little words. It is kind of a great way to teach one to be a better listener and to speak less.

How the Sun, Moon, and Wind Went Out to Dinner was definitely my favorite story though. Stories about kindness are ones that always grab my attention because I feel as though humanity has lost its good. This story is definitely a perfect way of teaching one about the value of showing kindness toward others.

Talkative Tortoise falling (Source) 

Week 6 Reading Diary B: Indian Fairy Tales

Indian Fairy Tales

I very much enjoyed the story How the Sun, Moon, and Wind Went Out to Dinner. It has an awesome moral to it, seeing as the one who thought of others was rewarded. It teaches selflessness in a fun way that also tells the story of how the sun, moon, and wind are as we think of them today: the sun is hot, the wind is vicious (especially here in Oklahoma), and the moon is calm and cool.


Another story that I liked was Pride Goeth Before a Fall because of how incredibly true it is. So many of us are wrapped up in pride that we often succumb to our own demise. It tells of three robbers who steal from, and capture, ten traders. They let their pride get a head of themselves by making the traders do a dance. The traders signal to each other during the dance, over power the robbers and leave to go home.

The story of The Talkative Tortoise is definitely one for the ages. I'm pretty sure I read an Aesop's fable just like it. In this version, the future Buddha was a kings adviser. The king could not stop talking and would speak without give others a chance to say a word. One day a talkative tortoise had made friends with two wild ducks. The ducks wanted to show the tortoise where they lived, so they told him to hold on to a stick while the ducks held on to either end and they flew into the air. Unfortunately the tortoise could not hold his tongue and fell into the king's courtyard and split in two. The king rushed over to see what had happened and that is when the future Buddha decided to use it as a lesson for the king. From then on the king refrained himself and became a man of few words.

Why The Fish Laughed was an awesome story. I would definitely tell this as a bedtime story!

Talkative Tortoise (Source)

Week 6 Reading Diary A: Indian Fairy Tales

Indian Fairy Tales

Last semester I wrote a storytelling (Madhavi's Memoir) on The Magic Fiddle. It was a story I very much enjoyed because it is a story of a woman who is turned into a Bonga girl because her sisters-in-law were all jealous of her and plotted against her. The woman then reappears as bamboo where she was then cut down by a Yogi and turned into a fiddle. The village chief then took the fiddle from the Yogi for his son. Everyday the Bonga girl would emerge from the fiddle until the chief caught her. He realized she was both woman and Bonga. Shortly after her brothers all visited and did not recognize her, so she told them about what their wives had done to her saying that her brothers must have known all along, which was all the revenge she took.

I loved the stories so much from the Indian Fairy Tales unit that I was so incredibly excited that I would be able to read it again!

The Lion and the Crane is a great story. The lion needs help but the crane does not want to help him because he knows if he does then he will be eaten. The lion promises not to eat and so the crane helps, thinking that now the lion will owe him a favor. When the crane comes to collect on this the lion tells the crane that the crane should just feel lucky to even be alive. The crane, angered by this, the crane told the lion that he (the lion) was ungrateful, has no gratitude, to serve him as king is useless, and that they are not friends.  It really teaches one to be kind and courteous to others.

Harisarman was a great story! It is a story about lying and deception. Basically the Harisarman stole things from Sthuladatta when no one was around. Harisarman then had his wife tell Sthuladatta that Harisarman had magical powers. Harisarman then pretended to use magical powers to bring back the items that he himself had stolen and hid in the first place, but he blamed it on thieves and such. Harisarman continues to have good luck and fake his magical abilities, and is able to prosper in the world due to sheer luck.

Harisarman (Source)

Week 5 Famous Last Words

Well, this week has been absolute hell. Being a senior and looking for out of state jobs while still in school is like trying to run a marathon on a path made of extra sticky glue, incredibly difficult, slow, but ultimately successful. Sometimes I just feel so incredibly split in my priorities that one or the other takes a hit. It is never on purpose, it just sort of happens.

Anyway, think week I had several interviews down in Houston, Texas, and some other very important things that needed to be taken care of. I would tell you all what happened, but I would rather keep all of that to myself. I do not mind ranting about being a senior and graduation, but some things much stay private, you know?

My other classes are going fairly well. I have to say that this online class is set up better than any other online class here at the University of Oklahoma. I am currently enrolled in one other online class and it is horrible. In this other class we have a huge paper that is due at the end of the year. The problem with this, however, is that the guidelines for it are all in differently places. Let me attempt to explain this phenomenon.

You go to do your assignment for Week A and it tells you what to do and then it say to look at Week C for more instructions on your final paper. So you go to Week C, only there are absolutely no guidelines for your paper anywhere in Week C. You then decide to go look at Week D and E, because maybe they will have some guidelines. Nope! Finally you go to the final week and there are a few, very vague, guidelines. And at the very bottom it telling you to go look at Week C for more information. I might just implode.  

Frustration (Source)

Comment/ Conversation Wall

Hello! Leave your comments here. Or something random you want to talk about. Whatever, I'm flexible. Plus, I love meeting and talking to new people!

Week 5 Reading Diary B

Personally I feel as though Ravana is obsessed with Sita. These stories remind me a lot of the dermal in destress movies, or kind of like King Kong. Something evil steals the woman and then the good guy has to go on a journey to save her from his evil clutches.

I did not think about it until last week, but making the characters into animals in my retelling would be interesting. I was thinking of doing a safari kind of theme, but, since this is India, animals native to  India might be more appropriate and allow me to be more creative.

Ravana (Source)

Week 3 Storytelling: Halloween Mystery

It was Halloween and Richard was having a Halloween party at his house. He had bought decorations, chips, candy, soda pop, and had invited all of his friends. Since it was Halloween, everyone was required to wear a costume. Richard decided to be an aviator. He put on his leather pilot’s jacket and aviator sunglasses and headed downstairs to finish putting up the decorations before his guests arrived.

On the walls of the kitchen were fake spiders and some cobwebs. The kitchen table had a tablecloth with little ghosts on it, and there was a goofy-looking skeleton hanging from the front door. He had everything he needed for the party.

It was ten o’clock and his friends began to arrive. "Ding-dong" went the doorbell as the first guests arrived. It was his best friends Sam, Jason, Ned, and Harry. They were all dressed in super cool costumes. Sam was a pirate, Jason was a fireman, Ned was a caveman, and Harry was a soldier. Their cheers of excitement roared throughout the house as they ran into the living room and kitchen. Soon other guests began arriving and the party really started to be a hit.

Guys and girls were dancing to Monster Mash in the living room while others were conversing and drinking in the kitchen. All in all, everyone seemed to be having a really great time. Richard was very happy that everyone was enjoying themselves.

Richard was in the middle of a drinking game with his buddies when all of a sudden the doorbell rang. He walked over to the door, opened it, and there, standing in front of him, was the most elaborate zombie costume he had ever seen.

“Hey,” said the zombie. “It’s me, Vince.”

Shocked, Richard had no idea what to say.

Richard was one of those guys who got along with everyone. All of the girls liked him, parents loved him, and the guys enjoyed his company as well. The only person Richard did not get along with was Ray; you could say Ray and Richard were mortal enemies. Ray tormented Richard. He would go out of his way to make Richard's life miserable, whether it was stealing Richard's girl friend, spreading rumors about him, ruining Richard's parties, or trying to take Richard's job.

Well Ray had a brother and that brother was Vince. So Richard was very confused as to why the brother of his enemy was standing at his door step.

“What are you doing here?” Richard asked.

Solemnly Vince replied, “I can't be around Ray anymore, he's gone crazy. Please let me in.”

Wondering why their friend had not rejoined them, Sam, Jason, Ned, and Harry appeared at the door to see what the commotion was all about.

“What’s going on?” Jason asked.

“It’s Vince,” Richard said. “He wants me to let him into the party. What do you guys think?”

“Dude! Don’t let him in!” Sam began. “He’s a traitor and will always be a traitor!”

“Yeah!” Jason exclaimed, chiming in. “How will be able to trust him? We all know he is just going to tell Ray where our party is and ruin it!” 

Richard patiently listened to each of his friends as they spoke their minds.

“This does not fly with me,” Ned stated. “How can we trust him when he is Ray's little brother?”

Richard looked at his best friend Harry and said, “You have not said anything. What do you think?”

With a deep breath Harry said, “I hesitate to say anything because I disagree with everyone else. Vince is not evil-minded, he just made a mistake. We all make mistakes in this world, but is it worth hurting someone over? I say let him in and we can have some fun!”

After listening to what Harry said, Richard knew what he had to do.

“I agree with Harry,” Richard declared. “After all, Vince did come here knowing he was betraying Ray, which took a lot of guts. No matter what happens later, he still deserves a second chance. And even if something bad happens, I will sleep well at night knowing that I did the right thing.”

With smiles upon their faces, Richard and the guys welcomed Vince into the party. Everything was right again, and they partied the rest of the night.

Happy Halloween (Source)

Author's Note. 

This is based off of the “Across The Ocean” in the book The Ramayana. The Halloween party was used as a way to pull focus on the situation between Vibushana and Rama. In the story the men are at an army camp, so making the story at a Halloween party allowed for the confrontation to still be on Rama turf while also making Rama’s virtuous decision the main point of the story. Halloween is generally a time where goals and goblins come out to scare people and integrity and virtue essentially go out the window, much like in war. Having those personal traits during a time when they are usually absent draws ones attention to their importance and rarity. I also felt as though Halloween would just be fun and silly. 

In the story Rama is unsure of what to do, so he seeks the opinions of his advisors. Three advisors tell Rama to send Vibishana away, but Hanuman believes that they should protect and accept Vivishana because he can tell that Vivishana has a good heart, pure soul, and should not be punished. After hearing this, Rama is pleased and decides to accept his enemy’s brother, exclaiming that it is the right thing to do.

In my story, I chose to change the character’s names, with the first letter of the character’s name from the original story being the same for the character’s name in the retelling. Instead of Rama, he is Richard, and instead of Vibishana, he is Vince, and Ravana, who is Rama’s enemy, is Ray. The quote, "knowing I did the right thing," is right out of the book. It is actually what led me to choose this story in the first place. Rama’s integrity is a lesson that can be learned by all.

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

Week 4 Famous Last Words

This week I decided to use my new study habits, and it worked. Instead of procrastinating, I have actually been getting my work done and on time too. Getting things done before hand is awesome! I love being able to say that I am ahead in my classes. It gives me free time to do things like look for a job for after graduation. 

Looking for a job for after graduation is a new kind of torture if you are not pre-med, an engineer, or have not been interning a lot. Many of the jobs you are over qualified for and the other jobs you need to have had at least 2 years of experience. Oh, and did I mention that these are “Entry Level” positions? Exactly! Then you apply for a bunch of jobs because you might as well look at several different options. Well, the majority of those do not want to hire you, about 3 will want you, and the rest will tell you to call them after you graduate, because you are not already freaking out enough about finding a job. My favorite is when you send them your resume, with your graduation date mind you, and they call you and want to set up and interview for the next day, well of course you can’t because you have class and that person on the other end of the phone has the nerve to act shocked. It’s enough to kill a person sometimes.

So there you are standing on the edge of a cliff about to graduate, and you have some person telling you, “Oh… Well, why don’t you call us back in May after you graduate and we can set up an interview.” Now you just want to jump off that cliff, which is taunting you at that point.  As you can tell, I am just a little frustrated about the whole situation. And this is why people go to the gym…

So here’s to all of those college students getting ready to graduate, standing on the edge of a cliff just trying to find a bridge to the other side. Good luck! May the odds ever be in your favor!

Tequila Shots (Source) 

Week 4 Storytelling: Presidential Debate

“I can’t do this anymore,” Stacy thought as she sat in her seventh period class. “I’m about to graduate and I don’t really know what all is going on at this school anymore. Maybe it is time to give up being Student Body President? I have always wanted to see Beth take over the position; I mean she is my best friend. That could be cool, right? I’ll see what everyone else thinks at the meeting tonight.”

The bell rang. Stacy stood up grabbing her backpack and walked out the door, headed for the student council classroom. She walked in the room and it was empty.

Empty Classroom (Source)

Walking to the front of the room, Stacy thought, “I’ll just sit in the president’s chair until everyone arrives.” She looked at her watch, “the meeting isn’t for another ten minutes. I’m sure everyone is just grabbing a snack.”

Sitting in her chair, Stacy watch as each student council member walked in one-by-one and plopped down in one of the chairs facing the front of her room. Finally the last member walked in the room and the meeting was read to begin.

“Hello everyone,” Stacy began. “I want to thank all of you for coming to our weekly meeting. I actually have something very important I would like to discuss with you today. As you all know I am a senior and am about to graduate, so I need someone else to take over as president. Before I graduate I would very much like to see Beth take over my position as president, if you will approve of that. Please, tell me what you think of Beth. All of your opinions will probably be much different then mine since I am her best friend.”

All of the student council members cheered. They said, “Make her president now! Of everyone involved in stu-co Beth is the best! Make her president after school tomorrow!”

Stacy suddenly became angry and roared, “Quiet! You are not even going to think about it first? Even while I am still the president, you wish to replace me?”

Shocked, and slightly ashamed, the student council members talked briefly amongst one another. Then Tyler, the football captain, stood up to speak for everyone.

“Look Stacy,” Tyler began, “Let Beth become president. We know you, we have seen you teach her all the skills needed to be president; we want you to see your best friend be president. Give away your duties and rest without any worries. You are about to graduate, so you should be resting and enjoying the little bit of time you have left here. You know this school would be great with Beth as its leader. We love Beth. We can tell that she is a competent leader and will do great things.

Stacy said, “Well, don’t let my fondness for my best friend deceive all of you.”

“We won’t!” said Tyler. “Do what you want Stacy, but make sure that it is what you truly want for yourself. Beth will be an excellent president and will bring changes to this crap hole of a high school. Why ask for anything else? With Beth as our president what can go wrong? She knows everyone in this school and she would gladly go out of her way to help anyone. She takes special interest in others and asks nothing in return.”

“Are those the reasons you want her as president?” asked Stacy.

“The one reason,” replied Tyler, “is that if Beth says something to me I can believe it.”

Tyler sat down in his seat. All of the student council members looked around at one another, nodding their heads in agreement with Tyler’s speech. Stacy looked at the members and smiled.

Sally suddenly stood up and exclaimed, “Let’s make Beth our president tomorrow afternoon and have a cookie party!”

Stacy sat in her chair at the front of the classroom. Smiling, she knew that these were her last few weeks in high school and she wanted to cherish every moment.

 “Everyone!” began Stacy. “I am very happy at this moment. I am glad to see that I am a great influence on you. Let us begin the preparations to instate Beth as the next student council president!”

_________________________

Author's Note. In this story, King Dasaratha begins to realize that he is of old age and realizes that he wants nothing more than to see his son Rama become king. Dasaratha calls an assembly of the Kosala Council – which is composed of lesser kings, governors, noblemen, heroes, wise men, and Kosala judges – to hear their opinion's on making Rama king. Dasaratha tells them that he is old and wants to make Rama king, the assembly cheers in excitement and Dasaratha becomes angry at this fact, thinking that they just want to replace him and get rid of him. After a brief moment between those assembled, Sumantra the charioteer stands up to speak for everyone. He tells the King that they know Rama will be an excellent king and that he was groomed for the job. He then expresses that the king should rest in his old age and enjoy watching his son take the throne. After a little bit of back and forth, Dasaratha finally realizes that the assembly came to the decision all on their own and without the King just telling them so. Dasaratha is pleased and the preparations for Rama to become king begin.

Making the story modern created a more realistic perspective. While there were instances where I used imbedded quotes so as to make the original story more transparent, I did change the names. Stacy was Dasaratha, Beth was Rama, Tyler was Sumantra, and Sally was Vasishtha. Having Beth be Stacy’s best friend added a similar element to Dasaratha and Rama’s father-son relationship, demonstrating their closeness as well as their high regard for one another. Using a high school student council, while still political, was as similar to a monarchy as I could imagine. This retelling is very much my own perspective and experience of student council while I was in high school. I was never the president, but I was in the background and was able to see how it worked more as a monarchy and popularity contest than a democracy. Being student council president is also a very difficult job for a high school student, so reflecting the aspect of the story where Rama was groomed and trained to be King was something I felt was important to include in my retelling. 

Bibliography. Buck, William (1976). Ramayana: King Rama's Way. 

Week 4 Reading Diary B: Ayodhya Throne

p. 60-62
Dasaratha wants to see his son, Rama, become king. He assembles the Kosala Council and tells them that he is very old and wishes to see Rama become king. They cheer is agreement. Dasaratha becomes upset by this, believing that they think of his as a lesser king and they do not like him. Sumantra, the charioteer, tells the king that they love him but Rama was born to be king and he is amazingly great. The king then goes back to his original thoughts of being old and wanting to retire and rest and see his son become a great king.

Dasaratha and his sons (Source)

Meme Generator Tech Tip

I hate mustard and this is the best I could come up with.

Google Language Tech Tip

I chose Italian

Einstein Tech Tip

Google Doc Dictionary Tech Tip

It goes without say that I have been watching a little bit too much Criminal Minds. It really bothers me that so many do not know the difference between a psychopath and a sociopath, so I decided to look it up. As it turns out you can be a sociopath and not be a psychopath, but you cannot be a psychopath and not also be a sociopath.

Week 4 Reading Diary A: Sauti Begins

p. 3

Sauti begins telling the story. While the storyteller has told many stories in the past, Saunaka demands a new story.

p.6

Rama is apparently going to have to get rid of Sita because his people do not approve of her. She must be saved since Rama is a great King.

P.7 

Valmiki's curse on the bird-hunter. Bird hunter ran but was dead anyway because of the curse. 

p. 9

Sita has Rama's twin sons, Kusa and Lava. Valmiki wrote Ramayana and taught it to the boys.

p. 13

Brahma says, "Think before and not after you act."

p.17 

Lakshmana is Rama's brother but also his company. Basically Rama's second self. We also see that Rama is the only man born knowing his own heart. Rama is a great and powerful king. 

P. 29

Why does Brahma want Ravana alive?

p. 48

Taste This Water. Rama and his brother are on their journey. Viswamitra taught the mantras of power and more power.

pg 59

Explains how it is the ending of Rama's youth and how his adulthood will begin

Sita and Rama (Source) 

Week 3 Famous Last Words

This past Friday (January 30th) I had the pleasure of turning 22! I have to say, it is quite shocking having all of your friends suddenly tell you that you are old. I heard it so much that I actually dreamed about it! I was on a school bus with a bunch of kids and I guess they thought we were all the same age, and when I told them that I was 22 they all just started saying, "You're really old!!!" That was when I got up and went to a different part of the bus. Needless to say, I am feeling pretty old at the moment.

This weekend was pretty great though! I do not know what anyone else did yesterday, but I definitely watched that Super Bowl. I could not be more happy that the Patriots won! Personally, I just wanted Tom Brady to get that fourth Super Bowl win so that he could be like Joe Montana. Did you know that there are only three people in football history to have four Super Bowl wins! How crazy is that! I am way too invested in football. My family is a huge football family. Actually we are a really big sports family in general.

Well for this week I am going to get my head in the game. I will be working harder to stay on task and get all of my work done. I really need to be busy to get everything done, so that is what I have decided to do. As long as my day is really busy I will be able to get out of bed and stay on task. The hardest part is getting out of bed though. I am going to start sleeping with my laptop by my bed so I can do all my work on it first thing in the morning. It has been so cold in my apartment that it is almost impossible to function... and my bed is just so warm. However, modifications to life is the only way to get all of your work done and get those grades in, which is exactly what I plan on doing!

Super Bowl (Source)

Typing Game Tech Tip

I actually really enjoyed this tech tip. As a competitive person, I very much enjoy playing fames where I have to compete with myself and others. I actually played a few different games: Ninja Cat, Kayak Game, and Typing Race. 

Ninja Cat was awesome, but you only typed a few words at a time. Personally I really liked Kayak Game and Typing Race because you typed full sentences. That's where I typed the best. 

These games were a lot of fun and definitely worth playing. 

YouTube Tech Tip

You're welcome, everyone! 

Google Timer Tech Tip

I actually have never used the Google timer, but I probably should start using it. This is actually really funny because this time last year I was super on task. I pretty much was the queen at time management and getting my work done. This year it seems as though I just have no motivation to do anything. Needless to day it has become difficult.

Here are my tips for me and anyone else who wants them.

1. Work in places where you are not distracted.
I used to work at my desk, but now I am distracted when working in my room. The living room, kitchen, library, and other places on campus are much better.

2. Find different places to work in.
Sometimes you have to change things up from semester to semester. A place that you studied really well in one semester is not necessarily the best place for you to sit down and focus the next semester.

3. Put the technology away.
This is where the timer and airplane mode come in handy. If you just set 30 minutes or an hour aside for your school work and then after that time is up you can look at your phone, you will get so much more done that you thought. It's about pushing through the temptation and getting it done.

4. Be Positive.
You know that you can do it. Even if it seems impossible, you know you can push through and get it done. If it is difficult, take a break and come back to it or ask for help. It is ok to admit sometime is challenging as long as you know that ultimately you can get it done.

Collage Tech Tip

Upper left Picture (Source)

Upper Right Picture (Source)

Bottom Picture (Source)