Week 10 Tech Tip: Blogger Template.

I probably should have done this tech tip towards the beginning of the semester, but I finally figured out how to change the background on my blog! Throughout the semester I've seen someone beautifully designed blogs with all sorts of colors, pictures, and high-tech customization. I kept thinking to myself WHOA! How did they do that? Well here I am browsing through the tech tip challenges when I noticed the blogger template assignment. It was right in front of me the entire time! I just changed the background of my blogs to one of the templates provided by blogger. Now my blog has a bunch of books in the background. Maybe it will make me look intelligent and knowledgeable of the world around me (not really). For those of you who haven't changed your blogger background and would like to, it's really easy! The instructions are easy to follow from the tech tip list. It took me a minute to change everything. Maybe in time I can learn how to customize my own template!

Learning everyday. Source.

Week 10 Reading Feeback: Shiva

I had to switch my reading schedule because I didn't understand the reading for Kali the Mother by Nivedita. It was a short poem that described an eerie scene with dark trees and howling winds. Someone in the poem was trying to summon Kali I presumed. Then the poem continues talking about death and terror. Then there was a line that reads "Thou 'Time' the All-Destroyer, Then come, O Mother, Come!" I became confused when I read this line because it appears that Kali the Mother is known as the All-Destroyer? What is she destroying? With all the confusion, I decided to read about Shiva.

I began to read Nivedita's Shiva, which was a more interesting read. The part that appealed to me the most was the conflict between Shiva's wife, Sati, and her father. Sati's father despised Shiva although Shiva was portrayed as a beloved gentleman. The love between Sati and Shiva reminds of the relationship between Rama and Sita. Also the names Sati and Sita confuses me sometimes. I like reading Nivedita's books. Her chapters are short and straightforward. Hopefully I can find more of her books to read!

Shiva and Sati. Source.

Week 10 Growth Mindset

For this week's post I read an interesting article called The Force of a Growth Mindset vs. The Dark Side of the Static Mindset. This article relates growth mindset to the best series ever: Star Wars. I wouldn't consider myself the biggest Star Wars fan, but I have watched all the movies more than once. My brothers and I are so pumped for the new Stars Wars movie that is coming out this December. I can't wait! Moving on, an educator who was also a Star Wars fanatic related the growth mindset philosophy to Star Wars. He also provided the two infographics below:

Yoda represents the growth mindset. Source: mrkremerscience.com

Darth Vader represents the static mindset. Source: mrkremerscience.com

For those of you who are not familiar with Star Wars (you must watch it), the green character is named Yoda. He was Luke Skywalker's apprentice. In order to teach Luke the Jedi ways, Yoda taught Luke to see the world from a different perspective. Instead of fearing challenges, Yoda told Luke to trust himself and of course the Force within. Darth Vader is the villain of the series. He represents the static mindset. In the movies, Darth Vader felt threatened by anyone who is more powerful. He also allowed his fears to consume him which lead him to the dark side.

It was interesting to think back to the movies and realize how each character's actions fit the growth mindset and static mindset perfectly. Yoda believed that any challenge could be conquered if you had faith in yourself. There was no fear in Yoda's character, only wisdom. On the other hand, Darth Vader lashed out on the Republic and took his feedback in a negative manner. It really made me think how a different way of thinking could have two completely different outcomes. In other words, the way I perceive myself and my efforts could make me a Yoda or a Darth Vader.

Week 10 Storytelling: Father and Daughter

Sati: You're so unbelievable! How could you not invite my husband and me to the sacrifice ceremony? Are we not worthy gods! Am I not a worthy daughter!

Daksha: You became worthless when you married Shiva.

Sati: How dare you!

Daksha: You should have been like your sisters who married decent men! Proud men! Instead, you worshiped a god who never deserved your praise. He's trash, Sati, and you're married to it.

Sati: It's incredible how your arrogance poisons your mind, father. I'll have you know that you are the only person that speaks ill of Shiva. Shiva is beloved by all! He is the bravest god and the most benevolent. Can't you see how well he treats me? I'm in love with him, father... Why can't you accept that?

Daksha: He only agreed to marry you because he knew that you were obsessed with him, Sati! He knew that he could take advantage of your devotion. Look at what he has done to our relationship! You claim that my mind is poisoned, but it is your mind, Sati, that has been poisoned by Shiva's words. He is turning you against me!

Sati: No, father, you are doing this to yourself! You have made every attempt to keep Shiva and me apart. You didn't invite him to my swayavara, yet he still became my husband. You are keeping us away from holy traditions, but we will be there!

Daksha: I refuse to allow you and your abomination ruin the ceremony! You cannot and will not attend. That is final, Sati!

Sati wanted to scream at the top of her lungs, but she held her tongue. She let out a deep breath and paced back and forth until her head cleared. There had to be a way to reason with her father. She reminisced to the old days when her father praised Sati for her good behavior. Sati was the good child, the most innocent, and the most beloved by her father. That's why she was named Sati, existence and being of goodness. She looked at her father and spoke softly.

Sati: Father... This isn't about an invitation. This isn't about family differences. This is about you and me. Please just do it for me, Father. He's your son-in-law. He's my husband. Can't you try for me?

Daksha saw how his daughter pleaded for his understanding. Her eyes were becoming misty out of desperation. Daksha looked away.

Daksha: Sati, you were no longer a part of this family when you married the man that disrespected me. What we had before as father and daughter died on your wedding day. Leave my premises immediately. You are nothing and no one. The memory of you will solely be of your betrayal.

Sati began to bawl and stepped away from the stranger that she once called father.

Daksha: I'm ashamed of you, Sati.

Sati's cried out in pain as her heart shattered. She was dishonored and exiled from her family. Her father's words rang in her head over and over again: I'm ashamed of you. I'm ashamed of you. I'm ashamed of you. She felt her chest become hot with a scorching pain, and smoke quickly filled the room. When the smoke cleared, Daksha saw his daughter drop dead at his feet with a burnt hole in her chest. Daksha rushed to his daughter's side and attempted to wake her up, but she was gone. At that moment, Shiva walked in.

Shiva: Sir, there was smoke coming from the room! Is Sati okay?

Sati's heart on fire. Source:

Author's note: I wrote about Daksha's and Sati's conflict over Shiva. In the original story, Daksha depsises Shiva because Shiva never paid homage to Sati. When Sati was of marrying age, she threw a wedding wreath into the crowd, and Shiva caught the wreath, making Shiva Sati's new husband. Daksha still hated Shiva, and he didn't invite the couple to a horse sacrifice ceremony that praised the gods. Sati confronted her father about his hatred towards Shiva, but Daksha refused to change his opinion. Sati became so enraged that her inner fury burned her alive, resulting in her death. I changed the story a bit with modern dialogue and made the argument more personal. Also, I made Daksha speak harsh words, but he did tell Sati he was ashamed of her in the original story. Shiva was never with Sati or Daksha at the time. I added him for dramatic effect, but he does end up finding out. The aftermath isn't pretty.

Bibliography: Cradle Tales of Hinduism by Sister Nivedita (1907)

Week 10 Reading Diary B: Shiva

For part B, I read Nivedtia's other book that talks about Shiva. Shiva was described as the Great God that is holy and all powerful. He was benevolent and rarely angry (which is surprising to me because one of the first stories that I read about Shiva, he killed all the gods out of rage). Shiva accepted praise in the form of pure water and leaves or flowers. His purpose in the world was to rid ignorant souls and to shed light on Earth. Nivedita described Shiva as an omnipotent being that was protects those who are truly and sincerely devoted to Shiva. There are two concepts associated with Shiva, knowledge, and.insight or Jnanum.

Sita was described as the perfect wife for Shiva. Sati represents purity and goodness. The word Sati means being and existence, meaning in her being exists only goodness. The story went on about how Sati's father resented his daught and son-in-law (Shiva). Sati then died due to her anger towards her father. Shiva became depressed and angry with the gods once again. Interestingly, Sati was reborn as Uma. She became the daughter of a king who never resented her, instead he loved and accepted Uma. Uma still yearned for the Shiva's love and praised him.

The goddess Sati. Source: Deviant art.

Week 10 Reading Diary A: Shiva

Shiva's wife was Sati who was the youngest of 16 daughters of Daksha, chief of gods, and Prasuti. Daksha and Shiva weren't on great terms because Shiva never offered homage to Daksha. Sita was in love with Shiva though, and she praised him in secret. When Sati became of marrying age, her father held a swayavara (owm-choice) that included bachelors from all over the land except for Shiva. Sati was upset that she didn't see Shiva, so she threw her wreath in the air and called upon Shiva to receive it. Out of nowhere, Shiva caught the garland and wore it around his neck. Since it was meant to be, Daksha married Shiva and Sati.

However, Daksha continued hating Shiva. He held a gathering with all the gods and goddesses but didn't invite Shiva or Sati. Sati went anyway because that's her own house. She wasn't received well by her father. Sati tried to talk some sense into her father. She claimed that he was the only person that spoke ill of Shiva. "Shiva is the friend of all' no one but you speaks ill of him." She was so angry with her father that she said she would rather die than to be his daughter. Somehow, her fury released an inward consuming fire which killed Sati. She fell dead at her father's feet.

Infuriated, Shiva called about a demon, Virabhadra, to kill Daksha, and mutilate every god. The gods feared Shiva and called upon Brahma (creator of the worlds) for help. Brahma told all the gods to make peace with Shiva. Vishnu had to calm Shiva down and restore life to all the gods, even Daksha whose head was replaced with a goat head.

In one chapter, a hunter found a shrine of  Brahma whose eyes were bleeding. In order to stop the bleeding, the hunter took his arrow and gouged out his right eye. He then applied the eye to the image, and the bleeding stopped. Then the other eye began to bleed as well. The hunter placed his foot against the bleeding eye and cut out his left eye in order to find the spot that he could no longer see. Shiva saw the devotion of the hunter and made the hunter his greatest servant. From that day forth, the hunter was known as the Eye-Saint.

A painting of Shiva. Source: Deviant Art.

Week 9 Famous Last Words

I'm writing this post later that usual, but that just gives me more time to reflect on my week. Last week was pretty chill! It was the week after midterms, so most of my classes didn't have any heavy assignments. My midterms went very well! I made an A+ on both molecular lab and colloquium midterms which made my week! Therefore, I decided that I can give myself a break and relax. And relax I did! I watched a new show with one of my good friends, and I also spent a lot of time carving pumpkins. The pumpkin carvings came out awesome! We watched a scary movie (The Vatican) while carving pumpkins which probably wasn't the best idea to be scared and handle knives. It's okay though because we survived!

Pumpkin carvings of a skeleton, Tinkerbell, a heart, and Haunter (Pokemon). Personal Photo.

On another note, my younger brother's birthday is this coming Wednesday (Oct. 28th), and his birthday gift finally arrived at my house. I ordered him a new Asus Zenfone 2 with a black case. Erik desperately needs a functioning phone so I'm hoping he'll like his new gift.

Moveover, work went well this past weekend, except I'm still upset that no one notified me that I had off on Friday. Friday afternoon I showed up to work as usual just to see that I wasn't even scheduled for that day! Did anyone tell me? NOPE! I worked for 5 hours until I went to check tomorrow's shift and saw that I was supposed to be off. I had so much homework to do that I could've finished with my lab group. Instead, I went to work. I should have been aware of my schedule, but my boss never sent the message out and there is no way for us to check online. Lesson learned.

Overall, I had a nice week with family and friends. Weeks like these remind me of why all my sacrifices will be worth it in the end.

Week 9 Tech Tip: Postergen.com

This will be my last tech tip for quote makers which is sad because I've enjoyed making posters for quotes. For this week's quotemaker, I used PosterGen. Honestly, I'm not a huge fan. I had to indent each word so that the quote would fit onto the poster and nowhere on the website did it specify that requirement. Also, instead of automatically updating the poster as I edit, I have to click generate each time. This wouldn't be too bad, except that it takes a while to load. That could by my internet though. What I did like about PosterGen was the different types of fonts. There were several unique fonts that other quote makers don't have. Overall, I made the following poster:

Personal Poster created at PosterGen.

 I chose this quote because my best memories are of the times when I have laughed the hardest. For those of you who don't know, Charlie Chaplin was an comedy genius back in the day. He made a valid point. At one point in the day, we should have a good laugh. Don't we deserve it?

Week 9 Reading Feedback: Nivedita's Krishna

I was really worried about reading Nivedita's Krishna because there were no detailed reading guides for a reference in case I didn't understand a chapter. Surprisingly, I read the chapters just fine! I wouldn't call it the most interesting book in the world, but it definitely went straight to the point. I read about Krishna's birth, which caught my attention, and his adventures as a young boy. From Nivedita's book, I learned more than I thought about Krishna. He was portrayed as a powerful child god that played and joked around all the time. I wonder if the concept of optimism is popular in Indian culture because that what was Krishna reminded me of. He was a happy boy even when he faced the worst situations. Do you know what I did when I was twelve years old? I played with my stuffed animals and read countless Calvin and Hobbes comics (not ashamed of this at all). Then we have Krishna who defeated two demons as a baby and killed his uncle when he was twelve. Thanks for making the rest of us look bad, Krishna! Moreover, I recommend Nivedita's book to anyone who wants a quick read about Krisha's life. It's an easy read with short chapters. The chapters are available online which makes them more accessible. You can find the chapters here.

Calvin and Hobbes is another great read. Just saying.

My favorite comic book characters: Calvin and Hobbes. Source.

Week 9 Growth Mindset

One of the growth mindset challenges is to find a challenge in each class and relate them to one another. I'd figure this would be a great way to organize my problems and find a solution to each of them. Let's start with this class.

Epics of India: My greatest challenge in this class is to find the time to complete the weekly assignments. This class comes with a lot of busy work, and busy work requires time. Each week there are at least 6 assignments. If you include the extra credit then there are 13 assignments. I can't complain about the extra credit though. In fact, I'm extremely grateful that there is extra credit!

Chemistry of Beer: This is another online class I had to take to complete my chemistry minor. I had my final last week! I'm officially done with the class and completed my chem minor. I enjoyed the format of this class because we had lecture just once a week, which usually ended early, along with weekly online quizzes and discussions. No exams. My challenge with this class was that I kept forgetting about it. We had so little assignments to do each week that sometimes I forgot I was even enrolled in the class.

Pathogenic Microbiology: This class is so much fun! I love learning about pathogenic microorganisms and how to combat each disease. However, my greatest challenge of this class are the exams. Every single exam is scheduled on a Monday. This wouldn't be so bad if I didn't work over the weekend. For the past two exams, I started studying Sunday after I was off work, but by that times it's so late in the night that I don't want to study.

Colloquium - Modern Protest Movements: Colloquium is another class I struggle with because we have to read all the time. I'll admit that I neglect this class because I try getting by with reading one chapter instead of the four chapters that were assigned. However, this class only has 20 students, and we each have to discuss key points from the chapter in front of the class. Not only that but our exams are all in-class essays. That means I really need to know what I've read to do well on the exams and to gain discussion points. If I had to choose just one challenge, it would be speaking in front of the class. Every student sounds so smart and logical when they speak, but when I speak, I feel insecure and stupid. It's pretty embarrassing...

Molecular and Physiology of Microorganisms Lab: This class sucks the life out of me! I know I've already written about my struggles in this class in every post, but that's because I spent so much time on it. It is the most difficult lab that I have taken by far. I believe the class average on the quizzes is a 17%. Oh and don't you dare write in pencil for any assignment because pencil work gives you a 0. My professor hates pencil. Ink only. The lack of format of communication made lab a headache. You're given the goal of an experiment, then it is up to you and your lab group to figure out a protocol and method. There is no laboratory manual and only minimal guidance. With that being said, my lab group and I struggled. We had no idea what we were doing which reflected on our lab reports. We failed our first quiz and first notebook check. It was a disaster. The greatest challenge in this class is communication. I need to communicate with my professor and with my lab group. Without them, I'm lost.


For the first four classes listed, my biggest challenge is time. I need to prioritize my time to fit every class's need. I'm done with chemistry of beer, so I just need to manage my time for colloquium, patho and epics. I started working ahead in this class which gives me leeway. I could start taking off work the Sundays before my patho exam to give me time to study or at least begin studying a week early. For colloquium, I have to work on my self confidence and not be afraid of what everyone will think of me. I've already improved in lab. My lab group and I meet at least three times a week to work on our lab reports together, and we try to obtain clarification from our professor and TA.

Overall, I just need time.

Running out of time. Source.

Week 9 Storytelling: He's Coming

"What are we supposed to do," Devaki asked as she held her newborn baby close to her chest. "I can't bear to lose another child. My heart can't take it. Please, we have to do something."

Vasudeva paced back and forth in the prison cell, frantically thinking of ways to save his newborn son. "My Devaki, please remain calm. He won't hurt you or our baby," whispered Vasudeva. "I need time to think. I will save our son."

Devaki kissed her son's head with tears streaming down her face. This was their eight child. As told in the prophecy, the eight son of Devaki and Vasudeva will kill King Kansa in the boy's twelfth year of life. Kansa swore to protect his power to the kingdom. The moment he heard about his fate, Kansa locked up his sister and best friend in the prison cell to kill every newborn that they produced.

All of the sudden, Vasudeva spoke, "Wait, I have an idea. We will smuggle the boy out of prison! I befriended one of the prison guards. He will surely help me! We just have to hide the boy and-"

"You're taking my baby away from me?!" cried Devaki. "No! No! I won't have it! No one is ripping my child out of my arms this time! I won't be apart from my son!" She held her son so tightly that he began to cry.

"Devaki, please calm down. You're hurting the boy!" Vasudeva rushed to his frazzled wife's side to loosen her grip on the baby. "My love, don't you see? This is the only way. Your brother will kill our son if we don't send him away. Listen, my dear, I know of a nice couple out in the country that will raise our boy to be a strong and proud man. It's his only chance of survival."

Devaki looked into her husband's eyes. He always had a strong character and a stern soul, but even out of desperation, she could see the tears reaching the brim of his eyes. Devaki knew that her husband was right. There was no other way. Vasudeva quickly made the arrangements to smuggle the baby out of the prison with the help of his friend. The night progressed, and it was time for the guard to take the baby to the village.

As her final good-bye, Devaki looked down at her baby boy, kissed his forehead, and whispered, "My sweet son, please don't ever think that I have abandoned you. You are the light of my life, and I will find you one day. My heart will guide me to you." She hugged him one last time. "I love you, my dear Krishna." Vasudeva kissed his son and sent him off. The couple held each other as they saw their eight child disappear from their life.

Suddenly, heavy footsteps were coming down the dungeon stairs. The couple knew too well whose footsteps those belonged to... They could hear the footsteps approaching closer to their prison cell. The couple's heart pounded in their chest as their fear consumed them. Then silence. The gated door creaked open. A cold, emotionless voice echoed in the cell, "Where is he..."

The prison where Devaki and Vasudeva were held captive. Source.

Author's Note: King Kansa swore to kill every newborn child that belonged to his sister Devaki and Vasudeva. When the eight child was born, he glowed with several shining arms that held symbols that represented the god Vishnu. Devaki then realized that her son was the reincarnation of Vishnu, protector of the universe. In order to save their child, the couple sent their baby away to be raised by foster parents that herded cows.
       I thought Krishna's birth was very interesting. It reminded me of the plot from the Prince of Egypt (DreamWorks movie) of how the pharaoh demanded his army to kill every newborn that would destroy him. I decided to write about the emotional perspective of a couple losing their child. They been through this seven times, but I can't imagine that it would get any easier...

Bibliography: Cradle Tales of Hinduism by Nivedita (1907) 

Week 9 Reading Diary B: Krishna

Krishna is now twelve years old. He returns to Mathura, the kingdom ruled by King Kansa, with his brother. Upon entering the kingdom, there were several assassination attempts by King Kansa. One of those attempts included releasing an angry elephant to destroy Krishna, but the boy slain the elephant. After defeating all of his enemies, Krishna killed King Kansa as predicted by the prophecy. Instead of becoming king himself, King Ugrasena (the father of Kansa), became king while Krishna became a prince.

Later, Krishna runs into the Pandavas when they were competing for Draupadi's hand in marriage. Krishna befriends Arjuna, one of the Pandavas. Arjuna and Krishna became such great friends that they even fought in the battle of Kurukshetra together as Arjuna's charioteer.

 An interesting point about Krishna was that he had eight wives known as the Ashtabharya. The Ashtabharya include his first wife Rukmini, Satyabhama, Jambavati, Kalindi, Mitravinda, Nagnajiti, Bhadra and Lakshmana. That's way too many wives with such complicated names that I probably will never remember.

Overall, what I learned about Krishna is that he's portrayed as a playful boy with super human powers. He can destroy everything and anyone. So far as I read, he has only used his powers for good. Everyone who meets Krishna admires him as a leader and praise him. He is known a protector of the universe from great evil.

Krishna battling the elephant. Source.

Week 8 Famous Last Words

Praise the lord I survived my midterm week! I'm not sure how, but I did. I don't even want to think about my grades. Monday was really stressful because I spent the entire day studying for my midterms on Tuesday. After my exams, it's been smooth sailing academically. I don't know where I'm at with my social life. Although I must say that I did spend time with my brothers! That was really cool! I went home early since all my friends were busy with classes and their midterms. The best part was that I hung out with BOTH of my brothers, not just Erik (my younger brother)! It was really nice for all of us to be together again. We had a good talk about several subjects such as transgender, satire, and new movies.Also, I witnessed the process of feeding my snake! I must say that it was brutal. She has to be fed fresh food, and she's still learning how to constrict her prey. It took her a couple of tries, but she finally ate. I'd like to post a photo, but they're really graphic. I don't think too many people would appreciate it.

On a different note, I started reading about Krishna for this week's reading. I have always heard about Krishna, and I know several people named Krishna. So I finally decided to look more into this Krishna character. From what I have read so far, Krishna is like a Hindu Hercules. He's a beast! As a baby, he destroyed two demons just by playing with them. At the age of eight, he also defeated a giant hundred-headed serpent. What's crazy about him is that he plays with his enemies. There isn't an epic battle between Krishna and his enemies. He literally plays with them as if he wasn't in any real danger. Then he kills them without breaking a sweat. In short, Krishna is awesome!

My take on Krishna. A photo of Disney's Hercules. Source.

Week 9 Reading Diary A: Krishna by Nivedita

Kansa was the king of Mathura. He had a sister named Devaki and a best friend named Vasudeva. He played matchmaker and brought them together in a marriage. Then a voice from heaven told Kansa that the couple's 8th child will kill Kansa. So Kansa threw the couple in a prison and killed each baby when their were born. The 7th child, Bolarama, was hid secretly so that he wouldn't die. The 8th child was born with shining 4 arms that held symbols (battle-trumpet, discus, mace, and lotus) that represented the god Vishnu. The extra arms disappeared, and it was clear that the baby was a reincarnation of Vishnu sent to destroy King Kansa. In order to protect the new born Krishna, they sent the baby to be raised by foster parents Nanda and Yasoda in another city. In exchange, Nanda gave the couple a baby girl. Kansa knew that the prophecy said that a boy would be the death of him. Realizing that he was tricked, Kansa killed the baby girl and sent out his army to kill every newborn child in his kingdom.

Back in the other city, baby Krishna killed Putana, a demoness, by sucking the life out of her during breast-feeding. He also destroyed the tornado demon Trinavarta. When Krishna grew to be 8 years old, he was reunited with his brother Bolarama to be a cow herder near the forests.

One day in the forest, Krishna battles a hundred-headed serpent of Lake Kaliya, but to Krishna, it was just a game he was playing with a serpent. As the serpent snapped at Krishna and had the intention to kill him, Krishna felt like he was in no real danger. Unlike Krishna, his friends died by the snakes poison. It's okay though because when Krishna cried, his tears brought them back to life. In the end, Krishna defeated the snake.

Another day, Krishna told the village it'd be cool to offer praise to the mountain and the cows that protected them and given them food. The god Indra was jealous that the village wasn't offering their sacrifices and praise to him! So Indra made it rain for days. In order to protect his people, Krishna ordered everyone to pack their belongings and their cows (can't forget the cows) and to come under the mountain for protection of the rain. Krishna lifted the mountain with a single finger for shelter for his people. He kept holding the mountain high up in the sky until Indra exhausted his powers to make it rain.

Young Krishna battling the serpent. Source.

Week 8 Tech Tip: Quozio.com

For this week's tech tip, I used Quozio.com to make the quote poster below.

Quote by Unknown. Source.

The website was really simple. I think this website has the fastest and simplest way to generate a quote poster. Simply type in the quote and its author into the box provided, and the website will create pre-made font and background. Quozio creates a lot of different fonts and backgrounds to choose from so if you're not a fan of the first poster it generated, you can always pick others.

I decided to choose this quote because it describes me well. I'm always afraid of change because I feel like I'm not ready for new challenges. I think about what I have to sacrifice and that makes me even more reluctant to welcome change. For example, I didn't want to work because I knew I had to give up my weekends. MY WEEKENDS! That was such a major blow because the weekends are my days to catch up on homework and spend time with my family and friends. I finally persuaded myself to get a job, and I'm so happy that I did. Yes, I still had to give up my weekends, but I have learned so much more from working than watching Netflix. I have acquired necessary career skills, such as professionalism, communication, and teamwork, and learned so much about the healthcare system.
I was so focused on losing my free time that I never realized what I would gain from working. In the end, I'm happy that I pushed myself to a new challenge.

Week 8 Growth Mindset

I found the perfect infographic that I need to incorporate into my life! It literally lists all the phrases I use on a daily basis. Here it is:

There's always room for improvement. Source.

I know I have said every single phrase listed on the left side at least a thousand times, especially the sixth statement (math is not my friend). Growth mindset puts a strong emphasis on improvement rather than viewing mistakes as permanent failure. In order to improve my self-confidence, I'm working on shifting my perspective on my mistakes from "this-is-the-end-of-the-world" view to a self-improvement view. For example, at the beginning of the semester, I was really struggling in my molecular lab class. This is by far the most difficult lab I have ever taken in my college career. I failed my first quiz and my first notebook check which really took a hit to my grade and self-esteem. I constantly thought to myself:

"I can't do this."
"I want to quit."
"This class is too hard."

Fortunately, I had an encouraging lab group that helped me break through my slump. As a group, we focused on our short-comings and ways to improve our studying and lab reports. A couple weeks later, I aced my quizzes and had the top lap report grade. My professor even complimented on my improvement! Now I have a new way to frame my problems. Instead of putting myself down and thinking that I don't have what it takes, I try to use what I know to attempt the problem. All I need is a little faith in myself.

Moreover, I like how the infographic also lists the "I'm awesome at this" statement. This shows me that even when you are skilled, you should keep your humility. I'll admit that sometimes I think I can do anything when I feel comfortable, but then I make a mistake! Words to live by: Never let success go to your head or failure go to your heart.

Reading Plan

I decided for my reading plan that I would read stories by woman authors. My focus is mainly on Sister Nivedita. I picked woman authors for several reasons. First off, most of the online versions of books are by woman authors (most of them are by Nivedita). I wanted to learn about Krishna, and I noticed that Nivedita did have a story about the adventures of Krishna. So overall, my preferences for online sources plus a story about Krishna led me to read stories that had woman authors. I think this will be a good idea for me to branch out from a single topic and to analyze how writing style and character portrayal by woman authors.

My schedule will be as follows:

Week 9 - Kishna by Nivedita

Week 10 - Kali the Mother by Nivedita

Week 11 - Shiva by Nivedita

Week 12 - Ideal Indian Women: Savitri, Damayanti, Sati, and Uttara by Sunity Devee

I'm stopping my reading plan at week 12 because I'm sure by that time I will have reach my point goal. I might switch up the order because I'm excited to read Devee's Ideal Indian Women, but I'm conflicted because I would like to know more about Krishna.

An Image of Krishna. Source.

Reflections: Looking Forward

As I look at the second half of the semester, the best strategy for me is to work ahead whenever possible. Although I try my best to do the posts early, I usually finish the week's work and stop there. Something that I would like to try a little differently is to try to do as much work as possible until I reach my goal which is to finish early (perhaps around week 11). At the beginning of the semester, I was overwhelmed by the number of weekly assignments. Sometimes I didn't understand the directions and other times I forgot to do assignments (thank goodness for the grace period). For the second half of the semester, I need to be more aware of due dates and how they conflict with my exams for other classes. Exams tend to take priority so I end up concentrating on studying which leads to missing assignments for my online classes. On a positive note, I'm looking forward to completing more growth mindset challenges. Not that I don't like the other assignments, but I really enjoy learning more about growth mindset. I'm planning to complete multiple challenges at once so that I can complete weeks of extra credit in advance. Surely this will help me complete this course early.

For my writing skills, I'd like to work on descriptions. I've done a lot of monologues and dialogues, but now I'd like to focus on establishing a setting through description. In order to improve my writing style is to take careful notes of the reading's descriptions on setting. So for future readings, I'd like to take more notes on settings.

I can't believe it's already halfway through the semester. Where did the time go?

To the finish line! Source.

Reflection: Looking Back

Looking back at my posts, I realized that my writing style has changed dramatically by including more dialogue and chacter development. My favorite posts are definitely the growth mindset challenges and the famous last words. The growth mindset really appeals to me because I like the fact that everyone is capable of reaching their goals if they just put in the work and effort. The growth mindset memes crack me up! I love seeing the cats and the lessons that they portray. It's also interesting to see what teachers are involved in teaching growth mindset to their students. Famous last words is another interesting weekly post that I enjoy participating in. It gives me a moment to reflect my week. I like to think about how I can find solutions to my current dilemmas and post the little things that made my week. Although the majority of my posts talk about stress, hardships, and other dilemmas, I try to make sure to post something positive.

On a different note, I do most of the work for this class in the library. Every morning after class I try to finish the assignments that are due the next day so that I don't fall  behind. Except today I am falling behind because I have two midterms today! I completely forgot to make this post until I saw the reminder email. I spent my entire day yesterday studying, and I feel like my brain is nuked.

How my brain feels. Source.

Week 7 Famous Last Words

My mind is about to EXPLODE! I'm quickly trying to finish all of my online homework tonight so that I can devote the entire day tomorrow to study for my midterm exams. But I did bring this upon myself. I took off work this Saturday to go to the OU-TX game, and I'll admit that it was so worth it! I had a lot of fun! The game was really intense (I was on the edge of my seat the entire time), but it sucked that we lost. It's okay, Texas. We're coming for you next year. The Texas state fair was out of this world. That place was huge! As much as I love Oklahoma, the Texan fair was better than the Oklahoma state fair. I'm really glad I finally experienced OU-TX before I graduated. That's one event crossed off my college list! Of course, with every action comes with a consequence. I didn't study the entire weekend since I worked late Friday and today (Sunday), and since I spent the day in Dallas on Saturday. However, I would do it all over again. On a happier note, I did well on my molecular lab notebook check! These notebook checks are worth 1/3 of our grade so it's crucial that I do well on each notebook check. I was really happy with my grade. It showed me that all the work I put into this class is really paying off. I just hope that I ace the midterm coming up this week! Praying for the best.

Boomer Sooner at OU-TX! Source.

Week 7 Reading Feedback

This week I read the online book of Nivedita's Mahabharata. She was definitely a longer read. I'm not sure what it is, but the Mahabharata story did not appeal to as much as the previous epic. Nivedita definitely went into more depth in the religious aspect. She discussed passages to heaven and hell and even personified death in one chapter. I do appreciate the fact that I could understand what I was reading, but sometimes the old English put me to sleep. Now it wasn't a terrible book. I just happen to read the chapters late at night when I'm already exhausted from the day. My favorite chapter was the conflict with Yudhishthira and Indra regarding the passage to heaven with the dog. It was interesting to see how Yudhishthira gave up heaven, the one place that religious people wish to reach in the afterlife, for a dog that he barely knew. The chapter that I was least interested in was the war. I guess I couldn't keep up with all the character names, so it became confusing or who killed who. Although, I must say that Nivedita's version did explain Shikhandin's revenge plot against Bhishma. Overall, I prefer reading Nivedita's Mahabharata than reading Narayan's Mahabharata.

Drona training the Pandavas. Source.

Week 7 Tech Tip: Quotescover.com

For this week's tech tip, I decided to explore Quotescover.com (another quotemaker website). It was a simple website. You can either copy or paste the quote that you want or just type out the quote yourself. It will then ask what kind of format you'd like to create such as Facebook cover photo, Pinterest picture, Twitter cover photo, and much more. I decided to choose the Pinterest format since it made my quote look like a poster. After choosing a format, the website will automatically choose a font, background, and color, but of course you can change it to your liking. I changed my poster a couple of times until I found a combination that appealed to me. Below is the finished product.

There is more than what meets the eye. Personal photo by Quotescover.com

I decided to use this quote because it happens too often that we judge people based off of their appearance when in reality there is more to a person than their face and body. I know several people that struggle with body image (myself included) and others who aren't taken seriously because their looks. It appears that our eyes actually blind us instead of giving sight.

Week 7 Growth Mindset

For this week's growth mindset post, I began to explore cartoons and motivators that involved the growth mindset philosophy. I looked through a couple until I stumbled upon an infographic that really spoke to me.

The many faces of ingenuity. Source.

This infographic shows the process of being a genius which involves much more than just intelligence. In fact, intelligence isn't even listed in the graphic. Instead, ingenuity takes inspiration, perspiration, improvisation, aspiration, contemplation, exploration, daily frustrations, imitation, desperation, and pure elation. What I took from this graphic is that everyone who is willing to put in the work and effort to become a genius will be a genius. Every individual on this Earth is more than capable to inspire, contemplate, imitate, and much more. I also liked how the image incorporated the dark side of ingenuity such as frustrations and desperation. In every journey, there will be obstacles, but there is always a solution to overcome any obstacle. Another interesting point of the graphic are the percentages. According to the infographic, genius is 29% perspiration (the most) and 0.1% pure elation (the least). In other words, it takes a lot of work to reach your goal, but I guess that short moment of elation makes it all worth it. I strongly believe that nothing worth having in this world comes easy, and ingenuity is definitely worth having.

Week 7 Storytelling: All Dogs Go to Heaven

Up...
       Up...
              And away they go!

Carl Fredricksen ascended into the skies in his million-balloon cottage. His destination was Paradise Falls where he would be reunited with his only heaven, his late wife Ellie. He endured a long journey of enemies and storms that slowed him down, but he was determine to reach his heaven. Along his journey, he encountered a friendly dog named Dug. Although Carl wasn't the biggest fan of Dug, he decided that some company wouldn't delay his travels. The cottage took quite the beating from the long distance. Most of the balloons have either popped or been deflated, but Carl pressed on. Eventually the house crashed into the base of Paradise Falls, leaving Carl and Dug to travel to the peak on foot. Hours passed. When Carl wanted to quit, it was Dug who tugged on Carl's shirt as a reminder to keep moving forward. Right when Carl was on the verge of collapsing, Dug barked! They could see the peak! Carl and Dug rushed to the peak with rejuvenated energy, and alas, they were on top of Paradise Falls. The view was absolutely magnificent. She would have loved this thought Carl as he took out an old photo of him and Ellie. His eyes were becoming misty at the thought of her.

Suddenly, the clouds opened up and an angel flew down to Carl. The angel congratulated Carl on his long journey to Paradise Falls. The winged creature explained that the fulfillment of Carl's promise to Ellie granted him his place in heaven with his wife. Carl was absolutely ecstatic! After so many years of solitude, he could finally reunite with his best friend and one true love! Carl hugged the angel and hollered to Dug to join him! Right as Carl was about to step onto the stairway to heaven, the angel stopped him. Apparently no dogs were allowed in heaven. Carl couldn't believe it. How could he possibly abandon his loyal companion that guided him on his journey? Then again, he could never pass up the opportunity to see Ellie again...The elderly man looked at Dug with much heartache. The choice was clear: give up Ellie or give up Dug. Carl felt his heart being broken into two halves. Dug, clueless of the situation, wagged his tail and circled around Carl like a buzzing bee. The angel demanded Carl to make a decision, and quickly, because the stairway to heaven was closing. With a heavy heart, Carl knelt on one knee and gave Dug a tight squeeze while Dug licked Carl's face and nuzzled his muzzle into his chest. Carl stepped onto the stairway and noticed Dug following him. He commanded his furry companion to stay. Being the loyal dog he was, Dug obediently obeyed Carl and stayed in place. The old man looked back on Dug and saw his friend still sitting in place with his tongue hanging out and his tail wagging. Within seconds, Carl and the angel disappeared with the staircase. Like he always wanted, Carl finally made it to heaven.

Dug stopped wagging his tail once Carl disappeared. He looked around and saw no one. He looked up at the sky looking for his human, but nothing. So Dug did what any faithful dog did, he laid on top of Paradise Falls and waited for Carl's return.

Dug waiting for Carl. Source.

Author's Note: In the original story, Yudhishthira and the other Pandavas traveled up the Himalayas to reach heaven. Along the way, a dog started to follow them to the peak. One by one, the Pandavas began to die until it was just Yudhishthira and the dog. When they made it to the peak, Indra allowed Yudhishthira to travel to heaven but denied the dog. Yudhishthira refused to abandon the dog, although Indra pleaded Yudhishthira to come to heaven. It turned out that the dog was actually a reincarnation of Dharma, Yudhishthira's father. Because Yudhishthira never abandoned the dog, he passed his test and made his way to heaven.
       The story about Yudhishthira and the dog reminded me of the movie Up. So I retold the story using Up characters. From the movie, Carl traveled to Paradise Falls to fulfill his promise to Ellie that they would travel there one day. Since Ellie passed away, I made her his symbol of heaven. Carl made it to Paradise Falls and met Dug. I decided to twist the story a bit and had Carl travel to heaven without Dug. I feel like Carl would have done the impossible to see Ellie (like attach balloons to a house and fly to a waterfall), so I made his choose heaven over the dog. I often hear stories about dogs who wait for their master's return until the day the die which was Dug's fate in the story.

Bibliography: Myths of Hindus and Buddhists by Sister Nivedita (1914).

Week 7 Reading Diary B: Nivedita's Mhabharata

The feud continued between Drona and King Drupada. The king begged Shiva to give him a son to defeat his rival. So then Shiva said, "Yeah no big deal except I'm going to grant you a daughter who will then turn into a son." Fair enough. The daughter, Shikhandini, was raised as a boy named Shikhandin. Shikhandin was married off to a princess, but then her dad realized that his new son-in-law was actually his new daughter-in-law. Bummer. So then the king wages a war on Drupada. Feeling sad that everything was her fault, Shikhandin ran away and found a male spirit. They traded genders (so now Shikhandini became Shikhandin). Bhishma found out that Shikhandin was the reincarnation of Amba, a woman who was plotting revenge on him. Why? Because Bhishma was supposed to marry Amba who was already engaged to another man. So he let her return to her lover, but that guy rejected her as well as the king. She became angry, ran away, and vowed to kill Bhishma in the next life (after jumping into a funeral fire). Then the huge war between Duryodhana's army and the Pandava's army ensued. During the war, Shikhandin attacked Bhishma, and he died. Actually, a lot of people died so they had a huge funeral.

Yudhishthira and his dog. Source.

A chapter that I found interesting was the pilgrimage of death. The Pandavas and Draupadi left the world, and a dog followed them. While climbing the Himalayas, only Yudhishthira and the dog survive. Indra was prepared to take Yudhishthira to heaven, but no dogs were allowed in heaven. Yudhishthira refused to leave the dog, who turned out to be Dharma, Yudhishthira's father. So then Yudhishthira went to heaven, but noticed that his brothers, wife, and friends were in hell. He vowed to stay in hell with his family. I guess this action brought Yudhishthira and his family back to heaven.

Week 7 Reading Diary A: Nivedita's Mahabharata.

As much as I wanted to watch the film, I just couldn't devote 2.5 hours of my day watching a movie when I have so much studying to do. That's why I decided to read Nivedita's Mahabharata. The story line was about the same compared to last week's reading of the Mahabharata, but there were some interesting changes. Drona and King Drupada of Panchala have a feud going on because King Drupada humiliated Drona as a brahmin beggar. I thought that was pretty mean since they were childhood friends. Drona swears revenge so he decides to train the Pandavas along with the adopted Karna as part of his revenge plot. Arjuna and Karna become rivals.

I pity Ekalavya because everyone rejects him since he's part of a lower caste. He wanted to be Drona's pupil so badly that he but his right thumb off as a teacher's fee. He was such a skilled archer until he had to cut off his thumb. I believe he was a better archer than Arjuna, he just wasn't appreciated.

Another interesting chapter of the story was when Karna becomes king. Kunti, mother of the Pandavas, also happens to be Karna's mother. So in other words, Karna is technically a Pandava. His father is Surya, the sun god, while Arjuna's father is Indra, the storm god. Maybe that's symbolic of why they are rivals since storms hide the sun.

Back to the revenge plot, Drona had the princes capture King Drupada, who then had to give up half of the Panchala kingdom so Drona can not be king. King Dhritarashtra (father of the Kauravas) decides to replace his eldest son Duryodhana (Kaurava) with Yudhishthira (Pandava) as his successor. Out of jealousy, Duryodhana convinces his father to send the Pandavas away so that he can be king in their absence. So then Pandavas are sent to a different city in a house of lac. The plan was to set the house of fire to kill the Pandavas but the Pandavas were forewarned of the evil plan. So Bhima (Pandava) sets the house on fire while the Pandavas make an escape to make it seem like the Pandavas died in the fire. They live in hiding with disguises.

Of course on their journey they want a wife so they enter an archer's contest to win Princess Draupadi's hand in marraige. Karna wanted to string the bow, but Draupadi didn't allow him since he was the adopted son a charioteer. Arjuna wins her hand, and she's married to all five of them. Why would anyone want five husbands? That is so much work. Is she expected to cook and clean for five grown men? No thank you. Hard pass.

Long story short, Duryodhana and Yudhishthira engage in a gambling match where Yudhishthira loses everything (twice) and the Pandavas go into exile. Good job, Yudhishthira.

The Dice Game. Source.

Week 6 Famous Last Words

The worst part is waiting... Every day checking my email and waiting. The first round of med school interviews began the last week of September (for most schools), and I'm just waiting around for a miracle that grants me an interview. I try not to think about it too much, but it's hard not to when everything you have ever worked for leads up to this point. So here I am, just waiting. In the meanwhile, I finally learned the ropes of molecular lab. This class can drive me absolutely crazy sometimes, but I think I have it down. I did well on my past two quizzes, and I did decent on my first writing assignment. Because I'm investing so much time for that class, I have neglected my other classes. This class gives me a break from all the science which is a relief. I have an exam on Monday in another science course, and I haven't started studying yet. That's my fault though. I'm trying to maintain a social life, but that's becoming complicated. Everything requires time. I must sleep. I need to study, but I also need a break. Something that has been bothering is my mom's suggestions to quit my job. She mentioned quitting again this morning because she's afraid that my job requiring too much of a commitment. This is irritating because I found a job because she told me to, and I knew once school started she would want me to quit. I know she just wants what is best for me.

On a happier note, I ran into Kevin Durant last night! My friends and I accidentally took his VIP room at a restaurant. He just walked into the room and all of were so surprised! We were celebrating my friend's birthday so it was a cool gift that he was able to see one of his favorite basketball stars.

Thunder Up! Source.

 

Week 6 Reading Feedback

For this week, I read a chapter from the hard copy of Narayan's Mahabharata.
I had a hard copy from the beginning of the semester since my friend who took this class previously bought all of the books. It was a much harder read for me because I didn't have a reading guide to highlight the main points. Also, I tend to stay awake looking at a computer screen compared to reading an actual book. It must have something to do with the screen lightning, but I always fall asleep when I begin reading a book. With that being said, I struggled to read the book, and eventually had to pull up the reading guide to review what I read. However, reading the book provided more details and more background information on the characters and the plot which I enjoyed. The content that really made an impression on me was the part about the cow raid. That scene really stuck to me for some reason. I think it's because it was about cows. I even wrote my story telling post about the cow raids. To be completely honest, I enjoyed reading Ramayana more than Mahabharata, but that could be because I read more about Ramayana. Perhaps this coming week's assignments will provide a nice review on Mahabharata.

Surya the Sun god.

Week 6 Tech Tip: Behappy.me

For this week's text tip, I did another quote maker. This time I used Behappy.me. This website was also really easy to use. It took me maybe 2 minutes to create my quote. What I thought was really neat was that you can make your quote and apply it to posters, shirts, and coffee mugs. So if you're looking for a way to make a quote into a shirt, Behappy.me is the website! For my poster, I chose a quote from Charles Bukowski. I read his quote when I was feeling defeated one night. I was overwhelmed by school, and I just wanted to give up. Then I stumbled onto his quote, and it made so much sense to me. Why bother trying if you're not going to give your everything? With that said, I'm pushing myself more now than I ever have before.

Source.

Week 6 Growth Mindset

For this week's growth mindset challenge, I decided to learn more about growth  mindset with the links provided. I read an article called Creativity in the Classroom, and it was about how a teacher had incorporated growth mindset themes into his classroom. He had three techniques to encourage creativity among his students: open-ended projects, genius hour, and creative team building. Open-ended projects are self-explanatory. The teacher designed projects that allowed the students more freedom with the project instead of following a strict rubric. In his example, the teacher used presentations as his open-ended project, and the students chose what type of presentation (video, poster, class activity etc.). Creative team building is about solving complex problems with a group, however, the problems aren't your average math equations. The teacher gave his students marshmallows, pasta sticks, and tape, and asked them to create the tallest free-standing tower. Anything that deals with marshmallows, count me in! My favorite technique was the genius hour. For an hour a day or once a week, the teacher permitted his students to use classroom resources to research their passion. The students become so engaged in their genius hour, that they don't realize that they're doing homework! I like the idea of genius hour because it gives kids an opportunity to discover their passion, and perhaps, maybe even find a career that interests them at a deeper level. I really admire this teacher for investing so much of his time and resources to encourage creativity in his students. Nowadays, school curriculum focuses mainly on passing standardized exams and maintaining a high GPA. How can anyone be creative when students are taught to think the same? Study this book. Pass the test. Move forward. Does a score on an exam really define an individual? Why must we quantify everything? Several questions popped into my head as I read the article, but my main question is why aren't more educators teaching growth mindset?

Be open to new perspectives. Source.