Learning Challenge Extra Credit

I read the article Turning Negative Thinkers into Positive Ones. I found it to have some extremely helpful advice. All the tips have positive health impacts. Doing good things for people does help you feel better. It is also important to appreciate the world around you. I try to take time every day to appreciate campus when I am walking to class. I also enjoy setting attainable daily goals to gain a sense of accomplishment. One thing I need to work on in the future is not worrying about things that are out of my control. I tend to fret about things that I have no control over and this negatively impacts my mood. To conquer this would be a huge boost for me.

Positive Thoughts

Growth Mindset extra credit

I read the article The Emotional Weight of Being Graded. I found this article to be extremely relatable. I find great joy in receiving an A, and, when I perform below my expectations, I feel very lousy and think less of myself temporarily. It is also true that negative emotions associated with a certain grade does lower your interest in a subject. This article makes me wish that more educators focused on actual learning of material rather than grades. You can completely master a subject but still not do well in a class because of busy work assignments that do not assess learning. I have friends that are education majors, and I showed them this article as well. Very helpful!

grades

Tech Tip: Canvas Dashboard

I enjoy using the canvas dashboard. I have already gone through and removed courses from previous semesters. I also love that you can add nicknames to your courses. This makes them easier to find instead of having to remember the course numbers from three different biology courses every semester. I just turned off the color overlay and it does make the classes appear more clearly.

Story Lab: Writers Write

I used this assignment to explore the Writers Write website, and I found many helpful articles. The most helpful, however, was the article titled 10 Good Reasons to Read More Books. The first tip I found for writing is to read more fiction. This article said that it is important to read fiction in order to learn how to craft good stories. This is a key for me. I know that I need to read more fiction. As a science major, I often get stuck in the rut of reading nothing but dense, non-fiction science textbooks. This makes storytelling seem almost foreign to me as I am not used to creatively writing.

I also enjoyed reading the article titled 3 Simple Ways to Kick-Start Your Writing.  The first tip, Suess it up, sounds fun and engaging to warm up before creatively writing. Overall, the takeaway from this article is to find a way to get the creative juices warmed up before writing. I think this will prove to be helpful for me, and I look forward trying it out.

Writing 

Reading Notes: Narayan's Ramayana Part D

        This section begins with Hanuman mistaking Mandodari, Ravana’s wife, for Sita. He later finds Sita being guarded by demons. She is depressed and suicidal. However, Hanuman presents her with Rama’s ring. Hanuman is later captured and brought to Ravana. He advises Ramana to surrender to Rama. Hanuman’s tail is lit on fire by Ravana and Lanka is burnt completely. Ravana is outraged and must be reminded that he is mortal to humans such as Rama. He is advised to release Sita back to Rama. Ravana believes that he is not cursed and rejects the advice. Vibhishana is forced to leave Ravana, and Rama takes him in as his ancestor gave a pideon asylum from a falcon. Rama then receives how to attack Lanka. Rama has the sea gods help him cross the water by building a bridge with the help of a variety of animals. Ravana tries to trick Sita by showing her a decapitated head that looks like Rama, but she does not believe him. Angada destroys the tower and Rama orders the attack on Lanka. Rama faints and Sita must be told that they have only passed out and not died. Rama injures Ravana and his crown is broken. Later, Rama kills Kumbakarna. Indrajit is later killed and Ravana becomes furious with Rama. Later, Rama does not have a good feeling about fighting Rama but still views him as a lesser mortal. Ravana’s heads are repeatedly chopped off and they keep re-growing. Ravana faints, and, although he could finish the fight, Rama refuses to attack an opponent who is fainted. Rama eventually defeats Ravana and orders him a big funeral. Rama makes Sita jump in fire to prove her purity. The story ends with Rama returning from exile.

            Like always, I enjoy looking for themes and morals that are applicable to a wide variety of life stories. I found a good one in this section of reading. This comes when Rama refuses to take an opponent who is not at full strength. I viewed this as refusing to take the easy way out and conquering tests when they are at full strength in order to receive a greater reward at the end. This could craft a story with different characters who choose to overcome an obstacle at full strength rather than taking a lighter path, only to see that pay off in the end.

Bibliography: Narayan's Ramayana Part D 

Rama battling Ravana 

Reading Notes: Narayan's Ramayana Section C

Ravana approaches Sita as an old hermit and she is receptive at first. She later tells him to go away, and he lifts the ground Sita is standing on and flies away with her. Ravana kills Jatayu who tried to save Sita. Rama finds him dying, but he cannot tell which way Ravana went. Rama then decides to head south to the monkey kingdom. Hanuman sees them and tries to go undercover as a scholar, but Rama is not fooled. The story of Vali is then told. Vali churned nectar from the ocean and the gods gave him fighting powers as a result. A demon challenged Vali, and Vali chased him off. Vali did not come out of the cave, so Sugriva decided to block the cave off to trap the demon. When Vali emerged, he was extremely angry and beat Sugriva and took his wife. Rama had sympathy for Sugriva, and Hanuman thinks he could destroy Vali. Later, Sita’s jewelry is found by one of the monkeys and Sugriva decides to help Rama find her. Sugriva fights Vali and Rama helps by killing him with an arrow. Vali later dies and Sugriva becomes king. Rama is in the forest for the rainy season. Later, Rama has to remind Sugriva of his promise to help them in the forest. Sugriva later gathers a big army to help Rama. Towards the end of this section, Sampathi. Sampathi tells them that Ravana was seen taking Sita to Lanka. Hunuman grows enormous to step across the ocean to Lanka.

            One area of this story that I found interesting, and that would create a good story opportunity, is the story of Vali. I could change the storyline and characters of Vali being mistakenly trapped in the cave by Sugriva. I like to take themes and morals and craft a separate story. To me, the moral seems to be do not be angry when people try to help and they actually end up doing the opposite.

Bibliography: Narayan's Ramayana Section C 

Sugriva challenging Vali