Learning Challenge: Reading

I read the article Can Reading Make You Happier?  While reading this article, I was intrigued how the author was talking about using reading as a source of personal therapy. I found this idea intriguing. I have noticed that when I go on vacation to the beach, for example, I always have a few light reads with me. Reading does improve my happiness, although I never really thought about it like therapy. I guess it truly is a form of therapy. After reading this article, I was encouraged to find more time for reading to relax rather than reading to learn dense science texts for my classes.

Reading  

Growth Mindset: Genius

I think the components of genius are dedication, perseverance, ambition, and openness to learning. I would give these attributes each a 25% rating because it is hard to have one without the others. I believe these four attributes are closely linked and key to success.

Tech Tip: Twitter lists

https://twitter.com/AndyMcdowell408/lists/sports

I made a list for my favorite sports teams' accounts. I added them so I could read just sports material in one place. I have never used lists before. In fact, I did not even know that this option was available. It does seem to be an efficient way to use twitter.

Week 9 Story: A Hunting Accident

Portfolio: A Hunting Accident 

It is late October in far eastern Oklahoma. The leaves begin to change their hue to a bright orange that matches the burning sun in the evenings. The temperature drops steadily as the leaves fall. There is a crisp bite to the air as the wind switches to blowing from the north. Deer hunting season is just beginning, and this is the favorite time of the year for locals such as Leroy Hughes. Leroy is old, his vision is fading, and he rarely ventures out of the comfort of his home in the middle of the dense forest near the ghost town of Peoria, Oklahoma. His one exception is to hunt.

            On the morning of October 27, Leroy sets his alarm for four thirty in the morning. This will give him ample time to put on his camo, strap up his boots, and clean his gun before heading out to his favorite deer stand near the small creek running through the woods near his house. When he walks outside, his visibility is extremely low due to the dense fog that will not burn off until the sun rises in the later morning hours. With poor vision and a dense fog, he hopes that he will be able to hit his target if he is so lucky as to cross paths with a deer.

            Leroy makes his way to the stand and sets up for a long morning. He enjoys relaxing and listening to the beautiful cacophony of birds chirping, squirrels cracking acorns, and the howls of a distant coyote. Shortly after sunrise, Leroy hears a crunching of the leaves. The sound is approaching his stand from the dried-up creek bed. Leroy slowly grips his rifle. Heart beating, palms sweating despite the cool northern wind, Leroy anticipates the sight of the deer approaching him from beyond the trees. The fog is still so dense that Leroy can only make out the dark figure of the animal as it creeps out from the trees. With great excitement, Leroy steadies his rifle and fires. The dark figure drops in its tracks.

            Elated, Leroy slowly begins to climb down from his tree and make the three quarters of a mile trek to claim his trophy. As he walks, he daydreams about the size of his kill. He will have enough venison to last well throughout the winter. Although the fog was too dense to make out details, perhaps his prize even has an enormous rack of antlers. The anticipation is almost too much to bear.

            Leroy inches closer and closer. Suddenly, his heart sinks and his stomach ties in a knot. Leroy is overwhelmed with grief. A cold sweat builds on his forehead and his heart races. Laying on the ground in a pool of its own blood is no prized whitetail buck. It is the dead body of a fellow hunter wearing a dark brown camouflage.

A hunter wearing proper orange coloring

Bibliography: Kincaid Mahabharata 

Author's Note: I crafted this story from an excerpt of Kincaid's Mahabharata.This section is where Krishna is meditating in the forest. While he is meditating, a hunter in the forest believes that he is a deer and shoots him. This stood out to me because I am from rural Oklahoma and deer hunting is a favorite hobby of many people in the fall. During the hunter safety course, it is discussed how relatively easy it is to mistake people in the forest for animals and accidentally shoot them. This is why wearing hunter's orange is such a big requirement while hunting to provide an indicator to other hunters in the forest. My story is the story of an old man with poor vision hunting in a dense fog. He mistakenly shoots another hunter in the forest. This is similar to what happened in the Mahabharata reading for this week. 

Reading Notes: Kincaid Mahabharata Part B

There is one very small part of this section of the reading that stood out to me. This section is where Krishna is meditating in the forest. While he is meditating, a hunter in the forest believes that he is a deer and shoots him. This stood out to me because I am from rural Oklahoma and deer hunting is a favorite hobby of many people in the fall. During the hunter safety course, it was discussed how relatively easy it is to mistake people in the forest for animals and accidentally shoot them. This is why wearing hunter's orange is such a big requirement while shooting. I could take this concept and craft a short story about this very type of incident happening. I believe it could be a realistic story that is both tragic and engaging.

Hunter orange 

Bibliography: Kincaid Mahabharata

Reading Notes: Kincaid Mahabharata Part A

I found this telling of the Mahabharata to be a very fun read. One segment that stood out to me was the segment about Hidimba. The Pandavas have fled into the forest. Bhima is watching over the members of the family while they sleep. There is a monster called Hidimba watching the scene and planning to eat and kill them. However, when Hidimbi sees Bhima, she experiences love at first sight. She turns into a woman and warns Bhima about her brother Hidimba. Brim then kills Hidimba and goes off with Hidimbi. I feel that this story would provide a great opportunity to retell a story using modern characters and settings. This could be the story of two families who were grown up to feud with each other. The members of one family hatch a plot to sabotage the other family, but one girl falls in love with a boy from the other family and prevents the evil plan from happening. This is similar to what happened in the reading and would provide a great opportunity for some creativity.

Bibliography: Kincaid Mahabharata

Bhima