Biography: Such a Fool

Author’s Note
My inspiration came from two places. One of them is Rick and Marty; specifically when Rick sees Unity again. They were passed lovers and after some crazy coincidence, end up running into each other. Since their last time together, Unity created something for herself and became successful. All the while, Rick reunited with his family. After meeting again, they partake in their old habits which includes drinking and partying. The influence of Rick ends up ruining Unity resulting in her leaving Rick. Rick is heartbroken and tries to kill himself. 

The second place came from myself. This story depicts the time when this guy broke up with me. I used different fonts and onomatopoeia to give the writing more feeling and motion. I also assigned different colors to each person to make the dialogue clearer. I’m blue. My ex is red. Purple writing is my thoughts. I also tried recreating the setting in which my ex started talking to me. My goal was to depict sitting in the union on campus. I was doing my homework when it happened. 






Buzz...buzz...buzz...buzz...buzz...silence

Phone screen says, “Missed called from Une”

I should answer it. 

Don’t. Something bad awaits 

There’s a bad feeling in my gut. 
I fall asleep for a few hours to ignore him.


Ring! Ring!
“Hey can you call me back”


There’s that feeling again in the pit of my stomach. 
I hesitate. 

Something bad is going to happen

I call back. “Hey sorry for missing your call, I was taking a nap”


“Hey look I think we should break up” 


My heart breaks in half. 

This can’t be happening

“Why?” 

“You don’t think we should break?”

“I don’t think we should”

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“I don’t see you in my future”

“I don’t even think about you” 

Pins and needles are caught in my throat

“Can we still be friends?” 

“sure” 

I stood there in my room

Doing my best to keep my tears

But they escaped my eyes; 

Scattering across my face;

Sucked up by my carpet. 

“AY POY CAN YOU HELP ME MOVE THE CAR?”, my dad yells from the kitchen.

“YEAH” 

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2 years later

*Click*

“Your assignment has been submitted!”

*Click* Scroll 

“.... internalized along with its bound ligand. Coat proteins just beneath the membrane interact with the receptors..” 

“ORDER NUMBER 37, YOUR FOOD IS READY” 

“April?”

Seeing him next to me really caught me off guard. 

“Uh.. hi?” 

       “How are you?”

                          “Can I sit next to you?”

                                                                                            “Are you busy?”

                            

                                               “I’ve been too scared to talk to you”

You’re such a fool

Nostalgia and desire filled my mind. 

Week 15 Story: Take It Off!

Author’s Note
My inspiration came from the Part E of the Mahabharata when one of the wife was dragged and was basically stripped naked. However, since she started praying to Krishna, her robes were never-ending. I thought this was a sad and appalling scenario so I want to make my story the opposite. The main character is a male stripper at a strip club. He’s going through his routine as he is performing.

The crowd chanted “Take it off!” Whistles zoomed around the room. A bra landed right in front of me on the stage. In permanent, a phone number was written on garment. Being a strip model, I’m really used to the attention and craze of the crowd - they’re the reason I get paid. My initial costume was a business suit and I carried a briefcase in my right hand. The stage lights always made me sweat way more than usual. 

I made sure to make eye contact as many women as I could as I looked from left to right of the room. I made sure to point at some lucky ones; it gets them wild up when I single them out. Whenever I strip, I always like to start from the top like most people. My fingers loosen my tie. I unfasten it and throw off the stage. Next are the buttons. I make sure to sway my body as I unbutton each one of them. As my shirt comes, the crowd goes wild. The stage crew then dropped water onto me. My abs glistened in the light. I slick my hair back and the women all scream. 

The part that gets them the craziest is when I take off the pants. At this part, I start walking down into the audience. I let one of them help me take the belt. Once the belt is off the woman pulls my pants down but to everyone’s surprise and especially mine, I had another pair of pants on? The woman pulled that one down and yet there was another pair right underneath it. At that moment, the room was silent. I was so confused. Everyone was staring at me and my pants. 

Up in the clouds, the god Krishna was laughing his head off.

Bibliography 

Epified TV, Mahabharata Part E, Youtube

Krishna 

Source: Wiki

Reading Notes: Mahabharata Part F

The fact that her husband proposed that they strip her naked was appalling. What kind of husband is that?! I’m glad that the Pandavas are going to completely rock those other people. No woman should ever be forced to do that in front of a everyone. I thought it was cool that by praying to Krishna, her robe was continuous! So cool. I’m glad that the Pandavas vowed to seek their revenge because no one deserves what happened to her.

Bibliography
Epified TV, Mahabharata Part E, Youtube

The Pandavas Go Into Exile

Source: Wiki

Reading Notes: Mahabharata Part E

For me, one of the most down the earth things is listening to someone talk about their revelations, thoughts, and journey. I absolutely love hearing people talk about their passions. I fell in love with this guy who did just that. He had so much to say about his interests. I love people with sustenance. I love people who actually think and try to make themselves better as a person. This part of the story really touched me. I thought it was so cute when the pregnant wife ended up falling asleep while listening to her husband talk; that type of sleep ALWAYS slaps. I love when someone can tell me a story or something. I love it when a person can teach me things because I want to learn and better myself as well. I also knew the baby was going to absorb his father’s words. There’s a belief that if listen to classical music while pregnant the baby gets smarter. Not sure if that’s true but this story definitely reminded of that.

Bibliography 

Epified TV, Mahabharata Part E, Youtube

Abhimanyu During Battle

Source Wiki

Week 14 Story: The Lover’s Task

Author’s Note

I was inspired by Daupradi’s Swayamvar where the princes who wanted her had to do a difficult task in order to win her. Very materialistic if you ask me. My story is a commentary on the difficulties being a woman. My inspiration for the princess came from an original story called The Tale of Princess Kaguya. Princess Kaguya made the noble men who were in love with her to get her the mythical objections that she asks. I wanted to do the same thing here but with less materialistic tasks. 

A Lover’s Task 

Princess Ruga was the only daughter of a powerful king who ruled the nearby lands. She was a very beautiful young lady but she was very lonely. Her heart was locked in cage because the men in her life didn’t know how to treat her right. A man who she truly loved completely broke down her walls only to leave her for another wealthier princess. She had magical powers where she could Astro project herself to other places. She could see and feel the injustice being brought onto pure and loving women. Her heart bled for women that were suffering because of their abusive relationships. 

On the night of a full moon, she projected herself into the minds of every man who did wrong in their lives. She sent them a message saying that she will hold a competition where someone can win her as their wife. She further states that whoever wins her shall be rewarded with a life time of royalty. Throughout the night, several men woke up with a smile on their face and greed in their hearts. 

A few days later, the king announced that men around the kingdom shall participate in a Swayamvar to win his daughter. All the men quickly put on their best outfit and combed their hair. Many lied to their wives by telling them that they’re going to run errands. Many wives just replied by rolling their eyes.

At the castle, men of all sizes and age were there and ready to show case themselves. The princess came out and announced what they all had to do.

“Hello everyone. I am Princess Ruga. I will now announce the three tasks that you all must accomplish. First, you must feel what a mother feels. Second, you must do what a mother does. And lastly, you must think how a mother thinks. You have by the end of the month to do all three. In the end, I will be the one to determine yourself. No one shall lie, for I will see the truth.” Princess Ruga wanted to laugh so bad but she had to keep her silence. In her head she thought “none of these men are going to pass my tasks.”  To make sure that these men were taught a lesson, Princess Ruga cast a spell on all of them. That night all the men turned into women while the all the wives turned invisible. 

The next morning shouts and screams were heard through out the neighborhoods. Men who turned into women screamed as they looked in the mirror to see that they had become a women. Some men ended up turning into pregnant mothers. Without their knowledge, the spell would last for the entire month. Their wives giggled watching their husbands freak out. “How splendid, now they will have to understand what its like to be a women in a world like this.” 

The men who were now women, all had to do tend to the house and children because their wives were missing. They were forced to go grocery shopping and cooking. A lot of them didn’t know how to and became frustrated by the first day. The kids became wild and didn’t listen to their dad-mom. The men spent a lot of time cleaning the house too. By the time they were done by with the first chore, they were already tired. “Man, I still have to clean the rest of the house”, one of them said. At night, some men-women actually went out to the bars to drink one up. As some was walking, men who didn’t turn into women, cat called them and even sexually harassed them. When some men-women got into the bar, all they got were mean and lustful looks from the men. The bartender asked them what the hell they were doing at a place like this at night. “You either go home right now or be in danger later” warned the bartender. Despite his warning, they all stayed and drank.

Later that night, horrid and inexcusable things happened. Let’s just say some of the men-women learned the hard way of being a women. The next morning, a couple of them woke up and couldn’t walk because their bodies ached with pain. A few had bruises and black eyes. 

One of them was actually a pregnant mother who went into labor in the third week of the month. He-she was scared because she was by herself excluding the nurses and doctors. The men-women experienced a pain that was so unbearable and excruciating. He-she wanted this baby out quickly but it took some time for the baby to come out. He-she pushed and pushed till their veins popped out but nothing happened. When the doctor decided that he-she could not push the baby out, they decided to cut her open. He-she really could not believe this was happening and thought, “Jesus is this what mothers have to go through?” 

Some men-women ended up dealing with their controlling fathers. In one argument, the father told his daughter (the men-women) to be quiet or else. In some arguments, this resulted in the father beating the daughter. After some time, the men-women learned what they must say and what they should not do. 

The day before month finished, Princess Ruga decided to see how much these men have changed. Princess Ruga had many powers but the most important was that she had the ability to look deep into someone’s soul and determine what kind of person they are. She can could see what troubled the person and what the person yearned for. She obtained these powers after she had her heart broken by the love of her life. A goddess felt her sadness through the coldness of the night. The goddess seeped for the princess in which her tears formed a small pond. The goddess told the princess to submerged herself in the pond for she will be given celestial powers.

The day before the end of the month, Princess Ruga astro projected herself into the dreams of the men-women. She looked back at their past experience and saw they had felt. The next day, all the men-women turned back into men. At the castle, the men returned with their hearts heavy with guilt. 

Princess Ruga said “Good morning to you all. I have witnessed your journey since the first time you came. I hope that what you experienced helps you all understand the difficulties of being a woman in today’s time. I hope that you will be better husbands and men.” 

At home, the wives were back to their usual routines. When the men returned to their wives, they all greeted them with passion. They all missed their wives very much. Many of them apologized for treating their wives so poorly and not caring enough. “Thank you for all that you do my love.’


Bibliography

Epified TV, Mahabharata Part D, Youtube

Princess Kaguya

Source: Character

Reading Notes: Mahabharata Part D

That so cute that everyone was excited for the Swayamvar.. oh I see so its a celebration to see who can get the girl, Draupadi. Interesting.. Why did the Pandava’s dress as Brahmins. Wow so whoever can shoot the fish in its eye wins the girl. Why couldn't have been a more romantic task, like why does it gotta be killing a fish. In one of the Inuyasha movies, there was a powerful priestess who was wanted by several men so she made them do difficult tasks to prove their love for them. Despite fulfilling their tasks, the priestess didn’t want any of them 😆

Bibliography 

Epified TV, Mahabharata Part D, Youtube

Draupadi’s Swayamvar 

Source: Tiki

Reading Notes: Mahabharata Part C

I thought it was so sweet that Karna stayed silent despite being stung by a scorpion so that his teacher wouldn’t wake up. But then, I thought it was really dumb for his teacher to not believe his own student. Like is you’re pride so big that you refuse to believe an honest pupil? That was disheartening because it was his teacher that banned him. Another detail that I liked was when the video talked about the weapons that they used. Learning about the different weapons and their functions were so cool. For example there was one weapon that was able to destroy an entire world. Unbelievable. I was happy to see that Karna won the title and kingdom. Ever since, he got rejected by every teacher so seeing him do well is a satisfying feeling. I remember reading about the plot towards the Pandava’s. It’s scary but also brilliant to make a house out of flammable material. Thank goodness for the people who told the Pandava’s.

Bibliography

Epified TV, Mahabharata Part C, Youtube

Daurapdi and the Pandava’s.

Source: Wiki

Week 13: Hastin’s Thoughts

Author’s Note

The story that I based my own off of came from Epified TV’s version of Krishna. Krishna announces that he will ride the crazy bull, Hastin by the end of the month. We get an understanding of Krishna’s and everybody else’s but not Hastin’s point of view so I thought it’d be an interesting take. I also included a reference to a Jataka Tale where the monkey persistently bothers a buffalo.

Every day is the same. I eat the same grass and drink from the same water hole everyday. It doesn’t help that an annoying monkey keeps trying to push my buttons every now and then. What’s worse is that mating season is coming and for some reason all the girls stay away from me. I try to engage in a conversation with them but they all run away before I can finish my sentence.

*Krishna enters the chat*

A man made the wrong decision today by approaching me. I have a strong dislike towards humans. They dirty the rivers and lakes with trash while making the air unbreathable. I have no respect for them. Anyways, since the man came too close to me I quickly ran at him. Not to boast but, I never miss the target which is why everyone fears me. One blow from my horns is the equivalence to death.  However to my surprise, this man was able to dodge my attack - smoothly and calmly. He didn’t run away like everyone else.


The man actually jumped onto my back which was the end of my patience. No one ever rides Hastin and lives to tell about it. I immediately jumped up and down to shake him off. The smug look on his face made me even more mad. Despite my efforts, he was able to stay on my back. Out of nowhere, I hear this beautiful sound so I stopped to listen. The weird man was playing a flute. His song made me feel calm and nostalgic. Maybe he isn’t so bad.

Bibliography
Epified TV (India), Krishna, Youtube

Hastin the Raging Bull 

Source: Internet

Reading Notes: Mahabharata Part B

In episode 9, having the man whisper a mantra in her ear was pretty cool. The mantra was so that she could summon any god she wanted. Dang that’s crazy how the sun god left a kid in her arms. Putting the kid in the basket and sending him down the river reminds me of the story of Moses. The point of the Mahabharata is to show that actions are a function of what happened before it as well as after it. That’s insane what happened to Pandu. The fact that he shot a couple who were for some reason having sex in the woods just blows my mind. I don’t think its Pandu’s fault nor the couples fault; just bad timing. Now Pandu has a curse. The curse is even worse. He can’t ever have sex or else he’ll die! That’s a terrible curse, I’d be sad as well. Curse you hermit! What’s even crazier is that the mantra is not only so that she can summon any god but to also bear the child of ANY GOD - What a steal!

Bibliography

Epified TV, Mahabharata Part B, Youtube

Pandu and his wife Kunti

Source: Wiki

Reading Notes: Mahabharata Part A

Ganesha is the lord of beginnings.Yes, I remember the beginning of the story where Ganga asked the man not to question her decisions. I included a similar concept in one of my stories. Wow Ganga, agreed to give birth to eight celestial spirits to free the 8 vases. What I don’t like about this part is that what did Ganga expect? I think she expected too much from her husband because who wouldn’t be curious as to why they’re killing their babies? I wish Ganga would have been more considerate towards her husband by giving him some explanation at least. When Ganga returned, I don’t get why he was so happy when she walked away from their marriage so easily. That’s a Dumb move Ganga. Why did the king take forever to find another woman? It just so happened that he fell in love with someone else after Ganga appeared. Was he waiting for her return? He’s a king so he would have access to so many other women. Could it be perhaps that she’s a goddess and that he didn’t want a normal woman? But that wouldn’t make sense as to why he fell in love with a fisherman’s daughter, Satyavati.  

Bibliography

Epified TV, Mahabharata Part A, Youtube

Manuscript illustration of the Battle of Kurukshetra

Source: Wiki

Reading Notes: Krishna Part B

In episode 11, what I like was the Krishna was going to teach Brahma a lesson. Usually, in Indian epics, the lesson is something that’s unexpected. I wouldn’t have thought of that idea. What I’m confused about is when it said that when Brahma took the people, it was equivalent to one year. I’m super confused about what the speaker meant. So if Brahma is the creator of the universe, then what is Krishna? Also what are cowherd friends? I’ve never heard of that term before. I really like how Krishna took the time to get close to Hastin. By taking the time, he shows how much patience he has. Music is so important. I love how the flute is included in this story. Calmness is the ultimate strength. It’s true because we shouldn’t exert effort on unnecessary things.

Bibliography

Epified TV (India), Krishna, Youtube

Radha Krishna 

Source: Wiki

Reading Notes: Krishna Part A

In the intro, the fact that people tried to kill Krishna as a child and prevent his growth reminded me of Hercules the Disney version. Demons tried to kill Hercules when he was a baby but failed to. For episode 1, I heard stories similar to the part where the King wanted to slay the baby that was going to kill him. I was surprised when the mother transferred her baby to her husband’s first wife. I didn’t think that would happen but that was a good save! I liked how two huge snakes came to help the dad cross the Yamuna and I thought it was funny when the dad realized that the water was only waist deep. Gypsies were the people of Nand, the cow herd. So if I’m understanding this correctly, the mother transferred her seventh baby to another woman so that she could give birth to him away from the prison. Then when the first mother got pregnant, the prison guards thought that it was her seventh baby but in fact her eight baby. Now the father is bringing back the daughter. What’s going to happen to the daughter when he arrives at the prison? Why is he taking her back there when the king is just going to kill her? Oh now I see, yes the king’s mistake was judging the baby because it was a girl. So now I’m even more confused. Did the mother give birth to two gods? Durga and Krishna?? The slaughter of newborn babies reminds me of a book from the Bible. I think it was in Egypt. I laughed when baby Krishna was sucking everything out of the bad woman (hate, powers, milk, etc.) That’s what she gets!

Bibliography

Epified TV (India), Krishna, Youtube

Krishna

Source: Wiki

Famous Last Words: Deep Thoughts

Hello Everyone,

I haven’t written one of these in a while so I thought since I have a lot of content in my head, that I would share my thoughts with you all.

These past few weeks on lockdown has brought out the social bug in me. I have the biggest desire to catch up with people.

Last night, I spoke with my long time friend, Keziah, just like any other night; we don’t talk everyday but whenever we do, it’s like picking off where we last ended. I absolutely love that about our friendship. We catch each other up on our life events and give each other advice. Well, last night got a little deep. I’ve never been a person to talk about my friendship with someone; it’s just awkward for me. I believe that the strength of our friendship doesn’t need to be said with words but instead seen with actions. To my surprise, Keziah was a little confused about our friendship.

I did something that I don’t usually do - tell her how important she is to me.

To keep it relatively short, tell your friends and loved ones how much they mean to you. Being on lockdown, we have all the time in the world.

My favorite feeling in this world is talking to someone about old things. I love talking about high or middle school with someone from that time of my life. There are two sides to every story so it’s always interesting to hear what the other person thought or felt at that time.

When we die, we look back on our lives and think “what have I done in my life?” Historical figures and even people now live their lives so that they have a legacy. When they die, the thought of them lives within people that they’ve affected. With that being said, we have countless versions of ourselves within the minds of others. Therefore, when we die, we’re not truly forgotten. Treat people respectfully, help others and be true to yourself.

When I was in middle school, I didn’t have much self-confident so it was difficult talking to new people that weren’t one of my close friends. I strongly viewed myself as an awkward and weird child that I thought everyone else did as well. However, Keziah told me otherwise. She would bring me up in conversations with her others friends and they said “Oh I remember her. She was cool.” Maybe “cool” is just a generic comment people say when they barely know someone but it low key touched my heart.

I’ve been trying to get into contact with a friend from my childhood. It’s proving to be a little difficult just because he’s a very low-profile guy. Plus, it doesn’t help that he’s in Kansas. I got into contact with his brother whom I haven’t seen in so long too. I asked about him and his mother. I’m currently waiting for his response about his brother.

I’ve come to realize that there are so many things left unsaid and unaddressed in my life. I’m not sure about the rest of you but looking back, I regret not saying how I felt. Now, there’s multiple untied ends that I have to deal with.

If you like someone, tell them exactly how you feel.
If you miss someone, tell them.

In life, we usually only get one opportunity. Take that opportunity and run with it.

When you seem to hate everything and everyone around you, just remember that your life isn’t always going to be the same. Hold your friends and family a little tighter. Be grateful that you have them in your life because one day, they won’t be around anymore. If you don’t have any friends (like me), don’t be afraid to put yourself out there to meet new people.

Avoid the Regret of Not Doing

Source: Doctor

Week 11 Story: A Start of Something Different

A nearby river was infamously known to be teeming with alligators of all sizes and ferocity. No one went near the dangerous river. Next to the river was a huge beautiful tree that held countless of monkeys. Despite the imminent danger that always lied below them, the monkeys stayed in that tree because of the spiritual fruit that it bore. For generations, the fruit sustained families of monkeys. The number one rule for the monkeys was to never lose their grip from the tree or else they would fall into the water. Alligators were always hiding right below the tree just in case any of the monkeys did make the mistake.

One day, an unlucky zebra came to the river to drink. The beautiful tree caught the zebra’s eye for a second and in that moment, an alligator bit the zebra’s neck pulling him under the water. Alligators tore the zebra apart causing a fiasco in the water. Some of the monkeys huddled together witnessing the chaos. A monkey named Suzu, who couldn’t watch, noticed a loner alligator. A piece of fruit fell from the tree which floated for a couple seconds until the alligator swam to it and ate it. 

“I thought alligators didn’t like fruit?” asked Suzu. The alligator looked left and right, then up. He was surprised to see that a monkey was talking to him. In a quiet but deep voice, the alligator said “most don’t, but for some reason I’ve always liked them.” 

“Aren’t you afraid of me?” asked the alligator. Suzu explained that she isn’t and that she’s always been a fearless monkey. “You guys usually do a good job of making sure none of the fruit falls into the river. It makes eating a little difficult” said the alligator. “Are you not carnivorous? asked Suzu. “Surprisingly no, I don’t like meat” said the alligator. 

“I never got your name” stated Suzu. “It’s Legosi” said the alligator. 

After that day, the two would talk every day. Suzu gave fruit to Legosi whenever he was hungry. The other monkeys and alligators noticed the forbidden friendship. 

Author’s Note 

Elements of this story came from multiple inspirations primarily the Jataka Tales. The first inspiration came from The Monkey Bridge. A tree that held hundreds of monkeys created incomparable fruit. The chief monkey told his children to never let a fruit drop into the river or else people will come looking for the tree. A fruit ends up in the river and reaching a nearby kingdom. A king ate the fruit and pursued to find the tree. 

My biggest inspiration came from an anime called Beastars. In the Beastars reality, there a divide between carnivores and herbivore animals. The story takes place at a high school where carnivorous and herbivorous animals live and interact together. A gray wolf named Legosi, meets a white dwarf rabbit named Haru, and ends up falling in love with her. Legosi is fully aware of the situation since he  is a wolf. 

I wanted to a similar story from Beastars while including elements from the Jataka Tales. I wanted a situation like the wolf and rabbit so I decided to do one with an alligator and monkey. There were many tales between the two. The friendship between Legosi and Suzu are very much in its early stages. I couldn’t write about their love just because it would’ve been a long story. A strong bond between takes time to develop. Beastars had twelve episodes so I didn’t want to rush my story. 

Bibliography
Noor Inayat, Twenty Jataka Tales, Source

       

Legosi

Source: Fandom

Haru 

Source: Fandom

Reading Notes: Twenty Jataka Tales Part B

The Two Pigs
This story had an unexpected turn that was kind of confusing. One of the pigs said this poem causing everything in the world to listen? I wasn’t sure how his riddle was able to do all of that. I thought what was going to happen was that the two pigs found out they were going to be eaten and then run away. Also, the pigs didn’t say anything about it but the drunken grandma ended up betraying Cullatundila. If I was that pig, I would’ve tried to get back at the grandma. With these Jataka tales, I never know what’s going to happen. The story has to have a twist in rather than the expected. I really thought the pigs were going to escape through their window or door and runaway to the forest. Instead, they end up being treated as royalty. What an ending..



The Patient Buffalo
I have to say this one was my favorite story because of the lesson that’s taught. I loved how the buffalo stated that the monkey did not have a brain so why should he punish him for it. It’s like saying why should I waste my energy on someone else who won’t understand. It’s an important lesson to learn. I know for me I tend to waste a lot of my time on trying to convince the other person and in the end, it’s pointless. Thank you buffalo.



Bibliography
Noor Inayat, Twenty Jataka Tales, Source

Water Buffalo

Source: Wikipedia

Reading Notes: Twenty Jataka Tales Part A

The Monkey Bridge
What surprised me was that the king went with his men to search for the tree. Usually kings stay in their kingdoms rather than doing the work. I felt sad reading the part where the chief monkey sacrificed himself to save his children. I just can’t believe that none of them stayed back to make sure he was okay especially the last monkey who broke his back. I also thought that the king was going to kill the chief monkey. However, it was surprising to me when the king actually had a conversation with the chief monkey. The fact that the king even made a temple in honor of the chief made me warm inside. WhatI liked about this story was that a lesson was taught by example. The chief indirectly showed how to be a king and the king saw that. In the end, the king actually ruled his people by loving them instead of being a tyrant like many other past kings. After reading so many tales with sad endings, it was nice to read a happy ending like this one.

Guilty Dogs
When the royal family found out their royal satchel thing got ruined, I instantly knew the king was going to order those dogs to be killed. This is what I was referring to in the Monkey Bridge. I really thought I was going to read about the slaughter of those street dogs and then read about how guilty those royal dogs felt after. But I’m glad that the chief dog came up and saved all the innocent dogs. Unfortunately, we don’t know what happened to the royal dogs; I wish they included that.

Bibliography
Noor Inayat, Twenty Jataka Tales, Source

Royal Dog Breeds: Akita

Source: Bustle

Story Lab: Ted Talks

For my Storylab, I watched the Ted Talks given by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Jennifer Barnes. In The Danger of a Single Story, Adichie begins her talk by describing the role of foreign books in her childhood. She explained that the stories she wrote contained cultural aspects that did not belong to her culture. She was influenced by the stories of the white man that she felt like people like her couldn’t exist since they weren’t represented. In some ways, I can sympathize because many of the books I read were written by white people. As a child, I don’t remember reading a children’s book that was about Asian kid. The only thing I knew that was about Asian people was Mulan. Growing up with books that only portray American culture made me more familiarized their aspects. I spent a lot of my time at a daycare that belonged to a white family. When it comes to cuisine, I grew up eating American food - mashed potatoes, hot dogs, and pork and beans. When my mom cooked Filipino or Puerto Rican food, initially I didn’t like it. I remember wondering why my mom never cooked mashed potatoes (it was one of my favorites).

Another point in Adichie’s talk was having a single story for a person or group of people. Having a single story about someone just means having assumptions and preconception about the person before getting to know them. What causes us to have a single story are external factors that influence us. If a cultural group is portrayed in such a way, people are going to end up viewing them in that way.

Chimamanda Adichie Single Story

Source: Serendipity

Reading Notes: Jataka Tales Part 2

The Wise and Foolish Merchant
This story reminds me of the Monkey and the Crocodile story with the clever monkey as the wise thrifter. A detail that I noticed was that the story said “young” and “foolish” when describing the merchant. The story is trying to show that young people tend to be less wise and more naive while older people tend to be wiser. Being the wise merchant, I expected him to be more helpful with the other merchant. In the end, I felt bad for the young merchant for falling for the demon’s trick.

The Elephant Girly-face
What I enjoy about these tales is that there’s a lesson to be learned. This story shows that the people you surrounded yourself with influences you in the end. If you hang with bad people, you will end up adopting bad traits. If you hang with good people, you do good things. I enjoyed the simple-minded elephant but I would have liked it more if she thought for herself instead of following what those robbers said.

Bibliography
Ellen C. Babbitt, Jataka Tales, Tales

Elephant Airbnb

Source: NY Times

Reading Notes: Jataka Tales Part 1

The Crocodile and Monkey
I actually remember reading this tale earlier in the semester. I always enjoyed this story because of the clever monkey. My favorite part is where the monkey tricked the crocodile into talking.

The Merchant of Seri
I haven’t read this story yet. After reading it, the story exhibits the greed that some people have within them while juxtaposing that trait with selflessness. After time and time again, poor people are taken advantage of by others who have wealth. However, I’ve always believed that exploiting people especially the poor comes back as bad karma. I’m glad that the second merchant wasn’t greedy and gave the grandmother and girl something in exchange for the bowl.

Bibliography
Ellen C. Babbit, Jataka Tales, Site

The Merchant of Seri

Source: Sacred

Week 9 Story: The Three 5’ 2” Daughters of Pandavana

Pandavana gave birth to three daughters at the same time
At the time of delivery, the ones In the room with her was a midwife, a doctor, and her grandmother.
The only family she truly had was her grandmother, who raised her since she was a child.

The grandmother and Pandavana lived on the edge of town, primarily depending on the forest for their resources. When the two came back from the hospital, they had three new additions to the household: Bellatrix, Celina, and Maricela. 

The girls grew up without their father because he was too much of a horn dog. He ended up getting killed for sleeping with another man’s wife. Regardless of his absence, the girls never thought of him; they didn’t know any better.

From early on, Pandavana noticed the the three girls had a strong sense of wrong and right. Pandavana wanted to teach her girls everything and to protect them from making mistakes like she did growing up.

Being a skilled fighter herself, Pandavana taught her daughters the art of combat; she wanted to ensure that her daughters could defend for themselves if she wasn’t around. All the while, Pandavana also taught her girls to be head strong and compassionate towards themselves and others.

Pandavana was a strict instructor towards her daughters. Even though the training was rigorous, the girls quickly adapted and persevered. Initially, the girl’s desire to learn how to fight was fueled by their fear of rakshasas. At night, the grandmother would tell spooky stories about the rakshasas that lived in the nearby forest. Ever since, Bell Celia and Mari all wanted to be able to protect themselves.

The three girls grew up to be amazing and tough fighters. When the girls were children, they would do sneak attacks on their grandmother while she was “unaware.” Neither Bell, Celia, nor Mari knew that their grandmother was a master in fighting. Bell quietly jumped down from a nearby tree and aimed her leg at the grandmother. “I got her now!” thought Bell. When Bell thought she had her, the grandmother grabbed Bell’s foot and threw her to the ground. The grandma laughed out loud and asked “was that supposed to be a sneak attack? I could hear you guys from a mile away! Try again!”


While the three daughters were indeed beautiful, their most noticeable feature was their height. Compared to the town’s people, the Pandavana’s daughters were surprisingly short.

One day, the girls took a trip to the market to find a certain elixir. On their walk, a couple of annoying guys ran into the girls and tried to hit on them. Despite receiving rejection from all three, the men were persistent and soon they became aggressive. The men lunged at the girls thinking that they could over power them. However to the men’s surprise, the girls beat them all to a pulp which made them run away like a bunch cowards. One guy’s pride was completely tarnished that he swore to get his revenge.

Skip forward to when the girls finally became adults. Their mother, Pandavana grew very ill. No type of elixir or medicine could cure her. By the first week, she couldn’t stomach any type of food. By the second week, the mother lost a considerable amount of weight. By the third week, Pandavana couldn’t get out of bed or talk much. Watching their strong mother deteriorate, pierced the heart of the three daughters. Pandavana raised them all on her own as well as taught them everything they knew. None of the girls could stand watching such a strong and independent woman suffer.


Bibliography


Richard Wilson, The Five Tall Sons of Pandu, Reading

Author’s Note
My story is based off of the rendition of the Mahabharata, The Five Tall Sons of Pandu which explains the come up of the five sons of Pandu. The Pandava’s were a royal family so the sons were taught in the art of war and were extremely knowledgeable.

In my version of the story, I did a gender and height bender. Call me cheesy but I think it’s a good idea. After reading several Indian epics, I’ve noticed that its the sons who learn how to fight. To be honest, having the daughters learn how to fight came from my own desires. I’ve always wanted to learn how to fight because I thought it was something practical and impressive. A specific trait that I wanted to portray in my characters was strength and power. The theme for my portfolio is courage, wisdom, and power. For Pandavana, I wanted to show the strength that a mother has and always has to have. For the three girls, I wanted to show their power through their fighting and their strength through the downfall of their mother.

Lastly, I inserted a picture of an anime character named Michiko Malandro because she’s one of the most strongest anime women I know. Despite being irresponsible and obnoxious sometimes, Michiko can always defend herself and fight others off. While her story isn’t like Pandavana’s daughters, they all have power and strength within themselves.

Michiko Malandro 

Source: Michiko e Hatchin

Reading: The Five Tall Sons of Pandu

After reading the beginning, I’m glad that I get to read more about Yudhishthira and Bhima. I remember learning about them in the earlier readings. The story says that the sons were trained in the “arts of war” and I wonder if that’s actually what happened in those times. Did royal sons and daughters actually learn about war? What I appreciate about the way the Five Tall Sons of Pandu is that the story is easy to understand. 

Bibliography
Richard Wilson, The Five Tall Sons of Pandu, Reading

The Pandava’s

Source: Wiki

Reading Notes: Nine Ideal Indian Women

Not trying to sound bad but when the story said that Indian women “highly educated and accomplished” I was a bit surprised. I always thought women were oppressed back then. Yet again, this story does focus on the daughter of a royal family. Also, I’m not to familiar with how royal families work so I was surprised when the Maharani chose the friends of Savitri; it makes me question how genuine Savitri friendships are. Since they chose certain girls, I would like to know how they chose them. I wonder what parameters the royal family abided by. Another detail that I noticed was how the Princess was paying attention to her professors. Not trying to sound negative but I just wonder how long her attention span keeps up because in some stories regarding royal families, the princess or prince become apathetic towards learning. So far, I’m enjoying reading about Indian women! Something that I like about these Indian stories is that the description of scents and scenes are well-written; I can really imagine  “floating flowers” and “crystal-clear stream” or smell “jasmine flowers.” I find the writing in Nine Ideal Indian Women to be beautiful and carefully written.  Aesthetic diction is a method of writing that I would like to use in my future stories. 

Bibliography 

Sunity Devee, Maharanee, Nine Ideal Indian Women, Archive

Savitri

Source: Blog

Famous Last Words: 7 Deadly Sins and Sickness

Hi Everyone!

This past week absolutely sucked. I got sick Monday night and I’ve been trying to recover all week. I would drink my medicine but when I woke up, I felt like I was near death. I felt super weak and my head wasn’t fully there if you know what I mean. Despite my sickness, I still went to my classes. I had to go to my physical chemistry class because I had to turn in homework on Wednesday. Then, on Thursday, I had a physics lab practical at 10:45 am so I really couldn’t skip. Towards the end of the week, my sickness became an annoying cough. The night before my practical, I ended up staying awake all night because I kept coughing despite drinking medicine. I would have taken NyQuil but it was already too late and that medicine knocks me out for several hours; I would not have woken up in time.

On the bright side, after I took my practical, I decided to treat myself by going to the sauna! It was my first time so I had no idea what to expect. I sat in the steam room for thirty minutes and afterwards, I was completely soaked. I also took advantage of their shower by rinsing for 15 minutes. The spa also provided towels, shampoo, conditioner, and soap. I really thought they were going to charge me for all the items that I used but in the end, the total came out to an even $20. I will definitely be going back to the spa but next time, I want a full body massage.

Due to my sickness, I haven’t been in the gym as much as I wanted to. I went to Sarkey’s Fitness Center with my girl Brenda on Tuesday night. By the time we got there, I felt super weak. I don’t really like going to gym when I’m not feeling good because I want my workouts to be worth it. Throughout the workout, I felt sluggish and tired. When I got home, my body had the chills.


Another bright side is that I aced my microbiology exam that I took this past Friday! Me an my friend took the exam online. Based on the group me with my classmates, many of them felt like the exam was trash. Luckily, my and my friend Aaliyah studied together the week leading up to the exam so we knew many of the questions. What’s cool is that my micro professor made attendance optional due to the coronavirus. He made us do clicker quizzes in class but now he’s going to make them online concept checks. After acing the exam, me and my friend Aaliyah ate at the nice cafeteria for lunch.

Lastly, I want to say that I finally started watching 7 Deadly Sins with my boyfriend. Initially, I wanted to watch it because of one of the characters named Ban. I saw Ban on Instagram and wondered which anime he was from. After doing some research, I found out that he’s from the 7 Deadly Sins. To be honest, I think he’s super hot so I watched scenes from the show that included him. Soon, my interest for Ban became an interest for the overall show. The show takes place in medieval times which is something I’m not used to when it comes to anime. Right now, I’ve seen Sir Meliodas (Dragon’s sin of Wrath) and Big Diane (Serpent’s sin of Envy). Currently, I am waiting to see the hot and intrinsic, Ban (fFox’s sin of Greed).

7 Deadly Sins

Source: Otaku

Ban - Fox’s Sin of Greed

Source: ComicBook

Week 8 Progress

In the beginning of the semester, I felt like I had a good handle on the assignments but soon, my progress declined and I started to miss many assignments. I currently have half of the total points we’re supposed to have so form here until the end of the semester, I will be hauling major booty. Out of all the assignments, I enjoy the project the most because that’s where I get to be creative and retell me own story. Another assignment I enjoy is posting my story on my portfolio because that’s where it gets revised into the best version of itself; I think it’s a cool process. When it comes to extra credit, I like to do Wikipedia Trails and Famous Last Words. Other assignments that I do sometimes are the Microfiction and the Bibliography.

For this next semester, I would like to do do all the assignments ahead of time. Hopefully, I can do so over Spring Break! I want to avoid doing these assignments last minute. I want to feel productive and do them all in the beginning of the week.

Pushing Through Burnout

Source: Her

Week 8 Comments and Feedback

All the comments I receive are surprisingly positive. In addition to being positive, they give me feedback in a nice way. I don’t handle negative criticism or simple criticism well in general so having everyone be super nice about it is great. The comments I find useful are the ones that say they were confused about this part of my story. While I’m writing my story, a certain part might make sense to me but to others it might not. I think rewriting my story to prevent further confusion is an opportunity for me to become a better writer by writing more precise. Also, my grammar skills are trash so getting corrected from the professor is great because I learn the most after making the mistake.

When I read other people’s stories, sometimes I get inspired. I see how other people think and when I comment, I definitely let them know that the way they wrote their story was good. Initially, I used the  WWW method but now I’ve tweaked it a little bit so that I’m not strictly following it.

I actually reread my introduction and other people’s intro a few days ago. After reading other people’s intro, I ended up not liking mine just because I feel like I went way to deep into my life. Other people kept their intro simple, short and at surface level. However, my intro is super long and I don’t think I really introduced myself. I saw other people post multiple pictures of them and I got frustrated because I didn’t even think of doing that. In the end, I would like to rewrite my intro so that I introduce myself clearly; I want to get straight to the point about who I am. After reading the comments on my intro, I feel like I did connect with other students who struggle with staying fit while balancing school.


I chose this feedback cat because it shows how I can get after reading feedback. I know my stories aren’t perfect so when people read them, I tend to stay away from reading the comments. Then, after I do read the comments, I start to think of negative comments about myself like “I suck at writing” or “how could I make such a stupid mistake?” I saw this feedback cat and instantly connected with it.

Negative Thoughts 

Source: Cat

Week 8 Reading and Writing

Looking back at my creations, I have to say that I’m happy with them. For my blog, I did spend some time customizing it to the way I like it. I love green so I ended up using the bamboo background. I played around with some fonts and found one that I really liked. However, looking over at my blog, I think I’ll make some changes to it. I feel like the font is too light making it harder for the reader to read my posts.


When it comes to my website, I spent a lot of time searching for the right background picture. I love Zelda so I just thought it would look aesthetically pleasing if I used a Zelda theme. The part that I had most difficulty with was the title. I ended up staying with Triforce Legends because my portfolio is going to be composed of my favorite stories in which I’ll try to make them into legends. Also, I was thinking that since the word “triforce” is in the title, I’d try to make my stories follow one of the specific traits that the triforce stands for. In the game, the triforce is composed of three pieces that represents courage, wisdom, and power. My first story shows the courageousness of the capybara so I might continue with that idea. My next legend would showcase wisdom.


One of my favorite posts is the the Pearl of the Nadi. It includes themes from my favorite anime and game. In one of my posts, I included this picture which would have to be my favorite. I chose this picture because of what I was writing. I was trying to sound inspirational or at least encouraging so I used All Might who is my favorite character from My Hero Academia.

The Symbol of Peace

Source: My Hero

Famous Last Words: Godspeed

Hello Everyone!

Currently, I’ve been feeling like a teeter totter that you see at a playground. My grades aren’t the best right now and I’m not keeping up with my classes. On the other hand, I’m getting stronger at the gym. I’m going out and having fun more often now. I pushed back my MCAT date and my mental health has been flourishing.

With this class, I’m trying my best to catch up because I’m super behind. Sundays are usually when I do most of my assignments other than the ones that are due on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. However, it was difficult trying to stay inside today because it was such a beautiful day. All I wanted to do was stay outside and take pictures; I ended up doing just that with my roommate Kassie. 

At this point of my college career, I’m really disliking school right now. I have a quiz every Monday for my PChem 2 class and it’s becoming annoying. We started learning about Thermo but now we started the Quantum part of PChem. I consistently think about a way to get out of this current lifestyle because I do not want to do this anymore. On top of that, I have a Microbiology exam on Friday and a physics 2 lab practical this Thursday. Then, next week, I have my midterm for Biochemistry and PChem. 

At this point, I’m rethinking all of my life choices. I want to be happy but there are so many external factors that stress me out. When I’m stressed out, I am the most negative person there is. Sorry if my post is super negative; I just needed to get all of that out there. 

On the bright side, I turned 21! I can drink without the possibility of getting caught and that’s a great feeling. I bought some cute clothes at Pacsun so I have been feeling myself lately. Also, I’ll include those pictures that I took today! 

To anyone who’s reading this, good luck on your midterms! May your ability to focus be with you, Godspeed

 

Me on the left and my roommate Kass on the right

Micro fiction: Two Different, Beautiful Girls

1st Story (50 words or less) 

Lucy sees voluptuous thick girls

She weighs 100 pounds

Pants size is double zero

Lucy loves to run long distance.

Lucy struggles with eating 

Teresa sees cute skinny e-girls

They wear cute little skirts 

Teresa weighs 190 pounds

She loves powerlifting

Teresa struggles with eating 

 2nd Story (25 words or less) 

“I wish I could look like her” thought Lucy 

“I wish I could have her body” thought Teresa

Author’s Note

I decided to do a story about two girls named Lucy and Teresa. Instead of writing a narrative, I decided to list out their differences so it could be faster for the reader. I wanted to show how two girls want what they don’t have. Despite their difference in weight, I included their hobby because I think it sheds some light on their features. 

Women Athletes

Source: Bored Panda