Learning Challenge: HEART

    I chose to watch the video on "What would happen if you didn't sleep?" This was mostly due to my terrible sleep schedule, so I wanted to educate myself. I was aware of the fact that a student wanted to experiment with what would happen if he did not sleep, but I was unaware of what exactly happened. I am somewhat curious to see how long I could go without sleep, but I like my life so I think I will stay curious for a while. I will look into other people that conducted similar experiments and see how long they lasted. This was a very informative video, that elaborate the journey with the 11 days of sleepless nights. Losing shut eye can lead to death, which is a dangerous risk for this experiment. Everyone reading this, please get your 8-10 hours of sleep per night and your body will thank you. Getting less than this amount can lead to effects on your health, which will affect your day to day behavior. Pay attention to your sleep schedule and track your time. Read and educate yourself on information about your sleep schedule.

Reset your Sleep Cycle

Microfiction Revision: Week 13 EX

 

 End of Time

On a slow Sunday morning young boy lays on the beach with nothing but calm winds, the warmth of water, and peace. You hear seagulls, waves crashing and swooshing from the wind. Memorable smells of aromatic sea air, salty waters, and family cookouts. He feels the sensation of sand between toes, dry mouth, and warmth. The young boy reaches for his water to relieve the sensation of thirst. The boy lay there to take his time to himself. He wakes up to see the moonlight in the distance as it reflects off the glossy waters. Time never really has an end. 

Two Sentence Story

There is an end to everything. But where does it begin? 

The Beginning and Ending

Note: My idea of revision was to try to change the meaning or the interpretation of the short story. The original stories' interpretation was that time has an end, and that you lose track of time when you are having fun or spending it. But now with this revision, time has no end, as stated in the first story. Yet the two sentence story interprets that there is a beginning and an end, yet time could have nothing to do with it. 

Week 13: Reading Notes Part B: Seven Secrets of Shiva

 Part B of this reading continued is pretty interesting. I chose to prioritize my notes on the character Kali. She is shown as a bold and strong character, she was even portrayed standing on top of men. Kali is known to switch forms and shape, one of which is a snake. Although Kali looks to be dangerous and scary, the introduction of Shiva made all that look harmless. Shiva was able to have an emotional and physical connection with Kali. The true lesson to be learned in this story is to not judge a book by its cover. The bond between Kali and Shiva was somewhat unbreakable. Kira was looked as a hero at some instances. Kali has a way of winning over people and making them second guess. There was a mentioning in the story where Krishna had a encounter with Kali. Krishna was amused by this strange character, yet not threatened or intimidated. There are many versions of people in Hindu stories, which applies to Kali. Although the bond between Kali and Shiva was unbreakable, there is still a strong standpoint and meaning in the picture below, where Kali is standing on Lord Shiva. Overall I really enjoyed the story and the meaning behind it. 

Kali standing on Lord Shiva

Bibliography: Pattanaik. Seven Secrets of Shiva. Source

Week 13: Reading Notes Part A: 7 Secrets of Shiva

Lord Shiva

 For this week I chose a little different topic, this one being Shivas 7 secrets. This story resembles ancestry, religion and ritual. It is an attempt to show God Shivas journey through trials and to unlock secrets. It goes through a labyrinth of myths and cultural aspects. It was a very interesting reading for sure. The artwork that is incorporated in the story is incredible to see. Overall I would give this story a 9/10 because of its uniqueness and interesting objectives. I would like to write a story about this in the near future. 

Bibliography: Pattanaik. Seven Secrets of Shiva. Source

Week 13 Story: Krishnas Destiny

Krishna's Destiny    

 The life of a young demi god names Krish came into the world thru the help of the mighty gods. His destiny had been written even before his birth. He was born to be the protector of Earth and its inhabitants. Not only was this a hard task to fulfill but he was thrown through multiple tests in his life. He had many enemies as they could not stand the idea of Krish and his heroity. His true identity was hidden from him by his parents, Lakshmi and Nav, who were really protectors of Krish. As far as Krish knew, he was just an ordinary boy with a unique gift. He was unaware of the fact that he was a demigod. Krishs' biggest threat was a cruel ruler named Karma. Karma was a ruler that had his eyes set on ruling over all mankind. Krish being the protector of earth took it upon himself to stop Karma. Not only was Karma a mighty ruler, but an excellent strategic fighter in combat. Karma knew one day, he would run into Krish, so he waited patiently for his prey. 

    Outside of this busy life, Krish just wants to have a normal life with his friends from home. One day as his parents took him to visit his village back home, he runs into his old childhood friends. They take off in adventure to the forest to fish, as it was their favorite childhood activity. They go fishing in the forbidden river, as it is known to have dangerous marine life living among it. The kids living there their whole life, knows the areas that are safe to fish in. As Krish waits patiently for a bite to catch, one of his friends is on his toes trying to reel in a big one. Krish takes off to help his friend reel the fish in, only to find out that he had hooked a dangerous sea snake the size of a skyscraper. It was at this moment that Krish discovered his dwelling strength and bravery. As this monster dragged Krish's friend into the river, Krish takes a deep dive into the river. Krish and his friends drew in a crowd by the bank of the river. Krish swims with such power and force, he appears like a dolphin in the water. Krish was able to grab the tail of the serpent and drag him out of the water. The crowd was shocked to find out that such a young man could have this much strength to drag a dangerous sea serpent out of the water and beat it to death in order to save his childhood friend. 

    The new discovery of his strength and speed gave Krish a push over his confidence. He ran into a phase, where he would show off his gift and ability to impress people. He was able to make friends easy as well as enemies. His parents worried for his destiny even more so as Krish has taken a liking to his abilities. His parents feared for this day as it was their duty to tell Krish of his destiny and life purpose. Lakshmi calls upon Krish with tears running down her cheek. Lakshmi and Nav explains to Krish that he is not their true son by blood and how his life purpose was to be a hero and savior of this planet. This however did not surprise Krish, as he has always seen strange signs throughout his life. He sits through a long lecture from his parents. Krish now understands his life purpose and his duty. 

Krishna

Authors Notes: I used the reading notes from week 12 and used the story about Krishna. There is a lot to the whole story, but this was only a small part of the main story. I plan on adding more to this story as the weeks pass. Krishna the original character shown in the image above is referred to as Krish in this story. I chose to incorporate an action scene from the original story and add some minor changes. My main goal was to show the calling of Krishna and set up a good cliffhanger where you would have to wait and find out where Krish takes upon the mighty ruler Karma. 

Image Info: This picture above shows Krishna after he picked up a the flute and started playing it. The flute has been a resemblance of Krishna and his existence. 

Bibliography: Reading Guide: Epified. Krishna

Week 12 Reading Notes: Part B Krishna

 Part B of the story of Krishna starts with the punishment of Brahma, after he had kidnapped Krishna's cows and friends. Krishna decided to teach him a lesson and played a trick on him. Krishna made the illusion that nothing has gone missing and nobody noticed a difference. The creator of the universe fell to his knees as he found out that Krishna was everywhere he looked. He finally kneeled to Krishna's' divinity. Krishna was refused marriage as his existence was for a higher purpose. He was the savior of Dharma in this world. Krishna was still unaware of the fact that he was not the son of Yashoda and Nanda. Krishna's realization of the truth pushed him down the same path that Gargacharya mentioned. The residents of Vrindavan and the Gopis did not want Krishna to leave. They mourned and cried of his farewell. Krishna overcomes the lives of others with his presence. Akur invited Krishna as he saw the reality within Krishna. Krishna arrives at Mathura, and gets to meet his destiny by killing Kuvalayapida. He finds freedom for Mathura by killing Kamsa. 

Krishna kills Kamsa

Bibliography: Reading Guide: Epified. Krishna

Week 12 Reading Notes: Krishna

 This story talks about the life of Krishna, who was a boy that had trouble with his life even before birth. He had many foes and friends. He made allies with the ones that helped his journey and enemies with the ones that hated him. Either way, he was brought up with fire and troubleship. However he survived and became much more than a king and a ruler. Many did not grasp the idea that he was in his own world, and was not the same as them. One cruel king in the name of Kamsa showed no respect and decided to kill all of Devaki's children, six to be more specific. Yashoda the mother of Krishna, saw more than potential in Krishna. One day as Krishna was eating mud, she demanded to see inside his mouth, where she saw a whole universe. It is at this moment she realized that she was not mother to a normal child but to Brahmand itself. This was an important part in the plot, there is where you see Krishna take a turn in character. He builds his character immensely. With a change of scenery, Krishna was able to make friends, take on new lessons in music and truly find himself. He picked up quickly on the flute, which is a big part of his character. This is the moment Krishna turned from a mere boy to an avatar to everyone around him. He was able to save his friends from a vicious water snake with his melody and music. Kamsa has much to worry about as his fate lies on the hands of Krishna. However, while Krishna is still a young man, he has a while to go before challenging a mighty king. 

Kamsa and Krishna

Bibliography: Reading Guide: Epified. Krishna

Week 11 Reading Notes: The Banyan Deer

 The Banyan Deer story was a great story with a beautiful ending that shows true character and pride. The story begins with a Deer who was a King and ruler of his herd. However the Banyan Deer is not the only King as other herds are ruled by a King as well. The Monkey Deer herd had a ruler with a viscous taste for deer meat. The King was so hungry for deer meat, he woulf often hunt and kill many deers. One day the people of his town got fed up with his addicting taste for blood and decided to let him do all the work. The people of his town was able to lure deer into a park, where it was designed as a trap for deer. The Banyan Deer explained to the King that killing this much deer would eventually wipe out all the deers, and nothing would be left. The King understanding this ordeal made a deal with the Banyan Deer that he would limit his killing by allowing for the release of a deer as another enters, this was "fewer Deer will be lost". However at the end, when a mother Deer begged for her life due to her child needing a parent to raise him the Banyan Deer takes her place to be killed. Even after the King granted the Banyan Deers' life, he still chose to take the spot of a strangers life as it was his responsibility for his herd. This act of kindness and mercy shined light to the King as he swore to never hunt Deer again. 

Jataka Tales: The Banyan Deer

Bibliography: Jataka Tales: The Banyan Deer

Week 9 Story: Picking Sides

Picking Sides

    On a cloudy, dark day, Samoa woke up with his heart set on beating his rival Kumar. They have always been unpleasant with each other, despite them being brothers. Their hate for each other grew to the point of brotherhood meaning nothing to either of them. They always needed teachings from their protector, as they were two royal men of the kingdom. Their protector was the mighty Krishna. Krishna is found as guidance to Samoa and Kumar. While Samoa finds a way to attack his brother, Kumar has other plans of playing outside the rules. Krishna has set rules and specifications that each of them cannot break. This is mostly due to the anger of Kumar and his uncontrollable anger. Kumar aims to put an end to this never-ending battle by planning on cutting Samoa's neck off. This would be a difficult task as Samoa is a very skilled archer, where he keeps distance from his enemy and strike. Kumar, however, is not a force to be reckoned with as he is the commander of their army. Although he is the commander, he is still and evil. He hired assassins to hunt with him in search for Samoa. Samoa is a very skilled hunter and knows how to hide his tracks. Krishna found out about Kumar's evil plan, and decided to help Samoa to get things on an even playing fields. Krishna gives Samoa a magical map that shows his enemy's pinpoint location. Samoa's hunting and archery skills came in clutch as he aimed his longbow to the sky and shoots Kumar from miles away. Kumar is confused as to how Samoa is shooting him from the skies. Samoa released one final stretch and shoots his trusty bow, and he landed his shot with ultimate accuracy and precision. This leaves the kingdom shook as to how, and why such a tragedy happened. 

Arjuna

Authors Notes: This revision was inspired by the story in Mahabharata, Arjuna and Karna. The fight scene between the two was such a strong point in the plot, I decided to take this plot and switch up the dynamics of the characters. While originally Arjuna and Karna is not related, in this revised edition, I made Samoa (Arjuna) and Kumar (Karna) brothers to make a more deeper connection between the two. This allowed me to create a more depth storyline, that I can improve on as weeks go. 

Bibliography: Mahabharata, Section 11: Arjuna and Karna

Reading Notes: Mahabharata: Arjuna and Karna, Part B

 For part B of the reading notes, I decided to focus on the plot with the battle between Arjuna and Karna. I chose this fight scene to create tension between characters, and this allows me to have a wider range of options for my portfolio. In this section, I found the main characters to be Arjuna and Karna. These two gets into a quarrel with supervision from Krishna. Arjuna makes the first move toward Karna, where Karna finds the upper-hand first. Karna breaks Arjuna's bow and charges towards him. Arjuna was supposed to be given a new weapon according to the rules of battle, however, Karna did not allow for this to happen. Arjuna manages to fix his bow and charge towards Karna, where Karna finds himself in a similar situation as Arjuna. Karna's chariot wheel gets stuck on the ground, and Karna asks Krishna for respite, which was denied. Arjuna gets the final blow to Karna with an arrow, thus ending the battle between the two. This story is great for understanding fairness and non-greediness. 

Arjuna and Karna

Bibliography: Mahabharata, Section 11: Arjuna and Karna

Reading Notes: the Adventures of Prince Arjuna, Part A

For this this week's reading notes, I decided to stick to the story of Prince Arjuna. I plan on making a story in terms to this story, which sparked my interest. In the Mahabharata reading guide, the story titles "The Adventures of Prince Arjuna" tells of a Arjuna, son of Pandu and Kunti. He was a prince of the Elephant city. The location of the plot starts at the royal city of Hastinapura, Duryodhana. The Pandavas bring problems to the royal city and the King. Arjuna finds himself in a situation where he enters Draupadi's room, which causes him to go to exile.  A water-nymph named Ulupi takes Arjuna to the underwater land and marries him. This granted Arjuna with a special gift that allowed him to defeat a mighty alligator, who was an ex nymph. This curse was broken by Arjuna when he defeated the cursed alligators. Arjuna is challenged once again in life as he dreams of Agni, a fire-god who tells him to burn the Khandava forest and to destroy the nagas. The nagas are protected by Indra. Arjuna is also the son of Indra. As Arjuna heads to destroy this forest and the nagas, the god Indra comes to do his job and save the nagas by releasing rain from the clouds. 

This plot shows great marks of improvement. While reading this original story, i was able to think of ideas to make a new revised story for my website, which is perfect. 

Arjuna

Bibliography: Mahabharata, The Adventure of Prince Arjuna

Week 8 Progress

 Seeing my progress build in this class has to be one of my favorite features in the design of this course. I am able to see weaknesses and strong suites. I am overall happy with my grade in this course, as I am responsible for my grade. I will do extra bonus work to make-up for missed assignments and points. I am proud of my progress in my writing ability. I feel like at this point in the course, I have grasped the hang of the schedule and weekly routine. I really enjoy being able to use my own imagination and creativity in our writing. I would honestly not change a thing, because this course teaches you responsibility and gives each of us a chance to make improvements, while simultaneously teaching us material about Epics of India. My goal is to not miss any more assignments and receive an A in this course. I will make minor adjustments to my posts to make them more ideal and more fluent. Overall I believe this course is a great way for you to learn and most importantly improve. 

What to Look for In a Continuous Improvement Model

Week 8 Comments and Feedback

 I really enjoy how this class is set up. It provides us with the freedom to push ourselves and find weak spots in our writing and reading. I would rate the feedback process a solid 10/10. I like the ability to have an open mind in our stories and most importantly our feedback. It gives me the opportunity to leave nice yet productive comments on students. I am most definitely getting to know some familiar students through continuous feedback and comments. I am very happy that the class system is set up this way. I have learned numerous different ways of commenting, feedback and feedforward. I really enjoy the idea of an interactive community, however, maybe making the comments and stories more public without search would be a great way to bring students together. Maybe even finding a format, where you can see students live writing their story, or a more interactive platform. Overall I am very pleased with comments and feedback I have received as well as given out. 

Feedback Progression