Mythology & Folklore

(Night Owl by Lee Romao ) As I gathered my meager belongings   I wondered what hardships I would face on my journey. I rocked back on my heels and stared into the crackling fire. The flames flickered and threatened to die. The dying fire caused ghostly apparitions to dance in the shadows. I sat staring at these shadowy figures for a moment longer then returned to my work. I gathered some dried buffalo meat mixed it with wild berries and rendered fat for this would be my only nourishment along my path. I sharpened my knife against a stone and affixed it to my belt. I then packed my pouch with tobacco and emptied my pipe. I tied my pouch to my belt as well. After I had gathered my few belongings I wandered to the stream and filled my skins with the cool water. The moon shone overhead and its beams danced in the ripples on the surface of the water. I stood and regarded the beauty for a while before returning to camp. The fire I had abandoned had all but died when I returned...

(Owl at Night from quora.com ) I chose this one because I love Native American mythology and I would like to know more about the subject. I really like that native tradition is often passed down through storytelling. While I was reading this story I noticed how much better it sounded when read aloud. This aligns with the storytelling tradition. It felt like a story meant to be told around a fire or to a gathering of children underneath a tree. I really enjoyed the style and would like to try it in my own writing. The personification of animals i.e. the owl saying "halloo." is a great tool stylistically and allows for some creative freedom. I also liked the repetition within the story of the young man "drawing near a wood;" some variation of this is repeated throughout the story. Repetition is also used to create suspense. The young man hearing some mysterious noise is repeated throughout the work. Another stylistic choice that stood out to me was the symbo...

Units of Interest Monkey King I really like East Asian/Chinese Mythology and I have heard of the Monkey King so the title caught my eye I have also watched the foreign language films The Monkey King and The Monkey King II on Netflix Celtic Fairy Tales I like anything Celtic so this one caught my eye Russian Folktales This one caught my eye because I don't know anything about them and I would like to know more I also like that a lot of these stories are on LibriVox! (LibriVox Graphic from  LibriVox )

(White Rabbit GIF made with  giphy.com ) Oh, time management. I, like most college students, am a horrible procrastinator. I always lie to myself and say "Oh, but I work better under pressure!" When in reality I don't actually work better , I just work faster . I feel like I am working better when a deadline is quickly approaching when I am actually just working faster to turn something in rather than producing my best work. The problem is that I tell myself I am going to start early on a project but still end up waiting until the night it is due to finish. Over the last few semesters, however, I have gotten better at finishing work early rather than just on time. As an English Writing major, you learn not to take the process of revision lightly. Always leave yourself time to read and revise your work before turning it in; that way you ensure that you are turning in your best work. The  How to Beat Procrastination  article by Caroline Webb stuck with me because...

(Typing Cat GIF made with giphy.com ) As I said before, I am not very good at blogging but the more I do it the easier it becomes. I have never had an online class this organized or this technology/internet based. Every online class I have taken always relied heavily on D2L - this is my first online class through Canvas. The blogging and commenting on other blogs is very similar to the discussion board posts used for online courses on D2L, but the blog posts are much more in-depth which gives us as students more opportunities to showcase our talents and learn from others. I really like the idea of learning about what online tools are out there. Because she was right in saying that we will probably never use D2L or Canvas again after graduation but the multitude of tools found online will be useful in the future.

(Storybook from InSites Consulting ) I am excited to both read and write stories this semester. I have always been interested in mythology and I have read Edith Hamilton's Mythology at least twice. I am also reading Neil Gaiman's Norse Mythology. As a writer I draw a lot of inspiration from folklore and mythology for my work. I think this class will be an invaluable resource for my writing. These assignments, especially the longer length projects like the storybook or portfolio will give me a good way to stay on top of my writing game. The extra credit opportunities are also very exciting. The Wikipedia trails extra credit sounds very cool. I like venturing down internet rabbit holes and seeing what I can find.

( Growth Mindset Graphic ) From the very beginning of the video she had my attention. I really liked the idea of "not yet" grades instead of failing grades or "Fs." The difference between a fixed mindset and a growth mindset also stayed with me after watching the TED Talk. The idea of a growth mindset will definitely help me moving forward in the semester as well as for the rest of my time at OU. No one likes getting an "F" but the process of viewing it as "not yet" rather than failure is invaluable. It makes it so that you can move forward and push yourself to be better rather than dwelling on failure, and I like that idea. When I came to OU from high school I had to teach myself how to take notes and study. When I was in high school I was usually ahead so I never needed to study or take good notes. I always did well on tests and papers by just "winging it." When I got to OU I figured out that I couldn't do that anymore. I...

Hello, everyone, I am Erika and I am terrible at blogging! Just kidding, I am slowly getting the hang of it. I am an English Writing major who has been at OU forever (I am ancient compared to some of you). I only have 3 semesters left after this one (Fall '17)! I am getting a minor in anthropology, the combination of the two makes this class the perfect fit. The best class that I took last semester was called Day of the Living Dead and it was a class that studied zombies as they appear in literature, being an English major is awesome! My biggest accomplishment last semester was making through Logic with my sanity - it was a philosophy class that counted as a math credit - honestly, I would've been better off with "real" math, let's just say that studying logic is not for me. Most of my summer was spent toiling away at Lowe's but my friends and I took our annual float trip (to float the Illinois River) at the end of July, it was a great way to end the summer. T...

Queens of Ireland : This one caught my eye because I have always been fascinated by anything and everything Celtic. I also recently watched a documentary on Irish castles and it was fascinating. The picture of the Irish castle on the home page of the cite was a great choice and made me want to read more. The introduction was very informative about the subject and introduced the stories in a way that grabbed my attention. I liked that it was written in first person as one of the Irish queens. The writing is compelling, it makes you want to read more at the end of every section. The layout of the storybook and the way the sections of the story are separated works very well. In some of the other storybooks I browsed the layout and separation of the sections were confusing but in this one it worked very well and aided in moving the story along. The use of first person narration is a great way for the reader to connect with the characters. "A Game of Chess" was my favorite secti...

Hartshorne, OK is a tiny town in southeastern Oklahoma just southeast of McAlester - my hometown. Hartshorne has two traffic lights and a Sonic Drive-In, and that is about it. My family homesteaded at a place called Arch just outside of Hartshorne proper during the land runs. I lived in Hartshorne until I was almost 10 then we moved to Michigan. While we lived in Michigan I still spent every summer in Hartshorne with my grandparents so I never really felt at home anywhere else. Hartshorne has its problems, as most small towns do. But it is home to me and I love this image of the dam at Hartshorne Lake at night. (Photo by  Floyd Morgan Jr. ) Apple Orchards in Michigan  are some of my favorite places I've ever been. Fall in Michigan is so much more colorful than the plains of Oklahoma. When we lived in Michigan my favorite thing to do was visit the apple orchards for fresh cider and apple donuts. It was a family tradition as long as we lived there. Someday I will make...

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