Feedback Thoughts

Growth-From the Feedback Padlet

John Spencer's Seven Ways to Crush Self-Doubt: There were some really great points in this article that I could completely relate to. First of all, I always compare myself to others. I have found that as I get older I have been better at not comparing myself to others, but I still do it quite often. Perfectionism sort of follows that line of growth, but like I said, I am doing better as I get older. I am fairly good at being vulnerable and embracing growth mindsets, so at least I have control over a couple of helpful tips. Setting goals within my control is also something that I take pride in, but the final two tips are the things I need to work on the most. Those include treating my work like an experiment, and trusting myself. Hopefully as this semester progresses I can work on these things. 

Joel Almeida's Rewire Your Self Critical Brain: There was some really good advice in how REBS can help you to focus on treating setbacks as just a temporary blip. REBS stands for reality-based self-congratulation. It was helpful to think of it as rebelling against your harsh/critical self. When you think of rebelling, you want to associate it with a negative thing, but in this case it is a positive. Overall, you can look at life in the present if you just follow some fairly simple steps. Lastly, I appreciate how the article ends with saying that everyone is worthy of respect and love.

Life can be really difficult, and sometimes hearing the reality from yourself and others can be really challenging. As someone who suffers with anxiety and depression, I have had to learn a lot of methods to make sure I stay grounded and know the reality of the situation. It is easy to get down on yourself, but it also isn't as difficult as it seems to smile. 

Topic Brainstorm

One: My first idea, that I am very excited about, brings together my love of storytelling and the medical field. I would like to create "patient charts" for characters in stories. Just like in the E.R. I would write down the stories of the characters and diagnose them with things such as happiness, love, or death depending on the stories ending. With this, I would have the opportunity to choose stories from all categories and play with my medical knowledge as well as have fun with original stories.

Two: For this example I would focus on the Biblical Saints of Christianity. I would basically create a site for people or animals in need. I would connect the different nonprofits around the world to each saint and essentially make the saints the face of said organizations. For example, Saint Francis would represent the homeless community. Therefore, his page would be all about homeless shelters. I would connect the original stories by using them as examples of people who he had helped benefit from the services of his organization that he represents. 

Three: This topic would be a version that was inspired by Mickey's House of Villains.  As I was babysitting three little girls, I realized that the show they were watching could help me to create my project. Like my first topic, I would be able to use whatever stories I wanted in this project, as I would focus only on the villains of each story. I would create each page by rewriting the original stories not only from the view point of the villains, but also that made them appear more relatable. The villains will complain about how their opponents are annoying and receive praise for no good reasons. 

Four: For this last example, I would essentially create an online recipe book for certain endings. For example, if a story ends with marriage, then the recipe for love would be a "dash of fate that leads to Mary being forced to the palace," and then a "pinch of a couple days of nursing the Basilisk." Again, I would be able to use just about any story I would like, which would allow for my project to not only be diverse in storybook endings, but also in culture as well. 

The Recipe For.....by OpenClipart-Vectors

Week 2 Story: Mother, Mary, and Man

I chose the story of The Three Roses, part of Josef Baudis's The Key of Gold (1922) because I found the relationship between a mother and daughter to be refreshing. In many tales of the past, there is a focus on a male main character, or at least a wise father figure, and so I was interested in this change. I decided to tell the story from the point of view of the daughter, Mary. 

Mother, Daughter and Roses

As mother walked into the door my excitement immediately turned into fright. I had never seen her is such distress. She looked as if she had aged 100 years in just a short journey's time. I thought the worst had already been seen, but little did I know that the worst was yet to be said.

"You must go child, or my life will be taken."

When mother spoke those words, I knew I had to show no emotion. After what she had been through already, my sadness would do nothing but bring more harm. And so I followed her back to the palace of the Basilisk. It was strange how such a beautiful palace surrounded by roses could be home to a thorn. If only I hadn't asked for a silly flower. I try to be a simple girl, but this time I wished I had just followed my sisters. 

As I walked into my new home I realized that I now had everything that I would ever want, except my family. Although, I was not able to mourn for long, as the beast swiftly made his way to my side with demands. I was confused by his request of nursing for three hours a day, but I thought it better to oblige with my master instead of be slain. 

The routine continued until the third day. On this day, he came in with a sword in his beak. It was the sharpest sword I had ever laid eyes on, and it looked heaver than stone. 

"You will cut off my head dear girl, or consequences will lead to your death." 

At first I was quite hesitant, but I thought it best to kill than to be killed. I took the sword from his beak and looked him in the eyes. I couldn't help but back away and admire the beast one last time before swinging with all of my might at his neck. 

Immediately I saw something other than blood emerge from his neck... it was serpent. Without hesitation, I silenced it's hissing by swinging again and slicing his head off as well. I then heard the cling of keys hit the palace floor, as a beam of light emerged from the lifeless body of the two creatures I had slain. 

Suddenly, a beautiful man emerged from the light and spoke with sweetness, "My sweet Mary, your sacrifice has delivered me again. You nursed me to health, and you freed me from the beasts. I have no choice but to happily take you hand in marriage." 

When I realized what I had done I was overcome with joy. We wed promptly, and had the most glorious ceremony of all time. Best of all, I saw my mother again, back to health and more cheerful than ever. 

Reading Notes-Week 2: Anthology

The Key of Gold by Josef Baudis (1922)

The Three Roses:

• I was immediately drawn in by the title of the story as well as the background information provided. 
• The "Once Upon A Time..." aspect of the story formula portion also was an intriguing tidbit. 
• The vagueness of the items that the other two sisters want is an interesting way to have the reader think of something that they associate as a feminine gift, as opposed to deciding what the gifts are for the reader.
• The mother showed no hesitation to the third daughters request, and was willing to pull herself up through exhaustion just to get the gifts for her daughters. 
• The vivid descriptions of the roses really highlighted the main object of the three roses without forcing the reader to have no personal imagination. 
• The story makes a harsh turn that comes without much description or warning when the main antagonist, the Basilisk, comes and demands the woman's daughter in exchange for the picked roses.  
• An interesting use of overtly harsh words are used when describing the punishment of not giving the Basilisk what he wants. 
• It is surprising that the mother's emotions are not shown, and yet the daughter's lack of emotions are pointed out.  
• It is also interesting that the two greedy daughters are not mentioned again in the tale. 
• It is strange that Mary must nurse the Basilisk as a sort of payment for her stay at the castle, but yet again Mary doesn't seem to put up much of a fight.
• I was surprised that the Basilisk used violence in order to force Mary to commit an act of violence, not once, but twice. 
• Mary is less hesitant to cut off the head of the serpent, but there is not a clear given reason as to why she was more hesitant about the Basilisk head she had previously cut off. 
• A little bit of information is thrown in regarding the keys to the castle before the big transformation of the groom. This gives the reader more closure overall alongside the final sentence of the great wedding. 

Three Roses of Love by Pernilla Rydmark

*I chose this image of three roses because like Permilla states on her Flikr caption, they commonly represent the three words "I Love You." I found it interesting that the roses could symbolize either the love between mother and daughter, or daughter and beast-turned-human. 

Week 2 Reading Overview

Choose from CLASSICAL and/or BIBLICAL units for Weeks 3 and 4.
Week 3: Jewish Fairy Tales

Week 4: Apuleius's Cupid and Psyche

Choose from MIDDLE EASTERN and/or INDIAN units for Weeks 5 and 6.
Week 5: Turkish Fairy Tales

Week 6: Persian Tales

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

Week 9: Japanese Fairy Tales (Ozaki)

Choose from NATIVE AMERICAN units for Weeks 10 and 11.
Week 10: Native American Marriage Tales

Week 11: American Indian Fairy Tales

Choose from BRITISH and/or CELTIC units for Weeks 12 and 13.
Week 12: Alice in Wonderland

Week 13: Faerie Queen - Britomart

Choose from EUROPEAN units for Weeks 14 and 15.
Week 14: Dante's Inferno

Week 15: Russian Folktales

I am really excited to start reading all of these unique stories. I wanted to read some originals that are more well known such as Alice in Wonderland, as long as some other Tales from around the globe that I am unfamiliar with. Considering my previous enrollment in Indian Epics, I tried to avoid repeating any stories that I have already read, just to broaden my horizons. I am also looking forward to asking my boyfriend about some Polish stories that he heard growing up so that I might make some suggestions. 

Thank You Note for Every Language by woodleywonderworks

I chose this photo for my post because I think it is important to remember that the majority of these stories were not written in English. As a religious studies major, I am always very appreciative of original texts in their primary languages. Some words cannot be translated exactly into English, and so we must keep that in mind when reading texts. However, there is such a beauty that surrounds the idea of multiple languages representing a single story. It is amazing that people around the globe now have access to wonderful stories in their own language.