Feedback Thoughts

No Other Words are Needed

In, "Using Harsh Feedback to Fuel Your Career," William Treseder talks about how people generally take feedback whether it is good or back and the  confusion that accompanies the feedback. I hate to say it, but before I started high school I used to be that person who think and do exactly as Treseder talked about. The process to overcome that type of mindset and bring about changes in one's thoughts it is hard. It took me  a good year or two. Another thing that captured me was how accurate he was in the reasons why we take feedback a certain way. I completely agree to what he is saying, because I used to be that person who was a perfectionist, not wanting to ask others for help, even when I knew he or she was better at it. Though my stubbornness did teach me new things, I have now gotten to the point where I will ask for help  no matter what I may be thought of as afterward. Feedback to me has always been important , because I understand and accept my weaknesses  and with of the help of the feedback I get I am able to reach my goals. Treseder mentions of how some people strives for all A's, well I am one, but I know that outcome is only going to some through hard work and studying. 

In "Why rejection hurts so much — and what to do about it," Guy Winch does a phenomenal job on explaining ways that can help prevent people from hurting their psychology. I have personally seen how detrimental rejection can be, and I know that I never what to go through what some of my friends have had to go through. The causes varied, but when you think of the end result, all of them were the same. Sometimes the confidence a person has in themselves is lost and they are afraid to try something new in the future. I hope that we all understand the difference between hurting someone emotionally and providing someone constructive feedback. Growing up I have had numerous teachers who would take two or three class periods to make sure we knew and understood that there was a difference between constructive feedback and feedback that does nothing, but hurt a person. Winch makes a great point on the fact that even though we may face a rejection whether it be minor or major, we should not go and do something to make that feeling worse, but human nature says otherwise. Rejection from people can hurt, but we I have found that if I think of the better things I have in life that rejection seems minute in comparison. Growing up cliques existed everywhere, which let me tell you was the most annoying thing ever, but instead of feeling like I was being left out, I choose to look at the friends I already had. Like, Winch had said we should focus on what we have and think about those who we make happy, and that is exactly what my 8 year old self had learned of from her parents. I have to say though had that not have been the case I know that I would never have been as close to my group of elementary school friends. 

I look forward to getting many comments. Happy Sunday y'all!

Well, Let's Get Crackin'...Topic Brainstorm

Hey all! There are so many interesting topics out there that it is getting really hard to narrow, which ones I really am more interested in. I love learning more about my culture any opportunity I get, which makes this class more enjoyable! As I lad mentioned in my intro I love learning, I truly believe no matter how old you get or how many years in school you spend there is always more to learn. We were supposed to pick only four topics, but sometimes I just can't choose.

Topic 1: I am looking into music, because I have always been a dancer and music listener. Sure I cannot tell the difference between a G major, d minor, or b flat, but give me beats and I can count them and dance to any Hindi song. There is just something in Indian music that make you want to start dancing. I am not only referring to music to all types of music even our songs that are geared towards pleasing the Gods. I have so much more I want to research and tell you all about on this topic!

Topic 2: I am also a food junkie, so food was a obvious second for me. Growing up in a house with my mom being the ultimate chef was pretty amazing. She always tells me that there are specific dishes that are made for the birthdays of Gods and other important dates in the Hindu religion. What I want to know is how that came to be, like who had first came up with the idea of eating sweets before something important or the idea of laddu for Hanumana on Saturdays.

Topic 3: Festivals and holidays are very important in the Hindu culture. I really want to know more about Navratri, because even though we spend the evenings of nine days dancing for the Goddess, I dive deeper into the history of that. Not only that, but I also want to do a cross culture examination of the festival. I want to see the development of the festival in modern times compared to how it is done in India and around the world to the old times.

Topic 4: Travelling in India is one of the two that I am conflicted on. I have traveled to many places in India, but there is so much more to explore! My parents have taken me and my brother on numerous trips to India so that we don't forget what makes up the Indian culture. I love to travel and if I ever have enough money I would travel the world. Being adventurous runs in the blood so when this topic came across I was so excited. I want to see what are the places that have escaped my radar for places to visit and learn about what makes them unique.

Topic 5: Dasharatha and his family is such an interesting topic. From the stories that my parents have told me and how they are depicted in the Ramayana makes me want to learn what there is to find on the internet about them. I know that there are multiple versions of the Ramayana, so how they are described is going to vary from author to author and I want to explore that while also research more about Dasharath Raja. The fact that the king had three wives who didn't think badly of each other until the kids were grown shocks me, but what can I say this family makes us seem average. I might actually make this a blog like Gossip Girl.

I cannot wait for next week to come, so I can dig a little deeper into my topics!

My favorite - Bundi Ke Laddu 

Week 2 Story: The Rakshasas of Texas

Hey all! This story is now part of my Storybook on a separate website! Check it out: Travelling MansPants!

Rakshas by Jacob Atienza

Ah he who dreams shall never give up...

Daddy: "The end. Good night darlin'."

Little 6 year old: "Wait. Daddy did you forget, it's Friday, so I get one more story."

Daddy: "Oh aren't you clever trying to get one more story out of your old man. Okay, but this is the last one for tonight."

The dad sits back down on the bed and pulls his daughter close and begin the story. 

Daddy: "Let's see where do I start, ah there once were rakshasas that roamed the earth and cared about nobody except themselves. They were everywhere and the scary part was that nobody knew when a rakshas was nearby because they were able to become another person."

Little 6 year old: "Do you mean they were like a clone?"

Daddy: "Exactly. Well, as it goes long time ago in a place south of the Red River was a small country called Texas. That was nicknamed the country of the Rakshas. Anyone who dared to venture into the land never came back for another meal. The rakshasas took on the forms of humans to trick humans into coming back to their country, saying that there were endless mines of gold and diamonds and servants to work, so they wouldn't have to. Blinded by greed and the thought of never having to work again men and women both would go with the rakshasas." 

Little 6 year old: "But don't you say never to trust strangers, then how come are those people going with the rakshasas?"

Daddy: "Hold on, hold on I'm getting there. These rakshasas aren't just taking the shapes of random people, they study who the humans are always talking to and become that person. There was this one particular human named Gibbs, we don't know if the Gods sent her or she was just a girl like you. Gibbs was out venturing one day in the grocery store with her mom and dad, she asked if she could go look through the candy isle and her dad said no. She was upset and tried to convince her mom next, but she refused to let Gibbs by herself for the fear that a rakshas will take her, because in this world it was getting harder to trust others. Frustrated and upset that her parents were still treating her as a little girl, even though her 15th birthday was coming up, Gibbs snuck away and ventured to the candy isle. There she saw the cute boy she had a crush on since 7th grade, but never had the nerves to talk to him, so when she saw him approach she thought she was dreaming. Little did she know he was a rackshas disguised as the boy she liked. Now let me also tell you rakshasas have this ability to capture people with their eyes and command them to do things they would normally not do. The boy started talking to Gibbs and soon they were walking out of the grocery store, and inside Gibbs' parents were frantically searching for her. Back then they did not have cars the rakshasas had birds that would convert to a veman. Gibbs soon arrived to Texas and could not believe what she was seeing. She saw people of all ages playing in fields, but little did she know it was all an illusion that would fade in a few hours."

Little 6 year old: "Daddy what about her parents?"

Daddy: "You see when they couldn't find her in the store, they asked the people there to see if they had seen her. Back then there were no security cameras or cell phones. One person said he had seen a girl kind of like Gibbs, brown hair, blue eyes, and about 5'5' go outside with a boy. Now her parents were left in confusion, trying to figure out who this boy could be, Gibbs had never mentioned a boy before. Her parents went on a search to find more out about this boy with the person. When the person found the boy in a park nearby, he went to question the boy, but the boy said he just came out of his house. Her parents immediately knew she was taken by a rakshas. 
     The daughter woke up and discovered that she was not at home and was in confusion until the boy (rakshas) walked in. Her gut was saying something is wrong, but she couldn't tell what it was yet. She asked the boy if he could take her back to the grocery store now, but he said that it was not possible. Now Gibbs was starting to get scared, because she knew her parents fear was becoming true, she had been captured by a rakshas. Rakshasas are smart they can sense all emotions of humans and they can smell fear a mile away. Gibbs knew she had to get back home, but being the sweet girl she was, she thought about the possibility of other people being trapped in Texas. So she decided she would escape that night somehow. So at night when everyone went to sleep she crept through the house trying to look for a way out, one door she opened she found had a bunch of other doors with a big key on the outside of each door. Slowly she crept into the hall and opened a door and found humans! After everyone was released they made their way to the fields. Now only if they could find someway to cross the Red River and get back home. There was a wise woman in the group of humans who could sense if there was a stream or river nearby, they thought of how they all got there and remembered the birds. 
     The rakshas who had brought Gibbs soon found that she was not in the room and then checked and saw that all of his prisoners were gone. He woke the whole village and they headed to the fields. But unfortunately for them they were all too late, the bird was already too high for them to reach for and soon one by one they started turning to ash. Long ago a sage had cursed the rakshasas and said "The day someone escapes your clutches and takes all of the village's prisoners, shall be the last of the rakshasas in Texas."

To be continued...

Author's Note: So the original story also had rakshasas, but they were females who persuaded men to stay on their island so that they could feast on the men later on. In the that story one a man discovers that his wife is actually a man-eater and informs his fellow shipmates the next day, few believe and others don't. Those who believed him escaped soon with the help of a winged horse, and those that stayed behind we eaten as dinner that night by the rakshasas. In my story I chose to switch things up a little bit. I had it take place a few decades back, Texas is the modern Lanka, and the rakshasas are pretty much the same except with a few more abilities. I really just started typing and this is the product. 

Bibliography. "Goblin City"from Old India by W. H. D. Rouse. Web source.

Veman - what the gods, goddesses, deities, and demons or India used to use to travel 

Reading Notes 2.1 Jatakas

Two Turtle Jatakas by Ellen C. Babbitt

Out of all the Jatakas my favorite was the "Two Turtle Jatakas" was my favorite. This story reminds me of the lessons my parents always used to say to me and my brother. Not only that, but the turtle's action made me think of a child who acts in the opposite direction to irritate a parent. Both stories are written very well, I appreciate how both short, but the underlying message is not lost. For me it has always been had to something short and to the point. 

In the Turtle and the King, the affection for the sons is something that is very common partly due to the fact that they will succeed him. While the king could have thought of other options for the turtle, such as releasing him in a stream away from the palace, he did not and immediately decided to have the innocent killed. When you think about it the turtle could have had multiple outbursts, while plans were being formulated, but he chose to stay quiet and seized his opportunity to return home safely. Portraying the turtle as a quick thinker and one to understand that when a man is set to kill, whatever the victim says will be exactly what the man is going to do, because he wants to victim to suffer. 

I think I liked the second story a tad bit more than the first one, because it has such an important lesson in it, the ability of  a person to remain quiet no matter what happens. We may not consciously think about it, but if you have ever tried making yourself sit quiet for an hour (classrooms, lectures, meeting don't count!) it is actually quite hard. It's in the human nature that people desire to voice their opinions or comment even though it may not be necessary. This story of the birds offering the turtle a ride was impactful, in that we see the thought process of birds and how smart they are. If only the turtle had been as that smart he would not have had that horrible fate, not only that but it also shows that he did not take the time to think twice before he responded. Had he taken the time to think he would have realized that there was a stick between his mouth, which was what was his lifeline.

You know the saying, "We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak," by Epictetus, a Greek philosopher.

Ah the Demon (aka the Turtle) has been discovered

The Turtle who could not stay quiet

All the Possibilities in the World..Reading Options

Happy Monday! 

The weeks are flying by, first week of classes are done, and January is almost over! While time in college seems like it is flying I realized I need to take out time to do things I really enjoy and for me that is reading. I am pretty sure the last time I read for fun was back in high school when I was a sophomore. Wow that's been five years, but I cannot believe how lucky I am to have come across this class that suits my interests. 

Before we get started the rap posted on this week's Reading A, made my day! I laughed so hard and my family enjoyed it too.

The numerous reading options for this class is very excited, I cannot wait to dive into some of those comic books. I have always enjoyed reading chapter books and always never got the point of comic books until I ended up not having enough time to read. My heritage has always interested me, especially the different stories of the gods and goddesses and how they came to be, there role in our culture, and their significance. As many of you know the Hindu religion is polytheistic, in which we have many deities, each playing some role in the world. 

I definitely want to explore R. K. Narayan's novelistic adaptation of the Ramayana published in 1973 and also the comic book versions of it. There are so many options in the Amar Chitra Katha (ACK) Comic Books! Looking through the reading guide various titles caught my eye, such as Kumbhakarna: The Sleeping Giant, Monkey Stories: Jataka Tales of Wile and Wisdom, The Sons of Rama: Luv and Kush — The Invincible Twins, Sukanya: The Princess who Married a Sage, Konark: Temple to the Sun, and so many more. Each of these are topics I want to learn more about, so they have my attention and I will try to get to all of them and so more if time permits. I also want to look at the music video options. I love music and there is just something about many Indian songs that gets you to start dancing. Don't get American hip hop and Bollywood hip hop confused, they are very much two different things. We dance in our prayers, for many different reasons not to get confused with our dancing we do at parties here. I have grown up listening to music and the dancer in me thrives when good music is playing. 

I am not fully sure yet, but I might look into the PDEs, but after looking at R.K. Narayan's take on the the Ramayana. I think it will be a little hard to not want to just stop reading, since some parts are bound to be different than the version I have grown up reading. Though I will not let you all down, I will read these new options and make to report back with a detailed analysis between R.K. Narayan's version and Tulsidas's version. 

Thanks for reading y'all!

P.s. My favorite Bhagvan (God) Hanuman, the King of Monkeys and one of Rama's most trusted friends.

Hanuman