Week 12 Review

This week, I decided to get a head start on the review by looking at today's announcements for the class. As I was scrolling through what grabbed my attention was the Indian Words in English post about the word Zen. As mentioned in the post, I have heard about the word Zen many times before, know that it's a reference to Buddhism, and is used in the context of meditation, but that's about it. I personally have meditated before so I was interested to learning more about the background of the word. For example, as found in the post, I had no idea that the word, in English, comes from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word "chan," and that that is from the Sanskrit dhyana which actually means meditation. Learning new things like this is always fun and it's cool to be able to know this information and now be able to connect it to other things in the world.

"Buddha Sculpture"
Source: MythFolklore Online Course Announcements

Week 11 Review

This week from the Daily Announcements, what caught my eye was this post that included this picture:

"Take some time to reflect"
Source: OU Daily Announcements

The reason it caught my attention and what I took away from it was the importance of taking a breather. I personally felt like I really need to read those words on the picture. This semester has been the busiest semester thus far, and I feel like I haven't truly had time to sit down and reflect above any and everything that's been going on. I've just been trying to stay caught up in my life so that I had time to move on to the next thing I needed to focus on. However, with all the craziness going on, I know that it's always nice to try and take a little time of my day to just relax and clear my mind.

Week 7 Review

For this weeks review I decided to write about the fun and exploration post which can be found here. The title of the post is called Writing and Revision, so it immediately caught my attention. This year I'm really trying to put more effort, work, and dedication into my writing, even if it's just for myself, so I'm also interested in reading anything that may have to do with writing or helpful tips. The post included this picture of a quote:

Writing and Revision
Source: OUClassAnnouncements

I remember when I was younger I used to think that having to turn in a rough draft of a paper, essay, project, story, etc. to the teacher before the final draft was pointless (boy was I wrong). I always wanted to just jump in, turn in the final draft, and be done with it. But I definitely now know how extremely, extremely important it is to revise your work. In order to become a better writer you really need to go over your writing multiple times and look for mistakes. Doing this repeatedly truly helps your writing be the best it can be. I think it's one of the most important steps in the writing process. I'm glad I realized this sooner rather than later!

Week 5 Review

For this week's review post I decided to take something from this weeks announcements (which can be found here). The post that caught my attention was the under the Words of Wisdom section from yesterday, Sunday, September 27th. The words of wisdom was "The fuller the cup, the sooner the spill." And it came with a picture as well:

"Full Cup"
Source: MythFolklore Class Announcements 

The reason I chose this post besides the fact that I really enjoy quotes, is that I feel like I can relate to and understand what it's saying. Sometimes people try to cram in their schedules or certain things in their life in order to make room for something else, finish early, finish ahead of time or something of those sorts. I've done this too. However, I've found that it's really important to take a step back and separate things in a better manner rather than trying to do everything at once. It may sound good at the time, but it can definitely become extremely overwhelming. For this reason, I try to plan stuff out using a planner, notes, etc. so that I can leave space for other things and not have an over packed schedule. Planning things for me is really a life saver because it helps to keep my life in order and make it more calm.

Week 4 Review

For this weeks review, I chose an item from the Thursday, September 17 daily announcement. The specific topic I'm choosing to talk about is the Field Guide to Procrastinators under the "fun and exploration" title. The link can be found here!

The picture that grabbed my attention when I was reading the announcements was this one:

Field Guide to Procrastinators Poster
Source: OUClassAnnouncements

I thought this picture was funny, relatable, and very true! If I had to choose which procrastinator type I am, it would probably have to be a mixture of The Sidetracker, The Internet Researcher, The List Maker, and The Napper! Whenever I'm procrastinating I can see myself doing any one of these things. I am, however, trying to be better about not procrastinating and instead getting things done early because I find that alleviates a lot of stress and gives me more time to myself that I don't feel as guilty about! I think I'm getting better at it. I remember in high school it was much worse, but college really taught me how awful it can get when I have assignments due and tests to study for all around the same time! So now, things have changed. Thanks college.

Week 3 Review

For this week's review I chose a post from today's announcement. The post is titled Indian Words in English and the word was Yoga. I chose to read more about this because I actually really like to do yoga in my free time. It's extremely relaxing and is also a workout. I used to do it more often but sadly haven't for a while. From this post I learned that "yoga" from the Indo-European root yeug- "is also the root of English words like 'yoke' and also 'join.'" and also that "yogi," in Sanskrit, is a man who practices yoga. It was definitely an interesting read and I'm glad I learned more about the word.

"Yoga"
Source: OU Class Announcements

Week 2 Review

For this weeks review, my favorite item from the announcements today was from "Mythology Words in English." The word was Narcissist and was taken from the character Narcissus in Ovid Metamorphoses. The reason I chose this particular section from the announcement today was because I actually did my Reading Diaries from the Ovid I unit. I had always known of the story of Narcissus, but I had never read about it until now. I also had known that the word Narcissist was derived from Narcissus but I didn't know why. It was interesting to finally read about the story and how he fell in love with himself by looking at his reflection in the water. It was cool to be able to relate my readings to the announcements post and I hope you guys get a chance to read the story, too!

Narcissus
Source: OU Class Announcements

Week 1 Review

I was scrolling and reading through today's announcements and, coincidentally, the very first post under the "..fun and exploration" section jumped out at me. It was the Happiness Jar idea. I'll include the link to the announcement where the post can be found here. The reason this automatically jumped out to me is because I was actually planning on having a memory jar for this college year. They're pretty similar so as soon as saw the post in the announcement it reminded me of the fun idea! I can't wait to get started on the memory jar, especially since this might be my last year of under grad before I (hopefully) get into Pharmacy School!

Happiness Jar Idea
Source: Online Course Announcements