Week 8 Comments and Feedback

I would say that the comments that I have received on my stories have been pretty good. I remember last semester for this class thinking that the comments were pretty basic and useless but this time I feel they are more exact. The comments I find the most useful are the ones that say they want more information on a topic. I like the harsher ones because they challenge me to make things better or at least justify why I want to keep things a certain way or not.

I think the feedback out that I am giving could be a little better. I think I could be more specific in what I want to tell people they should consider fixing or changing. I would say I have progressed and became better at feedback over time in this class, but I think it is something that never just ends with needing improvement. The strategy I like most is starting off nice and then gradually becoming harsher in the comment as these are the comments that I enjoy reading. I would say that as I read other people’s stories, I am definitely gaining ideas for my own writing. I think this mainly correlates with style and detail within my writing as I see the different aspects of the stories that I read from others and think “how can I make my writing sound this nice?”.

In terms of blog comments, I would say they are a good way to make this class more personable. I like hearing about how others are feeling about my posts or how we are alike. The introductions have been fun to read, and I would say mine is not the best, but I think it definitely explains a good amount of who I am. I should probably add more pictures though as I love seeing pictures of others and their endeavors.

I think with feedback myself and everyone can always improve on being more precise with what we like and don’t like in a blog post. I think if I see a grammatical error I should say where exactly it is that needs fixed. I would also want people to do this for me as well as it lets me fix what is exactly needed. This is why I mainly make my revisions based off the feedback from the professor.

I found this image here and I chose it because I feel it fits in with my opinion of how criticism is appreciated and needed for precise adjustments of one's writing. I chose this image because the cat is glaring at the other one showing how harshness might be needed.

Overall, I think things are coming along nicely and there isn’t much I can really think about changing as I’m enjoying this class and the work I have done.

Week 8 Reading and Writing

I think that the reading and writing assignments have been working out pretty well for me. I think that I am doing a good job with writing a story based off of the readings, but I will say the readings aren’t the most entertaining for me. I would say that my favorite reading so far though has been Sampati and Jatayu from the Ramayana just in the fact that it resembled Icarus. I also liked it because it was written well in the reflecting perspective. I think it is cool when a story has a character telling the story from the past. In terms of my notes correlating to my writing, I think that I’m doing a great job. Every week when I write my story, I make sure to read my reading notes and take the ideas I wrote down and apply them.

I think my class project is coming along pretty well in terms of story content however I probably could do more editing to the looks of my project. I have been meaning to do so but I bet I end up just changing the format completely once I have my stories added. I want it to be more presentable but I’m wanting to do so in a way that they all go hand in hand with the graphics.

I would say my greatest accomplishments in my writing come from my learned ability to read a story and think about it in an author perspective rather than a reader’s. I now read a story and think about the patterns or styles used or how I could adapt the content of the story for my own use. I think that this has truly made my writing better and I only plan to get better as we keep going. I also think that I have become a faster reader due to this class as well as a better reader in understanding. I have been trying to do the reading out loud technique and it seems to be helping my comprehension.

I can’t think of anything more I can get out of the reading other than the extra credit reading. I started off liking the videos of the stories but recently when doing the extra credit video for reading I feel like I’m taking very little away from it. I think it is because the stories in this seem to drag on for a while so I lose interest but I am not sure how I should approach this.

This picture comes from my story No Clear Winner. I found it on Wikimedia Commons .

Famous Last Words: Physics Mind?

I enjoyed this week’s reading and felt that the story that I wrote based off of it was pretty good. I think that I’ve started to truly understand how to make a story original based off another one. I like how when I read now I think of ideas that I could use rather than just analyzing the reading as a story. I guess this means I’m taking steps towards a writer’s mind.

In reviewing my week based off of school it was an interesting week. I had 2 tests which neither of them I would say were easy. However, I have never been more prepared for two tests so early. The first test:Neurobiology was the one I had postponed due to the snow days so I had more than enough time to prepare. Genetics which I took Friday was the first time I have gone to bed before 11 pm the night before a test in college. I just felt 100% read for it and didn’t think I could learn anything more. The reason’s I found these tests hard was not because I was unprepared rather I just find it hard to apply the knowledge I may have in the way that the teacher want’s us to know it. This is always a task I can improve one but normally I don’t figure out how I should learn something until the end of a semester.

Next week I only have one test and that is my physics lab practical. I am slightly worried for it because the whole engineering mind is completely different than my mind. I am not necessarily sure how I can prepare for this so my plan is to kind of wing it…. I guess you will have to read my post next week to see how it went in my mind.

I found this on Wikimedia Commons and I chose it to represent that Physics Practical I am preparing for next week which includes light bulbs. 

Google Define Tech Tip

Since I am a huge Eminem fan I decided to use this on a word that he created. 
I'm not sure why my screen shot is so blurry but here is the word "Stan" defined and the etymology behind it. I found this function of Google pretty interesting being that I normally don't use Google for this but it was easy and quick so I should start doing this when I'm reading and don't know the meaning of a word.

Learning Challenge: Empathy Video

I watched BE HAPPY - By Monica Sheehan for my video about empathy.

I really enjoyed watching this video because I'm currently doing homework on a Saturday while all my friends are at a Baseball game so it was nice to see a video reminding me ways to be happy.

One of the things that confirmed something I already knew in life was to not make yourself the victim. I am a firm believer that you can prevent being the victim in many cases and it starts with making smart decisions and putting yourself in the right place.

Although it is truly hard to learn something from this video I learned that one thing that does make me happy is helping others in need. As this came upon the screen I realized I haven't been doing this enough lately and I feel that some community work would make me a happier person. Which I never really thought that I would miss doing community work because normally when I did it, it wasn't necessarily my choice.

One thing that I am curious about exploring is my sense of gratitude. I think that I am a very thankful person for what I have both physically and mentally. I think it would be nice for me to start a book with each day writing what I am thankful for of the day. I think this would make me happier by focusing on the good in my life rather than the bad. I want to go by a journal that is nice, maybe leather bound, and each night write 10 things I am thankful for that day.

I found this image on Flickr.

Growth Mindset: A Genius

I would say that the components of being a Genius are:

40 %Book Smart- You have to be able to understand life knowledge as taught in classes or so
5 % Socially Smart- You have to be able to communicate with others
5% Judgment- You have to be able to weight options
10%Ability to Risk- A genius will have to take a risk
30%Dedication - A genius normally has to be dedicated to working
1% Luck- Some geniuses get a little lucky
5% Curiosity - Without curiosity one is unable to show their Genius
2% Improvision - A genius realizes how to adapt to situations
2% Crazy - No Genius ever in History doesn't have some Crazy in them


I would say all of the Percentages are adjustable though.

Wikipedia Trail: From Horses to Peter Pan

Horse

Since I made my reading notes about a horse sacrifice this week, I decided to start my trail here. One thing that I learned was that humans began to domesticate them around 4000 BC. I learned that he Przewalski's horse is the only kind of horse that is truly wild and has never been domesticated. I also learned that depending on the breed of horse, the average life span is 25-30 years which is much longer than I thought. I also learned that horses can suffer from Narcolepsy.

Narcolepsy

This is the condition that causes one to have excessive daytime sleepiness. I learned that there is no true cure to this condition but there are medicines and practices that help with the condition. I also learned that it can induce sleep paralysis. I'm low key starting to believe I have this condition as I'm reading this article. The effects of alcohol are similar to some of the symptoms of Narcolepsy which I found interesting.

Sleep Paralysis

Reading about how sleep paralysis was sometimes a part of Narcolepsy lead me here in my trail. This is when a person is aware but unable to move during sleep. I have had this happen to me multiple times and it is terrifying. One thing that is interesting with the condition is that people tend to see things or hear things that aren't there during it. I learned that there is really no medication for the symptom other than those that raise serotonin levels. This condition has been used to explain alien and ghost sitings for different people which I find very interesting. I also learned that many people credit Ebenezer Scrooge's ghost seeing to sleep paralysis in a Christmas Carol. It is also believe that the author of Peter Pan had sleep paralysis.

Peter Pan

As a kid I remember watching the animated movie about Peter Pan so I thought why not finish my trail here. One thing I learned was that the character was first mentioned in a different story called The Little White Bird. One thing I learned was that the original author never described his appearance and left it up to the reader which I find funny since everyone knows what Peter Pan looks like now. I also learned that the Disney movie to which I was referring was released in 1953 which seems crazy to me.

This is an image of Peter Pan found on Wikimedia Commons.