famous last words: can't catch a break

After being sick for a whole week, I decided to workout on Monday of this week and, to say the least, it was not a good idea. Working out on top of the weather change led me to have a fever and cold symptoms Wednesday night. Of course, my family was coming up for homecoming on Thursday night which made me want to get better ASAP. 

(Photo by me from the OU Ring Ceremony)

We went to the ring ceremony which was awesome! It was the biggest one yet and President Boren and Bob Stoops were both there which was also awesome. Besides not feeling 100% and holding back coughs the whole time, it was a great ceremony.

Friday, I woke up with an ear ache so I went to a urgent care clinic and found out that I actually have ear infections in both ears as well as a sinus infection. This scared me because I actually just got tubes in my ears after my first semester of freshman year and a sinus procedure which were supposed to prevent both of these things from happening. 

Now, I am having to take 6 different pills to get my body healthy again that make me very loopy and tired. It's making it very difficult to finish pending assignments and study for my exam on Halloween.

On the bright side, my mom made some delicious homemade chicken noodle soup and they were fine with just hanging out and watching the Astros all weekend. 

I'm just hoping that this settles down so I can complete all of my assignments in this class this week as I am so close to the finish line!

week 10 story: when a rabbit and a possum search for wives

In the early stages of life, a possum bumped into a rabbit on a stroll outside and ended up they becoming lifelong friends. They did everything together even though the rabbit became irritated with the possum every now and then due to the fact that he could quite keep up. Besides the times of irritation, the two seemed to be inseparable. 

As time passed, the two saw others getting married and moving onto the next stage in their lives. They began to wonder what their futures are going look like and, to say the least, they weren't pleased with what they were imagining.

"We need wives like our friends," explained the rabbit. The possum agreed as that seemed to be all of the village animals' main source of happiness during this chapter in their lives. 

Immediately, the rabbit and possum sat down to start exploring their options.

"Tammy?!" shouted the rabbit with excitement.

"Taken," the possum sighed. 

"Lola?" the rabbit continued.

"Keep trying," the possum mumbled. 

They went back and forth for nearly an hour as they listed every woman in town. There seemed to be no hope.

"Oh, oh! I know! How about I go to the next village over and tell the chief of town that they must all marry immediately?" the rabbit shouted.

Although hesitant, the possum was not completely opposed to the idea. They sat in that same spot for the rest of the afternoon creating a script and timeline for the events to take place. The plan was set to begin the next morning.

The next morning came along and it was time to get going. The rabbit was so excited when the began their journey that he didn't even realize that he had left the possum in his dust. By the time he arrived at the door of the courthouse, he noticed his friend was no where to be found, but it was too late. The townsmen saw him and asked him what his quest was.

With little time to think, he continued on with the plan and announced that everyone must marry immediately. He was beyond nervous as he didn't think they would buy into his plan. 

A minute of silence passed and the rabbit snapped, "well, what are you waiting for?!"

The whole town stirred up in chaos as everyone paired up. Luckily, there was one woman left over and she was linked up with the rabbit. The rabbit was trying desperately not to expose the ear-to-ear grin trying to surface.

As the rabbit got back on the stand to announce his goodbye, rattling was heard from the bushes. 

"Who is hiding in that bush?" asked the rabbit.

Slowly, a girl possum crept out of the bush in tears. Almost at the same time, his possum friend arrived exhausted. 

"Don't cry, sweet girl! Look at this handsome gentleman that just arrived. This must be destiny!"

From then on, the possum couple were the happiest in the village!

(Photo from WikiMedia.)

Author's Note: The original story was about a rabbit and a possum that each want a wife, but can't seem to find one. They decided that their best bet was to go to the village over and pretend to be on a council. They were going to tell them that they all must marry at once in a hope that they themselves will become married. 

As they traveled to the next town together, the rabbit moved much quicker and outran the possum. He tried to wait, but the people in the village noticed him and took him to the council lodge. The rabbit went on to deliver his news to the chief and he passed the message along to the people.
Immediately, everyone, including the rabbit, found a mate. By the time the possum got to the village, there were to wives left for him. So, the rabbit traveled on to the next village. This time, he told the chief that there must be peace at once. The animals all began to fight, but the rabbit got away quickly. The possum reached the lodge and all the animals began to gang up on him and they hit him so hard that he just decided to play dead.
This is the reasoning behind why possums play dead.
To me, this story did not flow very well. For that reason, I took out the whole possum playing dead theme and just expanded on the animals finding wives. 

Great Plains unit: Why the Possum Plays Dead by Katharine Berry Judson.

more reading notes: the monkey and the girl, part a

This week, I decided to read for extra credit as the end of the semester is approaching. I want to rack up extra credit as well as explore some additional readings as I really enjoy this part of class. 

I read The Monkey and the Girl from Folklore of the Santal Parganas. This story starts out by introducing some background info. There are kids that used to watch crops growing by a river, and a Hanuman monkey used to come because he wanted to eat the crops. Each time her came, the kids drove him off to protect the crops. 

Wanting to eat the crops, the monkey started to put together a plan that would allow him to have his wish. He decided to make a garland of flowers to leave behind the next time the children drive him away from the crops. He was hoping this would make them like him. It ended up working and the children started to like him. One girl specifically liked him so much that she wanted to marry him. 

Later on, the news spread to this young girl's family and they were very angry. The father went out and shot the monkey and burned the corpse. As the girl arrived, she wanted to see the burning monkey. Her father let her and she distracted all that were gathered by pointing their attention to the sky. At that moment, she took sand and threw it in the air so it would land in their eyes and blind them as she jumped to the pyre and burned alongside the monkey.

The family just brushed it off like it was no big deal and said that she must have had the monkey's soul. 

(Photo from PixaBay.)

I was shocked at how the ending of this story was so casual. The father's daughter just burned herself to death and he just claimed that she must have had the monkey's soul and moved on with his daily activities.

Santal Folklore unit: The Monkey and the Girl from Folklore of the Santal Parganas by Cecil Henry Bompas.

learning challenge: reading out loud

I read this week's stories out loud and it made me realize how quickly I normal skim through things. There actually have been a couple of weeks that I was so mentally exhausted, I chose to use an audiobook. I did not even think twice about it, but it really does help to have the words out loud as I go. I think this truly allowed me to build up the characters with my own tone while really focusing on the details. This also made stories just come timing as I read and ways that I cold change up the characters. I think that I am going to do this more often as I really don't see any disadvantages since I am home alone each time I work on my assignments.

(Photo from Pexels.)

reading notes: why the possum plays dead, part b

For my second story of the week, I decided to read Why the Possum Plays Dead.

This story is about a rabbit and a possum that each want a wife, but can't seem to find one. They decided that their best bet was to go to the village over and pretend to be on a council. They were going to tell them that they all must marry at once in a hope that they themselves will become married. 

As they traveled to the next town together, the rabbit moved much quicker and outran the possum. He tried to wait, but the people in the village noticed him and took him to the council lodge. The rabbit went on to deliver his news to the chief and he passed the message along to the people.

Immediately, everyone, including the rabbit, found a mate. By the time the possum got to the village, there were to wives left for him. So, the rabbit traveled on to the next village. This time, he told the chief that there must be peace at once. The animals all began to fight, but the rabbit got away quickly. The possum reached the lodge and all the animals began to gang up on him and they hit him so hard that he just decided to play dead.

This is the reasoning behind why possums play dead.

I found this story to not flow very well. I think I might use it to create my own so that I can make it how I was imagining. I was imagining the possum to show up to the lodge in the first village to find out that all the wives were taken, At that point, I thought he was going to play dead and maybe one lone animal was going to come out of hiding to try and save him and then end up getting married.

(Photo by Flickr.)

Great Plains unit: Why the Possum Plays Dead by Katharine Berry Judson.

reading notes: old woman who never dies, part a

This week, we are reading Native American stories. I chose to read Old Woman Who Never Dies from the Great Plains unit.

This story was nothing as I expected it to be when I read the title. This "woman" lives in the moon and has children that live in the sky. Her children are Day, Sun, Night, the Morning Star, a star which circles around the polar star, and the Evening Star.

Every spring, the old woman who never dies sends the wild geese, the swans, and the ducks. When the wild geese arrive, the Indians plant their corn and she makes it grow. There are certain signs from the number of geese that tell the Indians how large their crops will be. If swans or ducks arrive, it means that they must plant something different. 

In order to call out for the wild birds, the Indians create a scaffold decorated with meat. They perform rituals around this scaffold which are followed by the old women in the village eating the dried meat. 

In the fall, they have a corn feast so the old woman that never dies may send herds of buffalo to them. This season, they ask for the cold not to come early as they will not be prepared.

I think that I can make this into my own story by having the Indians not perform the ritual and end up going through a rough season of crops. I can also have it happen in the fall and make the cold come early or more intense than normal. I also could make the Indians start a new tradition such as throwing something in the river or something along those lines that causes damage to the earth. This can then result in less geese and less corn for them until they figure out what has made the old woman that never dies upset. 

(Photo from PixaBay.)

Great Plains unit: Old Woman Who Never Dies by Mandan.

growth mindset: sharing the mindset concept with someone

This week, I chose to share growth mindset with someone. I decided it would be a great time to share this concept with one of the students I tutor in Human Anatomy. This course can often seem overwhelming and many students tell me I'm just "naturally smart." 

I started tutoring a new student and that's exactly what came out of her mouth when we first met and I told her that if I can do it, so can she. I immediately stopped her and explained her thought process. I asked her if she really and truly thinks that I just did good in anatomy because I am who I am. She snickered a little and said, "Well, not literally. You know what I mean!"

I snickered back and pulled out the piles of notes I made the semester I was in the course. Immediately, she went silent. I then explained that everyone can really achieve the grade they want in this course and that it's all about the learning process. I explained that the course took so much energy out of me, but I had a goal in mind and that was my motivation.

At this point in the conversation, I actually showed her the Carol Darwin video I read for another growth mindset challenge and we wrote down achievable goals from this point on in the semester. I think it went really well and motivated her to trust herself and her abilities!

(Photo from PixaBay.)

tech tip: canvas mobile app

I decided to download the Canvas mobile app for this week's tech tip. I think that this will come in handy when I am on the go and get a lovely e-mail regarding a new grade being posted. Usually, I just get anxious and wait until I have access to a computer to check it since the Canvas website isn't the best on the mobile browser. Now, I will be able to check it right away. I also can use it to make sure I have completed any pending tasks while out and about. Nothing is worse than getting home to realize I forgot to finish an assignment due by midnight. I think this will help me avoid those moments!