Epic Things

Fishes? Three fishes named Very-Skillful, Skillful and Unskillful decided to escape into a large river from home to play. Very-skillful wants to go home as the large river is very dangerous with lots of fishermen fishing, but his siblings didn't want to. This irritated Very-skillful as it was getting close to sunset.  Suddenly, a lot of fishermen came nearby preparing to fish. They were about to pull out their nets and fishing line when suddenly one of them said "Hey boys! Get out of the river!"  That is when Very-skillful, Skillful and Unskillful realized... to stop playing fish and go home. Three Fishes (Source: Grammarly ) Author's note:  This microfiction was inspired by one of the Jakata tales from this week's reading "The Three Fishes." In the original story, essentially Very-skillful saved his siblings from a fishing net. Because of this, the siblings agree to return home. I wanted to write something simple and lighthearted. This is probably not m...

Bibliography.  "The Elephant and the Dog" from More Jakata Tales by Ellen C. Babbitt (1922).  Web Source. Focus Story: The Elephant and the Dog Notes:  - Elephant and the dog became best friends after continuous visits by the dog to eat the elephant's leftovers.  - They became close and would do everything together. - One day, comes a farmer who catches a glimpse of the dog. He wants the dog and offers to buy it from the elephant-keeper who agrees. - Over time, the elephant became more and more depressed as he misses his best friend to the point he would not eat or bathe. - The king found out about this and announces a large reward for the return of the dog. - The dog returns and they lived happily ever after.   Elephant and Dog (Source: ENews ) Thoughts : This was such a cute and endearing story. I love how loyal the elephant was to the point he would not eat without his best friend. The plot of this story is about pure friendship and I am all for it. It makes...

Bibliography. "The Three Fishes" from More Jakata Tales by Ellen C. Babbitt (1922). Web Source. After reading all the stories from Part A of More Jakata Tales, I decided to focus on The Tree Fishes as this story stood out to me.  Focus Story: The Three Fishes Notes:  - Three characters: Very-Thoughtful, Thoughtful, Thoughtless - Beginning: The three fishes leave their safe home out into the open river. - Very-thoughtful expresses a concern as it's dangerous since there are fishermen in the open river but the rest were not. - Thoughtful and Thoughtless accidentally and foolishly ran into a fisherman's net. - Very-thoughtful cleverly saved them. Because of this, they agree to go back home with Very-thoughtful. Fisherman (Source: Web ) Thoughts and Ideas for Storytelling : I really enjoy this story and chose it mainly because there are endless possibilities for storytelling. The names of the fishes were unique and describe the character. The story was simple and an easy...

Long ago in the land of Hastinapura, Queen Vichitravirya ruled with an iron fist. The Vichitravirya has two daughters, Pandu and her older daughter Dhritarashtra. After the queen passed away, the throne fell into Pandu, Vichitravirya's youngest daughter.  Queen Pandu has five daughters all with different husbands: Yudhisthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva. People call them the Pandava sisters. After Queen Pandu passed away her sister, Dhritarashtra, assumed the throne. Dhritarashtra has one-hundred daughters, all known as the Kauravas with the eldest named Duryodhana. Both the Pandavas and the Kauravas grew up together. But as they grew older, Duryodhana grew more and more resentful towards her cousins' beauty. When Duryodhana's own mother elected Yudhisthira as the heir to her throne, Duryodhana plans to ruin her cousins. Slowly, the Pandavas turn into nobodies after Duryodhana manipulated her mother into stripping their royal titles. As the Kaurava took over...

Bibliography . The Indian Heroes: Mahabharata- The Princes of Elephant City by C. A. Kincaid (1921).  Web source. Synopsis : Duryodhana continues to destroy the Pandavas. The Pandavas go into war against the Kauravas including Drona.  Drona is killed by manipulation. He was tricked into thinking his son is dead. Duryodhana goes into a one-on-one fight with Bhima. Bhima wins. The Pandavas win the war. Yudhishthira becomes King of Hastinapura. In the end, the Pandavas and Duryodhana make peace in heaven. Yudhisthira and the dog (Source: Websource ) Thoughts : Part B is definitely much shorter than part A. What I really like about this part of the retelling is the simplicity of the ending. It's very straightforward and easy to understand. As someone whose English isn't that great, I enjoyed this retelling.

Bibliography . The Indian Heroes: Mahabharata- The Princes of Elephant City by C. A. Kincaid (1921).  Web source. Synopsis: King Vichitravirya has two sons, Dhritarashtra and Pandu. Pandu becomes king and has five sons (Pandavas: Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva). When Pandu dies, Dhritarashtra becomes king. He has 100 sons with Duryodhana as the eldest ones and they are collectively called Kauravas.  Drona is the trainer of the Pandavas and Kauravas. The Pandavas are his favorite which makes Duryodhana jealous. Drona uses his pupils to attack his enemy, King Drupada of Panchala.  The gods gift King Drupuda with the beautiful girl Draupadi to avenge his kingdom. A monster, Hidimbi, falls in love with Bhima after the Pandavas goes into exile. During this exile, Baka torments the Pandavas. Arjuna is able to win a contest to be a suitor for Draupadi. Due to a misunderstanding with his mother, all four brother marries Draupadi. Yudhisthira loses everything in...

I am happy with my overall progress in this class. A lot of you reading this might see that I am working ahead. I am working on this class almost all day every day whenever I am not at work. I am most happy with my microfictions because it took me so long to think of ideas that are possible to tell under 100 words. I am also really proud of my website. I really wanted my storybook to exude the Marvel universe aesthetic and I feel like I have done that so far. In the next few weeks of this class, I would like to really focus on my writing skills especially in the stories of my project. I'd like to improve my grammar and the clarity of my writing. I hope to avoid confusing stories as I tend to just babble on and on.    Every Morning Quote (Source: Laura Gibbs with photo by James Gordon )

The writing assignments have been going pretty well for me. I enjoy the idea of storytelling with our own twist rather than a simple retelling of the same story. It's really unique in that sense. The reading assignments have been good. The hardest part is definitely how complicated and rich Ramayana and Mahabharata are. There are so many characters and stories within the story that I typically forget what is going on. For my reading notes, my first note is definitely way longer than my most recent note. I learned that with reading notes it is best for me personally to write a short, concise, and simple note. These help me the most with the storytelling assignment. I am overall really happy with the blog and my project website. A lot of the problems or challenges of my writing are definitely the clarity and grammar. Dr. Gibbs gives really good feedbacks that really tackle these issues I have.  The image I have chosen is a really nice modern interpretation of Ashwatthama. I really lo...

Bibliography : "Mahabharata Online: Public Domain Edition" by Laura Gibbs.  Web source . Draupadi has grown up all her life dealing with everything from her brother, Dhrishtadyumna, and her father, Drupada. She was forced into marriage with the Pandava brothers, Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva. Just when she thought her life can't get any worse, she and her husbands were sent into exile. Living with five husbands became a living hell for her and she would do anything to escape.  One day, a nice king appeared named King Jayadratha. He glimpses at Draupadi and immediately wants her. However, all Draupadi wants is to escape so she makes an offer.  "If you take me away from the Pandavas, I will lay with you for a single night", she says. This surprises king Jayadratha as this was not the innocent demeanor she initially had. King Jayadratha agrees and takes her with him into his chariot. On the road, king Jayadratha spots the Pandava brothers coming...

Focus Story:  Drona's Death The one-story I read in the Mahabharata that stands out and I can never forget is Drona's death. It was such a tragedy that he died thinking that his son was dead. When in reality, it's all a gambit to trick him. Bhima killed the Elephant (Source:  Wikimedia ) Notes from Part D : As Drona is still undefeated, Bhima devised a plan to trick him. Drona's one weakness is his love for his son. So, Bhima used this in his plan. What is sad is that Bhima used to be one of Drona's pupils. Drona trained Bhima into the great warrior he had become. Bhima killed an elephant with the same name as Drona's son (Ashwatthaman). Then, he screamed saying "Ashwatthaman is dead" over and over again so that Drona would hear it Drona did not believe Bhima so he asked Bhima's brother Yudhishthira who is incapable of lying.  Cleverly, Yudhishthira was able to state "Ashwatthaman is dead" while whispering "the elephant" under h...

Focus Character: Draupadi Draupadi (Source: Wikimedia ) Notes from Part C : Draupadi is the daughter of King Drupuda of Panchala. She has a twin brother Dhrishtadyumna,  Draupadi lived with the Pandavas in the forest for 12 years. King Jayadratha, king of Sindhu kidnapped her but was found by the Pandavas. In Virata, Draupadi had to disguise herself as a handmaid to the queen. The queen initially feared Draupadi's beauty. During her time in Virata, the queen's brother, Prince Kichaka tries to violate Draupadi, but she was saved by Bhima. Thoughts and Ideas :  I think Draupadi is such an interesting character. She holds many resemblances to Sita from the Ramayana. Although she is married to multiple men of the Pandava brothers while Ramayana's Sita is more devoted to one person, Rama. It's really sad there were multiple attempts to violate her. She had to endure so much during her lifetime. As a storytelling idea, I am hoping to twist the ending of Kichaka's murder ...

Bibliography : "Mahabharata Online: Public Domain Edition" Part A and B by Laura Gibbs.  Web source . Drona has been a renowned high school football coach for the past 11 years. He has worked with the football team at the Garuda high school and they have been undefeated since then. Drona's son Ash with his best friends Arjuna, Yudhish, Bhima, Nakula, and Sahadeva have been an inseparable group since they were toddlers. They are the heart of the Garuda football team with Arjuna as captain. In fact, Arjuna is actually Drona's favorite player. Arjuna's only family is his widowed mother, and so he sees Drona as a father figure. Drona's son Ash never really felt the need to be jealous and has always seen Arjuna as his brother. Duryo on the other hand has jealous of Arjuna since they joined the team. The biggest game of the semester has begun, a game between the Garuda and Vishnu high school. With only 5 minutes to go, the Garuda huddle up to discuss the game plan. ...

Focus story :  Drona Synopsis : Drupada vows to end Drona after what he has done to his kingdom after Drona fulfills his plan of revenge on Drupuda. He performed a ritual that resulted in the birth of his son, Dhrishtadyumna, and his daughter, Draupadi. His son was destined to end Drona. Not much is focused on Drona's story in part B other than the development of Dhrishtadyumna and Draupadi as well as the Pandavas gaining more and more power. In a way, the success of Arjuna and Bhima can be regarded as the result of training with Drona. Storytelling Ideas :  Sticking to my original idea from part A, I think it will be very interesting to have Drona as a football coach in a high school setting. While reading the Mahabharata, as a reader I felt like Drona's character is the foundation of all the important warriors such as Arjuna. He made them into the brilliant warriors they have become. It's really sad that in the end, they were against each other, especially since Arjuna wa...

Focus story : The Training of the Pandavas and Kauravas Synopsis : Drona and Kripi had a son named Ashwatthaman. Drona cared for his son and wanted nothing but the best for him. He taught him wisdom, determination, and warfare throughout Aswatthaman's childhood. Drona moved into the royal palace with his family to train the Pandavas and Kauravas. Aswatthaman joins along during the training and grew up along with the princes. Out of all his students, Drona's favorite pupil is Arjuna of the Pandavas. In fact, the Pandavas were actually Drona's favorite including Yudhishthira, Bhima, Nakula, and Sahadeva. This made Duryodhana of the Kauravas jealous of the Pandavas. Storytelling Ideas :  What really stood out to be was the teacher-student relationship between Drona and his pupils. I'd like to place Drona as a renowned football coach. I think having the story of the training of the Pandavas and Kauravas in a high school setting would be interesting. Especially, placing Dro...

Texting (Source: Livewire ) 10:46PM  Nina: I made it to India! Amy: How's Dave doing? Have you seen the place? Nina: It's perfect! Although, I found tampons and lipstick in his bathroom drawer. Not sure what that is about?? Amy: OMG! Nina... Nina: I know what you are gonna say. DONT. Amy: Just make sure you are taking care of yourself, okay? I don't wanna see you get hurt. Nina: He's acting weird though. I'm not sure if he's just tired or what.. Amy: He might be tired. Didn't he just get out of work too? Nina: True, True

Focus Character:  Nina Dave breaks up with Nina  (Source: Image taken from  Sita Sings the Blues ) Synopsis:   Nina receives a breakup email from Dave which is atrocious. She completely falls apart. She cannot stop thinking of the past and becomes more and more lonely. One day, she had enough and decided to call Dave. Nina begs Dave to take her back. Similar to how Sita was so blinded by her love for Rama (also the part where the narrators were talking about Sita's love for Rama was hilarious). In the end, Nina devoted herself to reading the Ramayana and gets a new cat. Bibliography:  "Sita Sings the Blues" by Nina Paley. 2008. Source:  Web Source Storytelling Ideas: I have an idea on writing a story from the perspective of a text conversation between Nina and her best friend. I would like to elaborate on how Nina picked up the Ramayana book in the first place. This will be such a fun thing for me to type up. I'm excited!

Focus Character: Nina Overall thoughts :  Initially, I dreaded watching a 1-hour video but I have to say I am surprised at how much I enjoyed it. The movie goes back and forth on different parallels. One of them telling the Ramayana story from the perspective of Sita while another is a modern story of a relationship between Nina and Dave. As I have written and did storytelling assignments focused on Sita in the past, I would like to dive in with a focus on Nina in this story. In a way, Nina and Sita have similarities in which they both had to wait so long for their other half. But sadly, in the end, neither worked out. Nina and Dave (Source: Image taken from Sita Sings the Blues ) Synopsis:   Nina and Dave were living happily in an apartment in San Francisco with their cat, Lexi. One day, Dave received news of a new job in India. Dave accepts and has to say goodbye to Nina. Nina is devastated but Dave promised to be back in a couple of months. Nina waits and waits for her hal...

I have decided on my project. It will be a storybook with the theme of  A s h w a t t h a m a as the final avenger in the Marvel universe . Story Styl e : I'd like to write it in a form of an easy read. I want my writing to be an escape and for readers not to work too hard to imagine what's going on. Episode Ideas:  - Ashwatthama's Origin: the events that have made him into who he is. - Encounters with other Chiranjivi - Encounters with the Avenger team - His struggles trying to be good, dealing with what he has done in the past Sources: - Mahabharata - Wikipedia -  The Vengeance of Ashwatthama, graphic novel - Articles online (Ex: India.com )

Comment Wall If you are reading this, add the word "cookie" anywhere in your comment:)  Hello There Do you love Iron Man? Do you love Captain America? Do you love the Marvel Universe? Meet Ashwatthama, the Final Avenger

Rama, It's been more than a few years since I have seen you. Who would have thought that I would be this distant from you, the love of my life. The first time I laid my eyes on you after the war, I knew that you were slowly falling out of love with me. Your eyes were no longer sparkling like they used to. My heart was broken into a million pieces. You had doubts, doubts I still do not understand to this day. I was never unfaithful to you. You are the only man I have ever loved. I was willing to die than to live without you.  I was willing to be nothing than to be something without you. Every time Ravana would torture and torment me, I would remind myself that you would come back to me.  Despite how many times I had to prove my innocence to you, you did not care as all you cared about was what the public think. I did not know what to do. Hence, I surrendered. I would do anything you asked of me, even exile. I had to raise our children without you, without their father, and with...

Bibliography.  "Ramayana Part D" from Tales 151-200 of Tiny Tales from the Ramayana by Laura Gibbs.  Web Source. Focus Character : Sita's point of view on the events in Part D. Synopsis of Part D : - The war is filled with illusion and trickery from both sides. As the war ends , Vibishana was sent to fetch Sita. - Rama became conflicted about his love for Sita as she has been with Rana all this time. He was afraid of what the public would speculate. He wishes Sita well and frees her to go wherever she'd like. This deeply hurt Sita as she has been nothing but faithful to him. She proved herself with the help of Agni, the fire god and Rama accepts.  - Rama and Sita returned home and were crowned king and queen. Shortly after, Sita becomes pregnant. However, some of the public were still complaining about Rama's decision to allow Sita by his side. Because of this, Rama abandoned Sita by asking Lakshmana to leave Sita near Valmiki's ashram. Valmiki teaching Kush...

Bibliography.  "Ramayana Part C" from Tales 101-150 of Tiny Tales from the Ramayana by Laura Gibbs.  Web Source. Focus Story: Sita's time as a captive of Ravana. Synopsis from Part C:  - Sugriva helps Rama save Sugriva . As Sugriva is crowned King of Kiskkindha, he employs monkeys to search Sita. They looked for her everywhere. In the end, they spot Sita on the horizon of the golden city, Lanka. Lanka was over 100 yojanas of ocean away. They learned of Ravana's doing. However, none of them was able to reach Lanka, except for Hanuman.  - Sita has to deal with Ravana who continuously tries to seduce her. Ravana offers her everything from money to power, but Sita rejects him. He gave her an ultimatum, either to accept his advances to become his wife or be eaten. Little did he know, Hanuman heard this whole ordeal. - Sita has to deal with Rakshasis but she remained strong. She believes Rama will come for her, dead or alive. However, in the end, she could not take it an...

I received my first Pfizer COVID19 vaccine just a few days after Christmas. I was excited, terrified, and nervous. I read the studies, did my own research, and determined that the vaccine is what I wanted. As someone working in the emergency room with constant COVID19 contact, I cannot emphasize how many times I have been stressed and anxious whenever I felt just a little bit under the weather. "Is it COVID19 or a typical cold?" "Should I get tested again for the 10000th time?" It was mentally and physically draining for my body. And yes, the vaccine does have its own risks and side effects. It isn't perfect but when I calculate the pros and cons for myself, the benefit completely outweighs the risks.  A lot of people asked me if I have gotten any side effects. After taking my second dose two weeks ago, I can now give you a complete answer. The first dose gave me the most annoying achy pain to the injection site. It was sensitive to every little touch and reall...

Drabble version (100-words): Winning the Lottery I cannot believe it. I am matching the number on my ticket with the numbers for this year's $1 million dollar lottery drawn. It matches. It perfectly matches. Thoughts on what I do next flood my head.  "Should I quit my job?" "Should I buy a Ferrari, a house, pay of my loans? I can even do all three!" I rush outside after getting dressed preparing to redeem the prize. I ran outside to my car when all of the sudden...I woke up. Jackpot (Source: NakedSecurity ) Dribble version (50-words): Winning the Lottery I cannot believe it. I actually won the lottery. My heart is pounding and my mind is flooded with thoughts on what I should now do with my life. I get dressed and run outside to redeem my prize. I started running when all of the sudden... I woke up.

Drabble version (100-words): The Call  (Based on True Story) " Hi Nana ", I answered the phone. " Hey Kiddo! How are you doing? ", she answered. " Just waiting for my next class nana. I- " Before I finished my sentence, she interrupts " I got to go kiddo. Just wanted to say I love you. Tell your mom and dad I miss them! " I thought it was odd but didn't give it much thought. An hour later, I went home and found my parents in the living room. My mother's face was swollen, from crying I presumed. She said, " Honey, we found out nana passed away last night. " Phone Call (Source: PinClipart ) Dribble version (50-words): The Call  (Based on True Story) I haven't been able to stop crying when my phone rang. " Hi Kiddo, I don't really have much time. Just wanted to say I love you. Tell your mom and dad I miss them! " My heart sunk as I was hearing the voice of the woman I am mourning.

You can learn from criticism (Source: Cheezburger ) I am completely in love with the term feedforward . It is such a good positive outlook on the traditional term, feedback. Marshall Goldsmith explains it the best in his article Try Feedforward Instead of Feedback . As Goldsmith states, the reality is that none of us like receiving negative feedback nor giving them. We could all benefit a lot from learning the "right" rather than proving the "wrong". The problem with feedback is that it is focused too much on the past rather than the future. I recommend this article as it really convinced me of the large impact on saying feedforward instead of feedback,  Alfie Kohn reports in his article Five Reasons to Stop Saying "Good Job!"  on how a simple saying could be detrimental to the growth mindset. In my opinion, the saying is just so so boring! Kohn makes an excellent point in emphasizing how the saying can create a large amount of pressure to "keep up th...

Focus Character: Ashwatthama is the son of Drona and the grandson of Bharadwaja. Storybook idea : I am hoping to place Ashwatthama as a character in the Marvel universe. I really think this would be a cool story as he has all the aspects of a Marvel Character. Important stories: 1. Death of Drona Ashwatthama's father, Drona, was an undefeated commander who loved his son more than anything in the world. However, this also makes his son his one weakness. His enemies used this as an advantage. Drona's death was gruesome. This event changed Ashwatthama forever.  I am hoping to use this story as a backstory for Ashwatthama. This explains why he is the way he is. The death of his father was very sad, especially since all his father ever truly loved was his son. I want to emphasize their relationship in my story.  Source:  http://ouocblog.blogspot.com/2008/06/pde-mahabharata-death-of-drona.html 2. The Massacre of the Pandava Camp Ashwatthama slaughtered most of the Pandavas camp...

As a child, Sita would listen to the same bedtime story told by her father, a story of a princess gifted to him by the goddess of the earth. Every time, he would end the story with "and that princess is you" as she falls asleep. Sita is King Janaka's precious daughter whom he adopted and loves dearly. She is the definition of beauty and purity. She had a wonderful childhood filled with love and joy. Finally, the time has come as Sita has become of age for marriage. King Janaka is preparing for the social season to arrange matches and possible suitors for his daughter.  He announces to the public, "The man who is able to lift any of these bows will be the one worthy of my daughter." Little did the public know, the king ordered bows made of compact sand that would disintegrate immediately if not held delicately. Only one person has successfully done so and that person was Sita. Sand (Source: PxHere ) Suitors from the whole land would line up awaiting the challenge...

Bibliography.  "Ramayana Part B" from Tales 51-100 of Tiny Tales from the Ramayana by Laura Gibbs.  Web Source.  Ravana disguised as an ascetic approaching Sita (Source:  Wikimedia ) Focus Character:  Sita, who in Part B, grows closer to her husband Rama. As she is devoted to Rama, she follows him into exile with Lakshmana. The journey was long and she was kidnapped by Ravana at the end of part B.  Synopsis from Part B: As her husband was sent into Exile by King Dasharatha after Kaikeyi (whose mind was poisoned by maid Manthara) forces him, Sita follows him along with Lakshmana. Their journey during exile was long. After the king passed away, Ayodhya was in desperate need of a new ruler. Bharata and Shatrughna returned to find Rama gone, and threatened Manthara for what she has done. Three of them went to beg Rama to return, but he refuses as he is devoted to upholding his father's wishes. Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana visit a few places during the exile. They ...

Bibliography.  "Ramayana Part A" from Tales 31-50 of Tiny Tales from the Ramayana by Laura Gibbs.  Web Source. Sita by Raja Ravi Varma (Source: Wikimedia ) Focus Character: Sita is the adopted daughter of King Janaka. Janaka claimed she was gifted to him by Budhevi, the earth goddess. Her love story with Rama is what drew me to her. She is unlike the other female characters as she is powerful as well. Other stories from the Ramayana :  - Sita is a reincarnation of the goddess Lakshmi, given birth by Ravana's wife Mandodari. She buried the baby away from Lanka. This was found by Janaka. - Padma, an incarnation of Lakshmi, had a father King Padmaksha who was killed by Ravana. She entered into the king's pyre and transformed into a jewel. Ravana kept this jewel in a box but when his wife opened it, she found a baby. The baby threatened to destroy Ravana. The box was then buried away from Lanka and was later found by Janaka. Synopsis from Part A : The story begins with a...

Dr. Gibbs (Laura) mentioned Garuda in one of my comments and that made me curious about it. I started with Garuda  which is a legendary bird that is Indonesia's national emblem. Garuda is actually an important creature in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. I grew up with the Garuda logo and actually live on Garuda street as a child. Garuda led me to the Garuda Wisnu Kencana Cultural Park  which is a beautiful attraction in Bali, Indonesia. The attraction is devoted to Vishu and his companion, Garuda. This really stood out to me because as someone who's been to Bali, I am disappointed that I didn't know about this place when I was there. The  Garuda Wisnu Kencana Cultural Park  led me to the Garuda Wisnu Kencana statue . It is a large statue that situates in the park designed as Vishu riding Garuda. The crown Vishu is wearing is actually covered in gold mosaic. According to the page, the statue is the tallest Hindu deity and the tallest statue in Indonesia. It took a wh...

The Canvas gradebook is an extremely important feature in Canvas as it really tracks and tells you what your grade is. My favorite feature is that you are able to change the displays from module, title assignment, or even due date. I prefer to put it on the due date as it puts in chronological order that makes it easier to track. You can also edit the grade for a "what if" sort of view which is one thing I always do to see what grade I would need in each assignment to achieve my grade goal. The Canvas gradebook is extremely important for me that it is actually one canvas link I bookmark.

Drabble version (100-word): Mommy  The plumber comes into a house and heads right to the bathroom.   He says "your kids sound like they're having fun." The woman smiles and nods. He heads into the kitchen asking for water. The woman hands him a notepad instead.  The plumber says "I'm sorry but I'd like a glass of water, not a notepad." The woman points to her ears and mouths "deaf." The plumber writes "water please" and the woman does so.  "Mommy, Mommy" the plumber hears.  The plumber writes "your kids are calling for you." The woman stares at him and writes "what kids?" I love my mom (Source: Pixy ) Dribble version (50-word) : Mommy A woman has a plumber over. The plumber enters and hears the kids calling after her. He tells her but the woman points to her ears and mouths "deaf." The plumber writes "your kids are calling for you." The woman stares at him and writes "what kids?...

Growing up I have always been expected to do the best, to be perfect, and to make no mistakes. In a traditional Asian household, I was expected to be a certain way or should I say, the perfect way. Critics were all I heard as a child, a teenager, and at most times now as an adult. Sometimes, I hear it in my own head. Whether it is in an interview "what are you saying" "you aren't making any sense" or even in an exam "you should know this", I am always bound to critic myself even when I do not mean to. Sabrina Nawaz makes a great point in her article Silence the Critical Voices in Your Head . All the echoes of negative thoughts in my head that I think would push me to my goal are actually preventing me from reaching them. As Nawaz emphasizes, we rely on dissecting our weaknesses to further our potential but fail to realize that most of our potential lies in our strength. I really liked how Nawaz was so relatable for me personally. Every sentence in thi...

 Supernatural Characters of the Ramayana I am interested in writing and learning more about supernatural characters of the Ramayana. I am playing with some ideas of maybe possibly having Ramayana characters as the origin of the modern monsters we know like vampires, werewolves, and such (possibly some sort of evolution). There are many characters that I am intrigued by including some of the rakshasas , Suvannamaccha , and Viradha . What really stands out to me is with the rakshasas as the Ramayana is flooded with them. Having that contrast between good and evil is great if I would prefer to do a superhero type of story.  Alternate Version of the Ramayana After seeing the many creative past projects, I am inspired to write my own version of the Ramayana. Although there is much to the story, I am most interested in Rama as the focus of my story. Exploring the love story between Rama and Sita might be a great challenge as well. Their love story is complicated with twists and tu...