Brainstorming Project Topics

Possible topic: Apuleius's Cupid and Psyche. I was actually really happy when I came across this topic. I took Latin in high school, so I feel like I would have a lot of insight on this topic! I would like to learn a different side of the Disney classic fairy tale, Beauty and the Beast, so I feel like this would be a great topic for me!
research so far: I looked at the Wikipedia article on Cupid and Psyche, and it looks like I could do a whole Storybook topic on just them! When I checked out some of the Storybook projects for one of my assignments during the first week, I gathered that a lot of previous students based their Storybooks off of TV shows (FRIENDS, Gossip Girl, etc.) I thought it would be really cool if I could somehow take the Cupid and Psyche story and base it off the TV show How I Met Your Mother.  How I Met Your Mother is all about the main character, Ted Mosby, telling his kids the story over several seasons of episodes of how he met their mother. I think it would be a really cool project! That is a show that I have watched for years. 

Possible topic: The Voyages of Sindbad. I was actually really excited when I found this topic, because I wanted to read The Odyssey. I decided not to read The Odyssey last week for my weekly reading because it looked very dark and gory. Since The Voyages of Sindbad is based off The Odyssey and I took Latin, I feel like I would also have a lot of insight on this topic! Even though I have never read The Odyssey myself, I am somewhat familiar with the story. After briefly looking through the readings, it looks like The Voyages of Sindbad is much more light-hearted than The Odyssey, so I would love to do my Storybook project over this topic!
research so far: After looking at the Wikipedia article, it looks like I could do my whole Storybook project on this topic! As far as a Storybook project idea on this topic, I'm honestly kind of lost. I'm not familiar with another famous story of a person who explores the world on his own. I browsed some of the previous students' Storybook projects and I kind of came back empty. If you have any ideas, please let me know!

Possible topic: Canterbury Tales. I had actually never heard of these before I found the unit in the Un-Textbook, so I think this would be an interesting topic to do by Storybook project over. I like that you get to choose who told the best story!
research so far: I looked at the Wikipedia article for this topic and it looks like I could do my whole Storybook project on this topic! I think it would be cool if I did a spinoff of a CSI episode on this project. For example, my tabs on my website could be about the seven pilgrims and their stories, and whoever tells the least convincing story committed a crime that the CSI agents are trying to solve!

Possible topic: King Arthur. I've seen the Sword in the Stone movie, but I haven't seen it since I was little so I actually don't remember much! I think actually reading the story of King Arthur versus watching the movie will give me some different insight. 
Research so far: After looking at the King Arthur Wikipedia article, the story immediately reminded me of the TV series Game of Thrones. The story reminded me of Game of Thrones because of him making an empire and conquering other kingdoms. I think it would be interesting if I could base my Storybook project off of Game of Thrones, but I'm not exactly sure which aspect of Game of Thrones would fit King Arthur best. If you have any ideas, please let me know!

(King Arthur and the Knights of the Roundtable Source: Wikipedia)

Week 2 Storytelling: Who is President?

The day was here. It was the 2nd of January, the day every year that the animals of the New York City Zoo would choose two contestants to go to the animal version of Jeopardy. The winner of the show every year would become president of the zoo for a year.

King Max, one of the only lions at the zoo, was last year's winner of Jeopardy. He was funny and proud of who he was. Many of the other animals at the zoo were envious of him. 

King Max stepped onto the podium in front of the gathered crowd of animals.

"Ladies and gentleman, it is that time of year again. It is time to cast your ballots for this year's contestants of Jeopardy. My dear friend, Anthony the lion, will be picking up the ballots. 

The animals in the crowd furiously began scribbling on their sheets of paper. Anthony made his way through the crowd and began picking up the ballots. After a few minutes of silence, the giraffes began to tally up the ballots. 

Max pulled out a small mirror and began glancing at his reflection and looked down at his claws. He was one of the best looking animals at the zoo, after all. 

One of the giraffes whispered for Max to come over to the table. The giraffe quickly handed a piece of paper to Max and he began to make his way back up to the podium. He grabbed the microphone in his hand and began to clear his throat. 

"Ehh hmmm Ehh hmmm...Ladies and gentlemen, your 2016 Jeopardy contestants for this year are...," a big smile crept onto his face. "Max the lion, and and and, CHESTER?!" 

A hush fell over the crowd and some people even gasped. Chester, a slender leopard, made his way to the front of the crowd. He stood right by Max.

"Yes, that's me," Chester said as he pushed his glasses on his nose and adjusted his bow tie. 

Max looked at him in utter disgust. 

"Ladies and Gentleman, your 2016 Jeopardy! contestants!," one of the giraffes said. 

The audience cheered.    

Chester knew this was his chance of becoming president of the New York City Zoo. He spent the next three days pulling all nighters studying for Jeopardy. After all, he knew the main reason why Max was chosen again to be a contestant was because he was good looking. Most of the lady animals voted Max in, and the rest of the animals did not really care for him. They knew Max was extremely full of himself and that bothered them. 

The day was here. It was time to play Jeopardy. 

The animals gathered around the zoo stage one last time. 

Chester stood on the stage confidently. Max began to look at himself in the mirror again.

An ostrich stood in the middle of the two contestants.

On the giant screen the board lit up. 

"Alright, now I will ask you both a question and whoever buzzes in first will...", the ostrich was shortly cut off by Max. 

"Yeah, yeah, we know how this works," Max laughed. Everyone stared at him and no one echoed his laugh.

"Anyway, as you will see up on the screen, here are your categories: Movie quotes, History, Poetry, World Literature, and Politics," the ostrich said. 

"I'll take History for 200," Chester said. 

"Are you serious?! It's either go for the big questions or nothing," Max said. Chester quickly ignored him.

"Founder of the New York City Zoo", the ostrich said. Both contestants buzzed in, but Max buzzed in a little bit faster. 

"Who is Alexander Davis?," Max said. 

"That's correct."

"I'll take Politics for 600," Max said. 

"President of the New York City Zoo in 1959."

This time Chester buzzed in faster than Max. 

"Who was Jacob the bear?", Chester said. 

"That's correct."

The next question would determine who would be the president of the New York City Zoo for 2016.

"I'll take World Literature for 800," Chester said. 

Chester knew he had a chance on winning Jeopardy if he chose World Literature as the last category. He knew that Max had never even picked up a book in his life.

Chester could see Max begin to sweat. Chester smiled and took a deep breath. 

"The author of the Animal Kingdom: The Journey to the Great Beyond."     

Max quickly buzzed in.

"Who is...uh...uh...Bob the snake?," Max said. 

"I'm sorry but that's incorrect. Now Chester, you have a chance on answering this question," the ostrich said. 

The whole crowd stared at Chester. Chester smiled because he knew he could even say this answer in his sleep.

"Who is Bartholomew the rhino?," Chester said. 

"THAT'S IT! CHESTER WINS!," the ostrich yelled. 

The crowd rushed onto the stage and carried Chester back to his home. 

"CHESTER! CHESTER!," they all chanted.

Max stood on the stage in utter disbelief. He could not believe he was no longer president.   

("Le lion et le leopard" Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Author's note: I based this story off of the Aesop Fable, The Fox and the Monkey. This story is closely related to the fable because one animal tricks another animal and is chosen to be the ruler instead. I changed the type of animals in my story to put a fun spin on the original. I also made Chester seem like someone who was liked by the majority of the animal population versus just someone trying to steal the throne. I also incorporated the show Jeopardy! into my story because when I was brainstorming, I saw one of the random suggested storytelling ideas was to tell your story from a TV show host's perspective. Out of all the game shows I thought of, I thought Jeopardy would be the best one to choose because it seemed like it would be one of the most interactive game shows. I also wanted to have Max and Chester have to play a game show to become president instead of just be picked by voting. I  also thought it would be fun and keep people engaged if I made my story focused around a game show. Lastly, I also thought it would be fun to write a story about a leopard and a lion because I pictured different cats in a zoo constantly having fights with one another. 

Bibliography: The Aesop for Children, with illustrations by Milo Winter (1919)

      

Week 2 Reading Diary B: Aesop (Winter)

Here are my favorite stories below from the Aesop for Children, illustrated by Milo Winter Unit.

The Fox and the Leopard: I really liked this story because it intrigued me that a fox and a leopard could get along! I would have never put the two animals together! I could picture the fox telling the leopard that looks are not everything, then laughing and walking off. I could also picture the leopard staring at the fox after he made his joke and not knowing what to say. Those who brag about what they do or brag about their looks are often insecure about themselves.

The Cat, the Cock, and the Young Mouse: This story really stood out to me because of the cat. I could see the whole story playing out in my head. I could also see the mouse being completely frightened by a rooster yelling at him. I mean that would be one of the most frightening things ever to an animal that is smaller than a rooster! I've always thought that birds are very weird creatures. I could picture the cat grinning at the mouse just like you would always see the Cheshire Cat smiling in "Alice in Wonderland". I could also picture the mouse telling his mom the whole story and she wanting to interrupt and tell him that the cat preys on them, but letting her son tell his story.

The Cat and the Birds:  I really liked this story because I could picture a cat becoming very thin. Sadly enough, one of my own cats back home had not been eating and she had to be hospitalized. She is doing well now, but she had to have a feeding tube put in. :( I could also picture the cat becoming mischievous and willing to do whatever it took to get some food. It oddly reminded me of Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas because the cat was willing to dress up to get some food. The Grinch wanted to dress up as Santa and steal everything holiday related from the citizens of Whoville. I could also picture the birds knowing better and slamming their door on the cat, and the cat being completely speechless.

The Frog and the Mouse: I immediately was drawn into this story by the illustration. I could picture the frog being mean and having a smirk on his face because he drowned the mouse. I could also picture the frog being completely shocked when the hawk pulled him out of the water and into the air. I could also picture the frog struggling to break free from the hawk's grasp but being unable to do so. I guess this story relates a lot to the saying "whatever goes around comes around".

The Bull and the Goat: I could immediately picture a bull being frightened by a lion and then entering a cave with a goat thinking he could prey on him just because he had just run into a lion. Those of us who go through difficult times in our lives often will come out stronger in the end. Just because we may seem weak at the time, doesn't necessarily mean anything. People haven't seen what we've had to go through in the past to get to this point.

The Bat and the Weasels:  This story actually surprised me as far as Aesop fables go because this bat was trying to be something that he wasn't in the end. I guess a bat is really a hybrid between a mouse and a bird, which I have never actually thought about until now. I could picture the bat trying to say anything to spare his life, and the weasels falling for it. I guess if you are part something part another, you should totally use it to your advantage! I am sure that if the bat had been a mouse or a bird instead he would've been dead!

The Fox and the Monkey: I could totally picture all the animals having fun as the monkey was dancing except for the fox. There always has to be at least one person who doesn't approve of their superior. I could picture the fox leading the monkey to the trap and the monkey getting stuck. As much as trapping the monkey was the wrong thing to do, you have to be well-rounded in order to rule over others. Too bad the other animals were not around to see the fox trick the monkey or they may have chosen someone else besides the fox to be the new king.

The Lark and Her Young Ones: The illustration is what originally drew me into this story. I could picture the young larks overhearing the farmer and then repeating the news to their mom. I could picture them all trying to tell her the same thing at once and she would get frustrated and only would ask if one of them could speak. I could see the young larks telling their mom that the farmer said that he would harvest the wheat in the morning and the mom telling them they must leave the nest. I could picture all of the young lark trying to spread their wings and practice flying so they would be prepared for the next day.

(illustration by Milo Winter)

The Wolf, the Kid, and the Goat: I could picture the mother goat going off into town and warning the kid not to let anyone in without the secret password. I could see the wolf grinning after he heard the secret password and plotting how he was going to trick the kid into letting him in. However, when the wolf got up to the door, I could also picture the kid being suspicious that it wasn't someone he knew. My mom told me to never answer the door for strangers while I was growing up, and I still don't to this day.  It is always better to check something twice just to be sure than accepting that something is okay the first time around. 

The Wolves and the Sheep: I could picture the wolves thinking of a plan of how to trick the sheep. I could also picture the sheep second guessing themselves and then saying okay. We must be very careful in dealing with people that we are not that familiar with. We do not know their true intentions and that is the scary part. I could totally picture one of the sheep looking at the other sheep when the wolves were about to eat them and saying, "I told you this wasn't a good idea!"  

Week 2 Reading Diary A: Aesop (Winter)

Here are my favorite stories below from the Aesop for Children, illustrated by Milo Winter Unit.

The Tortoise and the Ducks: I liked this story because the tortoise reminded me of the character Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh, oddly enough, because the tortoise lived most of his life sad and depressed like Eeyore did. This story also reminded me of the famous saying that "curiosity killed the cat" because since the tortoise was curious, he ended up losing his life.

The Dog, the Cock, and the Fox: I liked this story because it reminds me that you cannot trick those around you just because they seem weaker than you. The other thing I also got from this story is that you should always "expect the unexpected" and always treat your peers with respect.

The Ass and His Driver: I liked this story the best on this page because I could really picture the story playing out in my head! This story also reminded me of my own life. My mom will give me advice on something and I will choose to handle the situation differently instead. Later, I will realize that my mom's advice was the best way to handle the situation all along. "Sometimes mom just knows best!"

The Lion and the Ass: I liked this story a lot because it reminds me much of my every day life. Don't listen to what people say about you. You are the only one who can control your thoughts and actions. You cannot control anyone else's! When people say a rumor about you it also says a lot about who they are as a person.

The Owl and the Grasshopper: I liked this story the most because of its picture! After I saw the picture, I pictured the owl in the story just like it was in the illustration! I also liked this story because it talks about flattery. When people give you a compliment, sometimes they might just be saying something nice to you because they are trying to distract you from what is really going on!

(illustration by Milo Winter)

The Lion and the Gnat: I liked this story the most because of the illustration that went along with it. The lion in the picture reminded me of Aslan from The Chronicles of Narnia! I really liked that this story talked about how you should never be too proud of your accomplishments, having a lot of pride is not attractive and will often times get you in trouble!

The Lion, the Bear, and the Fox: I liked this story because I could really picture both the lion and the fox fighting over the lamb until they were both exhausted! It makes me realize that it is often times better to share something rather than compete over the prize. Being friendly towards someone is the best thing you can do in the long run!

The Lion and the Ass: I liked this story a lot because I could totally picture the donkey making a fool out of himself in the cave! I often think that our friends are not impressed about our accomplishments because it is almost like they are expected out of us.

The Monkey and the Dolphin: The illustration is the first thing that brought me into this story! I liked how the illustrator made it seem like the dolphin was very unhappy. I think the moral of this story is that you should never lie. Lying is the worst thing that you can do because it will often lead you into more trouble later. Pretending to be someone you aren't is also a very dangerous thing to do because a lot of times people will see right through that!

The Monkey and the Cat: I originally picked this story because I love cats! Cats are my favorite animal! I think that is often true that people are trying to use others to get what they want. I think this story also relates a lot to the "what's in it for me?" question. It is sad that the cat fell for the monkey's order, but sometimes we have to learn lessons like that in order to have more wisdom later. I also think that the cat won't trust as many people ever again! When people use us to get what they want, it will often times make us have trust issues later.

Learning challenges are a part of growing as a person

Time is the topic that interests me the most out of all of the H.E.A.R.T. topics. It interests me the most because I am the absolute worst when it comes to time management! I always under estimate how long something will take for me to do, and then I don't end up completing everything I had planned to work on for that day. Not only does that make me behind on my school work and other things in life in general, it makes me disappointed in myself. I would like to try the Pomodoro technique and see if it helps me manage my time better. I always feel like I am putting off my homework because I don't want to do it. I'd like to eventually get my homework done first and then be able to have free time later! 

I've been trying to work on my overall health lately. It's SO hard as a college student to eat healthy!! I seriously can't stress that enough. My schedule is so jammed-packed that I don't have any time to cook myself healthy meals at night. Recently, I've tried to meal prep on Sundays and then eat leftovers throughout the week (so far it's working). I'm going to try to start going to the gym again this week. I know it'll be hard for me, because I know the first thing I want to do when I get home from classes is just watch TV. However, I know that if I start working out, I will have more energy, will be able to sleep better, and overall I'll feel better about myself. Here's to hoping that from now on I will continue to improve my health!  

I think I'm pretty good when it comes to empathy. I come from a difficult family background, so I am definitely able to relate with a lot of people who have also experienced that. I use my wisdom from those situations to help others. I've learned that whatever you're going through, it's not the end of the world. I wish I could go back and tell myself years ago that it's going to be okay, and that you would be proud of your future self. 

I couldn't have said this quote that Albus Dumbledore said in Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire better myself: 

(This image was taken from The Daily Quotes)

Learning to have a Growth Mindset instead of a Fixed Mindset

I actually have never heard about Carol Dweck until I watched these videos. I see myself more towards the fixed mindset regarding my school work. I often times will get frustrated if I don't achieve the grade I set out for myself instead of congratulating myself on how far I have come since the beginning of the semester. 

I see myself also having a fixed mindset when it comes to my extracurricular activities as well. When I was in band in middle school and high school, I would often get discouraged if I couldn't play a certain note or become frustrated if I couldn't play a certain line of music. Instead of congratulating myself from doing better than I first started, I would get mad at myself for not getting it right. 

Ever since I began my time as a student at OU, I've learned that it's okay that if you are struggling with something. A lot of times professors will see your improvement and will be impressed with how far you have come and so will the people around you. I think the biggest challenges I face when I have to learn a new thing is that I think if I haven't done it before, I will immediately be behind my classmates when it comes to learning something new. I've noticed that it is kind of scary when you have to learn something new in a class in college and then will have to be graded on it later in the semester (ex. learning how to use different applications, etc.).

I definitely think I'm interested in learning more about growth mindset this semester. I would love to talk to my mom about this (she is a middle school teacher) as well as some of my friends that want to be teachers some day. I'd like to have their input on it. I would also like to try different styles of writing my blog posts for this class. I think I will find that if I write my blog post out ahead of time on paper and then read them, I will catch my mistakes easier than just writing it on here from the get-go. 

I am worried about my Public Relations Publications class this semester. My professor on the first day said that we would be using Photoshop and playing around with graphics a lot in his class. That immediately made me worry because I do not have any experience using either one of those! A personal goal I have set for myself this semester is to become more proficient in both of those things. I  have also set another personal goal for myself to attend more of my professors' office hours. I think that I will see that my grade will drastically improve if I do so. 

I think in general I need to apply a growth mindset for my every day life. I need to congratulate myself for improvement instead of getting frustrated at myself for not achieving what I had originally set for myself. 

After all, as my mom always says, "Practice makes perfect and Rome was not built in a day!"  

(Translation: Rome wasn't built in a day by Sue Strickland's Cheezburger gallery)

Week 1: The One With All The Storybook Favorites

The first storybook I glanced at was Friends: The One With All The Stories. This topic was familiar to me because I am currently watching the TV show FRIENDS in the order the show came out. The Introduction does a fantastic job of explaining the topic! It basically describes the show in a nutshell and makes me want to read the stories that go along with it. I like how the author titled the stories "The One With..." just like how the creators of the real show titled all of the episodes! The layout and the design of the page makes me feel like I am in a FRIENDS episode myself. I feel right at home! I also liked how they used an image of the full cast on the front page. These characters were always spending time together! I like how they put all of their stories on the side of their website page. It makes it easy to locate them. I might have to use that idea for my own storybook!

(A picture of the Central Perk logo. Source: Wikia) 

The second storybook I glanced at was E! News Special: Diary Reveal. This topic was not familiar to me. I have never heard of the women named Leah and Rachel from the Bible even though I have studied it most of my life. However, I am familiar with E! News. The Introduction does a good job of explaining the topic and makes me want to read the stories. I liked how the author wrote the Introduction just like the news anchors would reveal a celebrity news story on E! News. I could picture the anchors announcing this story! I honestly didn't really like the layout and design of their site. The white font on a dark colored background kind of makes it blinding to read at first. The navigation is well done, but I feel like they could have used a better font as well as better font colors. I do not really see anything from this project that I would want to use on my own, but I did like the style of writing that they used!

The third storybook I glanced at was Gossip Girl: The Dirt on Hawaii's Elites. This topic was not familiar to me at all. I have never heard any Hawaiian fairy tales before. However, I am somewhat familiar with the TV show Gossip Girl. I liked how the author used the beginning audio of the real TV show to give us some details on the Hawaiians. It really makes me want to read into the stories more! I also liked how the author used a Hawaiian print as the background for their website. That was a nice touch! The font is a nice color to compliment the background. I really liked their title design as well! I might have to do something similar like that for my storybook.

I really like most of the storybooks I looked at, and I think I will use some of their ideas for my own!