Reading Notes: Myths of the Cherokee, Part B

Bibliography: Myths of the Cherokee by James Mooney; link to the reading online.

Tech Tip: Blogger Template

If you've been to my blog before, you may notice that I have chosen a new design. I did not really like my old design as it was simple and had the color orange (gross!). I have been meaning to change the design for a while now so I decided to use this week's tech tip to do so. I chose this design because I absolutely love the rain. I decided to use shades of blue because I find it very calming and pretty. I love my new design!

Reading Notes: Myths of the Cherokee, Part A

Image Information: picture of a Cherokee sign. Web Source: flickr.

How The World Was Made: I thought about telling an after story of the earth breaking down from the four strings as the Cherokees feared. Maybe also tell the story from the point of view of a father telling his son about the earth.

Bibliography: Myths of the Cherokee by James Mooney; link to the reading online.

Week 8 Growth Mindset

Image Information: inspiration quote about learning. Web Source: flickr.

In this class, I struggle with finding motivation, playing it safe and staying inside my comfort zone. Some of my strengths in this class are thinking long-term, being confident I can improve, and being willing to learn from my own mistakes.

In other classes, I struggle with much of the same issues. However, I also struggle with focusing too much on my grades, doing things at the last minute, and being a perfectionist. Some of my strengths are being open to any and all feedback and focusing on my progress.

In life, in general, I struggle with almost all of these at some point or another. I am an extreme perfectionist and always want to get things done right the first time. I am also really bad about comparing myself to others.

Since I am very open to feedback from others, I can use that feedback as much as possible to perfect my stories and writing skills. I can schedule out my time to make sure I do not leave things until the last minute. At the same time, I can focus more on the short term and take things one day at a time instead of being constantly focused on the long term. I can also rest assured that my writing does not have to be perfect because I can always revise it the next week.

Week 8 Reflections

Image Information: a quote about fear. Web Source: flickr.

I feel like I have been making good choices when I choose my readings for the week. I really enjoyed the Japanese Fairy Tales unit. I had a lot of fun with the reading I chose to write about. I haven't quite found my niche yet with a consistent time and place to complete the readings. My reading notes have been helping me write each week but I want to start incorporating a character description section of my notes so that way I can come up with more ideas for how to write more complex characters.

I'm really excited for the Native American reading units next week. The Great Plains, Cherokee, and American Indian Tales sections caught my attention as possible readings in week 9 and 10. I'm also interested in Beowulf, Robin Hood, and English Tales for week 11 and 12. I would also really like to read some of the Brothers Grimm units in week 13 and 14.

My biggest struggle this semester has been branching out from my comfort zone with a story. I guess I have been afraid to change a story too much or to let myself be creative. I sought help and advice from Professor Gibbs and she really helped me to branch out of my comfort zone this week. I had a lot of fun letting myself be really creative with the story I wrote last week. I was really pleased with it. I will continue to follow the advice I received and let myself "go wild" with my story telling.

I would like to try and incorporate more humor and witty dialogue into my stories. I plan on using the creative storytelling link to give me inspiration on new ways to tell a story. I most admire the creativity and story telling styles of other people in the class. The only habits and tendencies I see in others' stories are a lot of typos and grammatical errors in their original draft. This is not every person but I see it somewhat often. I would like to try to avoid this by reading my story out loud before posting it.

I feel as though I have been giving other people good feedback regarding their stories. I do feel bad pointing out any typos or grammatical errors in others' stories and have refrained from doing so thus far. I guess I could start pointing those out as best I can. I can also focus on giving storytelling suggestions or ideas they can use to expand on their stories.

Week 7 Story: The Maiden and the Magical Bracelet

Image Information: the magical bracelet. Web Source: pexels.

Once there was a beautiful maiden. She lived in the countryside with her two wonderful parents. They loved her very much and were fully aware of her great beauty. Her mother and father sometimes worried that someone would notice how beautiful their daughter was. They feared that he would desire to marry her for the wrong reasons, so this is why they chose to stay in the countryside instead of living in a big city around many people.

The mother knew that her daughter would grow even more beautiful as she got older. Because of this, her mother decided to seek help on the matter to make sure that her daughter could live a normal life with no unnecessary attention. The mother traveled into town to see a woman named Riko who was a very powerful woman with great magic. There she told Riko of her daughter and the fears she had for her future. Riko immediately started to scramble around the room as if she was looking for something. 

"Aha, here it is. This is just what you need," Riko said. 

Riko had pulled out an old golden bracelet that was a little rusty but still beautiful. The mother took the bracelet that Riko handed her. She gazed at the bracelet for a long while and turned it in her hands.

"How will this help my daughter?" she asked.

"This bracelet has magical qualities. When your daughter puts it on, it will mask her great beauty such that she looks just like everyone else. Should she take it off, then everyone will know her secret," replied Riko.

With this, the mother took the bracelet and went on her way. When she arrived home, she placed the bracelet in a wooden box in her bedroom. She figured she would wait to have her daughter put it on until she could no longer protect her daughter.

The maiden was a hard worker. Living on a farm in the country, she was well aware of a hard day's work and didn't mind it much. Her father often accompanied her in the fields to harvest their crops. She enjoyed this time that she had to spend with her father. One day, it was extremely hot outside and her father fell ill due to heat stroke and never recovered. She and her mother wept for their loss. Her mother soon passed just as her husband. They say she died of a broken heart.

Before her mother died, she told her daughter to fetch the old bracelet from the box in her bedroom and put it on. The young maiden did so and returned to her mother.

Her mother said, "Wear that bracelet everywhere you go for if everyone discovers your great beauty, you will never find true love."

The maiden was filled with great sorrow at the loss of her parents but she continued to wear the bracelet everywhere she went just as her mother had told her to. She also continued to take care of their home and tend to the farm. Unfortunately, the farm became too much for the maiden to handle and she was forced to sell it and move to the city.

The maiden did not mind this much as she always wanted to live in the city. She missed her parents' farm often but enjoyed being around many other people for the first time in her life.

One day, she was walking down the streets of the city, heading back to her home. She started to notice that people were stopping in their tracks and staring at her. This confused her greatly until she looked down at her wrist and noticed that the bracelet was gone for it must have fallen off her wrist. Soon the tales of her beauty spread far and wide and the maiden was overwhelmed with thousands of marriage offers. None of these men really loved her, as they didn't even know her. Her mother was exactly right in what she said.

The young maiden never gave up on love, though. She made any of the men that sought after her prove their love and worthiness. She hoped that one day one of her suitors would be able to truly love her for who she was as a person and not her beauty. She is still waiting.

Bibliography: Japanese Fairy Tales: Maiden with the Wooden Helmet by Andrew Lang; link to the reading online.

Author's Note: The original story was about a maiden with extraordinary beauty that lived in the countryside. Her father passed away first and the mother did her best to raise her daughter. After many years, the mother caught a cold and did not recover. Before she died she told her daughter to wear a wooden helmet to hide her face. After her parents passed, the maiden went to work as a caretaker for a man's wife. The man’s son discovered her beauty when he returned home and he asked her repeatedly to marry him. The maiden did not agree to marry him until she had a dream where her mother told her to marry the man. She finally agreed to marry the man. On her wedding day, they tried to take the wooden helmet off of her head in order to style her hair but it would not come off so she had to leave it on for the wedding. As soon as they were pronounced married, the helmet burst off and broke into many pieces. Everyone at the wedding was able to see the face of the bride for the first time. And the maiden and the man lived happily ever after. I liked the original story but wanted to change up a couple of things for a more unexpected ending. I decided to let the fact that she originally lived in the countryside play a bigger role in the storyline and moving to the city play a negative role in that it leads to her secret being discovered. I also decided to replace the helmet with a magical bracelet instead.

Reading Notes: Japanese Fairy Tales, Part B

Image Information: Schippeitaro and the young warrior fighting the Mountain-Spirit. Web Source.

I liked the story about Schippeitaro. If I re-told this story, I would probably just use the characters of Schippeitaro and the young warrior and tell my own version with a new adventure. I also might tell a story of the young warrior returning home after the defeat of the mountain spirit.

I like the story of the magic kettle. I like the idea of it bringing good luck and I would consider a new way to center the story all on the kettle bringing good luck.

Bibliography: Japanese Fairy Tales by Andrew Lang; link to the reading online.