Portfolio Index

The Girl of the Forest - The loss of something held dearly can be devastating. So much that it can change even the simplest of creatures. 

The Mad Monkey - Have you ever felt as though you were the only one seeing clearly? That frustrating revelation can be enough to make you mad!

The Dream - Our soul can be a lot more intuitive than our mind, and often times that can be reflected in our dreams. Is Bharata's dream just a dream, or an omen?

The Magic in Music - Music can be a powerful tool that brings people together and puts peace in our hearts. Not even death is a match for the healing powers of music.

What the Water Taught Me - We can be our own worst enemies when it comes to guilt. But through self reflection, and a little help, forgiveness can be obtained.

Thank you everyone for the kind comments on these stories! They were (for the most part) a pleasure to write! My personal favorites are "The Girl of the Forest" and "The Magic in Music". 

Online Education Review

I have taken only two other online course before this one. I would have happily taken more, however they usually fill up rather quickly. I think that for students, online courses are an excellent opportunity to exercise their time management skills as well as a convenient way to complete credit courses around hectic work and family obligations.

However...most online courses are nothing like this one. Seriously Laura, you should write the book on how to teach an online class. Most professors or instructors just post slideshows, assign note-taking and reading assignments and require that you post on the discussion board and submit papers. This is not a good plan. You can't just teach an online course like you would in a classroom. The way this class was set up was really amazing. Everything was clear cut, laid out, organized, fully explained. There was opportunity to earn extra credit in ways that applied outside the classroom, like how to navigate popular social media sites and search engines. I really felt like Laura cared about both our education on Indian Epics as well as gaining outside knowledge that could help us in our personal and professional lives. That is why this class is so successful and so many people rave about it!

I would only take more online courses if they were set up like this course! I realize every instructor has their own teaching style, and they could certainly adapt their online course to their own style. But having a basic structure like this class would really improve their students' ability to do well and to class and, more importantly, to enjoy it! Maybe other students had aspects of this course that they didn't like, but it was really spot on for my learning style and I always felt like Laura wanted me to do well and to succeed.

Laura, you're awesome! (Source)

Gen Ed Review

I am going to try my best not to be completely biased in this post, however I do still hold some bitterness. I get the Gen Ed requirements that colleges have. I mean, I get it! You want to make sure that everyone is one the same level when they come into college. You don't know what their high school was like or what they've been taught for the past twelve years. You want to make sure that standard information has been ingrained in their heads. While it's been a long time since I've taken my Gen Ed classes, I will do my best to remember them.

If I recall, I enjoyed my Gen Ed English courses. They were a good introduction to college writing and a way to warm up your skills for the endless amount of pages you would have to write for the rest of your time in college. My math Gen Ed was a piece of cake because I only needed one semester for my major - a GODSEND for somebody like me. Science was actually pretty enjoyable, since I got to take astronomy and botany. I'm not the best test taker but the classes were kind of interesting for me.

Here's where I get all bitter: history Gen Ed at OU is the worst class I have ever taken. And I had to take it twice. The first time I took it was the second semester of my freshmen year and, I will admit, I got lazy. I didn't show up to class all the time and the attendance policy/missed pop quizzes led me to fail. Okay, so I take responsibility for that. But I will say that the quality of the class was dull. History is such an awesome topic and should be taught to it's full capacity! Not in a room with almost 150 students in lecture format for an hour and a half. I need some discussion on a smaller scale. I need to know you actually care about teaching this subject. But the monotony in your voice could put a 7 year older on a sugar high to sleep in about 30 seconds.

So I failed. And the next year I took it again. And boy did I have the exact opposite problem here. The class size was better - maybe 50 or so students. But this professor taught like he was a kindergarten teacher. I felt as though I left that class dumber than when I went in. I realize, of course, these are all just excuses. I ended up passing (BARELY) with a D. But I was happy to have it done with. Anyways, most people I talked to about it said they took their Gen Ed history at a community college because they heard the one at OU was so bad. I wish someone would have told me that earlier!

Sorry for the rant!

View from my balcony!

College Writing Review

Although I won't be graduating with this major, the majority of my college career has been spent taking classes for a Letters degree, which can be best described as literature, history, and philosophy. In reality, the philosophy part was not as much of a major role as the literature and history, but still came into play now and again.

Needless to say, I did a lot of writing over the past 5 years. Not all of it I enjoyed, but there were some memorable prompts here and there. Only a small part of my writing experience was in the form of in-class essays (which, by the way, I absolutely despise). In those instances, I do not judge my quality of writing at all. Although, admittedly, I think my knowledge of the general functions and structure of essays helped me in times when I didn't know the answers as well as I should have.

The majority of my writing consisted of midterm and final papers. For a long time, I felt as though giving page requirements was one of the worst things a professor could do when assigning an essay. Who is to say that I cannot fully and knowledgeably answer an essay question in four pages rather than six? In the end, it usually led me to being redundant and repetitive and overall lessened the quality of my work. But on the flip side, when it was a topic I was truly interested in I felt that a twelve or twenty page requirement pushed me to do more research.

My capstone paper, although the longest, was not the most intensive or challenging paper that I ever wrote. Last semester I took a class called Gender and the Constitution and my final paper discussed the way twentieth century men use physiology to determine social and political norms for women, especially when it came to their professional abilities. That was likely the most most difficult paper I had to write only because the topic was so fascinating and there were so many parts to it that I don't feel I had enough time to really include everything and therefor have a well thought-out paper.

This class is the first class that has ever required me to write fiction. While some may not think that has any place in an academic setting, I think it was hugely successful in pushing my mind outside of the small, confining box that is everyday higher education. There is certainly more to the world than writing research papers and memos and e-mails. This class showed me that writing can actually be an enjoyable experience, not just a way to make a passing grade. In most academic writing, the point is to prove yourself and your opinion to the reader. In this class, the writing is to express your opinion and present it to the reader. Whether they agree with it or not is completely up to them! And the story is no less a story if they don't quite like where you went with it. Good writing can still be appreciated even if you don't necessarily like the characters or the storyline.

Happy puppy picture, because why not? (Source)

Week 14 Famous Last Words

So quickly has the semester flown by, even for someone like me who is only taking one class. It has really been a privilege to take this course and be able to read so many great stories, both by students and ancient authors. And being able to see my own progress as a writer was something I never expected. Granted, everyone could be just blowing smoke when they comment on my stories, but they seem to really enjoy them. I have never considered myself a writer, but as I did storytelling posts every week I found myself really influenced by my personal life as well as books I was reading at the time. I can see how writing fiction can be outlet for some people. For me,  reading has always been a way to escape reality. But now I can see that writing fiction can just as easily be an escape, as well. You get to create your own world and people and have the ability to make things happen the way you truly wish they could happen. It is a powerful tool.

I have finally settled into my apartment in Texas. I am really surprised at how quickly it has become home to me. I feel so completely at ease when I am here. Maybe it is because I now have family nearby, and they were able to help me put the finishing touches on the place. Either way, I feel very good about this decision (which isn't always the case haha) and am happy I made it.

Source

I have still been reading a lot lately, which I hope I can continue. I just finished a really great short novel by Neil Gaiman called "The Ocean at the End of the Lane". If you have never heard of him, you've probably seen the movie adaptations of his books "Coraline" and "Stardust". He is truly talented in creating a fantasy world that is so closely intertwined with reality. After that I read "The Museum of Extraordinary Things" by Alice Hoffman, which I enjoyed but not nearly as much as Gaiman's book.  Now I am reading "The House Girl" by Tara Conklin, which is an interesting story that has two narratives: one of a young slave in 1850s Virginia and another of a young lawyer in present-day New York. It was slow at the start but I'm about 2/3 through it now and I like it.

I hope that finals week coming up is not too stressful for everyone. I know the experience varies for everyone, but I hate to see people ruin themselves and their sanity for the last two weeks of the semester. Stay calm and do your best! That's all that can be done.

Week 14 Reading Diary A: The Panchatantra

The Panchatantra

Numskull and the Rabbit

• I can understand the animals wanting the lion to stop eating their kin, buuut he's a lion. Is he supposed to be a vegetarian?
• Okay, all these interjections of sayings and morals is really annoying. How can you enjoy the story?
• Usually the trickster is a bad character, although here he is acting out of good
• This kind of reminds me of Narcissus and his reflection

The Ungrateful Man

• Wait, what?? Why was the goldsmith arrested! He was just reporting what he knew. It was the king who jumped to conclusions and said the Brahman must have killed the prince. 
• In reality, the snake is the hero here. The Brahman didn't do a thing
• What's the story with the prince?

The Plover Who Fought the Ocean

• I don't quite see how the story of the turtle and the birds relates to the plover and his wife. Is she trying to tell him to talk less? Or just that he is stupid?
• Those are some pretty interesting names for fish

Fishermen, from 15th century Latin Panchatantra (Source)

• SERIOUSLY, I don't get why she's telling her husband these stories. No connection whatsoever. 
• I guess the lesson is don't be stubborn and arrogant and you should probably listen to your wife more often. 
• Aw, poor elephant. It's no his fault! He shouldn't be punished 
• 
  

UnTextbook Online Reading Options

Device: Windows desktop

Browser: Google Chrome

Best Option: Internet Archive, Google Books, and PDFs were equally accessible and easy to use

Worst Option: Hathi Trust

Reading Online: Most, if any, of the reading I do on a computer or tablet is purely academic. The reason for this is because textbooks are normally much cheaper to buy and faster to access via the Kindle app rather than buying the physical book. Also, when it comes to searching for something specific, having an electronic version is really helpful. You can search the entire text for whatever you're looking for! That being said, I really don't prefer to read online. When I read for pleasure, I always buy or borrow the actual book. I mean, there's no better feeling that turning that last page!

Taking Notes Online/PDF: Taking notes while reading has always been a pain to me, even when I have the physical book. I don't like having to put the book down, write my thoughts, double check page numbers, etc. Highlighting is usually my go-to method. And with PDF or Kindle versions of texts, doing that is really easy! It's one of the things I do actually like more about electronic books. Whether I am using a PDF or Kindle app, I usually just highlight and then use the sticky note insert.

Hard Copies: If I had an unlimited amount of storage and money to print out readings for class, I totally would! 8.5 x 11 printer paper packets are really easy to use to highlight and take notes in the margins. However, doing that would just be insanely expensive and probably not very environmentally friendly, so I don't do it often.

Hathi Trust: What I don't like about this source is that, even when viewing full screen, when you zoom in to make the text bigger you have to scroll on the screen. I'd rather I could zoom in and fit the page to the screen. Also, these are obviously scanned images of a hard copy. The problem I have with that is the font used in a lot of the older texts can be really hard on the eyes and doesn't really translate on the digital screen.

Internet Archive: This source basically solved the issue I had above about being zoomed in and fitted to the screen. Yay! And the black background here, as opposed to Hathi Trust's white background, doesn't make my eye hurt as much.

Google Books: I think changing the text colors from that yellow/gray combo to the black/white combo made it easier to read. It's the little things!

Week 13 Extra Reading Diary: Raja Rasalu

Raja Rasalu

• It seems to be a common motif that there is one good wife/mother and one bad wife/mother. Maybe this is why monogamy works...
• Raja Rasalu's followers are a big contrast to Rama's followers: they are few in number and are frightened by his power, not in awe of it
• I don't quite understand why the guards and old woman won't readily allow Rasalu to go in place of the son to be sacrificed to the giant. What do they care who it is?
• giants being fought - always reminds me of the stories of knights of King Arthur. I took an Arthurian literature class and read tons of these stories

Raja Rasalu bringing the sacrifices to the giant (Source)

• Sooo Raja Rasalu isn't really doing much to fight the giants. They're just running away from him in fear. This should be rewritten to be more interesting
• These are the dumbest giants ever, although giants usually are dumb in stories
• So he just wanted to see if the Queen was really as beautiful as everyone had said? Doesn't want to marry her or anything? This guy is a strange character for sure. I imagine the queen became love sick, like Sita when she saw Rama. 
• Oh okay so he just kind of FELT like being a king and took this kingdom from someone else?? Who the hell is this guy! 

The Dice and the Cricket

• Raja Rasalu kind of seems like a wizard. He did just bring a guy to life like it was nothing
• Hmmm interesting. Magic dice made of graveyard bones. That could be a story somehow

The Maidens Test Rasalu

• A guy has to pass the approval of 69 of this girls closest relatives? Psh, sounds like my family. 
• I gotta say, he's realllly not doing a great job of sucking up to these sisters

Week 13 Reading Diary B: Khasi Folktales (cont'd)

Khasi Folktales

The Leap of Ka Likai

• WTF this guy is seriously messed up. And people say women are over-emotional?
• Honestly, if I learned that I had just eaten the flesh of my own child, I'd probably go crazy, too. 
• Storytelling idea: the mom goes insane and the child comes back to haunt the step father

What Caused the Shadows on the Moon

• Interesting that both water and fire are girls. They probably felt a little neglected here
• This is such a cool story! I love that the sister throws hot ash in her brother's face
• Oddly enough, the moon is normally portrayed as female and the sun and male - why is it switched here?  

The moon (Source)

U Ksuid Tynjang

• This would make an INSANELY scary horror film. Creeeeeepy
• U Ksuid seems more like he should be a sympathetic character rather than the antagonist
• But really...tickling to death? What is this?

Week 13 Reading Diary A: Khasi Folktales

Khasi Folktales

The Tiger and the Monkeys

• I have literally always wondered why the lion is the king of the jungle...here it is the tiger, but still, I have an answer now!
• For being a wild and unruly bunch, I am impressed by their diplomatic counsel to choose a king
• Interesting that the king is chosen based on physical strength rather than wisdom or merit. What if we chose our leaders based on that? (Ahem Arnold Schwarzenegger)
• Brains over brawn, I've always said 

The Legend of the Lei Tree

•  What would the world be like had the wood cutters not listened to the wren, and the tree covered the entire world in shadows?

Lei tree (Source)

Hunting the Stag Lapalang

• This reminds me of something I heard on the radio once. A woman was talking about how much our culture and society holds onto the dead for as long as possible (tombstones, burials, funerals, etc.)

The Goddesses Ka Ngot and Ka Iam

•  Basically the tortoise and the hare

U Biskorum

• This like the story of original sin, except I like this way better because the people are punished as a group. They all messed up, not just one person
• How could I tell the story of Adam and Eve with this plot? 

The Stag and the Snail

• Again, this is very much like the tortoise and the hare! Must be a really important lesson to people for it to be retold so many different times

Week 11 Famous Last Words

For those of you who celebrate it, Happy Easter! Or, as we say in Italian, Buona Pasqua! And for those of you who don't, well...Happy Sunday! This is the best day of the week, in my opinion. For me ans my family, Sundays are always the day to veg out, eat a lot of good food, and stay in your pajamas all day. It's been rainy and dark here in Texas, but that's fine by me. I like the rain.

Easter has some very delicious traditional dishes that we make. While most people will eat ham on Easter, Italian will usually eat lamb or goat. It's pretty good! However, this year we're going easy and just having a nice dish of pasta. But there's plenty of food to snack on until the main course. My personal favorite is pizza gaina:

Pizza gaina, Personal Photo taken 4/5/15

It's a traditional Easter pie, but don't be fooled by that word; it's not sweet. It's filled with ricotta cheese and diced ham. The crust is thick. It's not flaky like a pie crust, but more like a biscuit type texture. Sooo good. But if you're looking for a sweet pie, well then you want pizza dolce:

Pizza dolce, personal photo taken 4/5/15

This is a dessert dish that's very easy to make as it has few ingredients. It's basically just sugar, ricotta and some kind of flavored liqueur. Ricotta has very little taste, which is why it can be used in both savory and sweet dishes. It's that cheese you usually put in lasagna. Of course, we also have sweet bread:

Sweet bread, personal photo taken 4/5/15

It's basically just bread that's sweet! Very tasty. And yes, those are hardboiled eggs in the middle! My mom and auntie also did a really beautiful job decorating the table.

Other than that, live has been a little crazy. I broke my lease for my apartment in OKC and will be moving to Frisco this Friday! So if anyone wants to help me move around 10 AM, you'd be a hero ;) haha. The apartment I found here in Frisco is really beautiful, and the best part is that it has a balcony! None of my apartments have ever had one, even though I think it's one of the best amenities you can have. Work has been a little blah. The project I'm working on involves pretty tedious, monotonous work. So you have to do what you can to keep yourself entertained.

I can't believe there's only four more weeks of this class left! I know for many other students that's probably a huge relief, but since I am only taking this one class I'm disappointed that it will be ending soon. I would definitely continue to take classes one or two at a time if I could, but it's pretty expensive that way. Just this class alone cost me $1,000! I love learning, but I'm unhappy with the way our country puts its students in debt. Ah well, what can I do!

Hope everyone has a great week!

Keyboard Tech Tip

Buona Pasqua!

Italian for "Happy Easter"

I used the Italian Keyboard at TypeIt.org to write 'Happy Easter!' in Italian. Now, these words don't have any accents over the letters, so I didn't necessarily have to use it. But a lot of Italian words DO use accents, so it's a good tool to have!

And just for fun, here is a short little video about Easter in Italy with other phrases and traditions. 

Week 11 Storytelling: The Magic in Music

“Happy Birthday!” Olivia’s father boomed as he walked through the kitchen door, a large wrapped parcel in his hands.

Smoke from the candles Olivia just blew out still lingered in the air as her mother began cutting pieces for everyone.

Olivia’s eyes lit up at the size of the package. Her father set in on the table in front of her and she immediately began tearing off the wrapping paper. Pieces flew everywhere as her parents looked on with loving smiles. Olivia unwrapped an old leather case. It smelled musty and was practically falling apart at the rusty hinges. Hesitant, she looked over at her father. He urged her on with a look and, with much difficulty, she unlocked the case and swung it open. Nestled between two layers of silk was a fiddle.

Now, to the eyes of a ten-year-old, the instrument was no more than a weird-looking guitar made of wood and string. But the instrument was in fact one of immense beauty. Etched coils and curves followed the outline of the fiddle. At the middle of the instrument, a young woman’s face was carved with skillful detail. Despite its obvious age, the thing boasted a smooth, finished surface. The strings seemed to glint in the light like fine, silky hairs. And Olivia sat staring at it, unimpressed.

“But, I don’t even know how to play,” she began to whine to her father. He just chuckled and moved closer to pick up the instrument himself.

Fiddle

“Ah, you’ll learn in no time, my dear. I was just as unskilled as yourself when I first got it. Though I’ll admit, most of the time I felt as though it made the music on its own.” He gently began to play, producing the saddest, sweetest sound Olivia had ever heard.

Over the next few months, Olivia began to practice every day. She learned at an almost alarming rate and, before long, was playing almost as well as her father. Her mother was astounded at how quickly she picked up the skill, but somehow her father was not surprised. 

Some years later, Olivia's father became very ill and passed away. Devastated by the loss of her father, she could not even think to pick up her beloved fiddle to play. Weeks went by and it sat in her room, collecting dust. Eventually, she moved it to the back of her closet. Seeing it was a constant reminded of her father and his absence. 

One night, not long after her father's death, Olivia lay in bed. The sun was slowly falling below the horizon and the stars began to twinkle gently in the sky. Drifting somewhere between sleep and consciousness, Olivia heard music playing. Thinking she was dreaming, she let the soft, sad tones lull her into a peaceful safety. She did not cry or smile, but just lay quietly. The music became louder. Olivia opened her eyes. Was she awake or was this a dream? She couldn't tell. The music was coming from her closet. She silently approached the door and opened it. The music suddenly stopped. She looked curiously into the closet but saw nothing. She shrugged her shoulders and closed the door. 

She turned to lie back down only to find a young woman sitting on her bed. Slightly startled, Olivia jumped back against the closet door. The young woman started up. 

"Please, do not be afraid. I am not a stranger. In fact, we know each other very well. I am Lyla, the gift your father gave you many years ago."

Olivia looked at the woman skeptically. "Are you trying to tell me you're a fiddle?" she asked. 

Lyla chuckled. "I suppose it does sound silly, but it is the truth. Or partly, anyways. I am a human, undoubtedly. But I reside in the fiddle. The one you cherish so much. The one your father cherished so much before you." Her tone was sympathetic and warm. 

Olivia's skepticism faded at the mention of her father and tears brimmed her eyes. 

"Please do not cry," Lyla pleaded. "I loved him too, very much. Never before had I been played or cared for so lovingly and carefully. Only you have proven to be a more attentive caretaker."

The two sat on the bed in silence for a few moments. "Would you like me to play your father's favorite song for you?" Lyla asked. Olivia did not respond, but lay down in silence and closed her eyes. 

Lyla put her hand over Olivia's and began to hum a familiar tune, one that Olivia's father used to sing to her when she was a child. With that, the two girls both drifted into sleep to the swell of the sweet, sad song.

~~

Author's Note: This story is based on "The Magic Fiddle" from the Indian Fairy Tales unit of the Untextbook. In the original story, a sister lives with her seven brothers and their wives. As a result of a curse the women had placed on the sister, she drowns and is transformed into a Bonga. (At first, I didn't know what a Bonga was. However, Laura informed me that they are basically a kind of spirit or fantasy-type creature. They can be almost any kind of spirit). She then reappears as a bamboo and is cut down and made into a fiddle. The fiddle ultimately ends up in the hands of the chief and, every day, the Bonga girl would come out of the fiddle and make dinner for the household. Eventually she is caught by the chief and somehow she became both a human being and a Bonga and they married. 

I decided the twist this story a little bit because when I read it I thought,  "How awful would it be to be stuck in a fiddle? To be an object and be passed around without any say?" Here, as in the original story, she doesn't seem to mind being in a fiddle. And even more so in my story she embraces it. I tried to think of a good reason why the Bonga girl would reveal herself to someone, despite being in the family for so long and never doing it before. I thought if she had a connection with Olivia, it would make more sense as to why she appeared before her. So, I added in the tragedy of losing a father. The part about appearing to Olivia in a dream (or was it?) added a fun mystical aspect. 

Bibliography:
Indian Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs (1912).