Carlo Williams

*Note* I have an updated version of my story for my Portfolio on: Carlo's Epics of India "What a freak!" "What an ugly hunchback!" "No one will ever love her." These were the words Kooni heard everyday since her birth. Her own parents did not even want her. Her deformities were too much to handle. Therefore, they dumped her in the Ganges. However, a lovely elderly lady found the baby left in the Ganges and picked her up and raised her.                                                                             This is how Kooni wished she looked growing up during her childhood. Source: Cliparts One day, Kooni was out playing when she heard this huge announcement. The King, Darsatha was arriving to their town. He was bringing his beautiful wife Kaikeyi, and their son Bharatha. Koon...

Reading the pages for Part B for the Ramayana were really interesting. What I have been doing for this section are underlining phrases that I think are important within the reading. One of my favorite parts within the reading for Narayan's Ramayana was when Bharatha approached his mother and stated that's she heartless, a snake, and devious woman. Not even her own child respected her due to the decision she had made. This gave me some inspiration because I thought if I were to include Kaikeyi within my story, she may just become the snake she was meant to be.  Another aspect of the story I thought was important to underline involved Jatayu, a Great Eagle, who once fought alongside Rama's father in his previous life. When Jatayu found out about the death of Dasaratha he swore to end his life. I saw that as being important because the talk of suicide is found throughout the Ramayana. Suicide tends to be a subject that is not talked about much. I thought it was interestin...

One particular concept I would like to focus on is the concept of revenge within R. K. Narayan's, Ramayana , specifically within Thataka's Story. The Ramayana describes Thataka as a beautiful woman who married a chieftain named Sunda. They both had two sons, Mareecha and Sabahu who were blessed with having great strength and powers. However, they alongside their father Sunda, abused their powers and strength brining much destruction to land and killing many creatures. As a punishment a saint goes and kills Sunda. Thus, Thataka and her children sought to avenge the loss of Sunda, by taking revenge against the saint Agasthya. The feeling of revenge engulfed Thataka and her children, not causing them to see that their actions have consequences. Rather than learning from their ways, they took revenge against the saint, and as a consequence they were cursed becoming asuras. Due to their feelings of hate for Agasthya they lost demigod status and became demon like creatures. Not onl...

This semester has started out great for me so far. Specifically for this class my focus is now getting ahead with the class like I had planned during Week 1. The writing has been great and I love that I am able to use my creativity while writing my stories. I can not wait to start reading the Ramayana either today or during the weekend sometime. My goal is to get ahead in this class and I hope with growth mindset I am developing I am able to accomplish this goal. My best writing this week was actually for my class called the "Crusades". We had to read a epic poem called The Song of Roland which had plenty of fighting and gore if anyone is interested. The writing involved a comparison between choices made between two of the main characters. Roland had to make a choice between sounding the Oliphant when the Saracens were approaching his army or keep his pride and not sound his Oliphant possibly risking more of his soldiers lives. I strongly recommend reading that if anyone...

In the article, "Seven Ways to Crush Self Doubt" I learned how to better myself as an individual. A major problem I have is that I am constantly comparing myself to others. I have self doubts about myself in various aspects of my life from academics to my personal life. It is true by comparing myself to others I have lost that sense of community, and that is an issue that I need to work on within my own life. What I love about this article is that this can be applied to more than just creative work, these points can be applied to all aspects of life. As I receive feedback and provide feedback to my peers, my community, I hope to grow as an individual and help impact my community.  In addition, within the article, "Silence the Critical Voices in Your Head" it was good to read that it is important to focus on the positive. Many people, including myself, have those voices within our heads telling us that what we do is not good enough, and that we should give up...

Reincarnation. The topic of reincarnation would be a possible one I would write about. I know the very basics involving reincarnation, but within the myths there are deeper elements to the topic of reincarnation. Dying and being born again into another human or creature has also peaked my interest. It is interesting to learn through the wheel of samsara that people are reborn until they have achieved the ultimate spiritual development. Source: MythEncyclopedia Gods and Goddesses. Another interesting topic to write about would be about the gods and goddesses found within the epics of India. Through study of the Norse gods I have come to appreciate the Norse myths better. Hopefully as I learn more about the gods within the epic Indian literature I can further understand and appreciate the myths and culture surrounding the various gods and goddesses. A few gods and goddesses I could write about include Vishnu, Indra, and Shiva. Source: BlogSpot Asuras and Devas. Another interesting...

The video " All That We Share" was interesting and brought about excellent points. There are so many differences among people, either through aspects such as culture or physical appearance. However, we as people have so many similarities. People have lost loved ones, experienced pain, had joyous moments within their lives, and those are just a few of the many things that can unite even the most "different" of people. People are put into categories, but there are so many gray areas that connect that connect various people from different groups. Who knows when reading the Indian myths, maybe we will find out that there are various aspects of the myths that are not so different from what we have grown up learning and even our daily lives.                                                                   This is an image fr...

The Growth Mindset video showing the importance of "yet" was extremely entertaining and inspirational. It has been forever since I have seen Sesame Street and it truly brought back wonderful childhood memories. Seeing the characters of Sesame Street struggling from schoolwork, to sports, to even cooking shows that everyone has struggled with one thing or another at one point in their lives. For me I struggled with Organic Chemistry. I never thought I would get through that class but it required plenty of dedication and determination. As people say, practice makes perfect, or near perfect hopefully. Also, can we talk about her amazing singing. I found myself moving along to that wonderful singing. It is interesting seeing a program like Sesame Street help develop a growth mindset within younger children, and it can still impact adults such as myself. Whoa is it weird calling myself an adult, makes me feel old. Anyway, the power of "yet" is extremely important and I w...

The Canvas App has been useful to me throughout my junior year of college. By using the Canvas app I am able to keep track of my assignment due dates and also send messages to other students. Having the Canvas app is really convenient because I am constantly on my phone, so I get notifications when grades come in or when messages are sent. Overall, the Canvas app has been really reliable to me during my time at OU and I still use it to this day.                                                                                  The Canvas logo from the Canvas sit itself. Source: Canvas .

Many centuries ago, in a small town near the Arabian Sea there was a group of shapeshifting female goblins also known as "rakshasis" who devoured every human they encountered. The female goblins especially enjoyed men, because they were able to trick men into marrying them, and thus devour them.  One day there was a tumultuous storm as a group of men were sailing on the Arabian Sea. The men's ship was destroyed due to the terrible winds and pelting rain. Some men drowned within the sea, while other men were washed up on the shore, unluckily escaping their death.  As the men washed up on shore, they were not far from the town with the shapeshifting female goblins.  The female goblins were finishing up their last meal, human fingers dipped in a skull bowl of human brain. However, the female goblins were still quite hungry, new fresh human meat was the only thing that would appease their hunger.  The goblins chanted, " More, more, we want more. "  ...

"The Crocodile and the Monkey's Heart" is an interesting story. The reading involves the monkey outwitting the crocodile. The crocodile is ignorant not knowing that hearts are solely found within the body of monkeys. Within my story I would like to use the concept of trickery that is found within this story. I have noticed within quite a few mythology stories a common theme among them is the use of trickery and deceit. I would love to incorporate those themes into my story that I will create. I do like how the story takes place in a forest by a river. I may incorporate that type of environment into the story I am creating. Overall, I think I am going to use the theme of trickery for my story.                                                                                     ...

I am excited to start reading the Ramayana. I am not familiar with Indian epics so it will be a new and thrilling experience. I decided to read Narayan's edition of the Ramayana. First, it is exciting startinga new novel because I get to hold it in my hand and feel the pages as I turn each page. I love having a physical copy of a book with me rather than reading online. Plus, I am able to read the Ramayana in the same style of writing which I will enjoy. In addition, it is in a more modern style so it will be a little easier for me to understand. Looking through the comics, the first comic I found interesting was "Pradyumna: Son of Krishna" . This was interesting to me because it involves the topics of destiny and fate. When I was taking a class called "Vikings" at OU I loved learning about the fate of the gods and how people viewed fate and destiny during the time of the writings. I would love to read if Shambara is able to escape his destiny of death. Anothe...

This assignment was perfect for me today. The first week of school has officially finished and this is the point in the semester where I can make the decision to get ahead in my classes or fall behind. As of now I am falling behind. I originally planned to stay a week ahead for this class, but here I am writing a blog that is due today. Reading through the various articles was an eye opener for me and made me realize that I need to plan more efficiently and just start my schoolwork rather than procrastinate until the last minute. The article, " The Important Habit of Just Starting" was something I needed today. I was thinking before I started this assignment that I have been falling behind and I need to get ahead. Just starting my schoolwork will help me get to my goal. This week my goal is to get a week ahead and that means doubling up my assignments. It is better to do this now in the semester than wait until it gets terribly busy. Between studying for MCAT, working, and...

First, blogger is an amazing tool that I am learning to love to use. At first I was scared it was going to be a little difficult to get used to, but now blogging on blogger is not bad at all. However, I am the type of person who struggles with technology. It takes me a little longer to understand how to use technology, but eventually I learn how to use various programs. I have never created a website before, so I think it will be a fun experience using Google sites or Tumblr. I would love to make my own graphics using Canva or Cheezburger. I have used Canva before when creating flyers for meetings my organization would have. This online environment is nothing like my other classes. The most I have had to do in other classes is use Google docs, but this class will provide plenty of exposure and much of what we are going to be doing for this class can be useful for future jobs and other opportunities.                        ...

The setup for the class is really different and interesting from any other class I have taken. I am looking forward to the assignments for the class. I am ready for the Reading assignments. I am unfamiliar with Indian epics and I can not wait to begin reading these books. Another type of assignment that I will enjoy is the Storytelling aspect. Through storytelling I will be able to recollect the stories I have read, while adding a creative element that I have created. I also love the idea of having extra credit. For a matter of fact I do not know a student who does not like extra credit. One of the extra credits I am looking forward to is the Wikipedia Trails. I believe the skill of clicking on links within Wikipedia comes naturally to me. One moment I am looking up a cell on Wikipedia for an assignment, then somehow I end up looking at Rottweilers. Having a variety of assignments like these keep the class extremely interesting and I am looking forward to the various class assig...

Before today, I have not heard of the term growth mindset. Professor Carol Dweck brings an interesting perspective on growth mindset. Many times when I am taking my Pre-Med courses I become fixed on aiming for the A in class. Setting the goal for an A is not bad at all but when that is one's only focus then that becomes a problem. Unfortunately, looking back at some of my classes that was the singular goal I had. Many classes were difficult and I aim for the highest grade possible, yet I did not challenge myself like I should have. This semester I will be challenging myself to adapt a growth mindset, in order to develop and mature my mind and how I approach tasks. Even though this is my last semester, it is never too late to take a growth mindset approach and hopefully, I can take that approach when I enter medical school.                                               ...

Hello, my name is Carlo Williams and I am a senior who is studying History (Pre-Med) during my undergraduate here at OU. Time is flying by fast, I cannot believe that I am writing down that I am a senior. It felt like I was just a freshman. My plans after college are still in the process, I have decided that I am taking a gap year or gap semester depending on where I get into medical school. During my gap year/semester I will most likely be working in a hospital as a scribe getting the necessary experience I need and apply that experience into becoming a better physician. I am thinking about doing dermatology, but who knows it will probably change once I get into medical school. I am not going to lie, the thought of graduating is scary yet at the same time exciting. In one of my previous blogs I wrote about my favorite place, which is Germany. I was born in Germany and have lived there throughout my elementary school years. I lived on an American base, so English was mainly spoken wh...

The Greatest Trickster  The Greatest Trickster was an interesting storybook to read. I loved the idea of having the fox which represented a sly trickster within the storybook. I grew up learning about Brer Rabbit and other myths similar to that, so I loved seeing the interesting twists brought to life. What drew my attention was on each different section with the storybook, there was a large picture in the background towards the top which drew my attention and gave an idea as to what I would be reading as I scrolled down. The language used throughout the writing was also excellent. The storybook author kept true to the original language within the myths making it great to read through. Overall, this storybook was an excellent read and much creativity was put into it.                                                             ...

My favorite place is where I dream to visit in the near future. Germany has been a home to me for various years throughout my childhood. My childhood in Germany was filled with endless forests, crazy friends, and amazing food. From the beautiful scenery to the fun festivals I will never forget the wonderful years I have lived in Germany. First, the food in Germany was amazing. The currywurst and other German dishes were incredible to me. I remember memories of going to the mall in Ansbach, Germany called the Bruken-Center and going to a pretzel stand where they would have the most delicious pretzels. There were many immigrants traveling to Germany bringing their various cultures along as well. Various Turkish people would have stands out serving foods such as Doner Kebabs which were my favorite. I also loved exploring Germany. Since I was younger at the time, I do not fully remember all the destinations we went to in Germany, but I have recollections of the fun times I have experien...

This is Carlo Williams, just making sure I know what I am doing.