Shivani's Blog!

Rama capturing the deer that Sita requested. Source: Flikr I would like to have a focus on Rama, as he is my favorite character in the Ramayana. I want my story to have a Romeo and Juliet feel to it when someone is reading it. There will be more dialogue and I will have a section where Rama and Sita actually meet and find a way to converse with each other, depending on the time period I choose to have the setting. If it is modern, then they will come up with a way to talk via phones. If the setting is still at the same time period as the book currently is, they will use carrier pigeons to communicate. It will definitely be slower, but they will still be able to express their love for each other.  When Rama is exiled, I want him to go through the jungle and find an abandoned home to live in. He will live there with Sita and Lakshmana. When Dasharatha dies, I will write about how hard it is for him without any of his sons being there with him as he takes his last brea...

I think this work count tool will be really useful to me! I am a person who tends to write way to much. When I start writing, I just keep going, not even keeping an eye on how much I have written. I almost always go above the max limit of the word count and I have to spend time eliminating words from my work, which hurts sometimes because I feel like I cannot express myself or get my point across.

Feedback is valuable information that helps us get better. Source: Public Domain Pictures From the article 5 Tips For Taking Feedback Like a Champ , I learned that it is normal to feel awkward or a little bit uncomfortable when receiving feedback from others. We may feel embarrassed or hurt that the reader had to make comments on work we think is perfect. Another think that I learned is that when people comment and give feedback, it means that we have growing room to improve our work, thus making it better each time. In every case, there is always room for improvement, even if it is the most minute details. From the Eight things students should do when they make a mistake  article, I learned that being wrong or getting things incorrect is normal and it is okay to make mistakes. It is important to find a support system, like family or friends, who can give feedback and and one won't feel as criticized because it is coming from people who are close to that person. Another thin...

My first topic I am interested in is telling a story about the legend that is Hanuman. Out of all of the deities, I feel like he is less spoken of so I would like to change that. I have previous knowledge of Hanuman from my grandma and I also have several pieces of literature from India that explain the deities and their duties. I also have a book for festivals and it explains for whom and why the festivals are celebrated. This would be helpful in writing about certain deities and the certain days of the year  that are dedicated to them. In my stories I would write about the origins of Hanuman, as well as his encounters with Rama and his connection to the Ramayana. Source . My second topic I would like to consider for my project is stories about Krishna. Ever since I was a child, Krishna has always been my favorite deity (mainly because he was blue, and I thought that was super cool) and because my grandmother would tell really heroic stories about him. I would like to talk about...

Turtle graffiti. Source: Pixabay   Long, long ago, there was a castle in the foothills of the of the Bucegi Mountains in Romania, was an elegant castle fit for the king of kings. At this castle lived King Arjun and his 2 daughters, Eshani and Karishma. One day, on a warm autumn evening, the two girls went out to play in the valley, not far from the castle. After playing with the rocks and mud by the river, Eshani and Karishma came across a strange looking creature upon a hill that resembled a dragon and became fearful. "Should we go tell father?" asked Eshani. "Yes, let's go before it destroys the valley and heads for our home!" said a concerned Karishma. The girls quickly ran inside and screamed for their father. King Arjun was in the middle of polishing his armor when the girls interrupted him. "What is going on?" said King Arjun in a firm and slightly agitated manner. "There is a dragon in the river that runs through the valley...

The Turtle and The King Focus on Setting: The story does not have a setting but there is a lake, as well as a courtyard and it involves a king and his children. I would assume the setting would be in a castle somewhere long ago, probably in the 1400-1600s, in the autumn season. I want my setting to be in a castle in the foothills of the Bucegi Mountains in Romania, taking place around the same time period, around the 1500s. I really like the time period back then, with all of the old-time features like the clothing, modes of transportation, elaborate living of the royalty, and other aspects of that particular era. Peles Castle in Romania. Source: Pixabay Focus on One Character: My favorite character in this story was the old man who was afraid of water. He suggested that the turtle was thrown into the water as a punishment and as an intent for it to be killed. Little did he know that the turtle would actually thrive in that setting. For my story, I want the old man to kno...

Deities of Hinduisms. Source: Wikipedia I am really excited and looking forward to the readings that have been assigned for us to read. These readings are a huge part of my culture and from this class, I will have exposure to the epic tales of my religion. I am going to use Mahabharata and The Ramayana by R.K. Narayan for my readings. For the one-week versions of either book, I will probably watch an online film or read the graphic novel versions. I want to focus on Krishna and other gods and goddesses of Hinduism .

Studying is the key to success. Source: Wikipedia From the Psychology of Checklists article by Lauren Marchese, I learned the importance of breaking large tasks up into smaller tasks and making checklists. Although I occasionally made checklists of the things I needed to get done, I realize I need to try and make more lists this semester since I am taking a heavy class load this semester. I believe it will help me keep track of assignments and other obligations more easily. From the Realistic Study Plans article by Amanda Collins, I learned that I need to build a study plan that is easy to stick with and not forget about. The key concepts I learned is evaluating time and making realistic study sessions that will fit into my schedule. I need to make sure I know how much time each assignment, research, paper, or other tasks will take, even if it means overestimating the allotted times for each. This is also something I will try this semester due to my busy schedule. It will be ...

I am really glad we have so many resources available to us to make our blogging experiences the best and most convenient it can be! Before this assignment, I was already familiar with the website publishing tool (I used it to create my family's restaurant website), bookmarking (I use it for everyday browsing and school sites), and image editing (I used to use it a lot in high school, when I was an avid tweeter). This online environment is unlike any other class I have taken because the assignments are solely based on my thoughts and opinions, and there really is not a wrong answer as long as I follow the guidelines. I love the freedom aspect of this course. It makes students more engaged in the work because it does not feel like actual school work. Some web skills I want to work on this semester are creating multiple websites and learning how to format my blog to make it unique to me. I also want to utilize as many resources as possible! A back lit keyboard. Source: Pixabay

It's nice that we have the feedback and comments components of our weekly assignments. We can get opinions from other students to make our work the utmost best we can make it for publishing it online. I love that we have the extra credit so that we can get ahead. It is a great buffer in case we forget to do an assignment or become overwhelmed with our other classes and simply do not have the time to complete it. Some extra credit options that sparked my interest are the growth mindset and HEART. I also like the extra reading so that I can catch up or learn about other topics related to this course. I am really excited about the project! I want to do the storybook option and make a blog dedicated to one of the deities of the Hindu religion. This class is unlike any class I have ever taken before because there are no exams, it is "self-paced" in a way, and it brings out students' creativity. I did not know I liked blogging until now, and I am 100% sure I will keep up w...

I was quite inspired by Carol Dweck's philosophy after watching her videos. I had never heard of her before and came about her videos during a class assignment for Epics of India at OU. In my schoolwork, I like to see a challenge and overcome the challenges so that I can learn from them and possibly be more knowledgeable about the next challenge I have to face in the future. In my hobbies, such as cooking, a challenge should be accepted. I believe making simple things is basic. More challenging recipes and cuisines inspire me to try different things because most likely if it fails the first time, the second or third time will be more successful. Dweck's Growth Mindset Summary. Source: Twitter From what I have learned from my own learning at OU, easy classes and coursework are what people, and myself, strive for. This is simply because, in this society, the emphasis is primarily placed on grade point average, not learning and absorbing the materials. People find all sorts...

My name is Shivani Gandhi and I am a senior psychology major at the University of Oklahoma. The coolest thing about my major is that it can be utilized in pretty much any field out there. A person knowledgeable about psychology can assist anyone and some companies have a special position for people who have studied psychology. I love school and I will try my best to make any class fun and I think of classes as a stepping stone to where I need to be. I try to make them enjoyable by relating them to concepts I will have to face in the future and how these classes will help me get there. My favorite and best class from last semester was Human Sexuality with Professor Dennison because I loved the way he taught the subject. He was funny and made the topics not embarrassing to talk about on a daily basis. I also learned some pretty useful things in the class that will help me in the future. My biggest accomplishments last semester were completing and submitting my application for Nursing a...

Ganesha's Blog The topic of this blog is something I was already familiar with from childhood stories told by my grandmother. The title lets me know what perspective the blog was from but was not detailed enough to tell me that it was about Ganesha's origin stories. The introduction page of the blog explains pretty thoroughly what the content of the following pages would be about. It made me want to go to the pages and read more about what the introduction was briefing. One thing that really captured my attention was that the blog was in the perspective of Ganesha, which made it fun to read. The introduction had links that drew me to the other pages in such way, "if you want to read more about this, click here." Overall, the page has a whimsical feel and it has characteristics of a children's book. The images are idols and cartoons portrayed in a way that younger children can understand the concepts of the stories. The navigation was also simple and not overwhel...

Mountain view from downtown Colorado Springs. Source: Wikipedia

Hello, my name is Shivani Gandhi and I am creating this blog post for my Epics of India class.