Tech Tip:

I decided to try out a quote maker for my first tech tip. It was actually really fun to make. The quote that I picked was a French proverb.

(Image Information: Image created with Canva)

I absolutely love this quote. I even have a tattoo of it on my back. 

"Après la pluie, le beau temps."

Basically, it means the same thing as "Every cloud has a silver lining." I got the tattoo because I am in love with the French language and I was going through some hard times in my life. Getting this tattoo made me remember that things will always get better. 

(Image Information: personal photo of my tattoo. Photo taken May 2013.)

Week 1: Curation

I think after reading the curation assignment, I really take bookmarks for granted. I have always used them, whether it was for having easy access to an online textbook, articles I wanted to read later, articles that I wanted to use in my research, or for an escape from my work in the form of an online game. I am very organized when it comes to my computer (I wish I could say the same about my room). I actually have bookmarks organized by school items, work items, and extracurricular. It is strange to me to think that people may not be using bookmarks when they have a computer. I feel as if it is an essential part to succeeding and organizing the information you may need later.

Now, on the topic of sharing, I am not as up-to-date on the latest trends. I have a Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, etc. However, I could not tell you the last time I used some of them. It’s not that I don’t know how to use them. As a student that has more than one job outside of being a student, I have always thought of all of those sites as more of a luxury or for pleasure rather than work. When I think of Pinterest, I also think of people organizing ideas on crafts or wedding planning. When I think of Twitter, I think of celebrities saying things they will probably regret later. After reading the assignment, however, I realize that these can be used for a variety of things.

(Image Information: Known Logo. Source: Known Twitter)

I would say that I am doing pretty well when it comes to organizing and saving items, however, I definitely need to work on the sharing portion of this project. I am excited to learn more about these sites, especially “Known” because it is one that I had never heard of before!

My Opinion on "Growth Mindset"

I totally agree with the idea behind “Growth Mindset”. A lot of you may not know this (probably none of you unless you have been stalking me), but I used to major in Physics. All throughout school, I absolutely loved math, science, and anything that went along with the two. I took physics classes during my whole high school career. I won an award for having the highest physics grade in the whole school. I actually was offered a career in nuclear engineering with the marines before I even graduated. Saying all of this, however, is ignoring my teacher, Kristi Adams (she works at OU now, so give her a shout out if you know her!).

The way Mrs. Adams taught went along with the idea behind mindset. She applauded students even when they got the problem wrong. She gave credit for ideas that students had, rather than juxtaposing their work to what may have been in the book. She made the classroom feel more like a family because we learned to also work in this way. She had some of the highest AP passing rates because of the way she allowed us to construct our ideas. When I got to the University of Oklahoma, however, I noticed a change. I noticed that the teachers did not put as much effort into building up the students in the same way. I felt that everything had to go by the books, even if you showed enough work to support your idea. I actually took the same math class my first semester that I had taken in my last year of high school. In the high school class, my math teacher was young and he taught in a very “growth mindset” way too and I was able to pass the AP test. In the college math class, however, the teacher wanted the math shown in the way she was used to, the way the book taught it, and I ended up with a "C".

I definitely think that my high school teachers were a little bit ahead of the game for their teaching styles. I’m not sure whether the OU teachers were less inviting for creativity because they were PHD’s and maybe were not used to anything besides the specific methods they were taught, or they just did not have enough time to allow students to learn in the manner, or what. I do know however, that although I loved Physics and everything about it, I had to move on to something else which allowed students to grow rather than being restricted to certain guidelines. 

(Image Information: A kitty that probably got in a lot of trouble. Source: Growth Mindset Memes)

Week 1: Famous Last Words

So far, I have to say that I really enjoy this course. It is a little different for me because this is my first online class that I have taken. I enrolled in some once, but they way they were set up was very intimidating. This course, however, is very hands-on. They don't just throw you out into the world of cyberspace and leave you with vague instructions. I really feel more comfortable being able to see my teachers and build a relationship with them, but I think Laura has designed this course to still embody that same type of feeling you get from being in a classroom full of peers. I really appreciate that! 

I have not done a whole lot in my classes this week since we are still in the process of introductions, however, I did come across a TED talk that I think is very interesting to watch and goes along with quite a bit of my research. 

        "We Should All Be Feminists | Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie | TEDxEuston" video at Youtube 

This is a really interesting perspective on human rights (not just women's rights). It is from the view of a famous author from Nigeria and how people fighting for rights in minorities can face discrimination from other minorities and even themselves in how they try to portray their identities. I really love this woman because I think she is hilarious and she definitely has some important things to say. 

If anyone happens to be wondering how this may fit into my studies, I will tell you! I have always focused on the relationship between Europe and their former colonies/mandates. I look at how the Western world has stereotypes placed on the people from these areas and perhaps ignore the fact that many of these ideas comes from the problems that came along with their empirical rule. In this case, Adichie mentions that people had identified "Feminism" as an un-African, Western idea and therefore she would have to change her identity to "a Happy African Feminist" to make sure everyone knew her intentions. It is pretty interesting to think that some people may believe that the struggle for equality among the sexes has to be put under so much detail in order to separate your definitions of the word from others. 

Storybook Favorites

Storybook 1: Beauty Parlor Gossip
I chose this storybook because of that fact that I work in the beauty industry. I know all too well the gossipy atmosphere that seems to invite customers into telling us their dirtiest secrets (even some that I really do not want to know about.) I thought it would be pretty fascinating to see how someone could transform the epics into gossip. After reading through the introduction, I was a lot more excited to skim through the pages of the site. I liked the fact that they used the gossip in a way that many us of would have used gossip. Not only did she have a good of friends trying to trick the central character, she gave all of them a personality that followed up with their stories. In order to still make the epic storytelling part of the assignment true, they wrote down all the information missing from the friends' stories in the author's notes.

(Image Information: Beauty Parlor Banner Source: Beauty Parlor Gossip)

Storybook 2: How I Met Your Mother
As we can all see from my three choices, I am a sucker for the storybooks that I can relate to. I enjoyed how they had some features of the show mentioned in the stories and introduction. However, I don't think a guest that had not read the author's note or seen the title would have been able to recognize the theme they were going for. Even though I do like their theme, I would have done it differently. The design of their page was interesting, though. I really liked the way it looked like a paper written on in a studio. It actually reminds me a lot of the advertising for the company I work for.
Storybook 3: 1000 Ways to Die
I do have to explain that my reason for choosing this one is because my husband and I love to watch random fact shows such as one about the world’s dirtiest jobs, ghost stories, and even 1000 Ways to Die. So, to say the least, seeing this storybook in the long list made me pretty excited to read through it. I would say that the introduction was presented in a good manner. I definitely knew what the author was going to tell me about in the next few pages. I did like that they incorporated the specific way a narrator of the show would talk into their introduction. They even put the “do not try this at home” type label on the bottom of the introduction, which I really thought to be humorous. As for the design of the actual page, I think it very much went along with the theme. The ominous dark background with some of the text in red made for a great contrast. I do wish they would have perhaps come up with their own image on the home page, rather than one from the show. It would have been interesting to see how they would have incorporated the characters into the photo.

I do think after looking at the storybooks that I am going to come up with an idea that correlates to something in popular culture. I think by doing so, I would have a lot more fun coming up with the stories and it would probably be more fun for the readers too. I already have some things in mind....

Indian Epics Course Overview

The first time that I was exposed to intellectually understanding an epic was in high school. I had always taken advanced placement courses and part of the reason I took those classes was because they introduced the students to other cultures along with their accompanying literature and myths. I never really appreciated epic literature until college, however, when I learned the importance of the spread of this type of literature and the effects it has on creating and maintaining an identity for certain communities. Although I have never read any Indian epics (or maybe I have and just don’t remember them), I am familiar with some Arabic and Middle Eastern epics. The first one that comes to mind is the Shahnameh or the “Book of Kings”. This book was very crucial to creating an identity for Iranians. This epic is the national epic of Iran for a reason. It was what the Iranians considered a tie to their historical past because it connects the Iranians to the Persian Empire as well as the Zoroastrians that are associated with the Indo-Iranian population before the two groups gained their own identities.

I have taken quite a few classes on religion. I have studied Islam and the other Abrahamic religions in detail, however, the only knowledge I have of Hinduism or Buddhism comes from friends who have practiced the faiths. I am quite excited to absorb some knowledge of these religions and their spiritualism and add this knowledge to my understandings of other cultures. Even though I have never formerly studied Indian history or culture, I am familiar with some of the names I saw while looking through the readings, the main character being Shiva. Another deity that I have come to know through popular culture is Ganesha. I chose to include an image of Ganesha because, for me, that is one of the most noticeable and recognizable characters/deities out of these cultures.

(Image Information: Photo of Ganesha.
Source: The White Hindu)

Although I have not been to India, I have found some similarities between the material covered in this class and my past studies of the Middle East. In both cases, I see a huge appeal to keep these epics and myths alive. The major idea behind this is tradition and identity. In both cases, these epics are a way of keeping oral traditions and/or religious beliefs alive. Another aspect of this is that these stories create an identity. By having these epics that originated from so long ago, people have something to tie the origins of their culture to and, therefore, create a historical identity for themselves.

Week 1 Storytelling: A Bowl Full of Villains

ATTENTION! 
The television's light penetrated my sleeping eyes with the presentation of this warning.

ATTENTION! THREE MEN LOST AT SEA.
As I slowly began to wake up, I read the channel's "Breaking News" text scroll fly across the screen. Although this was interesting news, it didn't warrant my full attention as it was requesting. That was until I heard the reporter describe the situation at hand.

"Today, around 4:30 p.m., three men have been reported as missing after trying to escape Batman and Gotham City Police. The three men are being reported as The Joker, Penguin, and Two-Face. The men were last seen leaving the coastal waters in a hand-made bowl. Yes, we said a bowl. No news as to whether or not the bowl has any special use or whether it was the first thing they could get their hands on before escaping. We will let you know any new information on this breaking news as we receive it."

I was a little startled by the news. Even though I did not live anywhere near a coast, knowing that Gotham's worst villains had escaped the wrath of the law and knowing that they were all together out there made me nervous.

The Penguin with The Joker and Two-Face. Source: DC Animated Universe

About an hour later, the "Breaking News" banner flies across the screen again. I had been anxiously waiting for this moment.

"After several hours after the villains escaped following a crime at the state bank, they have been captured. As stated before, the men fled the scene and were later seen off the coast in a large hand-crafted bowl. The three men were finally captured once they were discovered clinging onto pieces of ceramic left over from the bowl which had broken while they were at sea. The three men were sent to the hospital to make sure that they are in okay condition before being taken into custody."

I felt a sigh of relief as I turned the television off. However, I couldn't help but fear that these notorious criminals may get away with the crime in some way.....

Author's note: This story was based off of a nursery rhyme titled "The Three Wise Men of Gotham". 

"Three wise men of Gotham

Went to sea in a bowl:

And if the bowl had been stronger,

My song would have been longer."

The idea behind my version of the story is the connection to the Gotham many people know from popular culture. The original story behind the rhyme was that the villagers of Gotham acted insane in order to escape taxes and the control of King John. In other words, the inhabitants of the village were wise for acting like fools. Although I ended the story with the men of Gotham in the hospital, anyone that knows these characters would know that they are notorious for their escape plans. Perhaps that is what would have occurred next time my narrator turned the news on.

Source: "The Three Wise Men of Gotham", n.a., The Nursery Rhyme Book. 2008. Web. http://www.gutenberg.org/files/26197/26197-h/26197-h.htm#Page_265

My Favorite Place... My Second Home

(Image Information: personal photo of Baxter, Xena, 

and "Babyman". photo taken December 2013)

I would have to say that my favorite place to visit is my husband's home in California. Visalia, California is a fairly small city compared to what many people would think about when they image California. I think my favorite part about this area is the fact that the roads are lined with groves of fruit. In the summer, it is difficult to go outside without being surrounded by the smell of orange blossoms.

One reason I truly am in love with this place is that it is home to my new family. I love being around my husband's relatives and hearing stories about his childhood. I also loved that his family rescues animals and their home is filled with four amazing pups that my husband considers his adopted brothers and sisters.

(Image Information: personal photo of Avila.
photo taken December 2013)

This place is the perfect location for day trips. It's situated between the Sierra-Nevada mountains and the Pacific Coast, both being accessible within a two hour drive. The first time I went to meet his parents, we all drove to the coast since they knew this "Okie" had never seen the ocean before. We spent the day driving down the coast, visiting many different cities each known for their own attributes: Morro Bay has the best taffy, Pismo Beach has the best clam chowder, and Avila is the perfect spot to watch the sun set over the ocean. I do regret going in the winter, however, because I was never able to get in the water. Hopefully once I graduate in December we will have a lot of time to spend visiting our family and the ocean.

Image Information: personal photo of Pismo Beach taken 

from the boardwalk. photo taken December 2013)

                                     
       

During the summer of 2014, my husband and I drove all the way to Visalia so that we could bring our dog to meet the family. During this trip is when we went to the Sequoia National Forest. Seeing these huge trees that have been around for hundreds of years was breathtaking. I absolutely loved the wandering trails that made up the national park. I was able to walk around and see the lesser visited areas in the park and how these areas differed in the ways nature presented itself when there was not a constant stream of tourists.

As I said before, Visalia is my second home now. I fell in love with it just as soon as I arrived. I cannot wait to go back soon.

Introduction

Hello everyone!

Here are just some fun facts about me:
I'm 21, I'm married, and I'm a mother to a really beautiful baby... pitbull.

(Image Information: personal photo of my dog, Bailey.

photo from July 2014.)

(This is my last semester as an undergrad at OU. I am majoring in International Studies with a minor in European Studies. I haven't found out exactly what I want to do after graduation, but I do know I want to travel to France either to receive my Masters or to find a career U.S.-France relations (That means if you know of any opportunities, feel free to tell me!). Most of my research in college has focused on French culture and language and the relations between the Middle East and Europe. Learning about other cultures and ideals variant from my own is a huge passion for me. In fact, I just got back from my study abroad in Italia and I loved every second of it!
This semester I am taking classes ranging from Women and Gender in Europe to Public Health in Africa to Epics of India. I love being able to study a wide variety of topics.

    (Image Information: personal photo of me at work. photo from March 2014.)

As well as being a full time student, I work three jobs. I am a makeup artist for Smashbox Cosmetics as well as a soon-to-be manager at Ulta in Norman. My third job is at Tinker Air Force Base working for Military Sales and Services Co. I absolutely love all of my jobs. I love makeup because it allows me to show people that they can show their spirit and beauty that they have on the inside, on the outside for the world to see. I also love working with the U.S. Air Force. My whole family has been a part of the military, and I married my husband while he was stationed at Tinker Air Force Base. Serving those who serve our nation is a huge part of what made me who I am. I think that is enough about me for now. I hope you enjoy the photo of my dog.