famous last words: practicing to relax

This week my goal has been to focus on relaxing more. I tend to just go-go-go on the regular and begin to feel anxious anytime I have time to relax or am trying to take a study break. I know that this is not healthy and I want to start making changes to decrease the amount of stress I feel.

What I found this week is that I need to literally plan what I am going to do to relax and for how long. It seemed silly at first, but it worked wonders this past week. I planned either a show to watch or made dinner plans for 4 days this week which is 4 more than I usual do during the week.

I ended up going to dinner once and I planned to watch 1-2 episodes of "This is Us" each other night. This is Us is a show on Hulu that I just started. I really enjoy it because they are just long enough to destress and they keep me engaged more than any other show I have watched. 

(Photo from WikiMedia).

One way I have been making sure that I don't just get stuck watching the show is I make goals. For example, I may have to read a chapter of my physics book before I can watch an episode. Depending on when I finish and how tired I am, I would watch either 1 or 2 episodes. I even fell asleep during an episode one night which I haven't done in forever!

I am hoping to continue this trend until I finish this show. After I finish this show, I hope I can find another one that is just as good...but that may be difficult because this show is off the charts! If anyone has any suggestions, feel free to send them my way! 

tech tip: quote

week 6 story: the wolf in good company

Today, what I thought was going to be just my average hunt turned into a little situation. My wolf pack and I were getting ready for our nightly hunt when things got a little tricky...

My grandpa always tells us what areas to avoid and what areas to focus on for our hunting trips, but sometimes he is just plain annoying. When you are barking orders at me and I am starving, I can't help but to block you out...sorry grandpa!

Anyway, as usual, I zoned out during our pre-hunt meeting and was on my way through the dark woods to find some dinner.

Everything was going great. I heard some hefty footsteps and decided to get in the zone. These footsteps sounded like a fine meal for me.

As I got closer and closer, my heartbeat grew louder and louder. I finally crept up to my favorite part of the hunt -- the reveal. Quickly, I threw back a large branch and met my prey...or what I thought was my prey.

Standing in front of me was a lion with paws as large as my face. Immediately, I scanned my brain for a plan. 

"Great lion, I am so sorry to cross paths with you. My dad has told me what route to take, but I am just a young cub and I must have taken the wrong turn. Please don't eat me. I will do anything" I said in the cutest baby cub voice I could make. 

As this lion didn't know any better, he thought the wolf was innocent and invited her to his den.

After they arrived, the lion left to go on an errand, and while he was gone, the wolf wiped out his whole kitchen. Before her left, he put a note on the door, "tell your father I saw hello," and off into the woods he went. 

Once the lion got back he said, "man, I should've listened to my grandad and not trusted the wolf!"

(Photo from WikiMedia.) 

Author's Note:

This story is based off of The Lion in Bad Company by Ellen Babbit. It starts out with a wolf running into a lion and begging for his life. The lion goes against what his family has told him and gives into the wolf. 

Later, The wolf talked the young lion into going to the river and killing a pony for him and the wolf to eat. The father reminded the son that those ponies belong to the king and that lions that steal from the king don't live long. 

The pony tasted so good that the lion continued to kill ponies until the king found out what was happening to them. The king had a tank built in the town, but the lion was so foolish that he followed to the tank and continued the killings. Then, the king had the ponies stay in their stables, but the lion continued. 

Finally, the king ordered an archer to shoot the lion. Once the lion was shot, he yelled out to the wolf and realized that he had been tricked. The wolf was following all along just to get the lion killed so he could return to his normal life back in the woods.

In my version, I told is more from the wolf's point of view and did not have the lion die. In the end of my story, both the wolf and the lion have learned a lesson as well.

Indian Tales Unit: The Lion in Bad Company by Ellen Babbit.

reading notes: the turtle who couldn't stop talking, part b

For this story, I chose to read The Turtle Who Couldn't Stop Talking. This is another story from the Indian Tales Unit from a book of Jataka Tales by Ellen Babbit.

This story is about a turtle that befriends two geese. They become such good friends that the geese invite him to their living quarters.

They both hold a stick between them and tell the turtle to hold on by his mouth and not to speak a word. 

Once they flew over a village and people began to talk about how outrageous is was that the turtle was in the air, the turtle forgot his only task -- to not talk. He began to talk to defend himself and the fact that he had great friends but, before he knew is, he fell dead to the ground. 

The turtle had to talk, so he lost his life.

(Photo by Flickr.)

I see many connections in this story as I did in, "The Lion in Bad Company." Although the lion was tricked, the two animals do not listen to other more wise than themselves. Both of their mistakes led to the loss of their lives. 

I can use this in a story of my own by changing up the point of views. I think that I may either use the lion story from the point of view of the wolf or use this story and add in more details. 

Both are great options and I feel as though these stories give me lots of room to become creative. This is one thing I really enjoy about shorter stories. I get the main point across and can then add in my own detailing. 



Indian Tales Unit: The Turtle Who Couldn't Stop Talking by Ellen Babbit.

reading notes: the lion in bad company, part a

This week I am reading The Lion in Bad Company from the Jataka Tales.

I am not sure if this is just fate, but almost every story I have come across (and even some of my classmates) have included a wolf in some way or another. I was trying to avoid that today and branch out to new topics, but I guess the wolves find me when I am not even looking for them!

This story starts out with a wolf running into a lion and begging for his life. You see the lion's characteristics when he goes against what his family has told him and gives into the wolf. His family warned him not to ever listen to a wolf. The young lion thought he knew better than them and still allowed the wolf to come home and stay with his family in their den. 

The wolf talked the young lion into going to the river and killing a pony for him and the wolf to eat. The father reminded the son that those ponies belong to the king and that lions that steal from the king don't live long. 

The pony tasted so good that the lion did not listen to his father. He continued to kill ponies until the king find out what was happening to them. The king had a tank built in the town, but the lion was so foolish that he followed to the tank and continued the killings. Then, the king had the ponies stay in their stables, but the lion continued. 

Finally, the king ordered an archer to shoot the lion. Once the lion was shot, he yelled out to the wolf and realized that he had been tricked. The wolf was following all along just to get the lion killed so he could return to his normal life back in the woods.

(Photo from Flickr.)

Indian Tales Unit: The Lion in Bad Company by Ellen Babbit.

google timer tech tip

I used the Google timer this weekend for the first time as I have been having such a hard time getting started on the final steps I need to complete before turning in my physical therapy application.

I ended up setting the timer for 45 minutes as I found my focus starting to dwindle when I tried to work on tedious tasks, such as inserting my resume by hand, for that long. 

This strategy worked very well for me and I am definitely going to utilize it in the future. I think I can use this while I browse websites so I don't end up spending hours procrastinating as well as when I am trying to get work done.

famous last words: home sweet home!

After a hectic week of exams, I was able to take a breather (kinda) and drive home to Houston. I got to leave on Thursday after my last exam of the week which was nice since it's never fun to drive seven and a half hours home on a Friday only to turn around and do it again on Sunday. That extra day makes a huge difference! 

As usual, when I got home, I was greeted at the door with an immeasurable amount of canine kisses that immediately put me at ease. There's just something about dogs that truly makes me forget about every stress in the world. It's amazing!

The actual reasoning for my visit to come home was the fact the Texas Woman's University was hosting an open house for both their graduate and undergraduate programs. My dream is to attend their Doctor of Physical Therapy program in the fall of 2018.

With my goal being to turn in my PT application by Monday, September 25th, I think this was a great decision. Once I got there, we got lots of important information and I have the opportunity to ask a few last minute questions that I wanted to clear up before submitting my application. The faculty, staff, and students were all so helpful and I couldn't be more excited to see what happens in the upcoming months!

(Photo by WikiMedia.)

On top of the open house, being home came with yummy, home-cooked meals, staying in my pajamas all day, and having my mom around to read over my final tweaks in my application essays. Although I know returning home after graduating is not going to be the most exciting thing for me, times like this really make me appreciate it all.

I love my family and am thankful they always know how to help me relax when the college life does what it does best!

week 5 story: the foolish wolf

Once upon a time there was a wolf looking for trouble.

The moon was shining bright, and there was not a cloud in the sky. He was bored of simply hunting for his food and wanted a challenge. 

"What a better night to spice things up than tonight?" he thought. 

As he walked along his hunting path, he gazed near and far looking for inspiration when a loud noise caused him to come to stop. Slowly, he crept closer and closer until he found the source. It was a pack of goats that had just chopped down a tree.

The wolf saw this as a sign. His challenge must have something to do with this pack of foolish goats. 

"Who would leave their home and make so much noise at this time of night? They are asking for it..." the wolf thought.

Without breaking a single branch under his paws, the wolf made his way to the goat's living quarters. Just as he thought, not a soul was home.

One by one, he went through each of the goat's belongings. He was so excited, he got a little carried away. Before he knew it, he was trying on their clothes, playing their instruments, and cooking their food. 

All of this fun wore him out to the point that he decided to take a little nap in one of the goat's beds. 

Over an hour passed and the wolf woke up in a state of confusion. He was now hanging from a tree!

"What a fool you must be to travel to our home alone and create so much noise so late at night!" a goat shouted.

"Not again..." the wolf sighed. 

(Photo by PixaBay.)

Author's Note:
This story was about a wolf that snuck into a momma goat's home while she was running an errand. He tried to steal all of her babies, but one was able to run and hide. Once the mom returned, the baby that hid let her know that the wolf had come and stole his brothers. The momma goat then went and told the wolf that she would fight him for her babies. He agreed and, as they walked to their fighting place, the momma goat offered the wolf to drink water from a stream in preparation for the fight. Foolishly, the wolf drank until he was so bloated he could barely jump across the stream. The momma goat stabbed him in the stomach with her horn and won back her babies.
I changed the story by having the wolf steal from a family of goats while they were bonding away form their home. Like the original, the wolf's foolishness gets him into trouble.

Persian Tales, translated by D.L.R. Lorimer and E.O. Lorimer and illustrated by Hilda Roberts (1919). The Wolf and The Goat.

reading notes: the story of the wolf-bride, part b

For this reading, I read The Story of the Wolf-Bride from the Persian Tales unit.

This story starts out by the father of a boy receiving a horoscope that his son will be torn to pieces by a wolf. 

Being one that love horoscopes, I was already drawn in.

This story also incorporates an akhund which is from the Persian culture. This akhund was the boy's teacher in his chamber underground.

I like that the author did not make this chamber seem to be a dark or scary place.

All at once, the now man in the chamber was old enough to receive a wife. After all that time spent in a chamber, his new wife was the anticipated wolf that would tear him to pieces the first moment they were left alone.

The moral of the story is that whatever fate has in store for you will indeed happen. I think this was a great way of sending this message since the wife did not know what had happened to herself. This shows that, no matter what, you should continue to live your life because whatever is meant to happen will happen when the time comes.

(Photo by WikiMedia.)

The Story of the Wolf-Bride from Persian Tales translated by D. L. R. Lorimer and E. O. Lorimer.

reading notes: the wolf and the goat, part A

For this week, I read The Wolf and The Goat from the Persian Tales Unit.

Right off the bat, I noticed how the Persian culture was tied into this story. The Wolf listened in on the baby goat's mom and dyed his him with henna in order to make it red like the mom's hand.

In addition to this, they included a traditional Persian dish in the story called ash. 

Another part that I really enjoyed and would like to attempt to incorporate into my own story is the rhyming. This made the wolf and goat dialogue much more fluent and entertaining as they confronted each other.

I was a little confused when the two exchanged skins and the goat was called a dentist, but the end of the story was clear.

I may use the sense of foolishness from this wolf in my own story.

(Photo by PixaBay.)

Persian Tales, translated by D.L.R. Lorimer and E.O. Lorimer and illustrated by Hilda Roberts (1919). The Wolf and The Goat.

comment wall

Link to my storybook: Freedom to a Wolf

(Photo by PixaBay)

week 3 story: the wolf that lied

As the morning grew closer and the wolf grew tired and hungry, he was desperate for food. He had gone far too long without a meal and had a plan of action in place.

He carefully crept to the village just on the outskirts of the dark woods where he scavenges each night to find his last resource for food -- humans. As he neared, visions of his brother being shot by a farmer flashed through his mind. The nerves began to rise.

"There must me some other way," he thought as he continued to tremble through the woods.

After brainstorming for 100 yards and reaching the village, an idea popped into his head, "Maybe I can make friends with one of my cousins -- a dog!" 

This was his new mission: make friends with a dog in order to then steal his food.

As the wolf wondered through the village, the sun slowly began to peak over what was once his dark kingdom. As the roosters crowed, he looked closely for dogs to befriend. 

"Ah-ha!" he said to himself as he saw a beautiful Golden Retriever looking his way.

The wolf approached the dog with ease and greeted him with a kind, "Hi there, cousin!"

Excited to meet a new friend, the dog welcomed him over the barbed wire fence that was keeping the wolf out. What he didn't explain to the wolf was why he could not cross the barbed wire from his end.

As the owner approached the dog to feed him, he jumped back startled. Luckily, the dog and wolf made their plan of how to act when the owner approached them so he would know not to harm the wolf.

The dog's tail was wagging from side to side as he received "kisses" from the wolf. They pranced and played until the owner made it close enough to pet the wolf. He could not believe what he was experiencing!

He put out two bowls of food and disappeared. 

"YES!" the wolf shouted. 

The dog looked at him with confusion, "Have you not eaten anything?"

In an effort to be kind and care for his cousin, the dog even offered the wolf his own bowl of food. The wolf was so excited to eat, he didn't notice the owner sneak up behind him. He felt a little tug on his neck and, despite his natural instinct, he continued to eat.

The owner kept refilling the wolf's food bowl as he could see how slim he was due to malnourishment. The wolf was well-fed and ready for bed.

"I'm going to get some rest now, cousin. You know, I usually only sleep during the day, so I am exhausted!" said the wolf.

The dog showed him the barn where he could cool down and sleep until night time comes and he is re-energized.

As darkness dominated the village, the wolf arose from his slumber. 

"Time for action," he thought to himself as he crept past the dog.

He slowly made his way back to the fence from which he entered and was ready to make a run for it. 

"Thanks for the food, suckers!" He thought as he took a running lunge to send his body over the fence.

"HOOOOOOOOWL," came bursting out of the wolf's mouth.

(Image from Flickr.)

He had been shocked! Confused and in pain, he tried again, but the second time hurt even worse. The dog woke up and sprinted towards the wolf.

"What are you doing? Do you not remember my owner putting a shock collar on you? He told you not to go anywhere. Why wouldn't you listen to him?" The dog shouted angrily.

The wolf was speechless. He had no recollection of those words and could not believe what he was hearing. How could this be? In a matter of seconds he realized all that he had sacrificed for some dog kibble.

As the wolf dragged his feet back toward the barn, he mumbled, "I guess it's true, what comes easy is never worth having..."


Author's Note:

I based my story off of The Dog and The Wolf from Aesop's Fables by Joseph Jacobs. This story has a wolf meeting his cousin, which is a dog just as I have in my story. He stumbles past him as he is trembling with hunger. The dog offers him to join him and be fed by an owner and not have to worry about scavenging for food, but the wolf refuses. 
In my version of the story, I have the wolf seek the dog out of desperation without realizing all the he will lose. My version of the wolf is so hungry that he can't think of the consequences following his actions -- he just knows he needs food fast.

Aesop's Fables by Joseph Jacobs; The Dog and The Wolf.

reading notes: the shepherd's boy, part b

I read The Shepherd's Boy from Aesop's Fables by Joseph Jacobs for this reading. I chose to read this simply because it has a wolf integrated into the story.

I enjoyed this short story as another trait I learned about wolves is the fact that their foolishness can sometimes lead them into trouble. In this story, this is what stood out to me:

• The setting made the story. If this would've taken place elsewhere, this may not have happened. The author describes the surroundings with just enough detail to set the eerie mood.
• The boy wanted attention, so he lied. I think this would be integrated into my story in some way, but using the wolf in place of the boy. Maybe even having the wolf lie to his "cousin" dog that I read about in the last story in order to get food. But, ultimately becoming trapped as a pet and loosing his freedom.
• I love the quote that this story ended on, "a liar will not be believed, even when he speaks the truth." This could come into play by making the wolf need to escape to save a pup or something, but the dog not believing him.

(Image from Flickr.)

Aesop's Fables by Joseph Jacobs: The Shepherd's Boy.

reading notes: the dog and the wolf, part a

This week, I am going to put forth my best effort to zoom in on the topics that truly interest me for my project.

Today, I read, "The Dog and The Wolf" by Joseph Jacobs. I loved this story. Although it was sweet, it was to the point. 

Here are the main points that stood out to me:

• the Wolf's longing for freedom and independence 
• the Wolf's ability to have a civil conversation with one of a different kind
• the Wolf's ability to stay loyal to his values

I love how the story ends with the Wolf calling the dog a fat slave as it took a 180 degree turn from how they communicated when they first met. This shows that wolves are kind until a boundary is crossed. Even though there was no harm done to the wolf in learning that the dog was chained up every night, he believes so strongly that his way is correct. His morals are black and white to him and he will make that clear for all to see.

I see this strong trait doing both good and bad for the wolf. Who knows, there could've been a whole pack of neighborhood dogs ready to teach the hungry lone wolf a lesson.

(Photo from PixaBay)

Aesop's Fables by Joseph Jacobs; The Dog and The Wolf.

famous last words: just make it through

This week was a rough week. On top of Hurricane Harvey this past week, Hurricane Irma, Jose, and Katia are all doing damage on my roommate's hometown, Florida. With this news also came the news of her father having stage 4 Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma which has spread to his liver. Luckily, her father come in town to surprise her and gets to stay for a week since all of the airports in Florida are closed. 

Being one that gets sick easily from stressors, I have been sick since Thursday night and have never had it this bad. I went to the doctor thinking it might be strep or mono, but it's just another stress bug I have given myself. 

I am working on relaxing which has been extremely hard given the fact that I missed class on Friday (which I never do), had to miss my Class Council retreat on Saturday, and have a Physics 2 exam on Wednesday coming up. Not to mention the fact this it is my sweet boyfriend's birthday today and I wish I could have the energy to celebrate him, but I really don't. He understands and has been helping me relax, but I still want to shower him with birthday fun as I LOVE to celebrate other people.

At this point, I am trying my best to just make it through Wednesday because my family and my boyfriend's family get in Thursday. I can't wait to celebrate the stress lessening this weekend with all of my loved ones!

(Photo by Wikimedia)

feedback strategies

Here is what I have learned from the two articles I read over feedback:

1. After reading, "Be a Mirror: Give Readers Feedback that Fosters a Growth Mindset" I learned -

• Being specific with what the reader has done and how it was helpful and/or useful to the assignment will help them learn what should be repeated again.
• Focusing on what has gone well rather than what is missing will guide the reader to focus, and reuse, those positives in future work without feeling discouraged.
• Taking yourself out of the feedback will help the reader thrive off their own capabilities, rather than to simply please the audience.

2. After reading, "How to Craft Constructive Feedback" I learned -  

• Sometimes all you need to do is be a witness to someone's work and share thanks for them taking their time to open up and share.
• Observe what stood out to you and repeat them through examples to the reader.
• Describe how the work made you feel.
• Suggest any place that you may see could use improvement to make the work even better.

(Photo by Jurgen Appelo)

topic research: the lonely wolf

For my project, I think I am going to stick to the topic of wolves.

After researching, wolves a few stories came to mind:

1. I learned that wolves are social beings and always like to travel with at least one mate at all times. I think that I could make a story about a wolf that was left behind from the pack and ended up pairing up with a family house dog since the other wolves abandoned him.

2. I also learned that wolves are very territorial animals. For that reason, I would like to include a plot twist similar to the one in the Beth Gellert story. I could have the abandoned wolf become territorial over a neighborhood families children and end the story with the wolf saving the children.

3. The last story that I thought of after doing my research brings the dog back into play. I think I may have the wolf mate with the dog and create a pack of his own. This will reestablish the wolf's confidence as he teaches his own pups the ways of the wolf, while maintaining his new-found traits from his dog mate.

(Photo by Gustave Dore)

My source for the basic information about wolves came from Wikipedia.

week 3 story: the chaos of man without God

In 2017, the United States was full of sadness. The climate was diminishing, the unity was breaking, and the people were left brokenhearted. 

Each person felt as though there was something missing from their life, but they could not pinpoint just what it was. All everyone could agree on was the fact that they needed to make a change and quick.

As usual, no one acted on their promises to seek out the cause of the sudden increase in madness throughout our nation...except for one student organization on the University of Oklahoma campus in Norman.

This organization was a mixture of philosophy, religious studies, and environmental science majors that wanted to make a difference in our world. 

Following Hurricane Harvey destroying Texas, the environmentalist majors had a breakdown. Nothing they wrote out added up to the disaster that took place. Where had this power come from? Who is causing this on our people?

Immediately, the religious studies students bit back. They did not like the idea of blaming a person, as they knew the person they were alluding to was God. 

"He would never put such disaster upon us at a time of brokenness!" Blurted one of the young women.

In a peaceful manor, the philosophy students chimed in, "Let's all take a step back for a second...what if we are looking at this all wrong?"

Confused, the religious studies and environmental majors gave the philosophers their attention.

After hours of conversing ideas, the three groups of students came to a consensus as to why our country has been under such distress.

In the first chapter of the bible, God provides his people dominion over the earth. So, they decided that none of this has anything to do with the man upstairs wishing harm upon our people. Instead, they picked up a bible and began to dissect every verse starting from page one.

They stopped after Genesis 1-2. They figured out what has been causing the increase in chaos throughout the lands. 

In those verses, God talks about the creation of the heavens and the earth, which most Christians believe, and he also mentions that on the seventh day He rested. 

In today's age, we often forget to rest and give praise to God on Sundays. Even the most Christian of Christians will miss church due to other obligations that arise. 

"This has to be it!" they all thought to themselves. 

Later that week, the organization reached out to the news with their thoughts organized into a presentation. They gave them permission to be on air for the whole world to hear as they knew that even those that did not believe in God would do whatever it takes to stop the chaos of the world.

One month passed since their presentation and, to say the least, they were heard. Stores closed on Sundays, buses drove locals to worship God, and happiness was on the rise.

Who knew, all we needed was a little God to fix a lot of problems.

(Creation of Adam, by William Blake)

Author's Note:

The story I read was about the creation of the Heavens, Earth, Adam, and Eve. It included the seven days of creation and ended with Eve being created from Adam's rib. I found it to be quite difficult to base a story off of this topic, so I tried my best. I have been working on my own faith and definitely fall in and out of the habit of attending church, so I figured I would make a little story around Sundays. I tried to demonstrate the chaos of our generation and the fact that there are some days that I feel like I don't have time to eat much less attend a church service. I used that idea and made it be the cause of basically everything bad that's happened in a short span of time (I know, dramatic). Then, of course, the world goes back to giving the people time to breath and worship every Sunday and all is sunshine and rainbows! 

Story source: King James Bible (1611): Genesis 1-2.