Tech Tip: Blogger Template

New Design!

I decided to change the look of my blog! I went for the watermark template because I liked the transparency. I choose the soft tan color because it reminded me of olden times like when the epics of India were first told. I also chose the font called Hanuman because I felt that it was fitting with our class! 

Learning Challenges

Learning by HEART

After looking into the concept of Learning by HEART more in depth, I have become very interested in implementing aspects of this into my life. As the new year came around, I did some introspection and decided that this year, I wanted to read for fun more. I feel like as a college student, I never get the chance to read books purely for recreation. I spend my time dreading having to read my textbooks and consider that my "reading" for the day. I have started to read for fun for about thirty minutes everyday. 

(The Problem with a Good Book. Source: Learning by HEART)

Another thing I need to work on is time management. This is quite possible the most difficult thing for most college students to figure out. I find myself waiting until the last minute to do just about any assignment or studying. I have learned that keeping a planner and writing in it daily has helped me to keep up with my school work in a timely manner. Doing this has also helped me find more time to read books that I actually enjoy. 

(Planner. Source: flickr)

Growth Mindset

Carol Dweck's Growth Mindset

Before this assignment, I had never heard of the growth mindset. The idea of a growth mindset and thinking of what is yet to come, rather than what is going to happen right away, is very interesting. This idea makes sense to me because it's a way for students to actually engage in what they are learning, rather than just learning something for the sake of a certain grade. I've always seen students (including myself) only learn material for a specific test and then forget the information afterwards. Using a growth mindset, teachers can teach students to actually strive to gain new knowledge solely for the sake of expanding their minds. 

I will definitely be putting the ideas set forth by Carol Dweck into my daily life. I feel like this outlook can help better my experience as a student. While attending OU, I feel like I've been learning information for my classes and then forgetting it after I was tested over it. This has proven to be quite detrimental to my learning experience, especially since some of the material I've learned has overlapped between several different classes. I've found myself forgetting information that I already learned, and having to relearn it for my next class. Hopefully, with a growth mindset, I can change this bad habit of mine. 

A meme from the Growth Mindset Memes Blog

Image created with: builder.cheezburger.com

Storybook Favorites

The first storybook title that caught my eye was Shreemati News. Upon viewing the storybook, I was really intrigued by the organization of the story. I really enjoyed the set up of the story and how the author made it into a news report. The introduction successfully explained the topic and I definitely was compelled to keep reading. The design and layout of the page is sleek and easy to navigate. I really liked the "read more here" option on the home page. 

The next title that stuck out to me was Elephants of Indian Epics because my favorite animal is the elephant. To be honest, I didn't quite know what the story was going to be about from just reading the title, other than that it would involve elephants. After reading the introduction, I was more informed about the content of the story. I enjoyed the outline of the page and how easy it was to navigate the page. My favorite part of the stories was how they connected each story to an elephant. I really loved the image on the home page because the elephant looked so cute and colorful. I was also pulled in because of the vibrant color on the background of the pages.

 

Image by Bonnie Morgan

As I was browsing the titles of past storybooks, I was intrigued by one titled, The Ganges River. This title pulled me in because growing up, my parents always talked to me about the Ganges and how it is one of the greatest experiences to visit. Of all the stories I looked through, this introduction was my favorite. I loved reading about how the boy, Ajay, didn't understand why the Ganges was an important Holy River. It was a very well-written introduction that allowed me to understand what the rest of the story would be about. The set up of the page was elegant and the colors chosen made sense with the topic. I will definitely look into different fonts for my storybook, like the one used in this example.

Overview

Overview

For the Ramayana readings over Weeks 2 and 3, I have decided to use the Public Domain edition because it is more convenient for me to be able to read straight from my laptop wherever I am. 

I am very familiar with the content of this course because my parents are from India and I practice the Hindu religion. I have grown up reading and learning about these epics. I have recited the Bhagavad Gita, fully, twice in my life. From the age of 6, I have learned the art of classical Indian dance, called Bharatanatyam. 

Image source: Hanuman flies to Lanka

I chose this image because it stuck out to me most from what I learned as a child. I can picture my dad telling me about this specific event in the Ramayana. Hanuman flies to Lanka to save Sita from Ravana.

Introduction to a Future Physician Assistant

Introduction to a Future Physician Assistant 

Hello everyone! My name is Roshni Suthar (pronounced like row-sh-knee). I am currently a junior at the University of Oklahoma. I am studying Psychology. I enjoy taking psychology courses because it’s so easy to apply what I learn in class to real life situations. Last semester, I took Social Psychology and learned a lot of interesting things like how and why people subconsciously judge others. My favorite class so far in my college career would have to be Abnormal Psychology. I have always been interested in psychological disorders and how they come about. It was really cool to be able to learn about several common disorders more in depth. After graduating, I hope to go to PA school. My long term goal is to become a pediatric PA. 

My parents are from India. They came to America before I was born, so I'm a first generation Indian-American. I feel like I am pretty in touch with my Indian culture and heritage. My parents are Hindus and I have been brought up following the Hindu faith. From a young age, I was told the stories of the Ramayana and Mahabharata. Because of my exposure to these epics, I decided to take this course. It's a good refresher on the things my parents taught me when I was younger. 

If there’s one thing to know about me, it’s that I love my sleep. I can literally fall asleep anywhere, at any time of the day. I don’t need a pillow or blanket or even a comfortable location. If I set my mind to it, I can sleep whenever I want. I also really love TV shows. My absolute favorite show is The Office. It’s been almost 3 years since the show ended, but I still watch it religiously. In any given situation, I could probably quote The Office. I love everything about The Office, even the theme song.

 I also love Netflix. I could watch a show for hours upon hours and not even realize how much time has passed. Currently, I’m re-watching Grey’s Anatomy and I also started Criminal Minds.  

The Office logo. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

It’s hard for me to pick a favorite food because I love all kinds of foods. I guess if I had to choose, I would say my favorite foods fall under the Tex-Mex category. But I also really love Indian food because that’s what my mom always cooks at home. Oh, I also love pizza and ice cream. Yeah, I basically love all foods. I could go on and on.

Tex-Mex food. Source: Wikipedia.

Indian food platter. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Week 1 Storytelling: The Girl Who Cried Best Friend

Week 1 Storytelling: The Girl Who Cried Best Friend

There was once a girl, let’s call her Sally, who was quite obsessed with one particular friend of hers. She claimed that he was her best friend. In her mind, Bob (the “best friend”) was the closest person to her. Sally disregarded all of her other friends after she had met Bob. Friends she had known for years and years became old news for her. For some reason, Sally was sure Bob was going to be there for her through it all. 

Of course, Sally had other very close friends. Christina and Joey were always by her side, even when Bob was not. You see, Sally was the type of girl who always found herself in harm’s way. Whether it be a small car crash or forgetting her homework at her apartment, she was always in some sort of dilemma. Living in a college town away from her family, Sally needed good friends around her that would be there for her whenever she found herself in a sticky situation. 

Sally lived with her three friends Bob, Christina, and Joey. Another thing to know about Sally is that she was obsessed with the notion that a person can only have one best friend. She always seemed to fall back on one person. 

(4 best friends)

So one day, Sally lost her flash drive and desperately needed to transfer a document. She called her “best friend” Bob but he said he was too busy to bring her his flash drive. Lucky for her, Joey offered to give her his flash drive, but Sally refused to accept it because that was something only her best friend would do for her.  

(flash drive)

Later that week, she was riding her bike to campus and forgot her bike lock. She couldn’t just leave her bike unlocked, free for anyway to steal. She, once again, called up her “best friend” but he was asleep so he didn’t pick up his phone. Christina happened to see Sally at the bike rack and walked up to her. Sally explained her situation to Christina. Christina told her that she could borrow her bike lock, because she was heading back to their apartment anyway. Again, Sally rejected Christina’s offer because only Bob could do something like that for her. 

(bike rack)

Because of stuff like this, Christina and Joey began to distance themselves from Sally. To their dismay, Sally didn’t even seem to notice because she was always with Bob. 

One day, Sally received a call from her mom. Sally found out that her grandmother was very sick and her mom suggested that she come visit home before things got worse. Sally didn’t have enough money for a plane ticket and her parents couldn’t gather enough money up quickly enough to help her out. Sally was desperate to see her grandmother. She asked Bob if he could spot her some money that she would pay back as soon as she could. As usual, Bob was not able to help Sally. He did not have any money to spare for Sally. At this point, Sally was willing to do anything. She decided to ask her other roommates for some money. Much to her surprise, they were not willing to help her out. They told Sally that she should just ask Bob again because, after all, he is her best friend. 

(plane ticket)

After this incident, Sally realized that she can’t just rely on one person to be there for her when things went wrong. She learned that she can’t push other friends aside because after a while, they will just leave.

Author’s Note. The original fable, The Shepherd Boy and The Wolf, was about a boy who was left to look after his master’s sheep. Ultimately, the boy found this task very boring and one day decided to cry, “Wolf! Wolf!” Upon hearing this, the villagers ran to the pasture where the sheep were. All the villagers saw when they got there was the boy laughing about the joke he played on them. Some time later, the boy played the prank again and the villagers ran to him. Again, they only saw the boy laughing. So when there was actually a wolf in the pasture trying to kill the sheep, the boy cried, “Wolf! Wolf!” but no one believed him. For my story, I thought about some people I have seen who actually think that they have only one best friend. Not only that, but they also think that they can only rely on this one person. I decided to twist the boy who cried wolf story into the girl who cried best friend. I was hoping to get the point across that friendship is an important part of everyday life, but you shouldn't be choosy about who you are closest to. 

Bibliography. This story is based on the fable “The Shepherd Boy and the Wolf” in the book Aesop for Children, by anonymous, illustrated by Milo Winter (1919).

Tulsa, OK: My Favorite Place

Tulsa, OK
I was born and (for the most part) raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I have visited quite a few cities in my 20 years but none have impacted me as much as Tulsa has. There is just something so home-y about Tulsa. I have to admit that my favorite thing is how close by everything is to the house I grew up in. I feel like Tulsa has a big city vibe without actually being that big. There's still a sense of closeness in the residents. Also, I believe that Tulsa is a beautiful city and a great place to raise a family (in the distant future). Just look at that skyline of downtown Tulsa.

(Skyline of Tulsa: Wikimedia Commons)