My Feedback Thoughts

I have struggled with perfectionism ever since I moved to a new school that used the grading system of A-F. My understanding of this scale is that it ranked people from best to worst. Combining this understanding with my competitive nature, resulted in a little me that always wanted to be on top, and in order to be on top I had to be perfect. As I grew older and entered high school, I knew my perfectionism became an issue as it was causing me unnecessary stress and resulting in me taking a long time to do work. More so, my perfectionism became a bigger issue in college when I realized that I was robbing myself from the opportunity of learning because I was just focused on getting something right. Through reading the article How to Overcome Perfectionism: Your Complete Guide, I was able to grasp some ideas on how to become a healthy perfectionist. On of these ideas include that I should celebrate every small victory and give myself credit where I deserve it. I have the tendency to overlook the small victories and have the mindset of "what's next?" or "what else is there to do?" Now, however, I want to improve myself and I am going to do this by celebrating the small things.

I have also enjoyed reading the article Why Socializing Girls to Be Perfect Could Be the Worst Thing for Them. This article had quotes by Reshma Saujani who encouraged "young girls to be taught to be brave not perfect." Saujani says that teaching young girls to be brave "will add their intellect, compassion, and empathy to solving world's big problems." I think this is so crucial and should be applied. Even though I am not a little girl anymore, I believe this perspective is still applicable to my life. I want to be brave and courageous enough to fall down and learn how to climb back up. Through this class having a focus on growth mindset and feedback for learning, without any grades, I believe this will be a good start for me to be brave and not perfect. Then I can carry this experience with me to the next part of my life when I become the new hire and youngest at my place of work after college.

(Image of a quote about courage and bravery from the character Benjamin Mee from the movie 

We Bought a Zoo.)

Topic Brainstorm for My Storybook

Diving into different topic listings, I have narrowed my interests into the following four topics:

1. Folktales/Jataka Tales
After reading through the Jataka anthology of short stories and then creating my own story based off the Jataka story The Turtle and The Geese, I noticed I really enjoyed stories with strong lessons and I want to learn about the development of these lessons. These lessons are usually evident by the end, clearly taught, and very wise. The stories use simple characters in order to provide the reader with a simple storyline but impactful lesson. I would like tell and create lessons through dialogue between characters. Based off the lessons in the folktales, I would determine myself if I want to keep that lesson or branch off in another direction or in addition to the original lesson. Looking through the Folktalkes in the Chitra Katha comic books, it seems like a main focus in these books is teaching a lesson. For example, I have looked more into Elephant Stories: Jataka Tales of Nobility through reading a preview I found online and the four pages have already intrigued me.

Folktales and Jataka Tales turns the gears in our mind and helps us learn a lesson.

(Image Source of Lessons Learned Image)

2. Festivals and Holidays
Festivals and holidays are celebrated in such different ways depending on the place. I think anywhere one goes, it is important to celebrate a festival or holiday with locals. These celebrations help define the culture. It is so interesting and amazing to witness and analyze the difference and similarities between the locations whether they are or are not celebrating the same festival or holiday. Simply recognizing these similarities and differences without thinking that one is better, can help us grow as a diverse-minded person. Therefore, reading into the Festivals and Holidays Project Idea, I believe that even if I am unable to go to India right now and am unfamiliar with the culture, I have the opportunity to learn about their culture through doing research and creating a storybook on their festivals and holidays. Maybe retelling these stories would involve a great amount of images of the festivals and holidays.

3. Birth Stories
Recently, I have become very found of my little niece. This little girl has brought back so much energy and life into of my Lola (grandma) who gave birth to nine children and I am so thankful for the both of them. Combining this recent feeling with my amazement of the creation of life, it would be interesting to dive into birth stories as a storybook topic. Even though my previous knowledge about Indian birth stories are very minimal, I believe I can learn through readings throughout the class as suggested in the Birth Stories Project Idea class page. Looking through the Birth Stories Project Idea I have learned about the birth story of Sita and how she faced doom right when she was born as she was ordered to be buried. There are situations like Sita's birth story where her future is challenged as a newborn and she has no say. I think a similar situation to this, but in today's society, is abortion. Furthermore, my idea with these stories is possibly tying it in with a controversial issue in our society.

4. Traveling India
As someone who is not familiar with the country and the culture of India, I believe that creating a storybook about traveling India will help me learn a great amount about the country, its greatest landmarks, and culture. What I do know about India is that depending on the location in India, the culture is very different. Through looking through the Traveling India Project Idea, I believe I will be able to look into many of these different cultures and recognize these differences myself. Furthermore, I looked at a past project titled Letters from My Indian Travels and I think the author was able to highlight the main observations he/she learned because he/she is telling it to another person, in this case her grandma. I think that the act of retelling one's own traveling experiences to another can really capture the highlights of what was learned. The story I would want to tell is my own "travel" through the country, retelling it in a similar to form to letters, but rather through a video, which is more apt to our society now and my generation. I am not for sure if this would be allowed, but I would write the words of the story at the bottom half of the video. When I travel, I like to use my GoPro, so I thought the combination of traveling, video, and storytelling might be a new way to create a storybook.

Week 2 Story: Turtle & Goose and Past & Present

Turtle & Goose and Past & Present 

(Please Note: Current version of story in Portfolio.)

Turtle and Goose attend the same school and graduation was quickly approaching. Like most of their friends, they were feeling the blend of excitement and nervousness. After four years in school, they were ready and excited for new experiences. However, nervousness always arose when they thought about the new challenges and uncertainties of the future.

Finally, it was graduation day. All clean, with caps on their head Turtle and Goose entered the Maturing Forest for graduation.

Turtle turned to Goose and panicked saying, "Goose! I can't do this. I'm doing okay in college. It's comfortable to me. Plus, I know so many animals and they know me."

Goose looked Turtle in the eyes and said, "Turtle. We can do this. YOU can do this. I'm scared too. But I was taught by Sister Goose that the hardest part is crossing the graduation stage with the our head looking forward and held high. After that, we gain confidence in ourselves for the next part of our lives."

"What do you mean the hardest part is crossing the stage with our head forward and high, Goose?" said Turtle.

Goose replied saying, "Sister Goose said that no matter what we CANNOT look back as we cross the stage."

Turtle nodded in agreement which showed Goose he understood and would follow.

Then, with Turtle's foot and Goose's hand linked together, they crossed the stage. As they were crossing, voices arose saying, "Work is hard. Your not going to be successful. You peaked in school and it's downhill from here. No one is going to appreciate you like they did in school."

Turtle looked back to find these voices and dismiss it! But as he did this, he got sucked into the Portal of the Past. Now, he is stuck there forever with no more opportunity for growth.

The other animals said, "It is unfortunate that Turtle looked back. The voices were in our own heads because sometimes we can become our biggest critic. Turtle had all the capabilities to be successful. In his mind, Turtle got stuck in the past, and now his physical body too is also stuck in the past."

(Image representing the graduation event Turtle and Goose are attending.)

Author's Notes:

• Bibliography. "The Turtle and the Geese" from Two Turtle Jatakas from the version in Jataka Tales by Ellen C. Babbitt. Web Source.
• I have chosen to add my own twist to the original story. I have added additional lessons to the theme of the story, as well as I have changed the plot and setting. 
• As graduation is approaching for me this coming May, I wanted to remind my present self and future self about not being stuck in the past, but, rather, to embrace the future.
• I really enjoyed the lesson in the original story about how people will have foresight and recommend you do a certain thing for your own good. However, sometimes we don't listen to those people which can cause us harm.
• In addition to original lesson, I also wanted to show the lesson of not being stuck in the past or else it will hinder your growth that should be occurring in the present. I know that I personally wasted the first half of my first semester of college because I kept thinking and telling myself that I peaked in high school. (I'm so glad that I got over that!) As I am about to graduate college, I don't want the next part of my life to continuously be thinking about college. Yes, there are many fond memories and it is good to reflect on them. However, wishing I would time travel and be back in college is something completely different.
• Lastly, I wanted to add a hint of another lesson that sometimes we are our biggest critic but we have to crush those negative thoughts for our own good. In the original story, the critics were the village children, or something that is external. While critics can be external, they can also be internal which I wanted to show in this story.
• Overall, this was very fun to write. Creative writing hasn't been something I have done since high school and it was interesting to create story while formulating a lesson. 

Reading Notes: Week 2 Anthology

The Turtle and the Geese by Ellen C. Babbitt

• Story from Two Turtle Jatakas from the version in Jataka Tales by Ellen C. Babbitt
• Character Charting:
• Geese
• Strength: Inviting - Geese invited the Turtle to their home
• Strength: Having Foresight/Being Wise - Geese knew to remind the Turtle not to talk
• Weakness: Secretive- Geese simply told the Turtle not to talk but gave no explanation.
• Personal Note: There are always people in our lives that are wise and know more about a particular topic because they have had experience. In a weird way, the Geese remind me of God. I believe God is all-knowing and He asks of us to do certain things with no explanation. We simply must trust in Him and that he is pointing us in the right direction by following through with what He is asking. 
• Turtle
• Weakness: Did not follow through with promise - The Turtle talked even though he promised not to. This immediately led to his death.
• Strength: Trusting - The Turtle did not question the Geese about why he was forbidden to talk.
• Strength: Defending himself - While the act of defending himself led to his death, I applaud that the Turtle defended himself against the bullying village children.
• Personal Note: I completely understand the actions of the Turtle, even if it led to his death. I appreciate that he did not let himself and his character be stepped on. However, the Geese seemed to have foresight which led to the single promise the Turtle had to make. All the Turtle had to do was follow through with that promise. If the Turtle had questions about the promise, then he should have asked and sparked a conversation. Instead, he dismissed the idea of a conversation and just thought he could get to the final destination without keeping his promise.
• Village Children
• Weakness: Mockery - The village children made fun of Turtle being carried my two geese and a stick. 
• Personal Note: These children remind me of the people in one's life that purposely tries to trip us. Unfortunately, we all face bullies at some point of our lives. However, when in this situation, we hope to keep our head up and walk over their foot that is trying to trip us and make us fall.

The Falling Turtle illustrated by Grandville.

Week 2 Reading Overview

The Public Domain Edition (PDE): Ramayana is the version of the Ramayana epic that I am choosing to dive into this semester. I have chosen this version of the epic for the following reasons:

• free audio version (thanks to our professor!)
• lots of illustrations
• free to read online

Knowing myself, I recognize that I am a slow reader. However, with the help of the audio reading in the PDE Ramayana version, I will be able to progress through the epics at a timely manner. More so, I am a visual learner as well. As an engineering student, I learn more from charts and illustrations than from a wall of text. Through the PDE Ramayana version, many illustrations are provided and I believe that will help me in understanding the reading better. Thirdly, as this is an online course, I like to think that everything that I need for the course is in one location: my laptop. Therefore, since the PDE Ramayana version is free to read online, every material I need for the course is in my laptop!

After exploring the comic books, the two that interests me the most are Savitri: The Perfect Wife and Vasantasena, A Dancer and Her Most Precious Jewel. The story about the perfect wife revolves around Princess Savitri and her pathway in finding a husband of her own choosing despite disapproval from other people. I believe that Princess Savitri has every right to choose her lifelong partner and I applaud that she had great courage. Princess Savitri seems to be a strong, independent woman and I admire that about her. Vasantasena, A Dancer and Her Most Precious Jewel has a plot that follows a woman who loves someone other than the evil king. Vasantasena must go through twists and turns until she has a happy ending. This story reminds me of a Filipino drama show, where there are two people who love each other and will end up with each other, however, they must go through various and eccentric obstacles to get there. 

Browsing through the video playlist, I found two particular videos that interested me and that I want to learn more about. The first video that grabbed my attention was CineKids | Ramayana: The Story of Diwali | Animated Video of Celebrate Diwali | Mythological story. I first heard of Diwali during my first year of college through friends who celebrated the holiday. I found out that Diwali is a festival of lights, but I did not know much more. It is through this video that I am able to have a better understanding of the holiday. The second video that interested me was Powerful Women of Hindu Mythology | EPIFIED. Simply through the title with the words "powerful women" the video grasped my interest. I enjoy reading and learning about strong, female figures who have taken up space in our world and this video taught me about more women who have taken up their space. 

This image of Princess Savitri showcases strength, power, and protection and this is why I have chosen this image to depict her. I hope that all women will know the strength, power, and protection we all have inside of us.