Week 7 Storytelling: The Three Ducklings

It was Scrooge Mcduck's final hour, and he had to tell his grandnephews something very important before he went to heaven.

"Huey, Dewey, and Louie, come close please. I must give each of you a gift." The three grandnephews scooted closer to Grandpa Scrooge's side, being careful not to miss his final Scottish words. "My dear boys, you know that I am wealthiest duck because of my successful business. I have worked hard to give you, my grandnephews, a better life than I have lived. Now it is time to give each of you a share of my fortune."

Huey, Dewey, and Louie jumped with joy! They were going to be filthy rich!

Huey: "Thank you Grandpa Scrooge! With your money, I'm going to buy the fastest jet in the world!"

Dewey: "Grandpa, with your money I'll be able to buy the fastest boat that has ever sailed the ocean blue! You're the best!"

Louie: "Grandpa, I can buy the newest, fastest, car that just came out the market! It's all because of you!"

The three grandnephews hugged Scrooge with such delight, hoping that their grandpa would pass over in any moment so that they can buy their new toys. Grandpa Scrooge rolled his eyes and sat his grandnephews at the foot of his hospital bed. "Listen here, young boys! You will not be receiving money! Instead, I have just the gifts for you." Grandpa Scrooge rummage around his sack that was next to his bed. "Huey, here is a scythe. Be very careful with it. It's very sharp, and I better not see you chasing your brothers with it, young man! Dewey, for you I have a rooster. It is the finest rooster in all of Duckburg. Don't let it chase your brothers like a mad man! Last but not least, Louie, I have a cat for you. It's very fluffy."

Huey, Dewey, and Louie looked at their gifts with shock. This was not what they had in mind at all. All of the sudden, Grandpa Scrooge coughed violently. "Boys, do me proud and make a fortune from those gifts." With that, he was gone.

A week later, the boys were still searching for a way to make money from their gifts.

Huey: What can I do with this giant scythe? No one wants it!
Dewey: At least it cuts! I have a rooster that wakes me up at the crack of dawn! Who would want that?
Louie: I like my cat. It's fluffy.

Then their prayers were answered. A stranger came into town.

Stranger: Top of the mornin' to ya young lads! I was hoping that you could point me in the direction where I could find a tool for cutting crops, an alarm clock, and poison for the rats. My town is in trouble. My crops rot because we can't pull the stalks by hand fast enough. My workers sleep in because they have no sense of time, and mice have infested my town! They eat all the crops!

Huey, Dewey, and Louie looked at each other with great joy!

Huey: Say no more, sir! I have your tool for cutting crops!
Dewey: I have your alarm clock!
Louie: I don't have anything for rats...

Huey and Dewey kicked some sense into Louie.

Louie: I mean.. I have a fluffy cat.

The stranger paid the three boys more than their weight in gold for the scythe, the rooster, and for the fluffy cat. From the heavens above, Scrooge Mcduck looked down at his grandnephews with tears of joys in his eyes. "My boys, my little entrepreneurs, I knew they would make me proud."

Scrooge with Huey, Dewey, and Louie. Source.

Author's Note: I wrote this story based of off the Filipino tale The Poor Man and his Three Sons. I the original story, a poor man gave his three sons gifts: a scythe, a rooster, and a cat. With these gifts, he told his sons find a place that will give value to each item and sell them. The son with the scythe sold his tool to a village that needed to cut down rice crops. The son with the rooster sold his rooster to a town that had never seen a rooster before. The son with the cat sold his cat to a town that was infested with mice. He son had won a large sum of money because they selected the right place in which to trade (the moral of the story). I changed the story up a bit. Since there were three sons, I immediately thought of some of my favorite cartoon characters: Huey, Dewey, and Louie. They had an Uncle Scrooge (aka Grandpa Scrooge) who was a successful business man and tycoon. I tried to portray each of their personalities into their dialogue. To make the story shorter, I had on stranger needing all three of their items.

Bibliography: Filipino Popular Tales by Dean Fansler (1921)

Week 7 Reading Diary: Filipino Tales Cont.

This is the continuation of the Filipino Popular Tales by Dean S. Fansler (1921). I wasn't a huge fan of the Filipino tales. They seemed a little one dimensional. I chose to focus on the two chapters listed below since it they appealed to me more than the others.

Why the Sun Shine More Brightly than the Moon

I liked this story because, well, for one it was about the sun and the moon. I have always enjoyed hearing about other culture's origin stories about the sun and the moon. Secondly, the story was about two daughters which reminded me of my twin sisters. In this story, Araw, older daughter, was very kind and good-natured. On the other hand, her younger sister, Buwan, was rude and cruel. One day their mother, who was a fairy, witnessed Buwan mistreating Araw, so the mother prayed to God for help. God wanted to see for himself what the fuss was about so he disguised himself as a beggar and approached the sister. Araw treated the beggar well so God gave her a diamond that shined brightly. Buwan didn't get a diamond. Therefore, she traveled to the heavens and stole a smaller diamond from God. Infuriated, God sent his angels to retrieve the diamond and to punish Buwan. However, the angels ended throwing both the girls into the ocean and threw the diamonds into the sky where they still remain today. Araw means day or sun; Buwan means moon.

Sun and Moon. Source.

The Lost Necklace

In this story,  a crow buys a fine necklace that shined brightly. He wore his necklace everywhere. One day, Hen was walking with her little chicks when she noticed the crow's necklace. Mesmerized by its beauty, Hen asked the crow if she could borrow the necklace for the night. Crow liked Hen so he agreed. The next day Crow noticed that Hen was no longer wearing the necklace. When he inquired about it, Hen apologized and explained that her chicks took in the middle of the night. They've been looking for it all day, but still had no luck. Crow was angry and told Hen to keep looking for the necklace. To this day, hens and their chicks scratch the ground looking for the crow's necklace.

Week 7 Reading Diary: Filipino Tales

I decided to read through the Filipino Popular Tales by Dean S. Fansler (1921) for this weeks Asian unit. My favorite readings were about three brothers and three sons. I'm not sure it is about the number three that makes it so popular in folk stories.

Three Brothers of Fortune

Three sons, named Suan, Iloy, and Ambo, played hooky and decided to go on an adventure. Throughout their journey, each of them found charms. Ambo was given a book that revived the dead. Iloy was given a magic carpet that flew in the air. Suan wasn't given any charm. Instead he found two rocks that morphed together when they touched then separated again. He was convinced that the stones had magical powers, so he kept them in his pocket. Further into their journey, the three sons found a couple crying over their dead daughter. Ambo brought her back to life with his book. Iloy whisked them away, including the daughter, to a beach. Suan saved them all from drowning by repairing a broken plank pieces with his rock. In the end, they argued who would keep the daughter. Because they couldn't reach an agreement, they had a kind decide. The king split the daughter into three parts so that the sons could have an equal share. Ambo, an Iloy didn't want their share and left. Suan gathered all three pieces and had his magic rocks put the daughter back together. It was then Suan who had the greatest charm.



The Poor Man and His Three Sons

A dying father gave his three sons three different objects, a scythe, a rooster, and a cat. In order to make money off of those objects, the father advised his sons to find a place in which the people were in need of each object's function. The first son with the scythe found a village with rice crops. He showed the villagers how a scythe can be used to cut down the crops much faster than ripping the crops by hand. Amazed by the new tool, the villagers bought the scythe for a large sum of money. The second son introduced the concept of time to a town that didn't have a rooster, so they bought the rooster for lots of money. The third son found a town that was rat-infested. He showed the town that his cat could kill the rats. His cat was sold and he left with a large sum of money. The moral of the story: Select the right place in which to trade.

The Three Sons. Source.

Week 6 Famous Last Words

What a stressful week! I don't know where all these papers came from, but I had to write five papers which were due this past week. All day and all night, I was working on several papers. My capstone paper over my Bacillus organism was due Tuesday evening. Then my capstone critique and experimental design was due Wednesday morning. I had two more papers/lab reports due in my ecology/pathogenic lab which were due Friday BUT since I worked on Friday I had to turn it in Thursday night. Luckily, my friends threw me a celebratory party Thursday night which allowed me to unwind. I survived.

There were several things that made me happy this week. I was able to spend time with my cousin. We've been so busy with school that we barely see each other anymore. My brother came to Norman and he took us out to dinner which was very nice of him. It was about time that the three of us were able to spend time with each other. Also, I had dinner with my original crew, and we laughed so much! It was great coming together again and staying at BJ's Brewhouse for hours until closing. These moments are what make my week truly memorable.

My family and me at BJ's (left to right: myself, Erik, Isabella). Personal Photo.

In other news, I have submitted my deposit for medical school as well as completed my background check and opened my account at OU HSC. It's official. Starting in August 2016, I'll be a first year medical student! 

Tech Tip: Google Site Navigation

For my storybook, I decided to use a vertical navigation since it was the default choice. I did try to see how my storybook would look with a horizontal navigation, and I thought the vertical one was more manageable. Google sites automatically added content to the navigation bar as as I added more stories to my story book. This made my navigation bar out of order, so I had to manually move my pages into the preferred order.

After everything was fixed, I'm pretty content with my storybook! I'm actually about to work on my second story!

Week 6 Learning Challenge: Happiness Motivators

I decided to browse through some Happiness memes and infographics because, boy, do I need some happiness in my life right now! I'm stressed with my social life. Rumors here and rumors there. I had dinner with my close group of friends, and I realized that one of my friends is trying to cut me out of his life for the most idiotic reason in the world. But to each their own. I went to sleep so angry last night. And I mean I was INFURIATED!!! I woke up in the morning feeling better, yet still irritated. In short, I saw this motivator and it really spoke to me.

It's a new day. Source.

I shouldn't have woken up this morning still steaming about another person's false thoughts about me. Today is a new day, and I shouldn't begin it with regret, guilt, or frustration. I had a wonderful night last night with my friends. We laughed. We ate. We drank. We shared some good memories. What really made my night was the fact that they supported me, and listened to my venting. That's what really counts to me.

Week 6 Growth Mindset: Drawing about Growth Mindset

I'm not sure that this is a challenge, but I decided to draw what growth mindset means to me. In my personal health class, I tend to doze off or doodle. One day, I thought about growth mindset, and I began to doodle about growth mindset concepts. The final piece is posted below:

My doodle. Personal Photo.

It's a rough picture, but a reader can see the general idea. The words on the top of the page read (from left to right) Growth and Curiosity while the words on the bottom of the think cloud read (left to right) Challenges and Creativity. Growth and Curiosity are outlined with yellow and orange because they represent the sun. Challenges and creativity are outline in wavy blue and gray lines because they represent water. Water and sun are essential nutrients that nourish the rose to flourish in its surroundings. To me, growth mindset means to have the curiosity to accept challenges. In this way, an individual can grow and gain creativity. I wish I would have drawn faith in the thinking cloud, because I believe having faith in oneself is also key for the growth mindset philosophy.

Week 6 Extra Credit Reading: Russian Folktales

For this week's extra credit reading, I read through the Russian Folktales unit. The stories came from Russian Fairy Tales by W.R.S. Ralston (1887).

The Headless Princess

This story was so scary to me! I felt like I was reading a horror story! A little boy sees a princess remove her head to was her face and brush her long hair. Afraid of what he saw, he ran away. The princess fell ill, and died. Her dying wish was to have the priest's son to read to her for three nights. The boy received his order but was terrified! He told his grandmother of his fears, and she advised him to take a knife and to draw a circle around himself. He was advised to not pay attention to any horrors. So he was reading to a coffin that had the body of the dead princess when all of the sudden she comes to life and tries to attack him! She couldn't break through the circle though. The next night she set the church on fire, but the boy remained protected by the circle and continued reading. I could just imagine the deadly, horrid face of the princess trying to attack that poor boy! I think I would die of fright.

 The Fox-Physician

When I read this story, I thought it would be about a fox that acted as a doctor, which it kinda was, but I was disappointed in the ending. Long story short, a man was climbing a magical cabbage stalk while holding an old woman in his sack. He dropped the sack, and the old woman fell to the ground. Her bones broke in a million pieces. A fox told the man that he would be able to cure the woman. He just needed butter, oatmeal, and a bathroom. The man fetches the ingredients. The fox did his work then left. To the man's surprise, the fox ate the butter and oatmeal, and left the old woman's bones in the bathroom. I wish there was more to the story such as the fox needing answers to riddles to fix the old woman or maybe some magic.

The Fox Physician. Source.

Week 6 Storytelling: Broken Skulls and Hearts

"No, no that's all wrong!" shouted the skull spirit of the dead as another potential body was burned in front of his sunken eyes. He scratched his bald, gray skull thinking of his ultimate masterpiece. Skull had spent hours searching through thousands of male bodies to pick the perfect characteristics for his human form. "She doesn't like blonde hair. Next. Hmm. He seems to have the perfect skin tone. I'll set him aside." Skull was attempting to marry the most beautiful girl in the village named Afiong, but she will not marry any man that was less beautiful than her. So many suitors have traveled far and wide to plead for her hand in marriage with promises of gold and riches, yet she had turned them all down because of their lack of beauty.

Skull must have searched through 10,000 bodies. He picked the perfect brain from the village's best medicine man and a chiseled chest from the adventurous lion wrestler in Kenya. Luckily, Skull found the greenest eyes from an exotic young lad in Brazil which matched wonderfully with the olive-toned skin of a man from Greece. The legs of the fastest man on earth complimented the broad arms and shoulders of Africa's most powerful swimmer. His human body was appearing to be piecing together quite nicely, until the spirit realized that he was missing the most vital essence of human beings: a heart.

"Where can I find the largest heart that can hold all of my love for Afiong?" mumbled Skull as he searched the world's cardiovascular systems. He peered through the bodies of the strongest men, but was disappointed when he realized their muscles were larger than their puny hearts. He then turned to the bodies of the most intelligent men, but he became frustrated when he noted the massive size of their brains in comparison to their little hearts. I'm such a fool! A beautiful woman like Afiong needs a heart from the most beautiful man. I'll find the perfect heart in the most beautiful man! thought the skull spirit. He then reached inside the chest of every countries' beautiful men, but returned empty-handed.

Time was running out for the skull spirit. He had to be reborn in his new body before sunrise. Skull reluctantly formed his own human heart that symbolized his eternal love for Afiong. It's better than nothing. Morning came. Skull walked towards Afiong's house as a radiant young man that appeared to be a god walking among mere mortals. As planned, Afiong was dazzled by Skull's strength, brilliance, and more importantly his good looks. Afiong immediately accepted his marriage proposal, and they eloped to the spirit world. Consequently, the skull spirit had to abandon his human form. Afiong was shocked to see Skull's lanky, bone-white appearance. She shrieked, "Monster! Where is my perfect husband with his green eyes and sculpted body?!" Skull felt ashamed by his appearance, but offered her his heart, "This is for you, my wife." Afiong slapped the beating heart to the ground with disgust and run away. Skull stared at his human heart that he molded so carefully for the love of his life. I thought it was the one with the most beauty that possessed the biggest heart, but I stand here, ugly and alone, with a heart larger than hers. 

Skull spirit with his broken heart. Source.

Author's note: I completely went off track from the folk story. In the original story, Afiong, the most beautiful girl, refused to marry a man that wasn't as attractive as her. The skull spirit accepted the challenge and took parts from several men to form the perfect man to seduce Afiong into marrying him. Afiong and Skull agreed to marriage, and they left to the spirit world (Afiong had no idea that her new husband came from the spirit world). In the spirit world, Afiong was made a slave and had to escape other spirits that wanted to eat her. Eventually she escaped and returned home where she swore to agree to any man that her parents approved of. She ended up marrying a man that was her father's friend and lived happily ever after. The moral of the story was to never marry a stranger. I took a different twist from the story by having the skull spirit genuinely pursue Afiong's hand in marriage. The idea of the spirit taking body parts from different men was interesting to me, so I made that the main part of the story. I also changed the moral of the story into something along the lines of outer beauty does not define inner beauty.

Bibliography: Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria by Elphinstone Dayrell (1910).

Week 6 Reading Diary: Nigerian Unit Cont.

This is the continuation of Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria by Elphinstone Dayrell (1910).


 Why the Moon Waxes and Wanes

 I thought this chapter was pretty funny because the moon was described as a pale, fat woman who lived in the sky. I've read several folk stories that have described the moon and it's usually the same description of a beautiful, wise woman. Sometimes the moon would be described as the sun's twin or the sun's lover. It caught me off guard to hear that the moon was a plump, round woman, but it makes sense! The moon noticed that a poor woman was starving, so she offered the old woman some of her meat. Eventually the moon became thinner and gave little light which explains why the moon wanes.


Why Dead People are Buried

 This story was quiet interesting since it explained the origins of burying practices. The almighty creator felt sympathy for the humans and creatures whenever they died. Therefore, the creator decided to send a message to the humans that the bodies should be buried in a compound with wooden ashes thrown over it, and within twenty-four hours the body would become alive again. For some reason, the creator chose a dog as a messenger to deliver the message to the humans, but of course the dog saw a bone and became distracted. To redeliver the message, a sheep was sent as a messenger. Why a sheep? I have no idea! The sheep became distracted with grass and forgot the message. By the time he remembered it, the sheep told the humans to bury their dead in the ground. The dog tried to tell the humans the correct message, but everyone ignored the dog because they have already heard the message from the sheep. To think, if the dog delivered the message successfully, the dead would have been revived every night.

My take on the dog as the messenger. Source.

Week 6 Reading Diary: Nigeria Unit

For this week's unit I decided to read African folk stories from the Nigerian Unit. It has always been a dream of mine to visit Africa or study abroad in Kenya. Maybe in the future I will. The stories that I read are from Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria by Elphinstone Dayrell (1910).

Of the Pretty Stranger Who Killed the King

In this short story, a people of Itu were plotting to kill King Mbotu of Old Town, Calabar. They tried several ways to end the king's life, but they were unsuccessful. A witch heard of the troubles of the Itu people and volunteered to kill Mbotu. Therefore, the witch transformed herself into a youthful and beautiful girl. The king fell in lust with her and asked her to marry him. As part of the plan, the witch married the king. She prepared with a special dish that has sleeping herbs which immediately put the king to sleep when he took a bite of the food. While he snooze, she removed the hidden knife from her bosom and cut off his head. The witch traveled to the Itu people and delivered the king's head. The moral of the story was: Never marry a stranger, no matter how pretty she may be.

 The Disobedient Daughter who Married a Skull

I found this story quite interesting. In summary, a beautiful girl named Afiong refused to marry any man in the village because they were all ugly. She wanted to be with a man that was just as attractive as she was. Well, one day the spirit known as Skull, made himself into a perfect man by picking body parts from different men. He took a nice head from one man, strong arms from another, and so on. Skull presented himself to Afiong who fell in love with him. Although she didn't know him very well, she agreed to marry him and left her village. Little did she know that Skull was taking her back to the spirit land where his true ugly form was revealed. Not only that, but the spirits were cannibals and wanted to Afiong. In short, Afiong ran away from the spirit world and agreed to marry any man that her parents picked. She ended up with a man that was her father's friend.

My take on Afiong and Skull. Source.

It was interesting to see a reoccurring theme of marrying someone that you know. It must have been a common practice in Africa to marry strangers.

Week 5: Famous Last Words

What a wonderful week! After hearing about my acceptance to medical school, everything seems brighter! My family is extremely proud of me as well as my friends. My coworkers at the pharmacy were so overwhelmed with happiness when they heard the news! They're also pretty funny because they wanted to buy me a cake to congratulate me, but I told them that it was completely unnecessary. It was so amazing to see how everyone was so happy to hear about my acceptance. I never realized how much it meant to other people. It hasn't hit me completely yet, but I've done some reflecting and for once in my life I can legitimately say that I'm very proud of myself and the work that I've done.

On another note, this upcoming week is going to be killer. I have 3 papers due plus and exam. Of course they're all due at the same time. I might be up later than usual trying to finish my papers and cramming for the test. Sometimes I think to myself, why try so hard? I'm already accepted! But at the same time, I know I shouldn't let my grades slip. It's just a breath of fresh air. I know I still have to graduate, but I finally have an answer. I don't think I have ever been so happy in my life before. The best part was that I did it. I know my friends and family played a huge part, but I can give myself some credit. I can't wait to see what's in store for me next.

My acceptance email. Personal Photo.

Week 5 Tech Tip: Google Site Background

For this week's tech tip, I'm going to write about how one can customize his/her Google Site's background page. I decided to customize my storybook in order to fit the dark theme. Since the title of my storybook is Hera's Hennessy, I wanted the background of the website to reflect a bar or bottles of alcoholic drinks. I browsed Google images to find images of a dark bar scene, and I found the perfect one! I saved that image to my desktop, and I uploaded the image to my Google site. In the settings, there is an option to upload an image to customize the background. After selecting the image, you can choose whether to repeat the image in the background or to stretch it out. I decided to repeat the image since I thought it would look neater. My finish product can be found at this link: https://sites.google.com/site/mythologystorybook337/

I'm pretty pleased with it! I hope it exhibits the mood that I'm trying to portray on the storybook.

Image of a bar. Source.

Week 5 Learning Challenges: Meditation

For this week's learning challenge, I decided to try a meditation technique. I learned about introspection in my personal health class. In class, we were taught that introspection was an individual's ability to evaluate oneself in certain situations. We also learned that the average population lacks introspection, and that we should practice introspection in order to learn about ourselves. Therefore, I decided to take at least 15 minutes of my day to meditate and practice introspection. It was quite interesting. For the situations that stressed me out, I questioned why they caused me so much stressed. I found out that I lacked confidence in myself which is what causes so much stress. I've also realized that I'm easily influenced by the people around me, more easily than what I'd  like to  admit. One thing that I haven't tried yet is to record myself speaking and look into a mirror while playing the recording. My personal health professor told the class that this activity would give us insight of how other perceive us, but on a superficial level. I wonder how I look and sound like to others.

In the future, I'm going to try to give myself more time for reflection. It helps me review my day and also to calm down a bit. It's also a nice break from the rush of life. Maybe we should hit the pause button every once in the while instead of fast forwarding.

Self-Reflection. Source.

Week 5 Growth Mindset: Take Some Time to Reflect

I did it. After all these years, I have finally reached my dream. I've been accepted to OU College of Medicine, and I couldn't be happier! First came the shriek of overwhelming excitement. Then the tears of joy came, but at last came the quiet reflection. After all the emotional craziness passed, I just laid in bed and thought about everything (and I mean EVERYTHING). I thought about the day in middle school when I decided that I would pursue a healthcare career. I thought about all the hours of studying in high school and in college. Most of all, I thought about the sacrifices that I've made. My mind became flooded with memories of stress and worries: college, shadowing, volunteering, MCAT, committee interview, waiting for an interview invitation, practicing for the real interview, post-interview wait, and finally the decision. I actually made it through everything, and it was done one step at a time. I thought the meme below was appropriate for this week's growth mindset. In my opinion, after a huge success or even a failure, everyone should take a few minutes and reflect. In my own reflection, I've learned that anything can be done with hard work and a great support system.

Reflection. Source.

Thoughts About Comments

I've read through some of the comments, and I'm loving the feedback! The comments that really stood out to me were the ones that were humorous! It really makes me happy when people tell jokes or say a witty comment. However, the absolute best comments are the ones that are filled with surprise. For example, if a reader told me that he didn't expect the twist or the ending, that shows me that I've done my job in entertaining the reader.

Moreover, I noticed that most of my peers critique my stories more in depth. They comment about my character development and story format which is something I might look into for future comments. I also like how my classmates relate my storytelling to their own experiences. This shows me that I'm connecting to my audience on a deeper level. I'll keep the feedback that I've received in mind when I write my next story. Thank you to all who have commented on my posts!

Week 4 Famous Last Words

Another week has gone by. I'm still waiting for a response for medical school. Some nights I sleep; other nights I barely snooze. Today is supposed to be the last day when all applicants hear a response, but I don't know what to believe anymore. Is it too much to ask for an answer? Whether it's a rejection or an acceptance, I'd just like to know. My patience is truly being tested this semester, but I'll continue to wait.

My classes are picking up the pace which is expected. I'm happy that I have friends who are willing to let me stay the night at their place. It's difficult trying to complete all my homework late at night just to be up before dawn for a long commute, especially for an 8:30 class. I believe my hardest class this semester is capstone, but it's nothing that I can't handle. We had a quiz last week, and it wasn't terrible (except I crammed the night before because I forgot that we had a quiz). Am I slacking off? Just a bit... Maybe more that I expected. I never expected to be the person who completed her homework the day it was due. I know for a fact once I start seeing a drop in my grades, I'll clean up my act.

Something that made me sad this week was how much little time I've been spending with my family. I saw my mom once this week which is crazy for me since I commute. Since my mom and I have opposite schedules, it's been difficult to make plans together. Last night I worked late, and she stayed up just to see me come home. I'm thinking that I should take off a day from work so I can spend a day with her and my dad. Oh! Weird thing that happened last night. I was saying good-bye to my mom because I was about to drive to Norman. Then I see my dad pass by in his car so I said good-bye to him (he was visiting his brother who lives a couple houses down from my mom's house). It was so insane to me that I saw my mom and my dad simultaneously. Ever since their divorce, I don't ever remember them being in the same room together.

Happy Valentine's Day! Source.

Week 5 Extra Credit Reading: Cupid and Psyche

I've read through a couple of people's storytelling, and I've noticed that Cupid and Psyche (from Tony Kline's Apuleius's Golden Ass) was a popular story. Therefore, I decided to read it myself.

Cupid and Psyche

It was a very interesting read since it was so fairy-tale like! Psyche fell in love with the god Cupid, but she never saw his face because they always met in the dark. It did remind me of the classical Beauty and the Beast story. It appeared that Cupid was hiding in the dark to hid his hideous features when in fact he was hiding because he was Venus's son! Of course when Psyche found out that she was in love with Cupid, it all goes down hill. They marry and Venus is outraged. The chapter that stood out to me the most was Venus and Psyche. Venus absolutely hates Psyche! In fact, in the chapter it described how Venus would physically abuse Psyche by pulling her hair and dragging her by the ear. Owch! At this point of the story, Psyche was pregnant with Cupid's baby, so it really surprised me that Venus was beating Psyche, knowing that she could potentially hurt the baby (then again that was probably her goal). Venus assigned Psyche ridiculous tasks such as mixing beans and seeds together and telling Psyche to separate the ingredients again. Honestly, this chapter reminded me of how my ex-boyfriend's mother used to treat me when I was dating him. Not sure why she didn't like me since I was always respectful, but I always forced to oblige his mother by performing tedious tasks. The theme of crazy or evil mother-in-laws is so common, but I also thought it was exaggerated until I dated my ex-boyfriend. Luckily, I left that relationship.

Psyche and Cupid. Source.

Week 5 Storytelling: Elephants Never Forget

I sat in the trees for weeks. I looked far and wide for any sign of an elephant, but no such creature arrived. It's been three months since my master has left me in the forest. He assigned me a task to kill every elephant that crossed my path and take their ivory tusks. I had to make my master proud. If I give him a giant pile of tusks, it just might be possible that he'll grant me my freedom.

Suddenly, like a miracle from the Allah, a heard of elephants came stampeding in front of my tree! These creatures were enormous with long, mighty tusks that shined like white gold. They raised their trunks high in the sky and bellowed a loud cry. It almost appeared as if they were in pain... But, my eyes were on the prize. I stood up on the sturdy branch slowly, and pulled my arrow back. I tried to keep a steady aim on one elephant, the largest elephant of the heard, but the powerful stomps from the stampede were causing me to lose my balance. I only had one shot. I took it. The arrow pierced the elephant's tough skin behind the ear, and it immediately slowed down. My heart raced! This could be my freedom! I immediately took another arrow from my sack and shot the elephant two more times. The creature stumbled on the ground and was left behind. Success.

I quickly climbed down the tree and rushed to the elephant's side. I couldn't believe that I finally killed one! I imagined my master embracing me and thanking me for retrieving such large ivory tusks. Then, I'll be free. As I was approaching the elephant, I noticed that its chest was slowly rising and dropping. It was still alive... I prepared my bow and arrow just in case it tried to attack me. I took hesitant steps towards the head. There was blood trickling down its face from the bows. I couldn't believe this monster was still alive! I pulled my bow once again to finish it off. One straight shot through the eye should do the job. Just as I was about to release my last bow...it looked at me. I couldn't explain what it was, but I lowered my bow. The elephant's golden eyes stared into mine, and I saw the pain that I caused. I saw an elephant graveyard filled with numerous tusks for my master. I saw my master congratulating me. Then, I saw my freedom. The vision was so vivid and realistic. I dropped to the ground and sobbed. What have I done?

There still could be a chance to save its life. I pulled out the arrows from the elephant's ear, and bandaged it with medicinal herbs that my master gave me to fight infections. For the next two weeks, I cleaned the elephant's ear, fed it, and attempted to heal it to the best of my ability. Finally came the day when the elephant walked away healthy. My master arrived just as the elephant was leaving in the distance.

"There's an elephant, Sinbad! Why don't you kill it? Kill it!" shouted my master. I looked at my master with a disgusted look and threw my bow at his feet. "I wouldn't dare take another animal's freedom just to have my own." With that, I took my freedom from slavery and walked away.

Elephants in the sunset. Source.

Author's note: I decided to rewrite the seventh voyage from The Voyages of Sinbad. In the original story, Sinbad was sold into slavery. His master sent him to a forest with a bow and arrow to kill elephants. Sinbad killed hundreds of elephants and collected all the ivory tusks. One day, a group of elephants surrounded Sinbad and took him to the elephant graveyard. There were piles of skeletons and tusks everywhere. Sinbad relays his findings to his master, and they makes a trip to Ivory Hill (what they named the elephant graveyard). Pleased with his slave's hard work, Sinbad's master gives Sinbad a portion of the fortune along with his freedom. I wasn't a fan of the fact that Sinbad had to kill elephants in order to win his freedom. I interpreted the graveyard scene as the elephants showing Sinbad the many lives he took from their heard which is how I changed the story.

Bibliography: The Voyages of Sinbad from The Arabian Nights' Entertainments by Andrew Lang (1898).

Week 5 Reading Diary: The Voyages of Sinbad Continued

This is a continuation of The Voyages of Sinbad from Andrew Lang's The Arabian Nights' Entertainments.

 Seventh Voyage

 On his journey of delivering a gift to a king, Sinbad was captured and sold into slavery. His master asked Sinbad if he was skilled with the bow and arrow. He told his master that he was talented with the bow and arrow, so his master assigned him to a task. His master led Sinbad into a forest where he was commanded to shoot any elephants that he saw (why are the elephants always killed)? Sinbad waited and waited for an elephant until finally a heard of elephants came rushing by. He shot an elephant to the ground and buried it for his master to see. Months passed and Sinbad killed countless of elephants. One day, a heard of elephants surrounded Sinbad and shook him out of his tree. The heard took Sinbad to an elephant's graveyard that was filled with elephant skeletons and tusks. I think this was supposed to show Sinbad the horror that he has been causing, instead Sinbad traveled to his master and showed him Ivory Hill (as the place was called). The master was so excited about his riches that he freed Sinbad and gave him a fraction of his fortune. This depressed me. I'm a huge animal lover, and I wish Sinbad realized what he did to the elephants instead of being rewards for it.

Elephant's Graveyard. Source.

Week 5 Reading Diary: The Voyages of Sinbad

For my Middle-Eastern unit I read The Voyages of Sinbad which is part of Andrew Lang's The Arabian Nights' Entertainments. I remember years ago I watched the cartoon version of Sinbad. The only part I remember is the scene with the deadly sirens. I thought reading this unit would refresh me of the story, but it turned out to be completely different than what I expected. My favorite voyages were Sinbad's second voyage and fourth voyage.

Second Voyage

 During Sinbad's second voyage, Sinbad was stranded on an island that contained huge pearly white rocks. These rocks were extremely massive and unlike any stone he has ever seen. He then realized that these "rocks" were actually eggs of a giant bird known as roc. Of course Sinbad, being the crazy sailor he is, attached himself to the bird's legs by wrapping his turban around the talon. I don't know why he thought this would be a great idea because the roc transported Sinbad to a valley of giant snakes which can swallow whole elephants. Sinbad noticed that the entire valley was covered with diamonds. So he takes some diamonds and attaches a slap of snake meat onto himself so that he can return to the roc's nest with his jewels.

Sinbad in the valley of diamonds. Source.

Fourth Voyage

This voyage was a bit crazier. Sinbad was ship wrecked on an island where he found a beautiful. What he didn't realize was that the was a strange custom on the island. If one married partner dies, then the other partner must be buried alive with his/her spouse. Sinbad's wife died of an illness so Sinbad was trapped in a cave with water and bread. Another couple entered the cave (husband died, wife alive), and Sinbad killed the wife to eat her rations. He continued this until a ship rescued him. What was crazy to me was the fact that Sinbad killed several husbands and wives in order to steal their rations instead of plotting an escape together...

Week 4 Learning Challenge: Attention Memes

I'm a huge fan of memes and infographics so this week I browsed through the attention section of memes. The image that stood out to me the most was the "paradox of presence" as shown below:

The Paradox of Presence

THIS IS SO TRUE! And I hate it! Whenever I'm out with my friends or family, the first thing that they do when we arrive at the restaurant is connect to the wifi or text. What was the point of us going out if your attention is directed to a screen? I'll admit that I've done it before. When everyone is busy staring at a screen, I take my phone out and stare at it too. It's the worst. To change this habit, my friends and I decided that we would all put our phones on the table and whoever is the first person to pick up their phones has to buy the appetizers. It's a work in progress. It's funny because I would much rather have a nice time with my friends than eat free appetizers (and I love food).


Technology is a wonderful tool, but it could also be bitter sweet. While we're able to connect to the world instantaneously, I'm afraid that it's making relationships and friendships very virtual.

Week 4 Growth Mindset: You're Not Stupid

I was browsing through the articles in the growth mindset blog, and I found an article with an interesting title: You Are Not Stupid by Brian Koberlein. I thought to myself hey maybe I should read this just to feel better about myself, but I didn't expect to connect to the article the way I did. Brian Koberlein, an astrophysics professor, wrote an article about how there is a misconception about scientists being absolutely brilliant and above the common man. People assume that he's a genius because of his profession, but Koberlein's response to this was "Smart didn’t allow me to become an astrophysicist. Hard work, dedication and the support of family and friends did." I knew exactly what he meant! My friends assume that I'm "smart" because I study microbiology and chemistry. Honestly, I'm not smarter than the average person. Yes, I do like to culture microorganisms and learn about chemical reactions, but understanding these topics didn't come to me naturally. In fact, I had to study really hard and seek outside help from tutors. Also, there were days when I wanted to switch majors because I thought I was too stupid for the higher-level courses. Fast forward to today. I'm about to finish my studies in each science, and it's because I didn't give up on myself. If self-doubt ever consumed my mind, my friends and family pushed me forward. Without them, I would have probably dropped out of those classes and would have never found my passion.

 Another section in the article that resonated in me was the part about cultural biases and stereotypes. Being a woman and a minority, I have to battle against negative presumptions about race and gender. She's a girl so she can't do math. She's Hispanic so she's unintelligent. I've had professional people advise me to not pursue a degree in science because it was common for "my people" to become pregnant at a young age and drop out. There was another instance when a patient told me that I couldn't be a doctor because girls can only be nurses. I've never felt so degraded. How does the color of my skin or my gender define what I can or cannot do? How can someone look at me and automatically predict my "limitations?" It's an ongoing internal conflict that I'm slowly overcoming.

In short, I study science not because I'm smart but because I'd like to understand the inner workings of the universe. I'm not a genius. I'm not naturally intelligent. I'm Hispanic, and I'm a woman, but I'm not stupid because of it. In fact, I'm not stupid at all. I've been wrong plenty of times. I've failed even more times, and that's okay because through all the failures I'm learning. And learning is what I do best.

It's okay to be wrong. Source.

Week 4 Extra Credit Reading: Adam and Eve

For this week's extra credit reading, I read through the Biblical Unit of Adam and Eve. The specific story that I read was called The Legends of the Jews by Louis Ginzberg (1909). The chapter that caught my attention the most was the Fall of Satan.

The Fall of Satan

In this chapter, God created Adam and asked for all the angels to pay God's new creation reverence and homage. Satan, God's greatest angels with magnificent wings, refused to give respect to Adam. Satan felt insulted that he, an almighty angel, had to pay heed to a naked creature made out of dust. To Satan, there was no reason for God to create man when he had so many angels surrounding Him. God demanded Satan to pay respect to Adam because Adam had more wisdom than Satan. I thought this next part was interesting. In order to test this theory, Satan challenge Adam into a contest of naming God's animals. Satan couldn't remember the names of the ox, cow, camel, and donkey. Adam, on the other hand, was given clues by God by hinting the first letter of the animal's name. In the end, Adam won. Satan was outraged and still refused to pay heed to Adam. He broke his promise, but God wouldn't have it. God forced Satan to acknowledge man's superiority over the angels. Satan lashed out on God in which God threw Satan out of the heaves, making Satan the fallen angel. From that point on marked the eternal battle between Satan and man.

God exiling Satan from heaven. Source.

Week 4 Tech Tip: Google site

I made my mythology storybook site today! I put more thought into this storybook than I did last semester since I'm more familiar with the process. My website can be found here: https://sites.google.com/site/mythologystorybook337/

I decided to base my storybook off of the Olympian goddess Hera and her troubles with Zeus. The storytelling style I'll be using will be through a bartender theme where Hera will spill all her troubles to the bartender. It's going to be so much fun developing this storybook!

Creating the website itself was simple with the instructions provided. Even without instructions, one could figure out how to customize their own storybook through a little bit of playing with the website. There are also pre-set themes for anyone who wants to make a website for professional business, church groups, school activities and more. I recommend Google sites to anyone who is a beginner of creating their own website.

Week 4 Storytelling: 100 Wives and Counting

Day 1

She betrayed me. After all that I have given her, she has deceived me. How could I be so blind? How did I not notice the distance between us... She disappeared for hours. I didn't think much of it. I thought she needed her own time for self-reflection, but there was someone else. Am I not enough? Did I not deserve the same love that I have devoted to her? That woman is now dead to me. From here on out, I shall marry a new bride every morning, and take her life by nightfall. Let the world take their anger out of me. They will call me monster and the devil. The people will say that I have no soul. They're right. I'm dead inside.

Day 2

I saw my new wife today. She was a pretty, youthful, and educated. Her skin was flawless, and her eyes were as large as a doe. There was something else in her eyes... Fear. Although she was beautiful, the fear in her eyes reminded me of the pain, and it angered me. Within the hour, I despised my new wife and wanted her dead. She wouldn't approach me. She was forced to have dinner with me. It was clear that she didn't want to be my wife. That wasn't a problem. By nightfall, she was beheaded.

Day 3

My bride to be today was an ignorant woman who wouldn't stop talking. She was bulbous with a mole size of Jupiter on her cheek. Her insecurities drove me insane. Am I too fat? Why don't you look at me? Tell me that you love me. She followed me everywhere. I tried hiding in the darkest corners of the palace, yet she still found me. I was glad when nightfall came. Her death was a blessing.

Day 4

I hated to see her go. My new wife today wasn't the most attractive person in the world, but she connected with me on a deeper level. She loved the same things I did. We loved cooking the same foods and reading traditional tales under the apple tree. She was sweet and gentle. What I loved about her the most was that she accepted me and her fate. She knew that was the last sunset she would ever see, and she was happy to spend it with me. We sang songs together. We laughed together. Tonight my world becomes darker as she departs it.

Day 5

All she talked about was her family, and how much she missed them. My new wife was a bit younger than I was. I could tell that she has been sheltered for some time now. She spoke of her loving mother and her wise father. Then she told her childhood stories about her brother and sisters. I was beginning to get bored of her until she accidentally mentioned her first love. I pried. Before she was taken away to be my wife, she was engage to another man who she claimed to be the love of her life. She shed a tear but immediately wiped it away and hid her face. She was in love with her fiancee, just as I was in love with my first wife. It's only fair that she suffered the same way I did.

Day 99

They're all the same. After sleeping with so many women, I've realized that they're generally the same person: a woman with a pretty face with hidden insecurities that would rather die than to spend the day with me. Well wish granted because every single one of them died. I never thought that I could feel so numb. I thought I was dead when my first wife betrayed me, but no it was just my heart that died. I feel my soul dying now. Today's wife? I don't even remember her face.

Day 100

What was it about her? I'm not quite sure. She had an exotic beauty, but her mind was different as well. She was...unique. Interesting. She had divine attributes. For starters, she actually volunteered to be my wife. That has never happened before. She cared for me. She was adventurous. The best part about her was her storytelling. She told the most fascinating stories about the world, and I couldn't help it but listen to her all night. That was the problem. Nighttime came. In fact, the morning sun rose and she was still alive. I didn't want her to go. She promised me that I could take her life once she finished her story. So I listened...

Day 352

My wife still continues her story to this day, but the best story is how she entered my life and revitalized my soul. I hope this one never ends.

Scheherazade and the sultan. Source.

Author's Note:
I decided to write about the sultan's perspective on his wife's betrayal from the Arabian Nights unit. In the story, the sultan realized that his wife has been deceiving him, so he married a new wife every day and killed her at nightfall. One woman named Scheherazade volunteered to be his wife in order to stop all the deaths. To break his "resolution," she told him stories every night which never ended. That's how she managed to save hundreds of women's lives. The changes I made in the story was that I said that his first wife was unfaithful to the sultan, but they story just said she deceived him (no specifics). When I first read the story, I couldn't believe that a man would want to marry a new wife every day. I thought about what was going through his mind as he met his new wife each morning and watch her die each night. That's why I decided to format my storytelling through journal entries. In this way, I can write about the sultan's thoughts for he wife that he married/killed. This story appealed to me because I couldn't imagine the turmoil that each father would go through for giving up his daughter to be the sultan's bride, just to be killed that night. It was quite a violent introduction into the story.

Bibliography: The Arabian Nights' Entertainments by Andrew Lang (1898)

Week 4 Reading Diary: Arabian Nights Continued

I finished the second unit of the Arabian Nights' Entertainments by Andrew Lang, and it was all about Aladdin and his lamp. It was quite different from Disney's Aladdin.

Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp

First off, a magician was the one who urged Aladdin to go into a hidden cave and find the wonderful lamp. The magician demanded the lamp, but Aladdin refused to give up the lamp until he was out of the cave. Frustrated with the boy, the magician left and closed the cave. Aladdin was now stuck in the cave with the magician's magic ring (it was given to Aladdin earlier to open the cave). What was odd was that Aladdin rubbed the ring and out came the genie. I thought it would be the magical lamp, but in this story it was the magic ring. The genie appeared and promised Aladdin that he would obey him. Another twist to the story was that Aladdin had two genies, not one! He had the genie from the ring and the genie from the lamp! That's a lot of power for one man...

Continuing on with the story, Aladdin fell in love with the Sultan's daughter and wished to marry her. He wishesdfor a grand palace to win her father's approval. They become husband and wife after several months of bickering between the sultan and another person. The evil magician kidnapped Aladdin's lamp and his wife which reversed the magic. Aladdin used the genie from the ring to save her from the evil magician. The magician died. BUT! He had an evil brother!! I thought this was a dramatic bit to the story. It sounds like a random hook in the story line just to make another chapter in the book. After defeating the brother, Aladdin and his wife lived happily ever after.

Arabian Nights. Source.