Week 2 Story: Love Has No Boundaries

(Image Information: Love Knows No Bounds

Andrew Mager Source: Flickr)

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A girl once fell in love with a boy.

She admired the way he laughed, and he admired the way she smiled.

The way they were able to understand each other, making loving each other that much easier.

Every day was a new adventure.

She would learn something new about him.

He would learn something new about her.

There was not a day that went by that they weren't together.

As they grew older, the relationship became even more special.

She could tell someone all of his bad habits.

He could tell someone all of her favorite movies.

The day had arrived. 

The day that girls always dream about.

The day a girl is asked to marry the guy of her dreams.

While the boy could have gone straight to the girl,

the boy visited the girl's father.

Approaching the house, the boy was ready to the girl's father for her daughter's hand in marriage.

As he arrived at the door, he told the girl's parents his desire to marry their daughter.

At last, the father said, "You both are completely different religions. My daughter will not be able to live the life we intended for her and her future family if she marries someone that is not within our religion." 

The boy expressed his desire to be with the girl and said he would do anything to be with her. His love for her mattered the most. He vowed to convert to the same religion in order to marry the father's daughter. The boy left intending to return to marry their daughter.

When the boy came back again to the parents of the girl, he told them that he had decided to convert to the same religion. He had no objections. The only thing he wanted was to marry their daughter. They simply smiled and said, "We are sorry. We still cannot accept this marriage proposal. You may ask to marry her, but she will not accept, as we have told her we would not be accepting this marriage. "

Love has no boundaries. 

Author's Note: I decided to emulate the same style that Aeosep did in his lion fable titled "The Lion in Love". I wanted to express a simple message just as Aesop did in his fable regarding love. While I know that in Aesop's fable the message was about a lion loving a girl, I did a more 21st century take away message about a girl and a guy loving each other, but from completely different religions. I kept it very vague, so readers could come up with their own perception of the characters. I also put the takeaway message in italics at the end as a closing, just as Aesop did in his fable. 

Bibliography: "The Lion in Love" from Aesop's Fables: The Lion by Joseph Jacobs. Web source.

Reading Notes: Aesop's Fables - The Lions

(Image Information: Aesop's Fables

D.D. Meighen Source: Flickr)

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I was completely enchanted by all of the lion fables. They were short, sweet, and had a long-lasting effect with the simple message that was given to each story. My two favorites were The Lion and the Statue, and the Lion in Love (link found here). 

The message in both of these short fables was very strong. I think if I might want to recreate one of these stories and make it lengthy. While this short story can give a strong message, I wonder if I can get the same effects with making a long story with the same characters, same message, and maybe a little different plot. 

This style of writing was very effective with its small amount of characters, simple storyline, and simple language. I want to see if I can emulate this with the same amount of characters, a more complex storyline but still with simple language. Maybe more like a storybook type of story in which children can read to understand the takeaway message.

 Excited to see what I end up writing about!

Reading Options

(Image Information: Stack of Books

My_Graphic_Tablets Source: Pixabay)

There are so many readings and units to choose from this semester! I am so excited. It was nice to see that we have the option to really discover what we are interested in. The three units that I really thought would be interesting were:

1. Hans Christian Anderson Fairytales

I always knew about the stories in this unit, but never really read them. I have seen them on cartoons, and have seen movies about them, but never actually read them 

2. European Units

The stories in this unit struck out to me just because there were a lot of familiar titles that I have heard about, but never actually read. I knew coming into this class I was going to get a chance to come across some of these titles, and so I knew from the beginning these were some of the books I wanted to read. 

3. Homer's Iliad

Homer's Iliad and Odyssey have always been on my bucket list. I never actually read them, but I know in high school we discussed these texts and got a general overview. These books are so long, but I hope this semester I will get the chance to read one of these books.

I'm excited to see what I end up getting to read this semester, and how much I get to read!

Time Management Strategies

(Image Information: Life To-Do List

Tom Ray (2010). Source: Flickr)

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  As a Senior, I look back at my college career and realize that high school never really prepared me for time management. It was a skill I had to learn, and continue to learn as each new semester poses new challenges. I thought high school was easy because I never really had to try, but once I got to college it became a whole lot more than I imagined. 

    In high school, I was always on top of things, and I passed so many AP exams to receive AP credit. I scored high on the ACT, and I thought to myself, "Wow, I'm gonna ace college, get a 4.0, and graduate early." Reality hit me really quickly, and I soon came to realize that in a pool of extraordinary people, I'm actually pretty average. I still haven't mastered the best way to master college, because if I had, I would've written my own "Sonali's College Survival Guide" post. Every new semester is a new challenge, and this next semester is not any different.

    This semester, besides being in this class, I am enrolled in 13 other hours and working an internship. I have decided to keep my involvement to a minimum this year, as I decide to take a break and really just work on myself both physically and mentally. Howdy Week just came to an end, and now I have the whole year to really give some self-care. I know that if I get into dental school, I will regret not taking some time off for myself because it's only going to get harder from here. I'm hoping to train for a half-marathon and really work on myself at the gym. I have let stress get in the way of working on myself time and time again. Now, I am seeing the effects of that. 

     I think some types of strategies I am going to administer this semester is planning a weekly "block schedule" and also making "to-do lists" everyday. I read some of those articles that discussed how even checking things off a to do list makes you accomplish more. I also read that people took breaks for themselves and went to the gym or participated in a favorite pass time activity. I really want to work on myself and being the best version of myself this semester!

     I am excited to see what this year holds for me, for my future, and the person I become by the end of it. 

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Technology Tools Thoughts

(Image Information: Personal Image Created Using Canva)

Being a previous student, I am fully aware of all of the technological resources available for use to use in this class. Over the summer, I was preparing for the University's Howdy Week. Using some adaptable leadership skills, I had to learn how to make graphics. One suggestion I have for technology use in this class, especially if you want a chance to make your OWN graphics, is using this platform called "Canva" (so similar to Canvas, I know). It's completely free, user-friendly, and really helps those people out who aren't fully ready to dive into learning Photoshop or Elements. 

This might be a way for those of you who wish to learn some graphic design will also getting acquainted with all of these resources that may be useful to your future careers. 

Class Assignments Thoughts

(Image Information: College 101 Chalkboard

bluefieldphotos bp Source: Flickr)

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     The format of this class was one that I have truly enjoyed, having been a previous student in Dr. Gibbs class. This allows you a very flexible schedule in which you can pick and choose what interests you the most. I really like this format just because as a science major classes can be overwhelming, full of strict deadlines, etc. This class format allows me to take a break, really use my creative side, and enjoy the things I am interested in while still receiving credit. Crazy! 

     I'm looking forward to another great semester. 

Growth Mindset Fall 2017

(Image Information: Growth Mindset

Spencer Burton. Source: Twitter)

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     When I think back from my childhood education up until this point, I have always been praised on my intelligence. People would say things like, "Oh you're so smart" or "Wow, I wish I was that smart". I always would love this type of praise, but after watching several talks by Carol Dweck, I now know that that type of praise is actually detrimental. 

     I actually heard this talk by Carol Dweck last semester. I was previously in Dr. Gibbs Epics of India class. This talk really enlightened my view on the different ways we learn, and how we can approach learning to achieve the best benefits. I have tried to continue to use this philosophy throughout my coursework since I heard this talk. This especially came into play this summer as I studied for several classes.

     In elementary school, I was much smarter than all of the kids around me. This had to do with my desire to learn before even going to school. My parents taught me how to read and write before I even went to Pre-K. Because of this, I ended up going to 1st grade the next year. I had skipped a grade.

      I continued my education in a private school after that because my parents wanted me to engage in an education curriculum that presented more challenges. The principal at this school wanted me to skip another grade, but my parents didn't want me to be in a class where the age gap was very big. I continued to be told I was "so smart" and "very intelligent".

     In high school, I returned to the public school system, where I took all AP classes. I received a lot of AP credit, enough to amount to one year of college. I also scored in the 96th percentile after taking the ACT. I thought college was going to be a piece of cake, that I was going to be able to maintain a 4.0 GPA, and I was going to graduate early. This was not the case.

   From Carol Dweck's teachings, I have come to realize that even up until this day, I have a fixed mindset. I have always relied on my intelligence to get me through college. Whenever I got bad grades, I would lose confidence and think my intelligence is running out. I became to realize that I'm average compared to everyone else. 

    As a science major, every new semester brings new challenges. No science class is the same. For me, it has been super hard to grasp the best technique when studying for science classes. However, having heard this talk I have begun to find what works for me. I have also been approaching learning from a growth mindset point of view.

  With the idea of a growth mindset, I hope to continue to take challenges head on through my classes this semester. I am excited to see how this mindset plays out throughout the rest of my schoolings, career, and even things in the future. 

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