Avani's Blog

(Container Bottle Jars Max Pixel ) Hello everyone! This is my two week update post on my Happiness Jar. To be honest, I forgot to write what made my happy every night. I think I missed three or fours days total. I eventually wrote something down when I remembered what made me happy that day. Throughout the "experiment," I also realized that I tend to focus more on the negative things than the positive things. I did not think this jar would be helpful, but it actually was. I reread what I wrote, and I have much to be happy for. Also instead of writing my thoughts on paper, it was easier to do it on the Notes app on my iPhone. This was very convenient as I did not have a big jar and didn't want to waste paper! Overall, this challenge was successful!

(A Writer Writing Pixabay ) I will be doing the Writers Write Lab! I found two helpful articles when I was browsing through the Writers Write website. They were: 7 Tips to Remove Distractions While Blogging , and  140 Woods to Describe Mood in Fiction . They were actually some of the first articles I saw. Recently, I have been becoming slow, unproductive, and prone to distractions. This has lead to repetitive writing instead of creative and new writing. It is hard to think of new ideas and effectively translate what I aim to get across. So, these two articles gave me some great insight! The former discussed ways to remove distractions when doing any type of writing. Some of these tips can also be used in daily life and in my other classes as well. The latter article discussed writing mechanics such as tone, syntax, style, and many other things. I mentioned in a previous blog post that my writing is not where I want it to be. By actually seeing how the mechanics work an...

(Obstacle Course Flickr ) Back again for Part Two of Native American Hero Tales. Compared to Part A's reading, I enjoyed Part B more partly because it was easier for me to digest and understand. They were also fun and different than the other readings! From the readings in Part B, I loved reading The Son-In-Law story. The troubles that the son-in-law had to go through reminded me of an obstacle course. As you can see, I included a image of a Zip line Obstacle Course to reflect this. Imagining myself going through these tasks for someone I loved seems tiring already. I guess it's the lengths we go to for love? Once again, I had some questions. I wonder why Wemicus turned into a pike and not some other sea creature. What is the significance of turning into a pike? Most importantly, how did he turn into a pike? I am just imagining a human falling into the lake and turning into a fish. In addition, why does Wemicus test and ultimately kill his daughter's husband? Do...

( Yupik mother and child ) From the Native American Unit, I chose the Hero Tales reading! In Part A's reading, there were some stories that were hard to understand. After researching a few things online, I was able to interpret what the author was saying. I loved the Jealous Uncle story the most from this section. I thought it would be difficult to process since it was three pages long, but it wasn't! The story was suspenseful and had an unexpected ending!  There were  questions that I had when reading the story. For example, why did they name the uncle "Unnatural Uncle" instead of giving him an actual name. Also, the reading did not specify why he was jealous of his nephews. It mentioned he killed them, but why was this the case? Was it because he did not have any sons? Furthermore, why was he against killing girls, but in favor of killing boys? Also, why was the Unnatural Uncle targeting this family only? More information regarding the Unnatural Uncle c...

(Pomodoro Technique by Luca Mascaro Flickr ) This is another learning challenge in which I will try out the Pomodoro Technique. This video by Tanvi Japtap effectively explains its purpose:  Pomodoro Technique . I chose this challenge because I am becoming prone to distractions lately. The things I need to do are pushed back and keep pilling up. So, I hope this will help! In this post, I will outline my Pomodoro experiment and update after two weeks. After making a list of the tasks I need to complete, I will begin by working in 30 minutes intervals. Once I have studied/focused on a task for 30 minutes, I will take a 5 minute break. Even if I am not done with the task, I will take a break and start on it again. This is one session of the Pomodoro Technique. After 3 sessions, I will extend my focus time to an hour and my break time to 10 minutes. This way, it will keep my mind motivated and fresh! Ultimately, this will led to effective learning because I am shifting betwee...

(The Stonecutter  Mythology and Folklore UN-Textbook ) Hi everyone! All the stories from this reading were amazing, and it was hard to pick one. If I picked all of them, we would be here all day! I will be focusing on the Stonecutter by Andrew Lang. This story reminded me of the Man in the Moon story. I am not sure what the story's name was, but the stories had many similarities regardless. For example, both of the main characters wished to have a different life, and a spiritual voice answered their wishes. Although this is the case, the Man in the Moon's character became the moon because he was never satisfied and was constantly complaining. In the Stonecutter, however, the main character returned to his original being after becoming many things. Even though he complained many times, the voice/spiritual being was ready to help him become a different form every time.  It made me wonder why the voice was willing to help even when the main character was ungrat...

(The Crab and the Monkey Mythology and Folklore UN-Textbook ) In Part B's of Japanese Fairy Tales (Lang), this was my favorite of the readings. The crab and the monkey's relationship reminded me of Tom and Jerry's relationship. The end, however, it took a different turn. The monkey completely betrayed the crab by taking all the good fruit and almost killing her. When I read that, I was surprised by the turn of events. There are some changes I could make if I retell the story, such as the perspective, the ending, and their relationship. It made me wonder, why the monkey behaved the way he did. Everyone has their own reasons for acting they way they do. Was he struggling at making amends? Did a certain event cause him to act the way he does? It would be intriguing to see the story from his point of view. Since the story was in crab's point of view, I could make the entire story in the monkey's point of view. I also wonder why the monkey came down to ask f...