Reading Notes: Public Domain Ramayana, Part D

The Monkey Army Crossing the River. Source

Public Domain Ramayana, link to the reading online.

• Hanuman jumped to Lanka using superpowers when Rama and the monkey army needs to cross the water
• Ravana has powers of illusion (as previously mentioned)
• Ravana tries to cause Sita to despair
• Garuda comes to heal Rama's army
• Kumbhakarna is one of Ravana's greatest warriors, also his brother
• Kumbhakarna is a giant that hibernates for 6 months then wakes to eat everything
• Ravana tries to convince Sita that Rama is dead
• Lakshmana slays Ravana's son, Indrajit
• Ravana, riding his chariot, almost kills Lakshmana
• The gods are watching the battle between Rama and Ravana
• Agastya comes to give Rama some advice on how to win
• Rama defeats Ravana by using the Brahma-weapon
• Sita calls the fire-god, Agni, to witness her fidelity to Rama
• Rama now how the flying Pushpaka chariot that used to be Ravana's
• Rama and Sita fly back to Ayodhya in the chariot
• Rama returned just in time (before the end of the 14 year exile)
• If Rama did not return in time, Bharata would kill himself
• Rama becomes the king 14 years after his dad's death, King Dasharatha
• Rama sends Sita into exile
• When Lakshmana is taken into heaven, Rama departs as well
• Rama becomes Vishnu again

Reading Notes: Public Domain Ramayana, Part C

Rama in the Wilderness in his Cave. Source 

Public Domain Ramayana, link to the reading online.

• Sugriva is a monkey-king that is in exile
• Hanuman is the monkey god
• Hanuman will be Rama's most devoted follower
• Sugriva asks Rama to confrom Vali in battle after Vali fights an enemy (demon)
• Rama ambushed Vali
• This ambush is dishonorable and something that many people question because it seems kind of a coward way to approach it, Rama's Confession
• Sugriva becomes the king
• Sugriva will help Rama find Sita
• Since Rama is exiled, he cannot enter the city, therefore he has to wait in the outskirts in the wilderness
• Sugriva was not doing anything about finding Sita so Rama sends Lakshmana to remind him
• Sugriva then sends 4 armies of monkeys to find Sita (not sure why he originally postponed searching for her)
• Jatayu,the bird, has a brother named Sampati
• Sampati's wings are burned so he cannot fly, flew too close to the sun
• Sita was not with Ravana
• Hanuman finds Sita in a grove of ashoka trees where rakshasis are guarding her
• Ravana tries to get Sita to marry him
• Ravana's son, Indrajit, captures Hanuman
• Ravana sets Hanuman's tail on fire, which was a bad decision
• Ravana's advisors want to go to war with Rama
• Vibhishana, Ravana's younger brother, opposes the war and suggests to return Sita to Rama
• Vibhishana leaves to join Rama

Feedback Thoughts by Ryan McElyea

Criticism can be Harsh but Beneficial. Source: tiny buddha

 Overcoming the Fear of Feedback

I think this is something that I can really relate to. I remember early on in my college education I would always be scared when there were comments or something from the professor that pointed out the flaws or mistakes in my paper. It made me feel sad that I missed some of the stuff and made me really anxious. During my first internship after sophomore year, I realized that the people giving you feedback have more experience in the subject than you and they are trying to help you grow. So even though it may be scary to get this feedback especially if it is negative, but they only do it to better you in the future. It is more helpful to receive feedback than nothing at all.

Be a Mirror: Give Readers Feedback That Fosters a Growth Mindset

I like this article because it is similar to the "put yourself in the other person's shoes" quote. It is important to give feedback that is not harsh even though it is negative. There is no need to talk down on someone when giving feedback. It is important to just address the topics or themes that they may have missed in their work and maybe give an example on how they can improve. It is important to leave tips that encourage a growing mindset as the title implies.

7 Key Characteristics of Better Learning Feedback

I like the characteristics that this article gives for leaving feedback. The 7 characteristics mentioned are: goal-referenced, transparent, actionable, user-friendly, timely, ongoing, and consistent. Goal-referenced is feedback that can help them achieve a goal or action. Transparent is just information on what topics may have been missed or misrepresented in the work. Actionable means that there must be a way to fix it, maybe offer suggestions.  User-friendly is give it in terms that they can understand and don't use jargon the receiver may not know. Timely is give the feedback where there is still time for them to revise it instead of waiting until the last minute. Ongoing means that the encouragement for growth does not stop after just one time. Consistent is not changing the way that you give feedback or say something one time and something completely different the next.

5 Tips For Taking Feedback Like a Champ

I really like the tips that this article includes in regards to receiving feedback. The first tip is "realize that feeling uncomfortable is healthy, normal, and part of the growth process." I completely agree with this because I know exactly what this uncomfortable moment  feels like, but once you realize that it is towards your growth, it is much better. "Having growth areas is a good thing" is another topic and I believe this is true as well. There is no way that you can be an expert in every subject so there is always room to grow. Overall, just realizing that feedback benefits your growth is something that can lead the uncomfortable experience into a rewarding one.

Week 2 Story Planning: Ramayana PDE

Cultural Silhouette. Source 

Public Domain Ramayana, link to the reading online.

Characters:

Rama

• Son of King Dasaratha and Queen Kausalya
• Prince of Ayodya
• Vishnu as a human avatar
• Married to Sita

Sita

• King Janak is her father
• Married to Rama
• Lakshmi, goddess avatar, Vishnu's consort

Ravana

• Rakshasa cannot be killy by a god

Lakshmana

• Rama's brother
• Married to Sita's younger sister, Urmila

King Dasaratha

• King of Ayodhya
• Well liked king

Viswamitra

• A sage
• Wise man
• Was once a king
• Gained powers through meditation
• Takes Rama to defeat a demon and lift the bow of Siva

Ganga

• Goddess
• Daughter of Himavan
• Siva brought her to earth and she became the river Ganges

Siva

• Able to tame the powers of the other gods
• Married to Parvati

Lava

• One of the sons of Rama, but does not know

Kusha

• One of the sons of Rama, but does not know

Vasishta

• Offers King Dasaratha advice

Rishyaringa

• Great rishi
• Presided over the sacrifice that King Dasaratha offers to get a son
• Combination of deer and man

Tataka

• Beautiful woman transformed into demon when she tried to seduce Agastya
• Drinks blood of living creatures and kills everything
• Rama slays her and breaks her curse

Kaikeyi

• King Dasaratha's third and youngest wife
• Saved King Dasaratha's life in battle and he said he will do anything she asks

Sumitra

• Second wife of Dasaratha
• Mother of Lakshmana and Shatrughna

Kausalya

• First wife of Dasaratha, however they do not have a close relationship

Manthara

• Asks King Dasaratha to exile Rama nd crown Bharata as king

Guha

• King of the hunters
• Loyal to Rama

Bharata

• Son of King Dasaratha

Shatrughna

• Lakshmana's twin
• Follows Bharata everywhere

Sumantra

• Chief counselor of Dasaratha
• Brings Rama into exile

Surpanakha

• Ravana's sister
• Attempts to seduce Rama and kill Sita

Maricha

• Ravana's uncle
• Rama defeated him with a magic weapon

Khara

• Ravana's cousin
• Likes to kill rishis
• Rules an area near a forest

Jatayu

• Golden eagle
• Speaks like a human
• Loyal to King Dasaratha
• Pledges service to Rama
• Dies defending Sita from Ravana

Kabandha

• Bad rakshasa
• Has no legs or head

Sugriva

• king of the vanaras (magical monkeys)

Hanuman

• Advisor to Sugriva
• Son of the win god Vayu

Vibheeshana

• Ravana's younger brother
• Joins Rama's army

Sampati

• Golden eagle
• Jatayu's brother
• Wings burned when he flew too close to the sun

Jambavan

• King of Riksharaj (magical bears)
• Ally of Sugriva and Rama

Indrajit

• Ravana's favorite son
• captured Indra, the king of the gods

Kumbhakarna

• Ravana's brother
• Giant with infinite strength
• Sleeps for six months at a time before waking up and eating everything

Agastya

• Blesses Rama

I am planning on using a lot of the main characters to make a full on war style story. Rama and his allies and friends will be on one side and a lot of Ravana will be on the other side. I will probably cut a lot of these characters down but I wanted to list them all out and see what they could offer to either side.

Reading Notes: Public Domain Ramayana, Part B

When Viradha abducted Sita and battling Rama and Lakshmana. Source

Public Domain Ramayana, link to the reading online.

• Bharata has no idea his father, Dasharatha died or that Rama was exiled
• Bharata wants to look for Rama
• Before Bharata can look for Rama, he must perform funeral rites for his father
• Bharata finds Rama in Chitrakuta
• Neither Rama or Bharata want to return to Ayodhya
• Rama gives Bharata his sandals to represent his absence
• Rama and Lakshmana battle a demon in the forest that abducted Sita
• Viradha, the demon, cannot be wounded by any sharp weapon
• The demon's real name is Tumburu and an ancient curse connects him to Rama
• Rama meets a sage named Agastya, one of the most famous of the Indian rishis
• Ravana's sister falls in love with Rama
• Rama obviously does not feel the same way about her because he is with Sita
• Rama suggests that she try to seduce his brother
• Ravana seeks Maricha's help to abduct Sita
• Sita is enchanted by a golden deer
• The golden deer is able to imitate Rama's voice
• Rakshasas have the ability to change their shapes
• Ravana disguses himself as a sage of the forst in order to get close to Sita when Rama and Lakshmana left her alone
• Jatayu, the mighty bird, does battle with Ravana because he tries to save Sita
• Ravana carries Sita into the sky and while being carried, Sita drops her jewelry in hopes that Rama will find it and he can track her down  
• Brahma is happy to see that his plan to destroy Ravana is going to play through Rama
• Ravana forces Sita to go with him to Lanka
• Brahma put a curse on Ravana so that he cannot rape Sita, this means that he tries to seduce her and she refuses to sleep with him
• Rama and Lakshmana find out what happened to Sita from Jatayu
• Rama and Lakshmana run into a woman named Shabari who has been waiting for them
• She said that holy men told her long ago that Rama would come to her
• The woman is caught in a time wrap
• Now that Shabari's destiny was complete, she asked Rama to perform her funeral rites

I definitely feel like this reading was a lot more dense than the part A but it definitely did have a lot more action. Part A was more focused on character and setting development.

Reading Notes: Public Domain Ramayana, Part A

Rama and Lakshmana battle the rakshasas. Source

Public Domain Ramayana, link to the reading online.

King Dasharatha

• Ruler of the Koshala kingdom
• Lives in Ayodhya
• Mighty and powerful
• Heart full of sorrow because no son had been born to him be either of his 3 queens.
• Conducts a horse sacrifice to obtain offspring
• His chief wife, Kaushalya, plays a leading role
• Gods promise him four sons.

King Janaka

• king of the Videha kingdom
• Lives in Mithilia
• For someone to marry his daughter, the suitor must bend the bow of the god Shiva

Story

• City of Ayodhya is the capital of Koshala
• Ayodhya was full of prosperous and happy people
• Reading about what the actual horse sacrifice is super strange
• The horse gets puts in fancy jewels and gets killed for sacrifice (sacred scimitar)
• Dasharatha needs to defeat Ravana, the King of the Rakshasas
• The god Vishnu comes to help but Ravana cannot be defeated by gods therefore Vishnu is born on earth as Rama, the son of Dasharatha
• Rama and his brother Lakshmana go with Vishvamitra to fight demons
• Rama receives supernatural weapons as rewards after then fight
• Sagar Island is where the goddess Ganga (the river Ganges) descended
• Gautama cursed Indra and Ahalya for being disguised as him and seducing Ahalya
• Rama falls in love with Sita (heavenly and eternal love)
• Sita, Janaka family, is an avatar of the goddess Lakshmi, Vishnu's consort
• Rama wins Janaka's challenge and gets to marry Sita
• Lakshmana, Bharata, and Shatrughna find wives from the Janaka family
• Dasharatha must decide which son will be the heir
• Kaikeyi demands that Dasharatah sends RAma into exhile while making Bharata his heir
• Rama always obeys his father without question
• Sita and Lakshmana want to accompany Rama into exile
• 14 years of exile in forest
• As Dassharatha dies, he remembers an accident when he was cursed to lose a son
• None of his sons are present at the time of his death
• Rama and Lakshmana have gone into exile
• Bharata and Shatrugna are away in the kingdom of Ashwapata

Ryan McElyea's Growth Mindset

Clear differences between a fixed mindset and growth mindset.

 Source: Growth Hackers

I have never heard of Carol Dweck before until this class but I seemed to completely agree with the videos posted on the website. For myself, I have always continued to strive for always wanting to improve. Of course it is disappointing when you put a lot of time and effort into something and it is not perceived the way that you imagined it would. I will be graduating this May with a degree in engineering and I realize that I will need to constantly have the capability to learn. The world around us is constantly changing and if I am not able to adapt then I feel like I would fail. I think it is also important being able to make connections among different topics or areas of expertise to continue improving your knowledge. A lot of what I have learned about being able to adapt and grow have been gained through my Engineering Leadership class, Engineering Professional Development class, and through my two internships. I am interested in learning more about the growth mindset and the mind itself. I am actually also enrolled in a psychology class this semester so I am looking forward to that as well. I feel as if I already have a lot of the skills required to continuously grow and be successful but they can always be improved. I plan on being proactive this semester to continue growth on my mindset.

Time Strategies for Ryan McElyea

Steps for Effective Time Management. Source: Wanderlust Worker

Time management is something that I believe needs to be solidified to be successful. I am also in an Engineering Leadership and Management course this semester and essentially the key to being able to manage others is to be able to manage yourself first. Some of the articles we have read in the class so far regard managing your energy since you cannot extend the hours in the day. This is done by focusing on tasks for 90-120 minutes and then taking a short break instead of having distractions while working. This method can save up to 25% of wasted time. One thing that usually gets me focused is having a reward or something for when I finish a task. For example, once I finish my homework I can play this video game or something similar. The article that I enjoyed was "How to Beat Procrastination" by the Harvard Business Review found here. This semester is my last semester and I am already starting to feel the "senioritis" kick in. I believe it is just going to be important for me to be on top of all my tasks with everything else going on such as my capstone project and job search.

Ryan McElyea's Reading Options

Crossing the River. Pahari Paintings.

Source: Pinterest

I am planning to read the Public Domain Edition of Ramayana in week 2. The main deciding factors were that I wanted some of the old language style present to get kind of an idea of the actual stories as they were meant to be read. I also did like that there was the online PDF version of this where I could read it in the comfort of my home. In addition, there is the audio version from Laura Gibbs’ Soundcloud links that is incredibly helpful to hear you pronunciate some of the words that I would completely butcher. I chose the image that I did because I felt like I have seen it somewhere on the internet before and a simple “Indian Art” search on Pinterest showed it about 20 images down in the list. The image just seems almost what I expect from the culture and it is interesting to look at and kind of observe what is going on.

My background about both epic literature and Indian culture is very limited. The only background in epic literature would be The Odyssey from Homer. This is a book that we studied quite a bit in high school English class and it was definitely something that I did enjoy. I have never taken a specific course in mythology but I do know some of the Greek and Roman mythology and some of it kind of ties into astronomy, which is what I have an interest in. At my apartment, here in Norman, I live with three Asians so I would say we have somewhat of an Asian home but by no means would I say it is a traditional heritage living space. I have never been to India but I remember always being fascinated by the Taj Mahal and it seemed like I always did my project in high school on that topic. I just love the beauty of the structure itself and kind of the story behind it. Images make it almost look fake because of how pristine it appears.

Ryan McElyea's Storybook Favorites

Hanuman slab at the Swing Pavilion in the Veerabhadra Temple

By Premnath Thirumalaisamy. Source: Flickr

Temple of Doom

The first story that I chose was titled Temple of Doom and I originally clicked on it because it sounded like an Indiana Jones type of story. The story is a click through Indian epic adventure that seemed to have a somewhat slow start until the end of the first section. The story seemed to introduce the characters and everything but it seemed almost as it was missing some information in regards to the story itself. Another thing that was somewhat strange but interesting to me is the name of the sections. For example, one of the sections is “Out of the Frying Pan,” and it was surprising to see that type of title on an Indian epic for me. I feel like this story also had a decent inclusion of some of the background history of Indian culture.

Tales of Temples

I feel like I got click-baited once again by a title for a story that seemed like it would be action-packed but it was pretty much the polar opposite. This tale went more through the history and culture of the India temples that seem to be an important part of Indian culture. The specific temples mentioned throughout the tale had references to Hindu, which seems like a huge allusion to the Indian culture, as we know it. So even though it was not the action-packed adventure that I was looking for, it offered a great deal of historical reference that seemed to keep me interested.

Campfire Animal Tales

This story really caught my attention with the theme and the images that were used throughout. The story talks about camping, which is something that I love doing and spending time outdoors. Another interesting thing that the story talks about is “Indian Palm Squirrels” and it’s just kind of funny because the University of Oklahoma has so many squirrels as well and it actually even has a reference to it in the tale. 

Ryan McElyea's Introduction

This is a picture of my puppy, Oakley. Taken by myself.

Hello, my name is Ryan McElyea. I am currently a senior, aerospace engineering student. I am hopefully graduating this May! I have had two internships over the last two summers. My first internship was in Windsor Locks, Connecticut where I worked for United Technologies Aerospace Systems. The second internship was this previous summer in Wichita, Kansas for Textron Aviation. Both of them were great experiences and made me realize that aerospace engineering was truly a good choice for me. I am extremely hopeful that I will be able to start a full-time job somewhere this summer. I have a puppy named Oakley. He is a German Shepherd and Border Collie mix. He is currently just over a year old. He is terrified of everything (so much for German Shepherds being protective), but he is extremely sweet. A little bit about myself and what I like to do. I am an Eagle Scout and love to do anything outdoors. I mostly enjoy hiking, camping, and backpacking. I enjoy going paint-balling and snowboard but I rarely do either of those two. I play video games on my computer and sometimes of my Wii-U. I enjoy almost any type of music except country to be honest, which is somewhat weird since I am from Oklahoma. My favorite type of food is Mexican food. I could honestly eat it every day. My very first job was at a Mexican restaurant and I could eat the food every shift that I worked and never get tired of it. My favorite TV shows are House of Cards, The 100, Orphan Black, and Orange is the New Black. I was born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma and have lived within the state my entire life with the exception of my internships. One fun fact, even though it is not so fun, is that I have never seen the ocean. I am extremely looking forward to this course!

Week 1 Story - The Hardest Time of My Life

An Image of a Struggling Student Her Campus

A was the grade,

that I wanted in the course,

B was Billy,

the kid that never showed up to the lectures,

C was the Class,

that always happened on every day of the week,

D was the Dean,

that made sure that the course was impossible to pass,

E was the Effort,

that I always put into the class to do my best,

F was the Failure,

that I would not be able to accept,

G was the Grades,

that would determine the outcome of the letter score,

H was the Holiday,

in the middle of the semester,

I was the Impact,

that this grade would have on my life,

J was the Jokester,

that sat in the back of the classroom,

K was the Kids,

that cried after the first exam,

L was the Letter,

that I needed to be an A,

M was the Music,

that I listened to while I studied,

N was the Nights,

that I did not get any sleep at all,

O was the Obsession,

that was driving me to do my best,

P was the Parties,

that I had to skip to not fall behind,

Q was the Quiet,

that I needed to hear while I tested,

R was the Retest,

that could make the difference in my grade,

S was the Studying,

that drove me crazy all year long,

T was the Test,

that I managed to do the best in the class on,

U was the Uneasiness,

that I experienced throughout the whole semester,

V was the Vision,

that I had to be the best,

W was the Wisdom,

that I obtained from the semester long course,

X was the Xylitol,

that kept me going on the long nights,

Y was the Yield,

that the end of the semester held,

Z was the Zero,

that I got on the final exam,

And that was how I failed 1st grade.

Author's Note. The original story goes through the alphabet where every sentence starts with the next letter in the alphabet all the way from a to z. I took the idea of the story formatting and turned it into a story about a specific topic. The topic was a class that was taken in school.

Bibliography. "A was an archer" from The Nursery Rhyme Book by Andrew Lang. Web Source.

My Favorite Place: Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum

The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. Photo by Dane Penland

Source: WarbirdsNews

One of my favorite places to visit is the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum. This specific facility, that is shown in the image, is in Chantilly, VA. This location is about 30 minutes west of Washington D.C., so there are also many more activities and things to see in the surrounding area. I am an aerospace engineering major and love anything that has to do with aviation or space. This museum has hundreds of air and spacecraft within its 760,000 square foot building. There are a lot of famous aircraft that are stored here. One of the most popular attractions is the Discovery Space Shuttle. There is also the SR-71 Blackbird, the Concord Supersonic Passenger Jet, and the new F-35 Lightning. The facility has some of the most historical aircraft and shows the transitions into modern aviation. There is also an IMAX movie theater as well that plays brand new movies.

Comment Wall

Hello! I'm Ryan McElyea.

My Test Post!

This is my test post and me trying out some formatting