Reading Diary B: Apuleius's Cupid and Psyche

The second half of Apuleius’s Cupid and Psyche Unit was just as good as the first half.  In the continuation of the story, I found out that the myth was actually very similar with what the books that I’ve read have presented, although with some slight artistic modifications.  There were many aspects of the myth that I liked:

In Psyche’s Prayer, Venus, Juno, and Ceres are presented as family, almost as sisters.  I thought that this was an interesting parallel to Psyche and her two sisters from the beginning of the unit.  However, they were also almost opposites, as Venus is the one with envy while Juno and Ceres attempt to reason with her, but do not disrespect her wishes.  I think that this type of parallel is a great way to show how some families remain united, while others turn on one another.  

Psyche continues to show her dynamic character as well.  Venus and Mercury shows Psyche being turned away, first by Ceres and then by Juno, and yet she still stands strong. She decides to have the courage to face her enemy, despite what is almost certain to be a gruesome fate.  In contrast, in Venus and Psyche on through The Sleep of the Dead, Psyche continually makes efforts to end her life, only to be stopped by the typical fairytale aids.  She wants to jump from cliffs and towers, which shows her weakness.  But when told of a way to complete her tasks, she has the strength to continue.  

I think that proving your love for another through actions is important.  While the way that Psyche is forced to do it is a little over the top, I think that is simply an exaggerated example of something that everyone wants done.  People don’t want to just hear your love, they want to see it.  I think that this is something very important to include in a story with romance.  

The Reunion of Cupid and Psyche.  Source: Wikimedia Commons

Reading Diary A: Apuleius's Cupid and Psyche

For this week, I chose to read the unit on Apuleius's Cupid and Psyche.  I’ve read about them in several books before, but I’d never actually read the original myth or story.  In retrospect, I mainly chose this unit because I have a fascination with Greek myths and prefer the layout of a story as opposed to the layout of a poem, as most Greek myths are written.  But who cares, it’s an awesome story that I loved reading!

I love stories with dynamic female characters.  People always rave about how there needs to be strong female characters, but I think dynamic ones are more important.  By this, I mean that she needs to show both strength and weakness, not just one or the other as most characters seem to.  Psyche, to me, is a dynamic female.  She has a strong character, which I could see in The Oracle of Apollo.  Psyche held her head high and comforted her parents as she walked to what she thought would be her death.  She was strong and faced the unknown with an appearance of confidence, even if she didn’t entirely feel it. 

However, she also had a weak character.  She didn’t trust her husband, despite the fact that he had done nothing to harm her or earn her distrust.  This became apparent in Fears and Doubts.  She fell for her sisters’ conniving ways, looking upon her husband so that he was forced to leave her, as he had warned her. In a way, this is a weakness that most people have.  Family is important, especially for many women.  They crave the comfort of companionship, and the only companion Psyche had was the presence of her husband at night.  It's no wonder that she fell for her sisters' schemes. 

After her husband left, she showed a unique combination of a strong and weak character.  In Psyche’s Despair, Psyche weakened to the point of acting on her wish for revenge.  But she showed strength in how she manipulated her sisters into bringing about their own demise.

I hope that as I write my own stories, I can write dynamic characters like this one.  All people have strengths and weaknesses, not just the men.  Women are not inherently weak and men are not inherently strong.  Both Psyche and Cupid proved this in the first section of reading in Apuleius’s Cupid and Psyche. 

(Cupid and Psyche in the Louvre. Source: Flickr)

Week 1 Curation

I’ve attempted to use bookmarks on my computer over the years, but I always forget about them.  I usually just type in the first couple of letters into the search bar and click the one I need!  I am going to try to use my bookmarks this semester, at the very least for this class.  It was extremely easy to create the bookmark so I’m hoping that I’ll get used to using them!

As for curation, I’ve used Pinterest for years and have just recently started using Twitter.  I absolutely love Pinterest, especially since it allows me to organize all of my interests so that I can go back and look at them.  It is such an amazing space of ideas and creations that you can definitely get sucked into it for a while. Twitter, on the other hand, is not my favorite thing.  I still haven’t quite figured out how to use it.  People seem to use it as an abbreviated Facebook, since they have a limited number of characters at their disposal.  Some people seem to get a little carried away with what they are willing to put on a public forum!

Pinterest advertisment.  Source: Flickr. 

Growth Mindset: A New Frontier

I learned about Growth Mindset from my professor for Business and Professional Communication, Dr. Ryan Bisel.  At the start of the semester, he presented the idea of growth mindset in the hopes that students would take the information and use it to their advantage.  He loves to see students grow and learn during the semester, calling it their “transformation”.   

I believe in the growth mindset.  I don’t think that people are born with a certain level of intelligence.  If they set their mind to something and have the ability, they can achieve fantastic things.  However, as my professor said, there are some things that people just will not be able to do simply from a lack of interest or from starting too late in life or not having the physical ability.  Being in the Communication field, I’ve heard many people say they are not “math people” or they’re not “science people”, which is why they’re in Communications.  My professor contradicted this by saying that they simply weren’t interested in becoming better at these fields so they never truly applied themselves.  A six-foot, 200 lb. man wanting to be a jockey isn’t entirely possible, because he found that particular dream to late in life AND he has certain physical characteristics that might cause some problems in that dream.  

However, I do believe that some people’s brains are just hardwired for certain things.  Some people are somewhat born to be math geniuses or music prodigies.  They find the field easy and quickly pick up new topics and ideas.  Other people are not hardwired this way, but the can definitely train themselves and work at the field and become just as good.  They may not pick things up as quickly, but they can master things to the same degree.  

Meme created by Laura Gibbs. Source: Growth Mindset Memes

My Storybook Favorites: Past Projects

The first project that I looked at was Tragically Ever After.  I always love the idea of the twists that happen in or after the Disney fairy tales that we were told growing up, so this storybook is perfect.  In a way, it reminds me of Into the Woods, although I’ll admit that I fast-forwarded through most of that movie. (I don’t really like musicals. I think it’s really annoying when people are singing something that they could just say).  I love the dark and dismal design of the webpage itself, as it fits so well with the topics of the stories. I think that it is great that the author didn’t just make the couples grow to hate each other, but also made them lose their loves to sickness and disease, which was very common in the time that the fairy tales were originally set. 

The next project that I found was Queen of the Underworld: Tales of Persephone.  I am drawn to this storybook by my fascination with Greek mythology.  With this storybook in particular, I love the idea of the myth being told in a different light.  Personally, I like the variations where Persephone loves the Underworld and Hades and resents her mother for forcing her away from her love for half the year.  It’s what I thought this project would be about based on by the introduction, but I was pleasantly surprised.  I like the diary style of the first post, and the way that it evolves from how she came to be in the Underworld to how she became part of the Underworld in many ways, relishing in her power and abilities. 

The final project that I found was When Brothers Cross Paths.  I love Supernatural, so this idea is absolutely amazing.  I love the idea of combining the Winchesters with the Brothers Grimm.  I like the way the storybook is presented, with each post being a continuation of the story that the author was creating.  I also love the idea that the Winchesters know even more about monsters than the Grimm brothers, even though the Grimms are kind of the original hunters.  Bringing the Grimms to the modern times so that they could meet the Winchesters is brilliant, although I wish that more background would have been given about them and how or why they are in modern times.  Beyond that, I think everything about this storybook was brilliant, from the layout to the topic to the design.  Absolutely brilliant!

Each of these storybooks are uniquely fascinating, but they all have a common idea: taking a past tale or myth and giving it a new twist: the Grimms in modern times; Persephone not hating the Underworld; and the princes and princesses not living happily ever after.  I applaud the authors for their ingenuity and artistic talent!!!

This picture from Tragically Ever After seems appropriate for all of the Storybooks, as they all have a bit of a dark theme to them.  Even the tale of Persephone has a dark cast, due to her life in Hades.  

Gloomy Forest (Wikimedia Commons)

Discovering the UnTextbook

Picking my readings for the units throughout the upcoming semester was surprisingly difficult! Everything sounds so interesting to read and I hope that I will have the time to read more than just the 12 units that I must select for my postings this semester.  The following four units are the ones that I am most confident that I will read and post about:

Egyptian Myth

The Egyptian myths and religions have always intrigued me.  In a way, it reminds me of the Greek/Roman religions, especially with the number of gods and goddesses that the religion has.  I am hoping that the unit will give me some details about the myths that I have grown up hearing about on television and in movies. 

Italian Tales

My interest in this section is probably mostly related to my semester abroad that is (hopefully) coming up in the spring.  I’d like to know everything that I can about Italy before I leave, and who wouldn’t want to read their fairy tales! I find it interesting that so many cultures have fairy tales that are similar to the ones that we grow up with in America.  It will certainly be interesting to see how they are presented in a different country!

King Arthur

Who doesn’t love King Arthur?! I love reading books and watching movies and television shows that revolve around the Arthurian legends.  Merlin was one of my favorite shows! Before it got cancelled that is.  I am excited to read the myths without the artistic changes that the movies, books, and television shows have applied to make it more consumer friendly!

Alice in Wonderland

Just like everyone else, I grew up knowing the tale of Alice in Wonderland.  However, I have never actually read the book… So it will be awesome to read the story and share what I think about it with everyone! I’ve seen many movies about the story, but I’m sure they are all different from the actual story, much like the Arthurian legends.

The readings that I have posted here are just a vague idea of the units that I will use to fill up the rest of my semester.  These are definitely subject to change, but they may give you an idea as to what I am interested in!

Twenty-Two Goblins

Robin Hood

Adam and Eve

Alice’s Looking Glass

Andersen Fairy Tales

Beowulf

Europa’s Fairy Book

Monkey King (They mention this one on The Big Bang Theory!)

(illustration by Perham W. Nahl)

This is an image from the Twenty Two Goblins Unit.  It is titled "Brave, Wise, Clever".  To me, it looks a lot like a picture that would accompany the tale of David and Goliath.  I have not yet read the story, so I don't know why this picture is accompanying it. However, it does make me wonder what the story entails to warrant this image.  I am excited to find out!

Introduction: All About Me

Hi everyone! My name is Michaela Moses. This is my junior year at OU.  While I am hoping it will be an exciting fall semester, I’m really hoping that it will fly by! Why? Because I’m studying abroad in the spring, that’s why! I am (hopefully) doing the OU in Arezzo program and am beyond excited for it.  My application is submitted and now all I can do is wait, so let’s move on to more that will let you get to know me!

(Image Information: Personal photo of myself; photo from July 2015.)

I grew up as a military brat.  My father is a (now retired) pilot in the Air Force.  We moved to a new state every 2 to 4 years, but we also moved several times within the state while we tried to find/build our homes.  As such, my family has always been the most important thing to me.  Friends, things, places – they come and go, but my family has always been there for me.  This includes my dogs.  I have two dogs, a Bernese Mountain dog named Sherlock and Moose, a German shorthaired pointer mix.  Personally, I don’t think that life could be complete without a dog. 

(Image Information: Personal photo of my dogs, Sherlock and Moose; photo from December 2014.)

As you already know, I love the water.  I have been working for the YMCA for three years now, alongside a wide variety of interesting people and patrons.  I am a teacher, coach, and lifeguard. Teaching kids how to swim can be both incredibly stressful and unbelievably entertaining.  I’ve had kids who screamed in fear for the entire class and kids who screamed “Look mom I’m swimming” for the entire class (neither of which is entirely enjoyable when it’s done within inches of your ear)!  However, when you get one of those kids who listens to everything you say and gives you a hug at the end of every class, it makes up for all the… rambunctious children. 

Lifeguarding is another beast altogether.  Combine the hot, humid air of an indoor pool with the old people who constantly complain about the water temperature or your choice of music and it almost always results in a rather cranky lifeguard.  But just as with the lessons, you do get those patrons who are just so nice and friendly that they can make even the worst day into a good one.  ESPECIALLY if they bring food with them.

Outside of work and school, I love to watch movies, read, hang with friends, and eat.  My favorite movies are pretty much all the Marvel movies, with the Captain Americas and the Avengers being at the top.  I used to read a lot, but with school and work, my reading time has definitely been limited.  I have done several 5ks with my friends, including the Mud Run this summer, which was definitely one of my favorites! Slogging through mud alongside a friend and hundreds of other people is surprisingly entertaining.  Beyond that, I just LOVE to eat.  I’m not particularly picky as to what I’m eating as long as it’s good.  In fact, food is how my friends typically get me to go places.  The promise of food will get me to do and go just about anywhere they want.  And like most college students, free food is always amazing.  Most recently, I’ve gotten addicted to a restaurant in Midwest City called the Creperie and European Cafe.  It is delicious!  

(Image Information: Personal photo of my friend and I after we completed the Mud Run; photo from June 2015.)

Well, I hope that this helped you get to know me a little better! If you have any questions, just let me know! I would be more than happy to answer them!

Week 1 Storytelling: The Sheep Dog and the Sheep

The Sheep Dog and the Sheep

Generations ago, a family of Sheep Dogs struck a deal with a herd of Sheep. The Dogs would guard the Sheep in the pasture every day as long as they were given shelter and food in the Sheep’s barn every night.  The Shepherd agreed to the deal, since he would no longer have to guard the Sheep himself.  

Generations later, a handsome Sheep Dog called Sal was guarding the herd alongside his brothers and sisters.  From the time he was just a pup he had trained to guard these sheep, and as the oldest, he led his siblings in patrolling the pasture.  Day after day, a pack of Wolves approached the pasture, looking for an easy feast.  And day after day, the Sheep Dog family drove the Wolves back so that the Sheep could graze peacefully and safely.  

Great Pyreneese guarding his Sheep. Source: Flickr

One day, however, the Wolves got clever.  They cobbled together a plan to trick the Sheep into driving away their guardians.  The Wolves told the Sheep that the Dogs were the ones that disturbed the peace of the pasture, not the Wolves.  The incredibly gullible Sheep told the Sal and his siblings that they no longer needed their protection. 

“But my friends,” Sal said, “the Wolves are trying to trick you! They want us to go away so they can eat you!”

Sal’s argument angered the Sheep.  They were so angry that they said to Sal “You simply do not like the Wolves! You think that everyone is out to eat us! Because of your prejudice, we are ending our deal.  You are no longer our guardians!”

Sal and his siblings tried to talk to the Sheep, but they drove the Dogs off.  Sal knew that the Wolves would not wait to eat the Sheep, he raced back to the Shepherd.  He told the Shepherd what the Sheep had done and the Shepherd raced toward the pasture. But Sal heard howling from the pasture and knew that it was already too late.  

Author’s Note:

This story is based on Aesop’s original fable, The Wolves and the Sheep.  In the original fable, a pack of wolves persuaded a herd of sheep to drive away the dogs that were protecting them.  The wolves told the sheep that it was the dogs that were always causing the problem and the gullible sheep believed them.  In the end, the wolves feasted on the sheep.  

This reminded me of a show I once watched that showed how sheep dogs were raised with the sheep so that they would always defend them.  There was always a close relationship between the two species because they had been together for generations.  I decided that the dog’s side of this story had to be a little tragic, since they view the sheep as family.  It still has the same moral, do not give up friends for foes, but it is portrayed from the point of view of the friends who were driven away.  

Bibliography: Aesop for Children, by (anonymous), illustrated by Milo Winter (1919)

My Favorite Place: Location Not Important

My favorite place is a little different.  I grew up a military brat, so we only lived in a place for 2-4 years.  However, everywhere I lived my parents enrolled me in swim lessons and then swim team.  As such, my favorite place has always been a pool.  The cool, clear water and the smell of chlorine has always drawn me.  In fact, I am currently a lifeguard, swim instructor, and swim coach.  My favorite place to be has always been a pool, whether I am swimming laps, teaching little kids how to swim, or ensuring the safety of my patrons.  

Underwater photo of a lap pool. Source: Pixabay

Comment Wall

This is my comment wall... Use your words!

Dictionary Page. Source: Pixabay. 

Test

Testing out my new class blog!