Caitlyn's Blog for Myth-Folklore Fall 2018

Week 2 Story: The Lion, the Man, and the Lesson NOTE: This story has been added to my Portfolio! Please click  here for the current version of the story. (Lion: photo by Serg Zhuravlev ) This story is a continuation of The Lion and the Statue , author's note included at the end. The words of the lion left the man silent. He thought for a moment that perhaps the lion was correct. What the lion had said made some sense, yes. But would the man set aside his pride to admit that? As the man wondered to himself for a bit, the lion began to turn and take his leave. The man was pulled from his thoughts after noticing the movement and stopped the lion. “Wait! If this does not convince you, then what other proof could I show?” the man asked. The lion gave him a thoughtful look before saying, “Perhaps start with yourself. Instead of using the work of others as proof, do something of your own that will convince me. Only then might I acknowledge that there is truth to

Reading Notes: Myth-Folklore Anthology (Lion: photo by Bluesnap ) The Lion and the Statue  from The Fables of Aesop by Joseph Jacobs (1894) A man and lion discuss the strength of their respective species, and try to decide which is stronger. The man tries to prove that men are stronger by showing the lion a statue of Hercules defeating another lion. The lion points out that it is not proof, since the statue was created by men. I like this story in particular, because the lion points out the biases that exist within the man's alleged proof. The lion does not say or do a lot, but he conveys a very important message with the small amount of involvement that he has. The line in italics at the end is also something I enjoy, since it ends the story by explicitly stating the theme, "We can easily represent things as we wish them to be." Androcles and the Lion  from The Fables of Aesop by Joseph Jacobs (1894) I enjoyed this story mainly for its ending and the chara

Reading Options (Susano-o, a character from the Nihon Shoki: photo by Tobosha ) I am very excited to read more of the content from the Japanese Fairy Tales (Lang) , Japanese Fairy Tales (Ozaki) , and Japanese Mythology units. I found these to be the most interesting because I have actually read a few of the stories in these units before, but I wish to read more of them since I enjoyed what I have read previously. I have taken many Japanese classes in the past which include literature, language, and history. I have had a general interest in Japan's culture for a very long time, and am excited to learn more about their stories and mythology. I am also interested in the Alice in Wonderland unit. I have never actually read much of the full novel, but have found the parts of it that I do know to be very interesting. I am also a fan of all the different movies associated with the novel, so I think it would be a cool experience to compare what I have seen to parts from the

Time Strategies (created by me) I think the best time management strategy I could implement, both for this class and my semester in general, is to do my assignments in reasonable chunks. Doing everything on the same day or during the same sitting is something I will try to avoid, because it stresses me out more if I have to resort to that.  As for the articles, I chose How to Beat Procrastination and 4 Questions to Help You Overcome Procrastination . I chose these because they mentioned procrastination in the name, which I am the queen of. I procrastinate far too often, and it is something I have been trying to work on doing less. I think the articles were useful in listing out some of the things that are happening in my brain when I am procrastinating. Seeing it all written out has made me more aware, and hopefully I can use some of the techniques mentioned to decrease how much I procrastinate.

Technology Tools (photo by Innov8social ) As an I.T. employee and someone who has been a computer nerd for many years now, I am familiar with the majority of the tech tools mentioned for this class. If not familiar with a specific tool, I have used a similar one that has the same function. Regardless of my familiarity, I have not yet had a class that incorporates these kinds of tools very much, if at all. I have never personally blogged before this class, so that is definitely something I can work on. 

Class Assignments (Wikipedia logo: uploaded by Michczu ) I am excited for the readings involved in this class. Lately, I have been wanting to find some good short stories to share with my friends so I think this is a good opportunity. The readings are not unlike things I have done in other classes, but the related writing that we will do is. The majority of writings I have done for other classes have been research papers or analytical essays, so the kind of writing we are going to do in this class is new territory for me. I am also happy to see Wikipedia Trails as an extra credit assignment. This is something I have done with my friends in the past for fun.

My Thoughts on Growth Mindset (photo from cheezburger ) I am quite happy to have seen this topic again so soon. I am a psychology major, and both growth mindset and Carol Dweck have been brought up in one of my other classes recently. We discussed this topic in one of my courses that covers pro-social behavior.  I love the idea of growth mindset because it is positive in comparison to fixed mindset. With the amount of time I have spent in my major learning about different mindsets and ways of thinking, I can easily recognize a way of thinking that is harmful instead of helpful, or regressive instead of progressive. Having a fixed mindset instead of growth is something I would consider to be harmful in some ways. A fixed mindset is a hindrance on a person's learning and makes it seem like a person cannot do something if they are not inclined to or have a natural talent for. If it is not easy for them to learn something quickly, they would give up on the basis of it being so

Introduction to a Nerdy Psych Major Hello! My name is Caitlyn Carr. I am majoring in Psychology with a minor in MIS and plan to graduate this Fall! The coolest thing about my major is that it is very helpful in improving my understanding of other people and myself. With the knowledge it provides me, I can interact with people better and also be more helpful to them when they are feeling stressed or having other issues, since I have learned in-depth about the proper ways to cope with those things. This is all very helpful to me, since I am an introvert with a high amount of anxiety in most cases, especially in social situations. Hobbies As for hobbies, I spend most of my free time playing video games. I have played video games since I was old enough to properly hold a controller and have not stopped since then. It was actually my hobby of gaming that allowed me to make the online friends that I went to RTX with this year. If I was not into games to the degree that I am, I would

My Storybook Favorites Stories from a Celtic Creature Criminal Court Clerk: Fairy Vice Division (a court of fairies: source ) The introduction for this storybook was by far my favorite from what I read. The clerk fairy has such a great personality for the role that they are in. The idea for the entire storybook was very interesting to me, and I loved the way it was written. It was very refreshing for me to read some less serious and somewhat comedic court transcriptions that also happen to be fictional, as opposed to the not so comedic and much more serious real-world court documents I have read. The layout for the storybook is also great, since it has the appearance of a notepad that makes it feel more like reading transcriptions that a court clerk wrote. How to Join an Immortal Girl Gang I enjoyed this storybook very much as well. It focuses on the goddess Artemis, who ends up creating an immortal girl gang, as the title says. The introduction prefaces the story well

My Favorite Place: Austin, Texas Specifically Austin during my favorite convention, RTX. (Austin, TX:  Photo by Ed Shipul ) Austin is a beautiful city that holds a ton of variety. I could go to Austin just for the purpose of eating at some of my favorite restaurants that are located there. I am able to find something new every time I walk through downtown. I love spending time in Austin at any point of the year, but my favorite time to go is during RTX. (RTX sign in Austin:  Photo by Count3D ) RTX is a yearly convention that I have attended since 2016. It is held in Austin and conducted by Rooster Teeth, an online gaming/production/animation company. Being in Austin during the convention is a great experience because the city is filled with other people who are also Rooster Teeth fans. Rooster Teeth community events and such are held at various places around Austin, which makes the already great city even better. These are all reasons why it is my favorite place.

Testing out the new blog!