Feedback Thoughts

The first article I read was by Sabina Nawaz, Silence the Critical Voices in Your Head. I very much enjoyed this read because she hits upon the idea that we need to exclude the negative connotations that we have of ourselves and include more positivity into our thinking. If I am being honest, I am a victim of this type of mindset. By trying to get into medical school, I have to make myself as competitive as possible. Therefore, I ponder upon the vast majority of people who apply and wonder if I will ever be good enough. However, I shall practice the advice given by Sabina and work on generating more positive thoughts throughout my day. I also enjoyed how she advised acceptance of negative feedback as well. However, she stated, "There should be a 5:1 ratio of positive thoughts to negative thoughts." That ratio sounds good to me. 

The next article I read was by Guy Winch Why Rejections Hurt So Much - And What To Do About It. This article was also a great read. I enjoyed how Guy related and presented actual scientific data about why "rejections" hurt so much. He went on to explain that this was developed as an instinct in order to detect the possibility of being ostracised by others. He also noted that there was a similarity when comparing the MRI results from people who were reflecting on an experience when they were rejected, and people who were undergoing actual physical pain. He also noted that we must keep a positive attitude and build ourselves up when we experience situations like these. However, we must also be open to criticism and use it to better ourselves. 

Feedback is the key to growth: Cheezburger

Topic Brainstorm

Indian food: I believe that this would be a great topic to look into and research. I think it is fair to say that everyone loves food! I am not too familiar with the Indian cuisines, however, I do eat a lot of their food. I love Chicken Masala in particular. I believe it would be very interesting to research the types of food ate during religious/festival times. Wikipedia 

Indian Music: I also think researching Indian music would be of great interest to me. I play the drums and guitar. Therefore, I would like to see how music in the Indian epics has potentially influenced music today. I would also like to analyze the different types of instruments they used. For example, the "Veena." Wikipedia

Indian Epics Battle: Who doesn't like action? Though I may have no knowledge of this subject,  I believe looking into the battles throughout the epics will interest me as well. It will be neat to see the types of weapons used, as well as the type of tactics utilized by the different characters. Wikipedia 

Indian Epics Brothers: This is another topic that will interest me as I go through my readings. I have siblings. Therefore I think I could discuss and relate how we have harassed each other and correlate this to the epics. It will be neat to see the sibling interaction within the epics. Wikipedia 

Chicken Masala: Flickr

Week 2 Story: The Mice and Cats

The most up to date version of this story is in my portfolio
https://sites.google.com/view/cclsportfolio/home

Once upon a time in a moderately sized house, there lived a mass community of mice. The mice were not the only ones who lived in the home, there also lived a family of humans. Due to what seemed like an unfortunate infestation, the humans bought two cats (Bell and Duke) to rid them of their "mice problems." Ever since this day, a great war between the cats and mice has been dwelling.

Now, the cats were very malicious and cunning. They were able to trick the mice very easily. Especially towards the end of the "Great War." From the prolonged attacks, the mice had to be very sneaky. This inevitably depleted the mice's food resources and habitable spaces. The mice were therefore stuck between a rock and a hard place.

The cats were very aware of the mice's predicament. So, they planned together.

"Bell! This is our time to strike! We must finally rid our masters of their infestation!

"Yes, I agree! However, we must proceed in an intelligent manner. The mice are currently struggling, we could potentially prey on their emotions and hardship and empathize with them in a fibbing manner?"

"Okay, and how could this be carried out?"

"Well, let us initiate a treaty and offer to take them to the home next door in our mouths! We can tell them that there is plenty of space, food, and most importantly, the humans do not mind mice!"

"That sounds perfect! Let us proceed!"

After planning their final attack, the cats made their way to the small hole in the kitchen, which was the entrance to the mice community. They called out to the head mice (General Cheese) and informed him of their peace treaty. Now General cheese had been fighting this war for a long time. Never had he known a time where cats and mice had gotten along. After the meeting, General Cheese went back to his community and divulged the proposal that the cats had made to him. He was very hesitant and believe the cats were up to no good, warning the others not to believe them. However, the rest of the community was tired, hungry and beaten down from the long war and unfortunately, they blindly believed the cats.

"We believe the cats general! we are going to leave this wretched place and find a better one for our kids!"

The general watched as his people were taken to the supposed home. Unfortunately, none of them made it, the entire community had been eaten by the cats.

After some time, the general became very lonely. He eventually believed the cats and asked them to take him to the neighboring home. The cats were joyous! Finally, they had the opportunity to kill the last mouse. As they crossed the lawn the general saw the bones of his people. He knew he had been fooled.

"Any last words vermin?"

"Just make it quick you scoundrels!"

Right then the general fell from Duke's mouth unscathed and unconscious. As he woke he saw the bodies of Duke and Bell lie lifelessly next to him. As he looked up, he saw Waldo, the neighborhood dog.

"A dog has saved me? How can this be?"

"You may be confused vermin. However, there exists a long rivalry between dogs and cats. You can say the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Go General Cheese and live your life freely."

Authors notes: This story is based on the story The Cunning Crane and The Crab,  from The Giant Crab, and Other Tales from Old India by W. H. D. Rouse. In my story, I changed the characters to cats and mice. I also added a surprise character in the end that helped the mice, a dog. I also included names to the main characters which I believe did not occur in the original story.

A cat holding a mouse: Cunning Cats

Reading Notes: The Cunning Crane and the Crab, Part B

The Cunning Crane and the Crab, a story by W. H. D. Rouse was a great read! The story includes suspense, surprises, and twists. The story begins by explaining how a whole cluster of fish are caught out in a small pond that is depleting in water, especially since it is the Summer. They are experiencing a tremendous hardship because they lack comfort and food. However, just across the road, there is an extravagant lake that is deep, cool and has plenty of resources. But unfortunately, on the lake lives a hungry crane. He is very cunning and deceitful! He pries on the fishes disadvantages and in a malicious manner, empathizes them. He tells them that he will take them over to the lake in his beak. The fish do not believe him, so they send one fish over to see if he is telling the truth. So the crane takes the one-eyed fish over to the lake and brings him back to the others. He then begins to convince the other fishes to believe the crane. Therefore, one at a time, the crane takes a fish to a tree and eats them. After eating all the fish, the crane finds a very intelligent crab. Because the crane is so hungry he allows the crab to hang onto his neck as they fly over to the lake. The crane then realizes what he does and begs the crab for his life. The crab then begins to tell the crane that if he just leaves him in the lake he will not kill him. So the crane does so. Just as the crane leaves him in the lake, the crab snaps off the crane's neck.

I believe I could do a lot with this story. I may potentially change some characters around! Instead of a crane and crab, I could do a mouse and cat? I may also give the mouse a magical power (like the ability to read minds). He could then warn all the others about the cat's true intentions. However, I may also allow the antagonist to triumph in my story... We shall see. 

Picture of the malicious crane from the book The Giant Crab and other Tails from Old India! Crane

Reading Options

I am excited to see all the different resources and tools which I can choose from! It seems as if there is an endless list of options which I can read and or listen to. In particular, I may stay in the public domain edition and also use the website that shows all the different images.

In particular, the stories of Rama is Banished, Rama and Sita's Wedding, and Dasharatha's Death seemed to intrigue me. These stories can be found in the Ramayana Online: Public Domain Edition.

I also looked and view through the Mahabharata Online: Public Domain Edition. There seem to be many stories that I will be looking through.

Finally, I found a picture that looked very interesting! The Arjuna Statue. I like this image due to all the detail and talent it must have taken to produce it.