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