Reading Notes: Cupid and Psyche, Part B

Here is the continuation of my reading notes from the Classical Unit Cupid and Psyche. This time, I decided to focus on the language in the story. I noticed before that the story goes to great length to describe things, so I am going to take note of the various descriptions. I am going to continue doing this is bullet list format, however, because it is easiest for me while I am reading the unit.

Cupid and Psyche in the 

nuptial bower from Wikimedia

Notes:

• There is imagery of a white bird diving into water to alert Venus of her son's presence. 
• There is also a lengthy description about the fall in Venus's reputation, listing the ways in which the people are beginning to perceive her.
• "The talkative bird's tongue ran on" provides an image to portray the speed and length of which the bird starts talking.
• Every time someone talks, it seems like they are holding a long conversation with themselves. There aren't many situations in which two people are constantly talking to each other back and forth.
• The temple is described in great detail. It is portrayed as untidy, but still seems magnificent. 
• The author uses the word "drenched" to portray the amount of tears falling from Psyche. Clearly she is sobbing.
• The long list of things Psyche beseeches Ceres by goes to show her desperation and devotion.
• Interestingly, despite Psyche's impressive knowledge of the gods, which is shown through her ability to list all of Juno's shrines/temples, she can't seem to get anyone to side with her. This goes to show Venus's power.
• Venus's chariot is superbly ornate. The story goes in great detail to describe just how amazing it is. It even has a jewel encrusted harness. It flies by the power of various birds.
• Venus talks about herself in third person as she tries to persuade her brother Mercury to spread the word that she has a reward for whoever delivers Psyche to her.
• Random thought insert. Cupid is such a wimp, writhing in pain over a small burn.
• Venus implies she has the power to now all the birth of Psyche's baby. 
• Venus's assault on Psyche is described as a "tirade".
• Venus's revenge goes to turning Psyche, known for her beauty, into a "hideous creature".
• An ant is portrayed as having complex thought... gathers a bunch of his ant friends and they help her sort the pile of things Venus left her. This part reminds me of a Cinderella type story... like when she had to separate lentils from ash.
• The word "garlanded" is used to show that Venus's body is covered in roses. Nice word.
• "Under one roof but separated" is a great phrase utilized to show that although Cupid and Psyche were so close, they could not meet.
• I like that throughout this story, Psyche is receiving aid from things that would normally not speak in real life. She has now received advice from a reed. And then an eagle helped her fetch the water. Now a turret.
• Psyche, time and time again, keeps falling to her curiosity. 
• The story says he "wipes away the sleep" that escaped from the jar as if it is a liquid. 
• Jupiter goes to list, as this story often does, the things that totally suck about Cupid before agreeing to help him.
• The story makes sure to highlight that Cupid and Psyche's wedding is being celebrated by all people in attendance, even with Venus dancing. Psyche even becomes immortal and has a daughter named Pleasure.
• At this point we are reminded that this is a story within a story.

You know, after taking these notes, I think I may have written too much. I guess I will have to decide that for myself later. It was a bit difficult to comment on the language of this passage. I tended to also include some plot points in my notes. I like that this story had a happily ever after, but it seemed that Cupid and Psyche got together to easily once Cupid decided to get help. Whatever! I wasn't satisfied. Psyche was constantly giving into her curiosity and trying to throw herself off cliffs. I guess that is just for the dramatic flair, but I wish she had been mentally stronger.

Bibliography

Cupid and Psyche taken from the story The Golden Ass by Apuleius, translated by Tony Kline

Reading Notes: Cupid and Psyche, Part A

This week, I decided to read the story of Cupid and Psyche from the Classical Unit. Why did I choose this story you ask? I chose it because the summary at the beginning of the unit told me that it was similar in nature to Beauty and the Beast. If you have taken a look at any of my other posts, then you know that I am fond of that story.

Cupid and Psyche from Wikimedia

My note taking strategy for this week was to focus on the plot. There were many times while reading that I tried to predict what was going to happen. I looked for foreshadowing and marked where I was surprised. Turns out I wasn't that good at predicting the future plot of the story. Normally, I like to think I am good at this, but the classical nature of this story must have thrown me off (so I tell myself to save my ego). To make things easier for my future self, I took my notes in bullet list format. My notes are similar to a story summary, but not quite. I wrote it in a way so that I will be reminded of things later, which I think is helpful for myself.

Notes:

• The story starts following a plot point, a robbery. It seems this part of the story is unrelated to Cupid and Psyche.
• It starts out with a donkey speaking as a human, although it is not revealed he is a human-donkey. One must gather this... that or it is revealed in part B.
• Interestingly, Lucius (the donkey) refers to his human form as if it is someone other than himself.
• The robbers try to be somewhat accommodating of their girl prisoner, despite the fact that they stole her for ransom. Surprising.
• The prisoner girl used was one round-about way of saying that she can't stop crying because they've taken her from her lush environment... the language in this story is round-about throughout.
• An old lady is portrayed as kind, but it turns out she is a part of the thieves greed and grows annoyed with the prisoner girls sobbing. Her annoyance took me off guard. 
• This story is full of super long sentences, made longer through a number of commas. The sentences go on, and on, and on.
• At this point, the story goes into another story, a story-ception of sorts. This is now the story of Cupid and Psyche.
• Here is an instance of foreshadowing... the story talks about how the people keep praising Psyche and treating her as a new Venus. Venus's shrines are being ignored, so I bet she gets angry and tries to kill Psyche. Or something.
• It turns out she does indeed get mad and do something about it. That was a solid prediction. 
• Venus uses her son to get back at Psyche. I predicted he would make an ugly man fall in love with Psyche and that psyche would end up enjoying his presence because of the lack of affection in her life, but the story did not turn out this way at all. I was so wrong. It turns out that Cupid decides to wed her instead, but conceals his identity, despite being beautiful.
• Sorry, random thought insert. Venus kissed her son long and tenderly with parted lips???? Interesting family customs.... 
• At this point, the plot introduces a terrible prophecy which gets the ball rolling. Now Psyche is faced with the punishment incited by Venus.
• Despite this being a terrible fate, she is met with riches and kindness at her new husband's mansion. It appears the prophecy is wrong and that nothing bad will happen to her, but she ends up messing it up for herself later on.
• Sorry, another random thought insert. Dang, he takes her v-card, just like that. No hello, hi, my name is _____ and I am your new husband? Cold. And also rape-y.
• At this point, she starts to feel imprisoned by her new luxurious life. I guess I wouldn't either tbh. This defied my expectations. I never expected her to miss her old life, but I should have since this was compared to Beauty and the Beast.
• She seduced him so she could bring her sisters with her to the palace, but this ends up being her downfall. The sisters who were so sad about her being dead turned into greedy little monsters when they found she was living amongst riches. Their ill-meant advice ends up smashing her world.
• Psyche ends up discovering who her husband is and she loses him.
• Psyche got her revenge on her deceitful sisters after Cupid leaves her, bringing part A to a close.

Personally, I would change so much about this story. Psyche needs to be more independent... her reliance on her family is what lead her to this situation with her sisters (although if she hadn't been forced to marry Cupid, none of this would have happened either... no victim blaming). I would also like to introduce consent to this story. I want Psyche to go to Cupid on her own, not due to some prophecy. I also want her to not get raped by him as soon as she meets him. I mean, the story conveys it as them consummating their marriage, but it was awkward. Why are the classics like this?? Oh yeah, patriarchy. 

Bibliography

Cupid and Psyche taken from the story The Golden Ass by Apuleius, translated by Tony Kline

Feedback Thoughts: The Source of My Anxiety

Anxiety by Topher McCulloch

It is funny that this topic would come up when it did. Today I asked a friend to review some scholarship essays I wrote for the CASH Scholarships. I was nervous about submitting, but I didn't actually think she would say anything bad about my essays. Low and behold... she had a lot of stuff to correct! I was mad she gave me the help I asked for. What the heck is wrong with me? I didn't like feeling like I was bad at something. For this exact reason, I decided I needed to learn 5 Tips For Taking Feedback Like a Champ.

In this article, I quickly realized it matched my situation perfectly. I didn't want to feel bad or uncomfortable. My friend had my best interest in mind, but all I could see was that she thought my work wasn't good enough. Furthermore, I am not a bad writer. My essays could just be better. With her pointing out what needed to change, I was having trouble seeing that she didn't think it was totally terrible. Ultimately, she just wanted to help me get some money and I was bitter the whole time. I wish I hadn't procrastinated this assignment so I would have had these feedback tips before I asked someone in real life for feedback... my flaws seem to be piling up in this one.

The next article I read was Eight Things Students Should Do When They Make a Mistake. I chose this article because I hate failing and I hate being less than exceptional. Even if my work is turned in right before a deadline, I aim for it to be quality material. With my fellow peers getting ready to start criticizing my work, I am anxious I am going to have a hard time correcting my mistakes, so this article seems like a goldmine. As I mentioned earlier, I can tend to return feedback with bitterness and snappiness. I don't mean to be cranky, but the whole situation makes me feel tense. This article showed me that I just need to change how I am thinking about it. Feedback is given because the giver wants me to do better, not because they want to point out how horrible I am. I can't put my anxiety on other people just because they were willing to offer me advice. Furthermore, I need to value my own work. If I want to be exceptional, I need to be willing to take advice and improve my work.

Topic Brainstorm: A Representation of My Indecisiveness

I can't believe it is already time to start exploring our storybook comments. It is about to be the beginning of Week 3 already! Does anyone else feel like this semester is already going way too fast? I even have an exam on the first of February. Anyways, this is the part of the class that I am most looking forward to.

Jack the Giant Killer from Wikimedia

The first storybook topic that I am considering is a compilation of stories about giants. Laura actually gave me this idea in my Favorite Places post when I talked about the legend surrounding the formation of the Giant's Causeway. Of course, I would have to include the awesome Irish tale of Finn McCool and his nemesis Benandonner in the storybook! She mentioned that I could pull different giant stories from different cultures, which I think is a great idea. I am thinking I would like to pull in giant stories from Gaelic, Greek, Norse, Japanese, and American mythology/folklore. I was actually surprised to see that American Folklore is an option. For some reason, perhaps because the United States/Canada is relatively new compared to most Western nations, I figured we wouldn't have any significant folktales. But we do! 

Hansel and Grethel from Wikimedia

The second storybook topic I am considering is another compilation. I want to retell some of the Brother Grimm's stories. We all know that the Grimm Fairytales are a lot more, well, grim than the ones we are used to seeing in children's movies. I want to preserve that eeriness, but tell it from my own perspective. There are a lot of stories from the Grimm's Fairytales that I have never even heard of. I am thinking I want to go for stories that deal with thrown out/stolen girls, like Little Snow White, Rumpelstiltskin, and Rapunzel. I hope to include more stories, but I need to do some further exploration into the many many stories in the Grimm's Fairy Tales. It is possible I might even go for a totally different theme if I do go with this idea.

Rumpelstiltskin by Wikimedia

Next, I am considering a compilation of goblin stories. Goblins interest me because they sound almost gross and evil, but in reality, they are often portrayed as being clever and cunning. One of the good things about this kind of compilation is that I can include Rumpelstiltskin in this one too! It turns out his name translates to a type of German goblin. This topic I am actually finding to be a bit harder to research, as it wasn't a readily available topic to pick from the list. I know that goblins exist in European and Asian folklore, so I am looking forward to learning more. For now, I know I intend to include the German tale of Rumpelstiltskin. I also want to incorporate some Korean folklore about goblins. Perhaps this is outting my interests a bit too much, but I recently watched a Korean drama called Goblin, so now I want to look more into the folklore that the drama is based on.

Beauty and the Beast by Dawn Hudson

My last idea, for the time being, is to deviate from a compilation of stories. I think it would be nice to create a story that each part is a continuation of the previous part, like chapters in a storybook. The tale I want to rewrite in this manner is the tale of the Beauty of the Beast. I already did something like this for our storytelling assignment, but I really want to take it further and expand it. I had such a good time taking that story and manipulation it into something I wanted, but I wasn't able to go as deep as I'd like. I have good ideas for this story. I don't think I will resume where my assignment left off, but go in a totally new direction with a feminist lens. I can see some real potential for changing it from that perspective.

Week 2 Story: The Warlock and the Beast

Beauty and the Beast from Wikimedia

Once upon a time, there was a warlock who was known for giving gifts to those most deserving. He would travel far and wide just to find the perfect recipient. He often granted wishes as part of his gift. Sometimes he even changed reality to sooth the person's regrets. The thing that was certain, however, was that he changed people's lives for the better.

On one fateful day, the warlock came across a gorgeous but heinous woman who came from old money. She was used to gettings things with her charm and money, but it was rare for her to ever be giving. The warlock was immune to her charm and money, however, because he had no need for such things. He asked for her to prove herself to be worthy of his gifts, already knowing how she would respond. 

"I could give you any piece of land you so desire," she mused. She did indeed own quite a bit of land, among other things. Her lineage was quite impressive.

"I don't particularly desire any piece of land," he responded. "The only thing I desire from you is an act of selflessness." 

"Selflessness?" she asked with astonishment. "How could you only want something so simple from me? I have riches you could take if only you would award me the gift." 

The warlock studied her and made a decision that would change her life. "If all you can offer me are riches, I can offer you a gift, but it will likely be a gift you were not hoping for." Of course, the woman readily accepted this. All she wanted was to receive something. She'd didn't mind offering something she was in excess of to get something she knew she'd never have otherwise.

With a bang of light, the woman's reality was drastically changed. Not only did she lose her riches, she lost her charm. Where she used to have smooth, beautiful skin, she now had warts and sores. Where she was strong, she was now weak. Her hair was even affected. The beautiful auburn became a dirty yellow. 

"How could this ever be considered a gift?" she wailed. "All you've done is take everything away from me! You've given me nothing!" She collapsed to the floor in a dramatic fashion, sobbing.

"You only see the surface of my gift. If you look deeper, one day you will see how this is a gift, and at that moment, you will be freed from this new reality," the warlock explained. If she could manage to become a truly selfless person and learn to care for someone despite her circumstances, perhaps then she would become a better version of what she once was.

Now, all the warlock could do was wait and see how she does. He was accustomed to this wait and quite enjoyed watching the events unfold. He already knew she would one day be able to reverse his gift, so all he had to do was keep watch over her and enjoy the show. How was she the most deserving of this gift you ask? Only the warlock will ever know.




Authors note: So if you couldn't tell, this is a twist on the classic story of Beauty and the Beast. I decided to tell this story from the story of the witch who curses the beast, but I also gender-flipped everyone, so instead, it was a warlock. From the warlock's perspective, this is a gift rather than a curse... a learning opportunity of sorts. It ends abruptly, however, because this is the warlock's story, not the beauty's or the beast's.

Bibliography

The Three Roses by Josef Baudis

Reading Notes: Myth-folklore Anthology

While reading through the Myth-Folklore Anthology, there were quite a few things I noticed about how several of the stories were written.

Fairy Tale Illustration from PublicDomainPictures

In The Eight-Forked Serpent of Koshi, for example, I saw that the type of vocabulary used was unique. The story's flow was influenced by the fanciful words it used. Reading a story with this older style keyed me into the fact that this is an ancient story that holds some value that the people of Japan held during its conception. I know that this is not merely some commercial product wrapped in a nice cover to be sold on a shelf in a store. It has the characteristics of an old story that are often given away by the word and structure choices. 

In the story about the Man in the Moon, I also saw that it is important to show a story in a series of steps. Had the wise man punished the man after he asked for change only two times, it may have seemed harsh. There wouldn't be enough instances of his greed to really get the point across. Because the man was repeatedly ungrateful, shown in the multiple wishes made to change his life, the audience is able to find the lesson in the story more readily. 

My favorite story and the one I will focus on more was The Three Roses. Personally, I grew up on the story of Beauty and the Beast so it was easy to tune into this story and pull a deeper understanding from it. First, the story starts with the classic "Once upon a time..." phrase that has introduced fairy tales for ages. This phrase makes it easy to recognize that there will likely be some kind of magic involved in the story (and indeed there was). Second, I noticed that this story did not rely on a lot of actual dialogue, Rather than directly quoting what the daughter Mary would say, for example, her responses to situations would be described. This way of expressing Mary's thoughts and actions further goes to support the story-like nature of the store. There is a larger disconnect between the characters in the story and the audience. 

I hope to employ some of these writing techniques when I start storytelling. I want to write something that gives off the same kind of feeling that passing along cultural stories does, so I think using all of these techniques can be beneficial. 

Bibliography

The Eight-Forked Serpent of Koshi by  E. W. Champney and F. Champney

The Man in the Moon by Katherine Neville Fleeson

The Three Roses by Josef Baudis

Drowning in the Reading Options

I think I need to preface this post by letting the audience know I am indecisive and take ages to settle on what I want or like. The fact that there were literally trillions of different ways I could go with this assignment did not help with my indecisiveness.

Celtic Symbol by Hans

With that being said, I have bookmarked at least 15 units I am interested in exploring. For the sake of this assignment, I will only share a few of them (or else we would be here all day). As I have shared in a previous post, I am interested in Celtic mythology. I was happy to see that there are two different units on Celtic fairy tales! I clearly can't decide which would be best, so I am just going to say I choose both! Watch out though, this is going to be a trend. I've been to Ireland and England, which inspired my interest in Celtic things.

Sort of following the theme of Celtic mythology (regionally speaking), I next went with English fairy tales. This summer I will be going on a study abroad program with the psychology department to Scotland, and I saw that this unit contains some tales from the Lowlands of Scotland. Of course, I am going to consider this unit! And guess what --there are two units on English fairy tales. They are now officially one unit in my heart, joined in holy marriage by the power invested in me by myself (I never said this was a legal marriage).

Now to totally deviate from where I was going with this post, the next unit(s) I am considering is(are) on Japan! Okay, so Japan has like... a million units... or maybe it was just 4... but guess what! I am going to pretend they are one, as I have been doing, for the sake of this post. High-key, I am a bit of a nerd and threw myself into Japanese culture when I was around 13 to 15. I wouldn't mind adding Japanese mythology to my repertoire of (probably misinformed) Japanese knowledge.

In the end, there are a lot more units I am interested in exploring. I will probably read more stories from the units than I will ever need to for this class.

Time Strategies

Before classes began, I thought I would spread my work out over Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday. Now that the semester has started, I have realized that Tuesday and Thursday are not really ideal days for me. I think from here on, I am going to focus my homework schedule on Sunday, Monday, and Wednesday. These days I work, but I work in a library and often have hours of uninterrupted time where I can easily do homework.

Do it! from Wikimedia

I have mentioned before that I am a procrastinator. I really am just so bad at managing my time. I think it might be hard to stick to the schedule I have set myself, but I am going to try my best. I am going to take a look at the strategies for managing my time better so that I can tackle my procrastinating problem.

The article that caught my attention was the first article provided: The Important Habit of Just Starting by Jory Mackay. The title just screams "This is for you, you procrastinator!" This article pointed out that when I put things off, I ultimately hurt myself, and here I am, putting things off. It hit so close to home! I can't seem to see the pain I am going to cause myself in the future. Apparently, when I am putting off the pain of doing my assignments, I am just causing myself more grief. I believe that. The main component of the strategy introduced in this article is to gradually force myself to do assignments earlier and earlier while rewarding myself. I think I can handle that.

Looking at a couple of these articles has been quite insightful. I can't promise I will be super great at managing my time right away, but I do want to get more on top of things. Like right now, I am feeling the pressure to get this post posted before midnight! Why do I do this to myself?? Ugh.

Technology Schmology

Super Cool Tech Picture from Pexels

I am impressed with the number of tools this course incorporates. I don't mean to toot my own horn, but I like to think I am pretty tech savvy. I don't think there will be many difficulties with me when it comes to the technological responsibilities of this class.

Despite what I have said, I am not exactly familiar with any of the resources we will be using in this course other than twitter. I am a quick learner though and am confident that I can get used to the new resources. I am millennial after all... "internet" is my middle name.

In the past, I have had to use multiple tools for my classes, but I have never had this many options before. I am eager to get to work using them. I feel like the work I will do in this class will be more unique because of the resources at my disposal. That is one of my goals this semester; to put out work that screams "Erica Cummings" and represents me.

1003 Assignments

Classroom from Pexels

I have never taken a class with such a unique course structure. What makes it so unique in my eyes is the level of independence expected of us here. Personally, I am a bit of a procrastinator so I hope to take this type of course and use it to help me be more proactive in my studies. Clearly, I am still procrastinating by making this post the evening it is due... I need more practice.

Probably the best thing about the structure of this class is that we only need a certain number of points to finish and there are many opportunities to get extra points. That is really encouraging! The extra work is not labor intensive and includes things I would be interested in doing on my own. For example, I would be interested in commenting extra on people's posts either way, but getting points for it is icing on the cake. I wouldn't say I am social, but talking to people online is much easier than in person.

Ultimately, this is an online class so the fact that it has such a unique structure is not surprising, but it is much more involved than any other online class I have taken. I feel like this is a class I can really learn in. I can't just breeze through the assignments like I would in some other class with just multiple choice quizzes every week. I already have an interest in mythology, so I'm glad this course will hold my weak attention span.

Growth Mindset aka It All Makes Sense Now

This first thing that came to mind while I was watching these various videos on Carol Dweck's concept of the Growth Mindset is that I seem to have a fixed mindset. When the subject material gets confusing or hard, rather than seeing it as a positive challenge, I get discouraged. I have never really felt the need to be introspective on this behavior, but now that I am more informed, I feel as if I have let myself down a little.

Conflict in the Mind by Jonhain

As I mentioned before, I used to be a civil engineering major, but I changed my major when I realized that physics was too hard. I like to believe I tried my best and that physics and I were just not meant to be, but maybe that isn't the case. It is totally possible that my first realization that physics was hard set me back because I had a fixed mindset. Instead of wanting to learn more, I just wanted physics to get easier. That was never going to happen, so I convinced myself I couldn't do it and chose to do something else instead.

Of course, now, I wouldn't ever change my major back to civil engineering. I am very much so in love with psychology. Rather, I think psychology has even lead me to a more growth-oriented mindset. When things seem confusing now, I am more willing to learn more about whatever is challenging me. I think a lot of this has to do with how I feel about the subject. Because I love psychology, I am more willing to face challenges within it. Deep down, I always sort of hated my civil engineering major, so I didn't even want to clear things up for myself. On the other hand, maybe I only love psychology so much because I find it easy to follow most of the time, which feels rewarding.

In the end, there isn't anything I can do about how I thought of things in the past. From here onward, I'd like to think I'd value the process more than the result. I believe it would be beneficial for my own learning if I did have a more positive outlook on a challenge. I even expect this class to challenge me from time to time, so I am looking forward to approaching those difficult moments with a more positive outlook that will result in growth.

Introduction to a Scatterbrain

Hello! I suck when it comes to talking about myself, so I am going to heavily rely on the prompt for inspiration. It is probably safe to say that this is going to be a typical, by-the-textbook introduction.

"A sorority-girl on a sorority retreat 

wearing a sorority t-shirt and 

making a sorority hand symbol" aka 

"She couldn't find a good non-selfie"

My name is Erica Cummings, I am 20 years old, and I am from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. I graduated from Carl Albert High School in 2015, so there's that. I like many different genres of music, so I won't even try to narrow down my favorites. I am in a sorority for women in technical majors called Alpha Sigma Kappa. We are on the Independent Greek Council, so you probably haven't heard of us (we are small compared to Panhellenic sororities). I don't play any instruments, so I guess that makes me a little boring, but I did competitively dance for 10 years from ages 3 to 13. I will go ahead and claim dance as the sport of my childhood, even if you don't want to call it a sport. When I stopped dancing, I abandoned athleticism. Sweating is gross! Who knew? Okay so maybe that isn't the full story, but still, sweating is gross.

More relevantly, my major is psychology. Initially, I was majoring in civil engineering, but I quickly found out that I hate physics (more like I was awful at it). Without physics, any structure I would engineer would be doomed to fail... so I changed to a less physics-oriented major. This decision was not only in my own best interest, but the best interest of the world at large.

The best thing about studying psychology is that you mostly just need to know things (is that weird to say?). There are few calculations to be made... absolutely no physics involved either. As long as I read and know the material, I am solid. With the knowledge I have obtained from the material, I can make better inferences about other people's state of being too. There is no formula for exploring the mind.

Studying psychology also allows me to practice my writing skills. There is quite a bit of writing in psychology, just like any other social science course. Because there is a research element to it, however, the most common writing style for psychology is APA style. Usually, this is a straight forward scientific paper with no room for fancy word or frills. Fortunately, with this major I have room to take classes like this one that allow me to spread my literary wings a bit.

Overall, the best class I have taken within my major studies has to be abnormal psychology, which I took last semester. This class was full of great information and really pertained to my career interests. I want to be a clinical psychologist, so it is important I am familiar with what could potentially go wrong with one's psyche. It took me deeper into areas of abnormal psychology with which I was already familiar and introduced me to some concepts with which I was totally unfamiliar. I also really enjoyed the professor who instructed the course. If you are a psychology major and need an upper-division credit, I would totally recommend taking abnormal psychology with Dr. Carol Terry!

On a more personal note, I guess I could talk about my likes and dislikes. To be quite frank, there are a lot of things I dislike. For example, I really dislike brussel sprouts. They are gross no matter how much salt and pepper or other seasonings you put on them. There is no hiding that awful bitter taste. On a more positive note, I love asparagus. I guess one could say that brussel sprouts and asparagus are two gross veggies on a double edged sword. Perhaps that is true. But I am here to advocate for the taste of asparagus once it is nicely grilled with lots of salt.

More seriously, I would label myself a "left-wing liberal" if we are going to talk politics. I would also say that I am an intersectional feminist. Probably the only close-minded thing about myself is that I do not have any tolerance for people who do not believe in equal rights for all (yes, I am including healthcare as a right). I do not have the time nor the patience to deal with those who will only argue in circles. I like a good healthy debate, don't get me wrong, but I won't participate in a screaming match. I'll save my voice for rallies, marches, and parades, thank you.

So there you have it! A fragmented introduction for a fragmented woman.

Goldilocks and the Three Storybooks: My Storybook Favorites

Okay, so maybe I am not Goldilocks, but it really did feel like I was on a search for a storybook that was just right. Or three. In the end, I was able to pinpoint three storybooks that I thought were not too cold, not too hot, not too hard, and not too soft.

Magical Forest Wallpaper from DesktopNexus

OTHER | The first storybook that caught my attention was OTHER. What caught my attention you ask? Well, first of all, the title was rather vague so I felt I needed to check it out. Maybe if I knew anything about the topic of this storybook beforehand, the title wouldn't have looked vague at all. OTHER is a story about a young Fae who has never fit in in her life. Over the course of the storybook it is revealed that she isn't a Fae at all, but a Changeling and an Other. With that knowledge, the title of the storybook finally made sense and actually wasn't vague at all. It really is a genius ploy to pull a reader in. Curiosity got me and curiosity kept me. Overall, it was a cute little story and was the first one I read all the way through. I have a particular interest in the more fantastical side of mythology and folklore, so this was really suited to my taste. Fairies, gnomes, hobbits, giants, goblins --I like them all.

Women in Constellations | The next storybook that caught my eye was Women in Constellations. Primarily, I was drawn to the fact that it was centered around women. Often in mythology, especially in Greek mythology as this storybook was centered, men take the spotlight. Sure there are some awesome Goddesses, but the Big Three are all men. For that reason, I appreciate the fact that the author of this storybook thought it was necessary to highlight some various women in Greek mythology, specifically the Greek stories surrounding the stars. I also liked that the storybook was laid out as an anthology. Each part of the storybook was distinct, yet still pertaining to the topic of women in constellations --a compilation rather than a cohesive story. This sort of setup helped keep me interested, without any one part dragging on for too long.

Tragically Ever After | The last storybook I chose was Tragically Ever After. This storybook explores what happened after the end of our favorite fairy tales. For example, after Sleeping Beauty, rather than going on to live a happy life with the prince who awoke her from her slumber, the fairy who cursed her to begin with cursed her whole family to die one by one. I like that this storybook took popular stories and added a cruel twist to the end. The fact that I was already familiar with the stories also made it easier to follow why the author of the storybook wrote the twisted endings in those ways. It was like reading the Grimm Brothers fairy tales, but grimmer (more grim?).

My Favorite Place: Giant's Causeway, Northern Ireland

When I was asked what my favorite place was, it was not hard to choose. I instantly thought of my trip to Ireland and England when I had just graduated high school and went from there.

Giant's Causeway, Northern Ireland | In the Summer of 2015, I went on a trip with my mother and younger sister to see parts of Ireland, Northern Ireland, and England. We stayed in Dublin, Ireland and London, England, but we made a special trip up into Northern Ireland for a day on a bright green tour bus. 

Cliffs of Moher - Paddywagon Tour 

Bus in Parking Area by Joseph Mischyshyn

I will readily admit that riding in this thing was mortifying. Nothing screams tourist louder than riding in a green bus with a leprechaun on the side. Once I collected myself, however, the trip was quite exciting. We visited four different places: Carrick-a-Rede Bridge, Giant's Causeway, the Dark Hedges, and Belfast.

While the scenery from Carrick-a-Rede Bridge was breathtaking, the perfect rows of trees at the Dark Hedges thought-provoking, and the bustling streets of Belfast energizing, it was the unique sight at the Giant's Causeway that stuck with me. This area is quite famous for its hexagonal basalt columns. They were formed from an erupted volcano, but the people of the past have a different story.

Nature Sea Stone Giant's Causeway by Franz

There once was an Irish giant named Finn McCool. In his prime, he built what is now called the Giant's Causeway which used to be a bridge that connected Scotland and Ireland. He was simply tossing rocks into the sea one day when he noticed how well they stack. From there, he kept throwing the rocks until a bridge was formed. On the other side of that bridge was his sworn enemy Benandonner who was intent on taking over Ireland and stealing Finn McCool's power. Before this bridge was formed, however, Finn McCool had never even seen Benandonner. Now that he had gone to challenge him, he realized that Benandonner was much larger than himself. He knew he could never win in a fight, so he made a plan to take down Benandonner in a way that wouldn't require him to fight him at all. 

Finn McCool returned to Ireland and waited for Benandonner to find the bridge himself and cross it. When Benandonner did go across the Giant's Causeway he saw Finn McCool's wife tending to a giant baby. In reality, this giant baby was Finn McCool dressed as a baby, but Benandonner did not know any better. He assumed that since this giant baby was so massive, his giant father must be even larger. Terrified by the thought of a giant larger than himself, Benandonner ran back across the bridge to Scotland, tearing it down as he went. This would prevent the massive giant from ever making it across to challenge Benandonner. Of course, this massive giant did not exist, and now Ireland was safe from the wrath of Benandonner. 

Giants Causeway by Amanda Slater

It is an interesting tale. Of course, it doesn't seem to be plausible, but it is quite creative. Scotland also has some remains of the bridge, or some hexagonal basalt columns, thus the story appears to have some merit. Science, however, shows that the true origins of the columns is merely volcanic activity. 

Can you see why this stuck with me? Not only was the Giant's Causeway beautiful, with strong gusts of wind and crashing waves, but it also has a famous legend. It is my favorite place for these reasons. I even brought home some seashells from the Giant's Causeway as a souvenir of my time there. If I could, I would love to go back in the future.




Legend source: Wilderness Ireland 

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