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| Luck: Personal Meme
I
made this meme on the AutoMotivator site. The phrase "Luck is simply when
preparation and opportunity intersect" is a quote that my grandfather told
me a couple of years ago. This always stuck with me because I think there is a
lot of truth behind it. I think a lot of times it is too easy for people to
blame the success of other (or more specifically the stagnation of themselves)
on "luck". While there might be some degree of chance to it, I think
that blind luck is a very rare thing. I am a firm believer that everyone who is
extremely successful, like the Bill Gates or the US when we landed on the moon,
put in a tremendous amount of time and energy to get to where they are. It
reminds of the book "Outliers" by Malcom Gladwell. It talks about stories
of success and how those who are very successful at anything put in their
"10,000 hours". In order to be success, you simply have invest a lot
of time and energy into it and if you want to GREAT you have to put in your an
extraordinary amount of work ("10,000 hours").
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Wednesday, December 2, 2015
Week 15 Growth Mindset
Week 14 Review
My favorite part of the Week 14 Announcements was definitely the meme.
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| Go Around: Announcements
I really liked this mainly because it is funny. I definitely was not expecting to see a meme about a giant pile of manure.. haha. But, also, it is pretty true. Sometime when you see something in your path (whether that be proverbial path or literal, physical path) sometimes it is easier to just avoid it all together. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed or intimidated by something that is unimportant, so why not just avoid it all together and save yourself the time and energy?
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Famous Last Words: Week 14
This week I did was not able to complete both Readings, instead I had to use my Reading Diary A in place for B. The holidays were a crazy busy time and I was still rushing around on Monday and completely forgot. I chose another online PDE over the Buddhist tradition. The readings were very interesting, so it is a shame I was unable to complete both.
For the writing this week, I don’t think I would consider it my best work. I chose one of the stories from the reading called “The Hare Who Ran”. It was a very interesting story, but I was not able to recreate as good as I would have liked. I drew upon my childhood memories of snow days to reimagine the story. However, the snow days were some of the best times “back in the day” so I got a little nostalgic while I was writing.
As far as other people’s wriring, Heather’s storybook project really caught my attention. I don’t know how that was the first time I’d visited her storybook, but it was very well written and have a very cool layout that matched well with the overall theme.
My other classes have not been so bad this week. I had my first round of presentations, which is the first sign of the semester really coming to an end. I have spent most of this week just preparing the final two weeks of the semester, which will be filled with writing papers, presentations, and studying for finals.
Outside of school, I have to say it was very nice to be able to spend time with family last week. It’s always nice to get to spend time with people you don’t always get to see during the holidays. It definitely makes the hectic end to the semester easier to deal with.
For the writing this week, I don’t think I would consider it my best work. I chose one of the stories from the reading called “The Hare Who Ran”. It was a very interesting story, but I was not able to recreate as good as I would have liked. I drew upon my childhood memories of snow days to reimagine the story. However, the snow days were some of the best times “back in the day” so I got a little nostalgic while I was writing.
As far as other people’s wriring, Heather’s storybook project really caught my attention. I don’t know how that was the first time I’d visited her storybook, but it was very well written and have a very cool layout that matched well with the overall theme.
My other classes have not been so bad this week. I had my first round of presentations, which is the first sign of the semester really coming to an end. I have spent most of this week just preparing the final two weeks of the semester, which will be filled with writing papers, presentations, and studying for finals.
Outside of school, I have to say it was very nice to be able to spend time with family last week. It’s always nice to get to spend time with people you don’t always get to see during the holidays. It definitely makes the hectic end to the semester easier to deal with.
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| Turkey Time: Wiki Commons |
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Growth Mindset: Week 14
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| Comfort Zone: Growth Mindset Meme I chose this meme because this is something that I try to remind myself of as often as possible. Breaking out of your comfort zone is something that people talk about all of the time because it's difficult to do , and, if it was easy everybody would be doing, so the cliche goes. This is something that my dad had always told me the importance of throughout my life as well, accept he is a military man so the way he described it was "if you get too comfortable you get weak". I don't think weak is the right word, but breaking out of the norm and throwing yourself into the pit of new and foreign experiences can do nothing but better yourself and broaden your outlook on life. For me, this is most applicable when it comes to speaking in class. For some reason answering in class makes me nervous. But I know that by doing it the professor will take notice and it will only reinforce my knowledge of the course material. Overall I just think this is something that is important for many aspects of life. |
Reading Feedback: Week 14
This week I chose the Eastern Stories and Legends by Marie Shedlock. It is an online PDE. Again, I chose this version because of its convenience as being accessible online but also because it had to do with the Buddhist tales. The reading was very straightforward and easy to follow. I liked this reading because it used animals to tell the tales, something that almost always makes the situation clearer. There was no detailed reading guides for this week's selection, however it did designated several stories as ones that need to be skipped, so that helped me manage my time better. The reading came form the Baldwin Project site. It liked this a lot because it had big bold texts, so it was very easy to read and keep your place.
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| Teaching Buddha Shakyamuni: Wiki Commons |
Reading Evaluation: Week 15
I think my favorite readings from this semester would probably have to be the Life of Buddha from the Sacred Texts website. I really liked this because Buddhism is something that has always struck my attention a little bit, so it was nice to be allowed the flexibility to chose stories like this one if you felt inclined to do so. Also, it was an online, public domain edition, so I was able to read the stories whether I was at work or at home or on campus somewhere.
I found that breaking up the reading into little subheadings that correlated to the each episode within the story I was reading was very helpful. This helped keep everything organized and I knew exactly where to find the information I was looking for whenever I was working on my writing.
I found that there was a fairly heavy emphasis on reading. I know this is just a personal preference, but I think I would have been able to come up with adequate stories from doing just one reading diary per week. For example, breaking up Part One of Week 5's into two parts, so 5 episodes for Reading Diary A and 5 Episodes for Reading Diary B (since they were usually 10 a pop). As far as the comments, I felt that was well balanced. It allowed us to read other students stories, but was not overboard.
My advice for people is to take the time to find a reading selection that you actually enjoy. If you just pick the first thing you see, you might end up forcing yourself through the stories. This is take more time and will be reflected in the storytelling. But when you're genuinely intrigued by what your reading, it no longer becomes an assignment, it's just a way to pass the time, almost like a hobby?
I found that breaking up the reading into little subheadings that correlated to the each episode within the story I was reading was very helpful. This helped keep everything organized and I knew exactly where to find the information I was looking for whenever I was working on my writing.
I found that there was a fairly heavy emphasis on reading. I know this is just a personal preference, but I think I would have been able to come up with adequate stories from doing just one reading diary per week. For example, breaking up Part One of Week 5's into two parts, so 5 episodes for Reading Diary A and 5 Episodes for Reading Diary B (since they were usually 10 a pop). As far as the comments, I felt that was well balanced. It allowed us to read other students stories, but was not overboard.
My advice for people is to take the time to find a reading selection that you actually enjoy. If you just pick the first thing you see, you might end up forcing yourself through the stories. This is take more time and will be reflected in the storytelling. But when you're genuinely intrigued by what your reading, it no longer becomes an assignment, it's just a way to pass the time, almost like a hobby?
Reflections: Week 15
This class has been a wild ride. To be honest, at first I thought it was going to be a hassle because of how busy the first couple of weeks were. However, looking back on it, I'm glad those were so busy because I wouldn't have been able to navigate the course sites and blogs without them. Once I got into the groove of the reading diaries, stories, and projects, the course was totally enjoyable. There were many aspects of this course that I enjoyed, but I think my two favorite things were the storytelling assignments and the growth mindset assignments.
The Storytelling was a great aspect of the course because it allowed for some creative expression, something that is usually lacking in other college courses where you just regurgitate information. I had never considered myself to be a story teller by any stretch of the imagination. While I still think that would be a stretch, it was fun getting to sharpen those skills a little bit. Having to write one every week really made you stretch your imagination, I think that was what I liked the most about it.
The growth mindset was great for me because it was something that could be applied to all of my classes and even life outside of school in general. Those assignments really make you conscious of your attitude about what you are doing and help you channel the struggles and stress of college and change them into something positive. It is amazing how much you can get done simply by changing your outlook on the various tasks that come before you. This is something that I think is very beneficial and can have long-term impacts on a person's development.
Like I said, there was a lot of stuff about this course that I liked, but I think these two aspects were probably my favorite.
The Storytelling was a great aspect of the course because it allowed for some creative expression, something that is usually lacking in other college courses where you just regurgitate information. I had never considered myself to be a story teller by any stretch of the imagination. While I still think that would be a stretch, it was fun getting to sharpen those skills a little bit. Having to write one every week really made you stretch your imagination, I think that was what I liked the most about it.
The growth mindset was great for me because it was something that could be applied to all of my classes and even life outside of school in general. Those assignments really make you conscious of your attitude about what you are doing and help you channel the struggles and stress of college and change them into something positive. It is amazing how much you can get done simply by changing your outlook on the various tasks that come before you. This is something that I think is very beneficial and can have long-term impacts on a person's development.
Like I said, there was a lot of stuff about this course that I liked, but I think these two aspects were probably my favorite.
Week 14 Storytelling: The Worst Snow Day Ever
It was the Sunday after Thanksgiving and Stanley was watching TV by the fire with his family. Stuffed from the 3 day holiday feast, Stanley was dreading going back to school the next day. However, it had started snowing earlier in the day and Stanley’s hopes of a snow day slowly began to turn into an affirmation.
As the snow continued to blanket the streets of his neighborhood, Stanley thought to himself “School tomorrow? Psshh, no way.”
So confident in his recent mastery of meteorology, he decided to text his best friend Tommy to share the exciting news:
Stanley: Broo!! No skool 2morrow!!!
Tommy: LOL whatever Stan..
Stanley: Smh srsly! Skool is cancelled!
Tommy: Saaweeet! Xbox here I come..
Stanley: ROFL same here!!
Now, Tommy was known for being a loud mouth, so once he heard the news it began to spread like wildfire. Tommy told Christopher, Christopher told Jen, Jen group texted the whole basketball team, and within half an hour the entire 5th grade was convinced that they would be out of school the next day for a snow day.
Now, Tommy’s mom was a member of the Parent-Teacher Association at their school so upon hearing this news she became a little curious. She asked Tommy where he had heard this news and he astutely responded with, “Just trust me mom! It’s a real life snow day!”
Needless to say, Tommy’s mom was not convinced by her son’s declaration so she began to investigate. Turning on the tv, she switched it over to the news station so she could see the lists of school closings. Watching the list run through, not just once but three times, Tommy’s mom realized that her son’s school was in fact not cancelled the next day.
Upon making this realization, she knew she had to alert the school principal and tell her the situation, because if Tommy knew about the “snow day” everyone knew about it.
After calling the principal, all the families of the students received an e-mail confirming that there was indeed school the next day.
The children, grudgingly making their way to their first class were suddenly called into the cafeteria for an impromptu assembly.
At the assembly, the principal explained the situation and made sure the students realized that the only way to trust if school is cancelled or not is to monitor the school closing list on the local news station.
While the students were upset (and Stanley was embarrassed), they all learned a valuable lesson: Don’t adhere to the whimsical self-proclamations of others.
Author’s Note. This story is based off of the “The Hare That Ran Away” from Marie Shedlock’s Eastern Stories and Legends. The original story is about a hare who is eating under a fruit tree, contemplating the end of the world. Suddenly a fruit falls and the hare is concinvced that this is the end of the world. He relays the message to several hares and before you know it every animal in the forest is fleeing in a stampede, convinced the world is coming to an end. Eventually a lion gets to the bottom of the situation and reassures everyone that it was just the work of a frightened little hare. I chose to adapt this to a more modern theme with the snow day. I remember how easy it was as a child to get convinced that school was cancelled even though there was no official word of it from the school. I thought this was a story that most people could relate to, and I thought it made a good parallel to the original story. I also like the message that the story delivers. It is important to not base your assumptions off of the loose interpretations of others, who may not have any idea what they are talking about.
Title: Eastern Stories and Legends
Author: Marie Shedlock
Year: 1920 (originally published in 1910)
As the snow continued to blanket the streets of his neighborhood, Stanley thought to himself “School tomorrow? Psshh, no way.”
So confident in his recent mastery of meteorology, he decided to text his best friend Tommy to share the exciting news:
Stanley: Broo!! No skool 2morrow!!!
Tommy: LOL whatever Stan..
Stanley: Smh srsly! Skool is cancelled!
Tommy: Saaweeet! Xbox here I come..
Stanley: ROFL same here!!
Now, Tommy was known for being a loud mouth, so once he heard the news it began to spread like wildfire. Tommy told Christopher, Christopher told Jen, Jen group texted the whole basketball team, and within half an hour the entire 5th grade was convinced that they would be out of school the next day for a snow day.
Now, Tommy’s mom was a member of the Parent-Teacher Association at their school so upon hearing this news she became a little curious. She asked Tommy where he had heard this news and he astutely responded with, “Just trust me mom! It’s a real life snow day!”
Needless to say, Tommy’s mom was not convinced by her son’s declaration so she began to investigate. Turning on the tv, she switched it over to the news station so she could see the lists of school closings. Watching the list run through, not just once but three times, Tommy’s mom realized that her son’s school was in fact not cancelled the next day.
Upon making this realization, she knew she had to alert the school principal and tell her the situation, because if Tommy knew about the “snow day” everyone knew about it.
After calling the principal, all the families of the students received an e-mail confirming that there was indeed school the next day.
The children, grudgingly making their way to their first class were suddenly called into the cafeteria for an impromptu assembly.
At the assembly, the principal explained the situation and made sure the students realized that the only way to trust if school is cancelled or not is to monitor the school closing list on the local news station.
While the students were upset (and Stanley was embarrassed), they all learned a valuable lesson: Don’t adhere to the whimsical self-proclamations of others.
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| Snow Day!: Wiki Commons |
Author’s Note. This story is based off of the “The Hare That Ran Away” from Marie Shedlock’s Eastern Stories and Legends. The original story is about a hare who is eating under a fruit tree, contemplating the end of the world. Suddenly a fruit falls and the hare is concinvced that this is the end of the world. He relays the message to several hares and before you know it every animal in the forest is fleeing in a stampede, convinced the world is coming to an end. Eventually a lion gets to the bottom of the situation and reassures everyone that it was just the work of a frightened little hare. I chose to adapt this to a more modern theme with the snow day. I remember how easy it was as a child to get convinced that school was cancelled even though there was no official word of it from the school. I thought this was a story that most people could relate to, and I thought it made a good parallel to the original story. I also like the message that the story delivers. It is important to not base your assumptions off of the loose interpretations of others, who may not have any idea what they are talking about.
Bibliography.
Author: Marie Shedlock
Year: 1920 (originally published in 1910)
Week 14 Reading Diary A: Eastern Stories and Legends
The Hare That Ran Away
- Don't believe something just from word of mouth, you could be putting yourself at risk for something that isn't even true.
The Monkey and the Crocodile
- The Monkey outwits the crocodile in his own "game" of trying to trick him into getting what he wants
The Hare that was Not Afraid to Die
- Buddha reborn as a hare
- 3 friends-monkey, jackal, otter
- The hare (Buddha) and his friends are told to offer food to any beggars that they encounter. The two friends take things from other people, but the hare offers his on flesh. The true test of sacrifice
The Parrot that Fed his Parents
- The Parrot is allowed to continue stealing rice because he is doing so to provide for his elders/youth
The Man Who Worked to Give Alms
- Buddha= Vissaya
- His always give alms graciously
- The king gets jealous of him.
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| Buddha Sitting under a Tree: Blogspot |
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