Famous Last Words: Syllabus Week

So my second semester of my sophomore year just started. So far so good! All of my professors seem nice and knowledgeable (which is always a good thing for a professor at a university). I recently changed my major so I am enjoying what my new “life” has to offer. I am really enjoying my schedule for this semester. It begins at 8:30 (which is pretty early for me) but finishes at 11:45! That means I can come home and take a nap if I wanted to!

This week there was no reading for this class. Tomorrow I start reading the Ramayana. I’m looking forward to that. My favorite writing that I did for this week was my introduction to myself. I had a fun time writing about my life and sharing it with my classmates. It also gave me an excuse to look for cute pictures of all of my animals to include in the post! My group for this first week consists of some great people and writers! They seem so talented and I am looking forward to reading more of their blog posts.

This week in the real world was pretty crazy! Donald Trump was sworn in as president and a lot of people had very strong opinions of the whole ordeal. I actually watched some of the inauguration. This one the first one that I actually remember/was able to watch live. Since my classes get out so early I was able to watch it. The last inauguration happened during a high school school day, so I couldn’t watch. I hope President Trump serves this country well.

For the upcoming week, I am going to try to get my course work for this class finished as soon as possible! I need to make this class a priority and I plan on executing that this week!

A cat completing their assigned blog posts for the week!

Tech Tip: Blogger Template!

Attention! I have changed my blog template!!

Not very exciting news but you can do it too! It's very simple! Click template on the left hand side menu and just click on the different ones until you find one that you like (except don't use Dynamic Views). The one I chose is a blue sky with a dandelion and grass. I thought that it was aesthetically pleasing and just super cute! 

Thanks for checking out this blog post! 

Dandelion

Growth Mindset

Carol Dweck's idea of growth mindset is really important. I think that she provides an alternate way of learning and developing.

Last semester I was in physiology and my professor gave us an extra credit assignment that was all about the growth mindset. It was a website where you took a quiz and it told you if you had a growth, fixed, or in between mindset. It was very eye opening. My results showed that I was in between. It mentioned how I was not using my full potential and that really made me think. I always thought of myself as trying the best I could and using every tool to learn, but these results allowed me to see that this isn't always true. After analyzing the results, I tried to learn and study in different ways and it helped! It helped me see that if I fail or don't do the best on an assignment, it doesn't define me but should rather push me to do better next time.

growth mindset

As previously mentioned in an earlier blog post, I just switched majors! My goals for this semester include trying to get a 4.0 GPA. I have yet to reach this goal in college and I really hope that I am able to achieve it! Following the growth mindset will help me reach this goal!

Time Strategies!

I would say that I am decent at managing my time. I always get my work done in a timely matter, it just may be completed at a time later than I had originally planned. After reading 11 Ways Unsuccessful People Mismanage Their Time, I was able to see some ways to help me be better at time management.

The title of the article I read seemed a little harsh, but it was very informational and I am glad I chose to read this article! I can relate to quite a few of the examples in the article. The first one I noticed is the section about keeping a good record. I usually take notes in my phone to what I need to accomplish that day, but this is not the best strategy. I plan on going to Target and buying a nice planner so I can physically write in it and make it an important part in planning my day. Another example I related to was about procrastination. I tend to work ahead on most things, but when I don't it bites me in the butt. This semester I have noticed that most of my assignments for all of my classes are due on Sunday, so it will be very important to get work finished ahead of time so I am not cramming at the end of my weekend. An interesting part of the article says "They don't have rituals". This refers to getting up and have your daily cup of coffee or anything along those lines. I often find myself playing my day by ear rather than following the same exact routine. This week I will try to begin a ritual (such as treating myself to Starbucks after class) and see if this improves my time management!

Motivation

In the article it states that some people do not allow themselves to have fun time. This is the opposite for me. I feel as if I give myself too much fun time. This includes watching too much Netflix or going on Hurts runs with my roommate. I should manage this more. I know I need to allow myself to have fun, but it needs its limitations.

After reading the article, I have seen what changes I need to make. Hopefully I will be a better time manager and thus become a better student!

Reading Options

For Week 2, I plan on reading the online version of the Ramayana. This is the best option for me because I find myself studying at my apartment rather than at the library. Making a special trip to the library would be okay, but I would rather not have to. I also like the idea of having the audio files available because it will be nice to take a break from reading and just listen. Topics that I am interested in include people trying to gain power, whether it be through war, love, or or friendship. I have never read any Indian literature before and it’ll be interesting to see the difference from American literature. The only mythology that I have read was required my freshman year of high school. It was centered around Greek mythology and we had to read The Odyssey. It was really fascinating! I have always been somewhat interested in Indian culture because I have a good friend, named Tarun, that was born in India and moved to America when he was a kid. He often talks about his times in India and I find it fascinating how different it is to the way that I grew up. 

Manthara

I have seen pictures before that are similar to the one above. They often have red eyes and very large body features. The pictures always tell a story. I find this picture interesting because the man looks very fragile but has gold jewelry which to me shows that he is powerful. 

I look forward to reading the Ramayana next week!

Storybook Favorites

A Daily Recount of My Ruff Life

This Storybook is about a dog, named Mercedes, and her life. Throughout the story book, it switches from the owner’s perspective to the dog’s perspective. I am unfamiliar to this topic. I have never read any of Aesop’s Fables. I like the creative freedom that the author takes when writing from the dog’s point of view. Just from the title you can assume that the storybook is about a dog because of the word “ruff”. This gives a clue as to what the reader will be in for! The introduction was great. The author has created a fun storybook that will be interesting to read because who doesn’t like dogs?! This idea is innovative and original. The author incorporates plenty of pictures which is great. I like the design of the layout because it is simple and you can easily find a new story to read.

Cedie

A Maine Coons Life in a Hawaiian World

This storybook is about a Maine coon named Phylix. The stories are based around Hawaiian folk stories. I am not familiar with any Hawaiian folk tales so this storybook will be interesting to read. I like that it will be told from the cat’s point of view. The introduction does a great job of discussing what the topic is and how the author can transform those tales to modern day cat stories. It is creative to have it from the cat’s point of view and that opens up a lot of doors. I like the names of the others stories that are incorporated in the storybook. It is simply all about Phylix and her introduction to a Hawaiian world (hence the title). I like the sitemap at the bottom of the side menu as this creates another option to easily find all of the stories.

Phylix and kitten Oliver

The Villains' Side

This storybook is about the Big Bad Wolf, Evil Queen from Snow White, and Helena from Hansel and Gretel. I have heard of all of these stories before. They are classics! I have just never heard of them from the villains’ side. This is a cool concept! The title did a good job of telling what the storybook was about because it is named “The Villains’ Side”. The introduction does a great job of explaining the topic and explaining what the stories will be about. The author added a twist by making it from the opposing side of what we are used to hearing. The layout is simple but effective. It is easy to navigate and easy to see where to go to next. In my storybook, I want my page to be easy to navigate like this one.