Growth Mindset: Different Intelligence

I think Howard Gardner is correct in his observations that there are different types of intelligence. I have never thought of intelligence being in these categories. I have always thought of intelligence as two sections: book smart and life skills smart. The different factions makes sense and goes with the understanding that people are complex creatures. Each person is unique with their own sets of intelligence. Personally, I think I have some of the subcategories in the multiple intelligence but not all. For example, in the visual-spatial intelligence, I am proficient in seeing, drawing, and coloring. But, I am not good at visualizing or mapping. I think the intelligences that I will be able to grow in the classes I am taking this semester are visualizing, teaching/collaborating, and reading. In my Anatomy class, we are working on cadavers, so it is important to be able to visualize the area that is going tobe cut before making the incision to avoid any damage to important structures. In lab we are placed in groups, so it is also important for us to collaborate and teach each other the various structures in the body. In this class, since we read and write a lot, I think my linguistic skills will improve by the end of the semester. In the future, I would most like to grow my musical intelligence. I have always wanted to play an instrument but I have never been able to stick with it. My goal in the future is to be able to play the piano. I think practicing the instrument and setting time to look over the notes is a good way increase the intelligence in the area. It will definitely take dedication and passion to improve. Although it may be hard, it will be worth it in the end!

(Multiple Intelligence - LoveToKnow)

Bibliography: "Multiple Intelligence" by Howard Gardner. Web Source. Video Source.

Famous Last Words: Snow Week

This week reading the Mabharata reminded me of my World Religions class. I believe during our Hinduism section, we read part of the Mabharata. I think the Indian culture is interesting because of all the epics and gods in their stories. Each god is unique. It is also interesting that the "popular" gods change over time. It is an evolving religion, whereas other religions have one set god that they worship and have been worshipping for a long period of time. My storybook seems like an interesting idea, but I hope I can make it an amazing storybook. I think when it comes to projects it is 50% idea or concept and 50% execution. 

Last weekend I had a very important interview. I think it went alright. I believe it could have gone better. I should know the results of the interview soon. The hardest part is waiting! I can be an impatient person. Although, this week has flown by quickly from sleeping and napping. I am anxious to see the results. Fingers crossed! 

I am appreciative of the snow days we had this week. However, instead of using the time to catch up on classes, I have no idea where the time went. I was absolutely unproductive. I think the only productive thing I did during the break was go to work an hour earlier than normal. Coming back to school, I wished we did have school during those days. My anatomy class pushed back the practical and exam, which is good because I did not study for them during the break. However, my exam is on the day when the rest of my exams are! As it stands, I have three exams on Friday. In some ways, I am glad they are on the same day because they will be over all at once. On the other hand, I do have to be very careful on how much time I allocate for studying. I am starting to stress a little, but I am sure it will all work out. 

(Snowflakes - Image Source)

Week 6 Storytelling: One Against Five

One Against Five

On the night of summer’s eve, a beautiful girl was born to King Drupada and his wife. Vyasa had come to bless the child the morning after. When he laid eyes on the child he advised her parents, “When she is older, men will be swarming around her.”

One tragic day, King Drupada’s childhood friend came to take half of his land. On the other hand, many suitors were lined up outside the palace to ask for Drupada’s hand in marriage. Many suitors with acres of land. To determine which suitor was the best, Drupada decided to have a contest after he narrowed the competitors to men that had a kingdom. In the month-long competition, Arjuna valiantly won.

 When the families came to greet each other, Arjuna’s mother explained to them that Draupadi had to wed all five brothers. Draupadi knew that when a woman married a man, she would also be marrying the family, but she did not think it was literal. King Drupada asked Vyasa for his wisdom. Vyasa explained to the King that in Draupadi’s past life, she prayed to the God Shiva five times over for a husband. He granted her wish in this lifetime. While, the five Pandavas brothers were each a part of a reincarnation of Indra. With that information, King Drupada gave his consent. The wedding, or weddings, was the talk of the century. It was the most extravagant celebration. Since there were five grooms, the event had to be five times as beautiful. King Drupada gifted all he could to the grooms.

Draupadi did not know what to think about having five husbands. She knew she should feel like the luckiest girl in the world, but her heart belonged to only one person, Arjuna. The thought of having to care for five men did not seem appealing. Sure, all the men were nice. The honeymoons were amazing. But having to be with five men and carrying their children was quite a task she did not sign up for. Also, the men were needy. She was the glue that held them together. She was the calm after the storm. Truth be told, the Pandavas would be a huge mess without Draupadi.

(Draupadi and the five brothers - Image Source)

Author's Note: I wanted to tell the story in the perspective of Draupadi. She is probably deemed one of the luckiest woman in India since she has the privilege of marrying five princes. In this story, Arjuna won himself Draupadi but their mother accidentally commanded all the brothers to marry this one woman. Vyasa told King Drupada that Draupadi was a reincarnated woman who prayed to Shiva for a husband, and thus, he granted her wish. Drupada gave consent for the five brothers to marry his daughter.

Bibliography. "Wife of the Five Pandavas" from the Mahabharata by R.K. Narayan. Web Source.

Reading Notes: Mahabharata Part B

Wife of the Five Pandavas

Main Character
Draupadi
The Pandavas
Vyasa
Drupada

Plot 
Arjuna won himself a bride by the name of Draupadi - the daughter of Drupada. However, by accidental command from his mother, so has his other four brothers. All the brothers wanted to have Draupadi as their bride. Vyasa told Drupada that Draupadi was a reincarnated woman who prayed to the god Shiva  for a husband. She prayed five times and the god rewarded her a promised of five husbands in her next life. He also revealed that the Pandavas brothers were five incarnations of the god, Indra. Drupada gave consent for his beloved daughter to marry the brothers.

Story Idea
I think an interesting story idea would be in the perspective of Draupadi. It is not in the norms that a woman has many husbands, let alone, princes! I would also like to incorporate a flashback scene to when her past life prayed to Shiva. I would also maybe include a conversation of Draupadi and her father. I would also add another conversation of what Vyasa's knowledge of the situation to bring the story full circle.

(Draupadi and the five Pandavas - Image Source)

Bibliography. "Wife of the Five Pandavas" from the Mahabharata by R.K. Narayan. Web Source.

Reading Notes: Mahabharata Part A

Drona's Revenge

Main Characters
Drona
Pandavas
Kauravas

Plot
After training the training the royal sons received from Drona, he is now seeking payment. The price that Drona requires from Ekalavya is to take revenge against King Drupada, a childhood friend who treated him poorly. When the warriors captured Drupada, Drona proposed a proposition to Drupada - to give Drona half of Drupada's land that he ruled in exchange for friendship.

Setting
Pachanchalas

Story Idea
I think a good story idea for this passage is to retell the incidents of Drona's and Drupada's childhood. It must have been traumatic for Drona to remember after all these years and articulate a revenge plan that would require his whole lifespan. While recounting their childhood, it would be interesting to do it in Drupada's perspective since he is viewed as the victim of this passage, but I believe he did something to provoke Drona's lifetime revenge plan.

(Drona and Drupada - Image Source)

Bibliography: "Drona's Revenge" from the Mahabharata by R.K. Narayan. Web Source. 

Growth Mindset: Gotta love Cats

Here are my favorite Growth Mindset cat memes:

This reminds me of one of my mottos: "If it doesn't work, try again. If it still doesn't work, try something else." Sometimes things do not work the way we want it to because of a simple mistake or because we are doing something wrong. Perhaps, looking at something at the wrong angle. For example, I made some pretty bad quiz grades in Physiology. One week, I decided to do something different. I made more of an effort to go to Grad TA's office hours and action center. I saw my grades improve drastically. Before I move to a new strategy, I like to try the current strategy several times to make sure it does not work before I attempt another method.

(Image Source) 

For some odd reason, when tests are a few days away or the next day, I am suddenly more productive during my study sessions. I think the main culprit is stress. When I am in a stressful situation, it seems like my blood is pumping faster, adrenaline running through my veins, and melatonin production halted. The stress helps me focus better. One morning, I had a Physics test. Physics was a subject that I did not like. One, it was not comprehendible to me and two, it was an 8:30am class. I would always arrive a couple minutes late to class on a daily basis but it was a test day so I had to be on time. I was rushing to get out of the house, speeding, and fast paced walked to class so much so my legs started to cramp. As students were starting to file into the class, I made it up the stairs. I was out of breath, and flustered. But, it ended up being the highest exam grade I received! 

(Image Source)

I think an important aspect of the Growth Mindset is that your abilities can always be improved and it is not stagnant. Although as I get older, I find that improvement can be hard. Over winter break, I tried to learn snowboarding. I only got about 45% of it down. It was difficult to maneuver the snowboard with only one foot strapped on. My cousin, Phillip, had trouble breaking on the snow with his snowboard because he thought forgot that both feet were strapped to the snowboard. He eventually made it down the mountain while doing several flips in the snow. I was proud of the minimal improvements that I made, but it proves that you can teach old dogs new tricks if you try hard enough. 

(Image Source)

Review: Week 5

I have successfully backed up my blog and google site, although I am not a huge fan of backups because the process can take a long time, I understand why it is necessary. I think it is a good idea to review weekly progress on Canvas because it is easy to forget assignments.

My favorite image from the current announcements would be:

(Stages of Writing - Image Source)

Mainly because it makes me laugh and I can relate to the stages 100%. I am in the last stage the majority of the time. 

The video I chose to watch today was: Why do we get grades in school?

This topic has always intrigued me. Why are merits based upon a set structure? I think that grades were a good concept but as time has continued, "grades" have become more numeral, general based. I think this YouTube video was a good video and recommend anyone who wants to know more about how grades have come about. I think receiving narrative reports are an interesting idea, unfortunately in college lecture halls, there are too many students for that method. I think grades can be an incentive for those who want good grades, but they are not a complete marker for success. I appreciate OU's holistic approach to their application process.