Reading Notes: Nala Damayanti The Steadfast Lovers

• Damayanti is extremely devoted to Nala.  Leaves kids behind to be with husband
• Why would Nala leave her?  He surely intends to come back right?
• Why does Nala not use the magic cloak to tell Damayanti of his plan to win back the kingdom? Why does he have to let her believe he left her?
• Damayanti refuses to go with strange man.  Reminds me of Rama and Sita.  Damayanti must have been worried that if she went with the stranger, Nala would assume she was impure and would leave her
• The Riddle: "A King ran away.  In dust the jewel lay.  Why he ran away, the jewel could not say." Nala's answer: "Can a King without a crown, keep a jewel for his own?" 
• Damayanti is Nala's Jewel and he didn't feel worthy of her since he lost his crown and all they had
• Devotion pays off!

(Nala leaving Damayanti while she sleeps, found on Wikipedia Commons.)

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Bibliogrpahy:
Nala Damayanti, The steadfast Lovers, by Anant Pai, Kindle Edition

Week 8 Review: Sai Baba

After reading today's class announcements, found here, the portion that interested me the most was the excerpt about Sai Baba of Shardi. It just so happens that I am writing this on October 15, the anniversary of his death.  Sai Baba was honored by both Hindus and Muslims which really stood out to me.  

I am currently taking a class called State and Society in Pakistan and have learned a lot about relations between Pakistan and India.  through tragic history of the two countries, there is a subsequent hated that is being instilled in the nations between Indians and Pakistanis but also Hindus and Muslims.  Children in Pakistan are being taught to hate Hindus and to hate Indians and that they are ancient enemies.  That is why Sai Baba is so fascinating to be.  He is a saint worshiped by these clashing religions in a sense.  Sai Baba gives me hope that this hatred can cease one day and the Muslims and hindus of the region can appreciate their similarities rather than glorifying their differences. 

(Image of Sai Baba found on Wikipedia Commons.)

Famous Last Words: Surviving Midterms and A Broken Leg

Well this week was hectic.  I was dreading this week starting last Sunday because it is the imfaous midterms week.  I had several papers and assignments all due on the same days and I knew I was going to be in over my head.  The unfortunate thing is, my assignments became the least of my worries starting promptly at 5:30pm Monday evening.

Many of you have seen my intro with my sweet puppy Thor so you'll have an image to go with this story.  Monday night, Thor was hyper, playing around in my room. I was trying to get him to calm down, as we were on our way to visit my good friend Heather, but it was proving difficult.  I reached out to grab all 2 pounds of the little guy, but he scurried from my reach and slipped.  he must have landed on his legs wrong because he started screaming.  He hadn't hit anything or fallen a great distance so I was completely shocked.  I figured his bag leg was just knocked out of place.  I rushed him to the Emergency Vet to find out that he had broken his back leg in several different places.  That is when this week became hectic.

My poor baby was in incredible pain but had to wait for surgery on Tuesday.  The break was so bad that he had to be seen by a specialist in OKC.  I was overwhelmed and out of money.  My papers were incomplete, my credit card filled to the max with expenses and my dog was whimpering in pain all night.  I cried on the phone to my mom that night because I had no idea what else to do. Welcome to adulthood.  She surprised me the next day by flying out to see me.  My dad already had to work in OKC this week so she came up with him.

Thor went off for surgery Tuesday and Wednesday and I was able to take him home Wednesday evening.  Thanks to the support of my mom I was able to get my work done while she watched the dog and the little boy is on a quick road to recovery.  This whole experience sure gave me inside into how tragic it can be when your pet is hurt.  A broken leg doesn't seem serious but when you experience taking care of a dog with a broken leg, you realize what that means for the owner: a LOT of extra work.

(Little Thor with his blue camo cast, and me, extremely tired but happy to have him back. Personal photo)

Week 8 Growth Mindset

Here are the following areas in which my growth mindset has improved throughout the course or that I have worked on throughout the course.

Doing the minimum — Pushing yourself to go farther

There are some days I only do the bare minimum but then when I have the time availability, I will push myself to go further. For example, on week 6 we were supposed to edit our intro for our storybook.  I edited it but also spent about 2 hours adding new fun features to my intro that were not part of the assignment like a new client form.  

Looking for praise and other rewards — Finding motivation inside yourself

I think it is necessary to find motivation within yourself but if it is not met with praise from others, it is hard to find that motivation.  between the two, its better to motivate yourself first, but I also think it's inevitable to need a little praise from others to keep that motivation going. 

Staying in the comfort zone — Being willing to try new things

It's easy to stay in the comfort zone but the stories that I have been willing to try new things with have turned out to be my favorite and turned out to be the most rewarding to write. 

Focusing on grades — Focusing on learning

It's almost impossible to not focus on grades.  This is the first class where I have completely forgotten about grades and thoroughly dived into focusing on the learning.  That is due to the way this course is graded.  It allows me to focus on the learning.  Unfortunately, my other classes are not as helpful in this area and I feel forced to focus on the grades more than the material at times.

Thinking you are "not good" at something — Being confident you can improve

It's easy to write a paper you are proud of and then letting that pride inhibit your ability to improve.  Through this course I have found the ability to share this pride with desire to improve.  The feedback I have received on my storybook has made my introduction even better and I was already extremely happy with it.  It's okay to improve something you already love.

Wanting only positive feedback — Being open to any and all feedback

I used to be terrified of feedback as I mentioned in one of my blog posts, but with maturity comes acceptance of helpful criticism.  No amount of maturity will help you accept rude feedback.  So as long as the person giving the criticism is helpful about it, it is easy to be open to and see new ways to improve. 

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(Productivity meme. Found on flickr.com)

Week 8 Reflections

Looking back, I am proud of all the stories I have created. I have always loved creative writing but I have not had the opportunity to write in such a way since high school so I have thoroughly enjoyed the layout of this class. It has allowed me to explore my two favorite subjects, Indian culture and creative writing. I look forward to the assignments for this class each week and I am nothing but proud of what I have accomplished thus far.

Reading

The reading notes have been helpful for me t organize my thoughts and jot down when an aspect of a story really hits me. I choose the stories to retell based on the feelings I get when I read the original. I don't choose the stories that would just be easy to retell. The reading notes assignment helps me remember the feelings I get when I sit down to write the story.

Writing

So far, my favorite story that I have written is Ekalavya Finding His Voice. It is my longest story and I think the most powerful. I love how I adapted the story to be ever more emotional and how I made subtle changes to make the setting in the present day. My other favorite story was that of Aswathama the Elephant.  I enjoyed giving this animal a voice.

(Aswathama the Elephant. Found on Pixabay.)

I chose to do a storybook for this class because after exploring the storybooks of other students in the past, I knew I would enjoy the creativity and cohesiveness of a storybook. I was right! Throughout the course I have been drawn to the classic love stories in the epics so being able to focus on those has been a blast. I’m currently playing around with the idea of using different styles in my storybook. With my storybook being a counseling service website, I’m trying to figure out if I want to do all of the stories in a "Dear Abby" letter style or have a mix of letters and maybe transcripts from counseling sessions.

Connection

I have thoroughly enjoyed reading everyone's stories! There are some amazing writers in this class, which makes it so much more enjoyable! The creativity and skill is outstanding and I look forward every week to everyone’s new take on old stories.