I really like this image for the growth mindset idea because in order for you to feel like and be a champion in your own right you have to be able to grow from your wins and loses so that you can grow above those that seek to crush your goals and dreams.
Thursday, August 25, 2016
Week 1 Growth Mindset
One of my best friends since high school is currently majoring in Education. Since she learned about the growth mindset idea when we were sophomores shes been trying to convince me that it is something that I should try embracing. I am usually pretty hard on myself when I get something wrong or when things don't play out in the way I expect them to. I'm not good with change and I'm very critical of myself. After a total breakdown my junior year that lasted for several months I decided to give in and start trying out things that would help me build more of a growth mindset. I started taking change as something that was teaching me to get through different situations. I let every new situation be a teaching moment whether it was good or bad. I started giving my self criticism and instead of thinking that I was a failure for not being able to do certain things, I would sit and think of ways that I could either do better next time or think if there was a better more efficient way I could be using my skills. Just because someone else is good at one thing and I'm not doesn't mean that I am a failure, it means that I can't do what they can do yet. If I want to be able to do the same thing bad enough then I know that I can work to reach that goal. It may take me longer, it may be harder for me, I may fail many more times before I actually reach my goal, but the destination will be the same. And if I take each of my mistakes and failures and turn them into learning experiences, then I may come out in the end with more knowledge than someone who didn't put as much effort into the goal. Using these thought processes has helped me so much in being able to deal with everyday life. I didn't so much run on being praised from others and I did on being able to feel like I could praise myself. When I went through my breakdown I felt like I couldn't do anything right and that I was a failure in every aspect of my life. When I finally looked up the growth mindset it really turned my whole point of view around and I am almost always able to change how I see things. It allowed me to take difficult or stressful situations and turn them into puzzles rather than a giant looming storm that I felt was going to eat me up whole. I can't always maintain a growth mindset, it is something I constantly have to work on, but it has made me a much happier and much healthier person.
Week 1 Starting the Semester
My favorite thing to do anytime I start a new class at all is to go through the schedule and write down when everything is due. Since this class is a little less structured than my other classes I found it very helpful to go through the entire semester and write out what I plan to have done and when I plan to have it done by. Then, if I have enough free time I'll go through and color coat things based on their importance. I am notorious for forgetting things so over achieving on my organizing really helps me. I'm also a super visual person so the more I have on the page that is visually stimulating but is also organized (to me at least) the better off I am. There is a point where there are too many colors or just too much going on, and that's why I specify that I organize things as they make sense to me. It doesn't matter if they make sense to anyone else, as long as I understand what is going on, that's all that matters.
Day planner calendar organizer
Week 1 Reading Options
I decided to go with the second reading option for the Ramayana because I like that it is all online. I do very well when I can do the readings online. Something else that piqued my interest to chose this option was when it said that each chapter was done by a different author. I am really interested to see how the styles change from episode to episode and see how each author interprets it.
After doing some exploring I think I am going to focus a lot on Gods and Goddesses and try to focus specifically on their origin stories if I can find them. I took the Mythology & Folklore class, I think I mentioned that somewhere in another post, but one thing I really liked about that class was the huge range of stories. Some focused on animals, animal gods, regular gods and goddesses, deities that no longer are around, stories of regular people, stories that most of us grew up with, completely abstract stories that don't belong in any category, really anything! There was such an enormous selection and I feel like Indian Epics is a little narrower in terms of topics, but I am still looking forward to finding the stories that really grab my attention! I did think it was really cool that there were comic books for some of the stories though. I don't remember seeing those in the other class!
After doing some exploring I think I am going to focus a lot on Gods and Goddesses and try to focus specifically on their origin stories if I can find them. I took the Mythology & Folklore class, I think I mentioned that somewhere in another post, but one thing I really liked about that class was the huge range of stories. Some focused on animals, animal gods, regular gods and goddesses, deities that no longer are around, stories of regular people, stories that most of us grew up with, completely abstract stories that don't belong in any category, really anything! There was such an enormous selection and I feel like Indian Epics is a little narrower in terms of topics, but I am still looking forward to finding the stories that really grab my attention! I did think it was really cool that there were comic books for some of the stories though. I don't remember seeing those in the other class!
I chose this image because I enjoy the simple colors and line work that is used as well as the fact that the title paired with the image made me want to read and know the story behind it.
Krishna asking Ghatotkacha to fight
Tuesday, August 23, 2016
Week 1 Storybook Favorites
The first storybook that I found that really grabbed my attention was My Life As A Teenage Rakshasi. What I really enjoyed about this storybook wasn't so much the words but the way the intro page was set up. I liked the strange poem like style of the writing and I really liked how they used the titles of each page and put hyperlinks to them in the intro! I found it to be a little ingenious. As I flipped through the pages I also really enjoyed the pictures that were used. To be honest, I didn't completely read the storybook. I read bits and pieces but the darker style of writing just wasn't my thing. But I felt that they did a very good job of tying the dark creepy feel together throughout the entire storybook. I like consistency and this one does a good job of that!
The second storybook that I enjoyed was Journey of Festivals. I did actually read this storybook and this one does a very good job of introducing what the storybook is going to be about. It tells you specifically which stories the author is going to through. Going through the actual stories I really enjoy how many pictures and videos and everything the author put in. I feel more immersed into the festivals than I would be if they had just written a story about it. I also think it is cool how they have the actual deities that the festivals are celebrating be the ones to take you through the descriptions of the festivals.
My third and final favorite storybook is probably Onboard the Spaceship Pushpaka. I saw the name for it and was instantly drawn to it. The storybook I wrote a couple years ago when I was in Myth & Folklore was about two space adventuring bounty hunter siblings that land on a planet of cats. So, naturally, the story about space travel drew my eye in quickly. I have a hard time reading things that don't instantly grasp my full attention and this one did a good job of doing that as well as holding my attention. The pictures were pretty and as I read I quickly grew attached to the characters. I grew attached to the story. I wanted to know the captain's stories alongside his crew members!
The second storybook that I enjoyed was Journey of Festivals. I did actually read this storybook and this one does a very good job of introducing what the storybook is going to be about. It tells you specifically which stories the author is going to through. Going through the actual stories I really enjoy how many pictures and videos and everything the author put in. I feel more immersed into the festivals than I would be if they had just written a story about it. I also think it is cool how they have the actual deities that the festivals are celebrating be the ones to take you through the descriptions of the festivals.
My third and final favorite storybook is probably Onboard the Spaceship Pushpaka. I saw the name for it and was instantly drawn to it. The storybook I wrote a couple years ago when I was in Myth & Folklore was about two space adventuring bounty hunter siblings that land on a planet of cats. So, naturally, the story about space travel drew my eye in quickly. I have a hard time reading things that don't instantly grasp my full attention and this one did a good job of doing that as well as holding my attention. The pictures were pretty and as I read I quickly grew attached to the characters. I grew attached to the story. I wanted to know the captain's stories alongside his crew members!
Image from Onboard the Spaceship Pushpaka
Monday, August 22, 2016
Week 1 Introduction
Hello everyone!
My name, if you haven't noticed, is Sage Harper. I am 22 years old and currently a super senior at OU. I am majoring in Psychology (really just so I can graduate in sooner than 6 years) and have completed my minor for Health and Exercise Science which i'll be usuing as a stepping stone to become a personal trainer and then one day a Physical Therapist. When I graduate in December I will be applying to the Physical Therapy assistant program at Tulsa Community College. If I can really accomplish my dream I will be a PT specifically for dancers and athletes. Why only dancers and athletes? Well, I am a dancer myself and have been for the better part of my life (16 or 17 years now) and I have also torn my PCL and meniscus when I played basketball in high school so I know how much it sucks getting back into dance and sports after such an intense injury. I want to work with dancers and athletes and teach them how to stretch and train properly so that they can minimize the amount and severity of injuries and can continue to follow their dreams!
I am currently a member of a dance company in Tulsa, Oklahoma called Portico Danse Theatre and have been for about a three and a half years now. However, I am not just a dancer with the company but also one of their main aerialists! I'm actually sort of a co-director for our aerial program. What on earth is an 'aerialist'? Well, it is this:
Photo info: Personal Photos. Top, my first tattoo. I got it in San Francisco in August of 2010.
Middle, second tattoo. The blue dove. The three droplet things are the tail, then the wing is hollow then the beak is facing my hair line. I got this one in June of 2014 in Tulsa. Bottom, third tattoo was the sun and moon and then the rose I just got a few months ago.
My name, if you haven't noticed, is Sage Harper. I am 22 years old and currently a super senior at OU. I am majoring in Psychology (really just so I can graduate in sooner than 6 years) and have completed my minor for Health and Exercise Science which i'll be usuing as a stepping stone to become a personal trainer and then one day a Physical Therapist. When I graduate in December I will be applying to the Physical Therapy assistant program at Tulsa Community College. If I can really accomplish my dream I will be a PT specifically for dancers and athletes. Why only dancers and athletes? Well, I am a dancer myself and have been for the better part of my life (16 or 17 years now) and I have also torn my PCL and meniscus when I played basketball in high school so I know how much it sucks getting back into dance and sports after such an intense injury. I want to work with dancers and athletes and teach them how to stretch and train properly so that they can minimize the amount and severity of injuries and can continue to follow their dreams!
I am currently a member of a dance company in Tulsa, Oklahoma called Portico Danse Theatre and have been for about a three and a half years now. However, I am not just a dancer with the company but also one of their main aerialists! I'm actually sort of a co-director for our aerial program. What on earth is an 'aerialist'? Well, it is this:
(Personal photo.
Taken July 19th, 2014 in the Williams theater at the Tulsa PAC.
Performing "911" in "Mob Mental.Ity" by Portico Danse Theatre.
I am the one on the right)
Yep, I dance on silks and lyra (I've also done a little bit with strap loops, wrist straps, as well as static and flying trapeze) way high in the air, only locked in by my feet and sometimes not even that. I have been performing aerial for almost four years now. I have also done modern, lyrical, jazz, contemporary ballet and a little hip hop (poorly).
Other aerial apparatuses:
Personal photo: 2015 rigging workshop wrist straps
Personal photo: 2016 strap loops workshop with Anya Shevelyuk
Personal photo: Beginning partners lyra workshop with me (black sports bra) and my roommate Paris (pink shirt)
I was born in Santa Barbra, California but raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Both sets of my grandparents along with most of the rest of my family lives in Tulsa as well so it makes it nice to have such a strong support system.
I am incredibly obsessed with dragons. I love to draw them, read about them, have stuffed animals of them, watch movies and shows that have dragons in them, I even have a Game of Thrones dragon egg canister that was given to me as a Christmas present. Someday, I will have a dragon tattoo on my leg. No, I have not seen the movie "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" nor will I.
But on the topic of tattoos, I have four tattoos! All of my tattoos hold an incredible amount of meaning to me, none of them are just because. The feather is for my dad, the blue dove is for my best friend, the sun and moon is for my mother and the rose is for my maternal grandparents.
Photo info: Personal Photos. Top, my first tattoo. I got it in San Francisco in August of 2010.
Middle, second tattoo. The blue dove. The three droplet things are the tail, then the wing is hollow then the beak is facing my hair line. I got this one in June of 2014 in Tulsa. Bottom, third tattoo was the sun and moon and then the rose I just got a few months ago.
I have two cats named Koko and Marie. I love cats and I have always had cats. I had a dog once for about two weeks but he ate the couch in my backyard so my mom and I gave him to a friend with ten acres of land. I used to have a bearded dragon (again, obsessed with dragons) named Oliver and he was pretty much the coolest thing ever.
That is most of the information I feel like is cool stuff that people would want to know. If you're ever in Tulsa you should check around and see if my dance company is having any shows going on! Feel free to ask questions!
Have a great day!
Week 1 Story: Cast Out
Little Penny-Nichole sat alone one afternoon, crying quietly to herself on a large rock still warm from the summer sun. It was her favorite place to go whenever she was sad but on this particular day she felt she would never leave the rock again. Her small elbows and knees were scraped up and bloody from the beating she had received, once again, from her three elder brothers. Penny-Nichole never liked her brothers. They were dumb brutes who only like to flaunt their strength to anything that dared exist too close to them. If anything thrived too much or was too lively near them for too long, they smothered it into desolation. After their parents died, the brothers had become even meaner to her. They beat her nearly every day if they could, but this day they had gone too far. The thought of her brothers caused little Penny-Nichole to weep louder. She clutched her tiny arms close to her chest and threw her cries into her bleeding knees.
"Why is a child as small as you crying louder than a wounded jackal?" A crackly deep voice broke through Penny-Nichole's wails and thoughts. She sprang from her rock, fearing it was her brothers returned to inflict more damage. She looked frantically around to locate the source of the voice. A pointy stick that she usually used to draw doodles in the dirt quickly became her trusty sword.
"Honestly, I thought you were obnoxious, brother, but this takes the cake!" This voice was higher, more like a woman's voice. It reminded Penny-Nichole of her mother's soothing voice that had always caressed her to sleep. Two people tromped out of the woods that lined the backside of Penny-Nichole's rock.
"Who-who are you? Did my brothers send you to me? I'm not going back!" Penny-Nichole sniffled and trembled as she slowly backed away from the two. She tightly clutched the pointy stick and held it at the two strangers. As Penny-Nichole looked between the two, she slowly felt at ease. The two strangers looked oddly familiar.
"Gregor, she's just a child." The woman spoke softly to the man and then turned and spoke to Penny-Nichole. "My name is Sarah Strike and this is my brother, Gregor Strike. We won't hurt you, young one. But, if you don't mind my asking, why are your brothers after you?" Sarah and Gregor sat on the warm rock.
Penny-Nichole hesitated for only a moment before dropping her stick sword.
"Did you say... Strike? As in the famous Strike Bounty Hunters who fight all over the galaxy?" Penny-Nichole's voice was a squeal of excitement now. She sprang over to the siblings and sat at the foot of the rock in front of them.
"Actually, I was reading one of your stories when it all happened. My brothers always like to take my things, you see, and your stories are my favorites. They tried to take my most favorite story, the one where you two helped save the tiger cubs of the cat clan Leonum from the evil wolf tribe. They told me the stories were fake and stupid... It made me angry so I told them that they were stupid dumb-dumbs. I told them the stories were real! They just had to be! But they stole it anyway and beat me up worse because I talked back to them. I ran away and came here where I always go to be sad. I don't want to go back, ever. They will just beat me up again." Penny-Nichole started to cry more, though she was clearly trying to hold her tears back in front of her childhood heroes.
"Well, what will you do now?" Gregor asked in a kind voice, patting the girl's small head.
"I don't know. I just know I can't go back to them. Ma and Dad are both dead now too, so they can't protect me from my mean brothers anymore. I'll probably just run away and try to live on my own in the forest."
Gregor nodded his head and then turned to Sarah. The two spoke to each other in a tongue that Penny-Nichole couldn't understand.
"Alright," Sarah finally said. She stood from the rock and went to kneel by Penny-Nichole, "Seeing as we are the reason you've been cast out, or at least refuse to go home and your parents aren't around anymore to protect you, why don't you come with us? You can be our apprentice!We could use a new pair of hands around the ship." Sarah smiled down to the little girl sweetly.
Penny-Nichole's eyes brightened and she leapt into Sarah's arms, embracing her in a hug. The three shared a happy moment before heading back to the Strikes' spaceship. Many adventures awaited the three. The three would now become intertwined in the lives of creatures the Strikes and Penny-Nichole themselves do not even realize exist.
Author's note:
This story is based off of the Indian Fable The Fox and the Crabs by Ramaswami Raju. The original story tells of a fox who is sitting and crying from shunned from his kin because he didn't want to go and kill the crabs. He thought they were pretty creatures but the others still wanted to kill them. The crabs asked the fox what he would do since he couldn't go back to his family and when the fox didn't know they decided that since they were the cause for the fox to be shunned, they would employ the fox as their protector. Although, at the end of the story the fox ends up tricking the crabs and leads them into an ambush but I chose to leave that part out because I forgot to read it at first and because it very much doesn't fit with my story at all. I used my characters from when I took Myth & Folklore and recreated the fable so the girl, Penny-Nichole, is like the fox, the Strikes are like the crabs and the brothers are the fox's kin that cast him out. This story was really simple to recreate so it gave me a lot of freedom to create my new character, who will be used in many more stories in the future! While Penny-Nichole's backstory is kind of sad, she will have a much brighter future with the Strikes! Though, they will get into all sorts of trouble, but what fun would it be if they didn't?
Bibliography: "The Fox and the Crabs" from Indian Fables by Ramaswami Raju.
"Why is a child as small as you crying louder than a wounded jackal?" A crackly deep voice broke through Penny-Nichole's wails and thoughts. She sprang from her rock, fearing it was her brothers returned to inflict more damage. She looked frantically around to locate the source of the voice. A pointy stick that she usually used to draw doodles in the dirt quickly became her trusty sword.
"Honestly, I thought you were obnoxious, brother, but this takes the cake!" This voice was higher, more like a woman's voice. It reminded Penny-Nichole of her mother's soothing voice that had always caressed her to sleep. Two people tromped out of the woods that lined the backside of Penny-Nichole's rock.
"Who-who are you? Did my brothers send you to me? I'm not going back!" Penny-Nichole sniffled and trembled as she slowly backed away from the two. She tightly clutched the pointy stick and held it at the two strangers. As Penny-Nichole looked between the two, she slowly felt at ease. The two strangers looked oddly familiar.
"Gregor, she's just a child." The woman spoke softly to the man and then turned and spoke to Penny-Nichole. "My name is Sarah Strike and this is my brother, Gregor Strike. We won't hurt you, young one. But, if you don't mind my asking, why are your brothers after you?" Sarah and Gregor sat on the warm rock.
Penny-Nichole hesitated for only a moment before dropping her stick sword.
"Did you say... Strike? As in the famous Strike Bounty Hunters who fight all over the galaxy?" Penny-Nichole's voice was a squeal of excitement now. She sprang over to the siblings and sat at the foot of the rock in front of them.
"Actually, I was reading one of your stories when it all happened. My brothers always like to take my things, you see, and your stories are my favorites. They tried to take my most favorite story, the one where you two helped save the tiger cubs of the cat clan Leonum from the evil wolf tribe. They told me the stories were fake and stupid... It made me angry so I told them that they were stupid dumb-dumbs. I told them the stories were real! They just had to be! But they stole it anyway and beat me up worse because I talked back to them. I ran away and came here where I always go to be sad. I don't want to go back, ever. They will just beat me up again." Penny-Nichole started to cry more, though she was clearly trying to hold her tears back in front of her childhood heroes.
"Well, what will you do now?" Gregor asked in a kind voice, patting the girl's small head.
"I don't know. I just know I can't go back to them. Ma and Dad are both dead now too, so they can't protect me from my mean brothers anymore. I'll probably just run away and try to live on my own in the forest."
Gregor nodded his head and then turned to Sarah. The two spoke to each other in a tongue that Penny-Nichole couldn't understand.
"Alright," Sarah finally said. She stood from the rock and went to kneel by Penny-Nichole, "Seeing as we are the reason you've been cast out, or at least refuse to go home and your parents aren't around anymore to protect you, why don't you come with us? You can be our apprentice!We could use a new pair of hands around the ship." Sarah smiled down to the little girl sweetly.
Penny-Nichole's eyes brightened and she leapt into Sarah's arms, embracing her in a hug. The three shared a happy moment before heading back to the Strikes' spaceship. Many adventures awaited the three. The three would now become intertwined in the lives of creatures the Strikes and Penny-Nichole themselves do not even realize exist.
Image by Mimzy
This story is based off of the Indian Fable The Fox and the Crabs by Ramaswami Raju. The original story tells of a fox who is sitting and crying from shunned from his kin because he didn't want to go and kill the crabs. He thought they were pretty creatures but the others still wanted to kill them. The crabs asked the fox what he would do since he couldn't go back to his family and when the fox didn't know they decided that since they were the cause for the fox to be shunned, they would employ the fox as their protector. Although, at the end of the story the fox ends up tricking the crabs and leads them into an ambush but I chose to leave that part out because I forgot to read it at first and because it very much doesn't fit with my story at all. I used my characters from when I took Myth & Folklore and recreated the fable so the girl, Penny-Nichole, is like the fox, the Strikes are like the crabs and the brothers are the fox's kin that cast him out. This story was really simple to recreate so it gave me a lot of freedom to create my new character, who will be used in many more stories in the future! While Penny-Nichole's backstory is kind of sad, she will have a much brighter future with the Strikes! Though, they will get into all sorts of trouble, but what fun would it be if they didn't?
Bibliography: "The Fox and the Crabs" from Indian Fables by Ramaswami Raju.
Sunday, August 21, 2016
Favorite Places
To be a little cliche right off the bat, my most favorite place is with my best friends. I could be at the edge of a volcano and as long as my friends were there and we were having a good time, I probably wouldn't mind the fact that my skin was melting off. Okay so that's not completely true, I'd mind a little bit. An actual place that I could consider to be my favorite would be at a beach in Santa Barbra, California.
Arroyo Burro Beach Santa Barbra, California
Photo Credit: Antandrus at en.wikipedia
I just love being able to walk around in the sand and being able to find some cool random rocks or sea creatures! I love the sound of the water and the wind and sometimes the people and I love being out in the sun so it all just creates the perfect place for me! I also like walking along and finding hole in the wall sea food restaurants (more like little sea food shacks sometimes but you get the idea) that will pop up here and there. That's where you can get some of the tastiest seafood dishes ever!
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