No Rain Checks

Looking Back I am very happy with my progress and my ability to work ahead so far this semester. I make sure to work ahead in this class whenever I have free time, and it has paid off! After looking into the progress chart, I am at 252 points in week eight. This is already very ahead because I have done all the required assignments and various extra credit projects. This will prove to be well worth it when finals come around and I have one less class to stress about! My favorite class assignments are probably the stories, because I like the challenge of changing original stories and making them my own. This is difficult for me sometimes, but it's fun to channel my inner creativity. Looking Forward For the second half of the semester, I'm going to make sure to plan out my last two stories for my story book super clearly before writing. Before writing my intro and story one, I knew my main goal, but thought up the supporting details as I went. This caused me to have a lot of ...

Feedback In Some of the comments I received on my introduction were helpful, while others seemed to be redundant. The comments that include a "WWW" help a lot more than just general suggestions, so I'm glad that this was a requirement in some of the project feedback assignments. The comments I find most useful is ones that ask me to clarify a portion of my story. Sometimes others' feedback on continuing the story confused me, but when they told me a part could be strengthened it made much more sense! Feedback Out Since I get the most out of the "WWW" feedback technique, I try to include one of the three W's in my feedback comments. Additionally, I try to ask clarification questions like I mentioned above so that they can strengthen specific portions of their story, rather than changing the route of the story altogether. Other people's writings have given me inspiration to try writing dialogue and explaining the setting more, which I wouldn't ...

We have now come to week eight and there are only nine weeks left in this semester. Time to reflect! Looking Back After reviewing my previous reading and stories from this semester, I would have to say my favorite stories to recreate were First Voyage and Down the Rabbit Hole . These stories were very intriguing, and super easy for me to put my own spin on! As the semester went on, I can definitely tell from my reading notes that I was able to help myself plan for my stories much better. By taking notes during my readings, rather than after, I was able to find many more ways to make stories my own. My best strategy is to open two windows and read while taking bullet point notes, then close the original story to develop my notes further. That way, I'm not directly copying the story but am able to take key details to include in my own recreation. So far, I'm proud of my story book. I plan to put a lot of thought into my next two stories so that I can produce my best work, sin...

For this extra credit reading, I chose to read "Down the Rabbit Hole," "Down the Rabbit Hole (cont.)" and "Down the Rabbit Hole (end)." Down the Rabbit Hole These three stories tell the original Alice in Wonderland story of Alice following the rabbit to the rabbit hole. I wanted to reread these stories so that I could brainstorm ideas for my storybook project! Alice was having a boring day until she saw a white rabbit that was in a hurry. Because she was so bored, she was extra interested in the rabbit. The rabbit took a watch out of his pocket and spoke that he was going to be late, which Alice didn't know if she imagined. So she followed the rabbit as it ran away. Alice followed the rabbit right into a rabbit hole that she didn't see, and fell down the long tunnel whether she wanted to or not. Down and down it went, and Alice wondered when she'd ever hit the ground... And where'd she'd be when she did. Down the Rabbit Hole (con...

Another week has gone by, but this one was much more fun than the others this semester! This week, we got about 2.5 snow days. I'm a junior here at OU and have never had a snow day, so I was way too excited for this to happen! On Tuesday, campus was closed at 12:45 p.m. I was in my 12:00 class and had just braved the freezing rain to get there, so that was a little upsetting. I was not upset about the other two day cancellations, though! My roommates and I watched a whole lot of Netflix this week, and decided to use this time for lots of homework. We are all preparing for Cabo for Spring Break, so we're working out a lot and trying to eat healthier. This is almost impossible on snow days - I always want cookies, hot chocolate and brownies when it's cold! My other classes are going well. Last week, I had two tests: one in sociology and one in media law. Both of the tests went well, and I'm glad I spent so much time studying for them. At the time, studying suck...

For this extra reading, I chose to read " Advice from a Caterpillar " from one of the Alice in Wonderland stories. Advice from a Caterpillar In this story, Alice comes across a Caterpillar. The Caterpillar wants to know who she is, and Alice is still shaken up from all of her adventures. She tells him she feels different, but he does not understand. The Caterpillar was irritated with Alice not answering his questions, so Alice tried to leave. But the Caterpillar lured her back in by telling her there was something important he had to say. Advice From a Caterpillar (cont.) In this continuation, the Caterpillar begins a poem and Alice finishes it. She knew the entire dialogue. Once she finished, the Caterpillar criticized her and told her it was not said right. Alice acknowledges that there are some changes, but he still believes it's all wrong. The Caterpillar asked Alice what size she wanted to be, in which she answered 3 inches. She was rapidly shrinking, and the C...

One day, in the heart of South Africa, there was an Elephant. Elephant was extremely dehydrated, and he had been searching for water for days. Elephant begged the Earth to rain, but had no luck. He eventually set out to find someone or something that could get him water. South African Elephant.  Photo from Wikipedia. Elephant talked to many animals that could not help him. Once he spoke to a Crow who cast lots to produce rain, rain fell into lagoons. Elephant was overjoyed, but quickly saw that the water supply was not nearly enough. He needed to keep this water while also continuing to search for more. The Elephant came across a Tortoise near the water. He asked the Tortoise to watch over his water supply and to not let any other being have it. The Tortoise agreed, scared of the Elephant's size. As the Elephant searched for more water, he didn't find any luck. He went back to the lagoon to drink what he had left, but when he arrived there was no water. Tortoise explai...

For Reading B, I chose the South African tale " Elephant and Tortoise ." In this story, there are a few main characters: all powerful beings. The story starts with the Elephant seeking rain. After Rain said it was departing, Elephant spoke to a Vulture who could not provide water. Then Elephant spoke to a Crow who cast lots to produce rain. The rain fell into lagoons, but it dried up quickly. Then the Elephant came across a Tortoise, and told the Tortoise to remain by the water while it's still there. Elephant wanted Tortoise to protect what was left of the water while he was in search of getting more. South African Elephant. Photo from Wikipedia. While the Tortoise was protecting the water, a Giraffe, Zebra, Gemsbok, Wildebeest, Roodebok, Springbok, Jackal and Lion came begging for the water. The Tortoise responded, "The water belongs to Elephant" to each of them. However, the Lion did not even let the Tortoise speak before he beat him. The Lion dran...

This week, I read an African tale " The Monkey's Fiddle ." Here is a vervet monkey. Photo from Wikipedia . This Monkey lived in South Africa. One day, hunger forced Monkey to leave his land and travel elsewhere in search of food. He sought shelter with his uncle, Orang Outang, who lived in a different area. Monkey's uncle gave him two gifts: a fiddle and a bow and arrow. The bow and arrow was for food, and the fiddle was to force 'anything to dance.' Monkey ran into a Wolf first. The Wolf was also in search of food, and had his eye on a deer. Monkey  and Wolf worked together to capture and share the deer for a meal. The Wolf had put in lots of effort to capture the deer with no luck - yet, the Monkey just used the bow and arrow and successfully captured the deer. The Wolf was jealous of Monkey's weapon, and he begged Monkey for the bow and arrow. They argued for awhile, and as a Jackal came by, the Wolf claimed that Monkey stole the weapon fro...

One day, out of nowhere, a discombobulated man was washed up onto my island. I'm the king of the island, so I knew it had to be my decision if he went or stayed. Because he looked so frantic, I allowed him on my island. All he had was a piece of wood, what kind of guy would I be if I didn't give him shelter and food? Here's what Sindbad described his shipwreck looked like.  Photo from the original story . It turned out the man's name was Sindbad. He claimed to have undergone a tragedy in which he lost his ship and crew. I didn't think much of it, because that happens all along. He was lucky to have even made it this far. Sindbad told me all about his adventures. He underwent such trauma that I opened my island to him, offering him food and shelter. He quickly found a home on my island, and was a functioning member of society. One day, a cargo ship beached on my island to drop off a usual load of merchandise. However, this ship was not our usual visitor....

For Reading A, I read the First Voyage. For Reading B, I chose to finish the story by reading  First Voyage (cont) . As mentioned in Reading A , Sindbad was a sailor that found himself on a foreign island alone. He quickly got acquainted with the king, who introduced him to his companions. The king promised Sindbad that he would give him what he needed, so he was not so worried. Sindbad told these new people stories about where he came from, and they got to know each other. Sindbad walked around the island daily to get accustomed to it. One day, he walked down to shore where he saw a cargo ship. He went to it and saw many packages, but more importantly, he saw that the boat looked extremely familiar. In fact, he was almost sure it was his original boat that he was on before all of the craziness happened. He knew if it were his original crew, they'd be shocked he was still alive. When going to this ship's captain, it was not who he thought it was. However, it was indeed Si...

For Reading A, I chose to read " First Voyage ." This short story is about a character named Sindbad. Sindbad grew up in a well-off home, with considerable wealth compared to the average person. Sindbad had wisdom; he knew his riches, if spent improperly, would not make him happy in the long run. Therefore, he decided to sell all that he had and become a sailor. Sindbad sailed the East Indies and traded/exchanged his merchandise. In the midst of bad weather, Sindbad and his fellow crew members came across an island. The island owner welcomed them onto his land, in which they agreed. However, the island was not actually an island as it appeared to be. A picture of the sailors after realizing the island was not grounded. Photo from the original story. The island began to be turbulent, and the sailors quickly realized what they had begun to come upon was the back of a large whale! They evacuated the mission quickly before the whale plunged back into the ocean. So...

It's February 13, and I finally feel like I've gotten back into the swing of things. In this class specifically, I'm enjoying putting together my website. My site is a modern twist on Alice in Wonderland, which should be enjoyable. I'm a PR major, and I'm bringing in people skills, technology, social media and communication to these stories - which I look forward to doing. Sometimes it's hard for me to channel my creativity in writing these stories, but I know I'll power through it! I am going to Cabo for spring break (March 18), and I can hardly wait. That's my main motivator right now! I got advised for next semester and only have 11 hours left to graduate, although it's my junior year. Looks like I'm going to have to make some decisions regarding graduating early, even though I definitely don't want to leave college anytime soon! Me regarding graduating. Image from GIF Keyboard. I have been very impressed with my classmates...

Once upon a time, there was a man that believed heavily in fate. He believed so much so that his life seemed to depend on it. The man had positive experiences with fate, and he assumed that meant he was being blessed due to his good behavior. When he wanted information about the future, he'd consult with an akhund to reveal his horoscope. One day, the man wanted to know if he'd have children. To his surprise, he consulted with his horoscope and found out that he would have a son. However, it was not going to be a positive experience. The akhund revealed to the man that his son would be torn to pieces by a wolf, no matter how much he protected him. Worried, but not discouraged, the man knew he could reverse fate and protect his first child from this tragedy. Becoming a father meant everything to the man. The man was overjoyed with the news. He immediately began building a chamber for his son to live; a chamber in which he knew his son would be protected from wolves. The ma...

For reading B, I chose " The Story of the Wolf-Bride ." This story comes from the Persian Tales unit. This story is about a man that's fate included having a son. The man looked into what would happen to his son during his life, and was told by an akhund that his son will be torn into pieces by a wolf. This made the man want to protect his son, so he built a chamber that he would put his son in to protect him. The son of the man grew up in this chamber, learning to read and write while growing up. By the time he was ready to get married, his wife was chosen for him and they celebrated their wedding shortly before the newlyweds returned to the chamber to spend their lives. Photo of an Iranian wedding. Taken from Wikipedia. The wife put her arms around the son of the man, and she instantly turned into a wolf and tore him to pieces. She turned back into the woman afterword, and had no idea how the transformation happened.  People found the man torn to pieces, and h...

For this week's reading A, I chose to read " U Biskurom ." I chose this reading mainly based on its name, since it was a word I was unfamiliar with. Biskurom is a young man that was genuinely good and noble. He came from heaven to help the rest of mankind, which, compared to him, they were very inefficient. Biskurom came to Earth to teach people useful skills, but the process of teaching took so long that he eventually forgot his way back to where he came from. Biskurom quickly learned that mankind was inpatient and took advantage of him, because he was being forced to do work that they could do themselves. The people one day made an item in Biskurom's image, and asked him to make the image come to life. When he could not produce this, the people were outraged and threatened him. Biskurom told the people that if he could go back to heaven to learn this skill, he would come back and show them. After much debate, mankind officially decided to release Biskurom becaus...