Famous Last Words: Not Ready to Graduate!

Well, to be honest, I did not really enjoy my reading for this week nor did I like how my story turned out! The source stories were fine but I had trouble imaging plot twists or ways to make the story my own. I had fun actually writing it but it definitely did not seem like my best work nor do I think the readers enjoyed it. I also had great difficulty finding images to use this week, so it was an overall trying week 11 for my story. However, I am having so much fun writing my Storybook and really appreciated the feedback I got this past week on my latest story! I have enjoyed getting to know and expand on Don Quixote's craziness and the modern day news anchors are so much fun to write about. I love that everyone is just silly and incompetent in my Storybook so I have the liberty to add all the funny little thoughts I have while brainstorming. It has been a source of enjoyment for me so far!

I also really enjoyed the Storybooks that I chose to read this week! I had already read one that I was assigned so I read one about the use of Twitter and Tindr to retell the story of Little Red Riding Hood as well as Cupid and Psyche. I loved the images and screenshots that were incorporated and found myself laughing throughout the entire story. It was such a creative idea and I look forward to checking back in later this semester. Another one I enjoyed was a combination of medical stories that made up Grey's Anatomy, which is my favorite show. While writing my feedback, I mentioned several tips for the correct uses of several anatomical and medical terms and how to make them seem more realistic... which made me realize the level of nerd I have reached. But hey, it was fun to write about and share my nerdy knowledge!

I am also currently in denial that the semester is almost over and the fact that I am about to graduate from the greatest university ever... Every time I go to an event, I think about how it is my last time experiencing such fun college things and I get pretty emotional. I'm not really a crier but I've been crying a lot lately at the thought of never seeing so many of my friends again! I like to think that I will keep in touch with many of them, but life happens and things get crazy. So I'm trying to cherish these last few weeks (which is hard with the stress of my capstone quickly approaching) while I can and appreciate all of the wonderful little things that make up OU!

 

(A picture of how I imagine graduation will be... From Indian Intern)

Famous Last Words: Getting the Hang of Things

Week two of this semester presented a unique set of challenges for me from the first week. I finally felt like I was getting the hang of writing again and able to whip out many of my assignments in record time (for me, at least), but my struggle was instead finding time to complete the work that was due. I felt a little stressed with a major paper deadline, several small assignments, readings, and this class. However, the assignments in this class continually felt like a breath of fresh air and allowed me to get back into the swing of being a writer.

I haven't written very many things that aren't scientific reports since high school and this class is really helping me channel my inner writer again. I felt like my best writing was my Week 2 story about Cupid and Psyche. Once I stopped overthinking the assignment and understood what I needed to do, the story came to me very naturally and easily, with the whole assignment taking me about 30 minutes. I also found myself having more fun as I watched my fingers type my thoughts faster than I realized what I was even thinking sometimes. This familiar feeling also allowed me to write my Humanities paper about the Catholic and Baroque period influences on painting, something which I know essentially nothing about. I am very happy that this class is helping me reignite a passion for writing that I haven't experienced in years and is even helping me with my other classes- who knew!

My goal for this week is to be proactive and stay ahead. I am currently several days ahead with assignments in most of my classes, but I would like to create even more buffer room for when the semester gets hectic. Checking in on other people's blogs from this class also helps me stay motivated as I see the great work they are creating, so I hope this well help me stay on top of my goal this week!

(Reminded of my passion for writing this week! Image from Flickr User Anthony Easton)

Famous Last Words: Senioritis!

Unfortunately, this first week of school has been hard for me because I have been facing a bad case of senioritis... I have watched too much Netflix, taken a few too many naps, and not been as productive as I could have been. However, when I have sat down to do homework, I have been able to focus and I have quickly realized that this is my favorite class this semester because it is such a fun and creative outlet for me. That is a big change of pace from my usual science and health classes. I took several creative writing courses in high school where I wrote poetry, short stories, anthologies, and even plays, so this is enjoyable for me to try again after several years. Even though it was initially hard for me, my favorite assignment was expanding on a myth or folklore with our own story and characters because it was exciting to add my own twist and create the characters as I imagined them to be. Another assignment I enjoyed was the Growth Mindset assignment because the Carol Dweck videos really resonated with me and encouraged me to not be so obsessive and "fixed" in my thinking, rather seeing myself as a work in progress.

I also really liked reading other students' storybooks because each one I read had a different style, tone, personality, and creativity that inspired me and excited me for my own project. I particularly liked the "My Brothers Grimm" story since it was such a unique idea to add a heroine to a set of stories that are so well known and the additions were excellently woven into the plots without changing anything major, simply adding small details that were certainly plausible. I liked the layout of the storybook as well as the images used because they both set the scene and supplemented the story perfectly.

 (Brothers Grimm)

I am starting to get the flow of my classes this semester and with two of them being online, I would really like to solidify a schedule and stick to it. Two of my classes have a tremendous amount of reading and several essays per week, so I want to be sure to stay on top of things and see this class as a fun and refreshing outlet for creativity and pieces I actually enjoy writing. My goal is to be proactive and stay ahead in my classes so that my case of senioritis can't affect me too much!

(Source: Free Stock Photos)