Feedback Strategies: Or Should I Say Feedforward?

I like helping people out a lot, so if someone asks me for feedback or an honest opinion on something, I'm happy to give it to them! However, if I want to comment on something but the person did not ask me for feedback exactly, sometimes I get nervous because I do not want to offend them. I spend a lot of time thinking about how to word a message so that they understand my point as well as take it seriously and casually instead of offensively. 

One of the articles I read was Preschoolers and Praise. I liked how it talked about saying things like "Good job on _____" instead of just "Good job." I think that is important because it will make the kids feel better about what they did. If you always say "good job" to someone, I feel like they might notice that it is very repetitive and they might not think those words are important anymore. However, if they can tell that you are really invested in what they're doing and that you notice the small things, I think they will be more likely to keep doing it in the future or do different things and see if their achievement is rewarded.

The second article I read was Try Feedforward Instead of Feedback. I really liked the study they did, where they asked participants to tell a random person what they would like to change about themselves and then the other person had to give them suggestions or ideas. I think it's a great way to give ideas on how to improve, especially since everyone will be honest with each other and (hopefully) not judge one another. I especially loved how at one point it said "We can change the future. We can't change the past." It's a great quote in my opinion, because a lot of times we focus on the past and regrets, when we should be focusing on the present and on the future.

Source: Because this is what everyone will be getting on their stories soon :-)

Week 3 Story; The One At Hogwarts

***Find the whole and revised version of the story in my portfolio here***

Albus Dumbledore learned of Parvati and Padma Patil, the twins who had great potential to learn to use their magical powers at Hogwarts. He felt it necessary to go straight to their palace in India to persuade their father, the king, to let them come with him. He had also heard of the stories of Lord Brahma and his creations, Lord Shiva and his wife Parvati, and Lord Vishnu and his wife Lakshmi (who is also referred to as Padma, which means lotus). When he learned there was a set of twins named Parvati and Padma, he knew there was something special going on. So, he began his journey through the Forbidden Forest and the huge lake that stood between Hogwarts and the King's palace. When he got to the palace, King Daksha Patil was surprised to see Professor Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, standing before him. Nevertheless, he greeted him gracefully and pondered what the meaning of this meeting was.

"Professor, I am rather intrigued by your visit. What can I do for you?"

"I want your daughters, Parvati and Padma, to come with me to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. They have great powers that will be able to help me journey back to the school as well as help others once they arrive at the school, which is guarded by monstrous creatures."

Dumbledore was so straightforward with his answer and King Daksha was so surprised at it that he almost fell out of his throne.

"Excuse me-- you want what?"

"Your daughters have a great potential for magic; I have been able to sense their powers and ask your permission to let them come with me and allow them to explore this world they are attracted to."

"But they're just children! At only eleven years old, how will they go away and live without their family in an unknown land?! I'll send anyone else with you, anyone. My eldest nephews and nieces would probably be more than happy to accompany you."

At this, Dumbledore argued, "If you cannot send Parvati and Padma, I don't want anybody. I'll go back alone."

Dumbledore was rather upset, but he could see that he could not get Daksha to change his mind so easily. He began to retreat from the palace. Meanwhile, Parvati and Padma had been upstairs in their room, but they happened to hear everything. They quickly came running down.

"Professor! Please wait!" they cried out. "Father, Father! Please let us go join this man! He seems very knowledgeable and we can learn so much about these powers we have been wondering about!" 

After several minutes of begging and negotiating, King Daksha realized he could never deny his daughters the opportunity to grow. He finally agreed.

Dumbledore and the Patil sisters were all very excited for their journey, although Parvati and Padma had no idea what was to come or what they were capable of. 

They began their journey through the lake that Dumbledore had crossed earlier. While the twins were busy steering the boat in the direction Dumbledore had indicated, the professor exclaimed, "Oh, treacherous waters! How full of life they used to be, now stained with the darkness and evil that lives within!" 

At this, the twin sisters were a bit confused. "What is so special about these waters?" Parvati asked. "What do you mean by fulfilled by the good and the evil?" asked Padma.

Dumbledore had his story ready. "Well, long ago, there was a wizard called Lord Voldemort that seized rule over these waters. He convinced all the half-mermaid, half-human (merpeople, as I like to call them) inhabitants in the lake that his rule would bring them more wealth, so of course they followed him. He killed everyone in the surrounding villages until there was only one boy left. When he attempted to kill the last remaining human alive, he somehow failed and the boy's unknown power repelled the evil Lord. The merpeople, still loyal to Lord Voldemort, have now taken over parts of the lake and its inhabitants and eat anyone that swims in the water. Some parts of the lake are so bad that even touching the water can poison travelers. After this incident, I had a dream in which I heard a prophecy which stated that the boy would never grow up to realize his powers and get rid of the merpeople and their evil deeds, but only his children could defeat the merpeople once and for all. That boy grew up to be your father, and you two girls are the only people who can touch these waters without being poisoned."

After hearing this, Parvati and Padma were indeed stunned, but were able to pick up the courage to ask Dumbledore how they could help. Just as they asked, the merpeople swam to the surface of the lake and were about to attack their boat when Parvati and Padma both threw out her hands as if defending themselves. Bolts of piercing light came out of their hands and hit the merpeople straight in the chest. The sisters stared at their hands, mesmerized but also terrified, waiting for Dumbledore to say something.

"Ah, finally! Oh wondrous children! You have finally given the animals in the lake and the people around it hope and life! Bless you, bless you both. Now, as we are almost to land, we will walk through the Forbidden Forest until we arrive at Hogwarts. More stories to come along the way!"

Source: An animated version of Parvati and Padma.

Bibliography: Narayan's Ramayana, p. 1-53.

Author's Note:
This story is the one about Vishwamitra. He goes to King Dasharatha and asks if Rama can come with him. Dasharatha is reluctant at first and tells Vishwamitra that Rama will not go anywhere without his brother Lakshmana. Vishwamitra states that he will look after both sons, as long as Rama is there. He goes on with the journey and along the way, tells them the story of Thataka, Ganga, and Ahalya along the way. He also takes him to Janaka's palace where Ram breaks Shiva's bow and marries Sita (which I have not gotten to yet). I decided to place this story in India and Hogwarts (connecting the two with only a lake and a forest). I replaced King Dasharatha with King Daksha (which is Sati's father; Sati is another name for Parvati), Vishwamitra with Albus Dumbledore because they were both mentor-like characters, and Ram and Lakshman with Parvati and Padma. When I was writing about Lord Voldemort and the merpeople, I was thinking about the Goblet of Fire, where the merpeople are in the lake in one of the tournament challenges. I replaced the Death Eaters with the merpeople because it made more sense with the story of the lake. 

Reading Notes: R. K. Narayan's Ramayana: Part B

Rama's Exile and Bharata
I really liked how much everyone supports Rama; they were all willing to go live in the forest with him and I thought that was super special! I also admire Bharata's humble character; he really hoped Rama would be king and is even staying out of Ayodhya until Rama comes back. I was hoping they would all revolt and through Kaikeyi out or something, but they are all good people so that did not happen :-) like I said in my last reading notes, I might go with my Lion King theme, where I would have Rama replace Simba and go out into the forest for years and have all the other "lions" be upset and be under the whole of someone they don't want. I could put a twist on it and make Bharata take the place of Scar, so in that case he would be an evil person instead of a loving, humble one. 

In the Forest
I liked all the different people that Ram, Lakshman, and Sita met along their journey. I could replace some of them with Hanuman, Timon, and Pumbaa to reiterate the Lion King theme. I could them tell stories of how they got there and other things that come later in the reading. I think this would be a great story because there are many characters in the Ramayan, so I could combine all my story ideas and have Nagini from the Harry Potter series come in. I could also have characters from Doctor Who come in and be rakshasas that Ram defeats. Soorpanaka's character could be replaced by a rakshasa or even Nagini if I decide to make her an evil character in the series. Or this could be where Nagini comes in and Ram convinces her to be his companion instead of Lord Voldemort's (just like Dumbledore convinced Snape to be on his side rather than a Death Eater). Just some ideas I'm throwing out there.

Soorpanaka and Ravana
There is a lot that goes on in this part of the Ramayana. Ravana comes up with an elaborate plan to capture Sita, although she clearly is not interested in him. There are many stories like this one, so it might not be too hard to come up with a story plot for this part. If I do combine Doctor Who and Lion King, I could have the Doctor chase some of the rakshasas that got away from him last time, and they all end up in the forest. When Ram and Lakshman get tricked by Mareecha and Ravana takes Sita, the Doctor could even help in bringing her back, while Ram and Lakshman can help the Doctor defeat the alien rakshasas in return.

Bibliography: Narayan's Ramayana, Part B.

Source: Ram killing the golden deer, who is actually Mareecha in disguise.

Reading Notes: R. K. Narayan's Ramayana, Part A

As I was reading the beginning of the Ramayana, I was very intrigued because there were many stories which I haven't heard before and many that I have, but not in such detail. Here are some of the thoughts/questions I had about some of the stories in Reading A:

Vishvamitra
I really liked this idea of a mentor, kind of guiding Rama and Lakshmana through the forests and cities. He allowed Rama to obtain and realize his full potential as a leader, which was really neat. I could write this in many ways, because there are many stories in which a mentor guides a student. For example, Professor Dumbledore guides Harry Potter in many ways. In my version, he could guide the Patil sisters. Also, Oogway and Shifu were both great mentors in Kung Fu Panda, which is another setting I could use. Lastly, if I went along with my Lion King story theme, I could use Rafiki as the mentor (sage Vishvamitra) and Simba as the mentee (Rama). 

Ganga
I had actually never heard the story of how the river Ganga came to be, so I thought this story was really interesting. The Horse Sacrifice was something new to read about, and I wasn't sure where the story was going until it mentioned Ganga coming down and cleansing the bodies of the people that died trying to find the horse. It was weird reading how Ganga and Shiva were making Bhagiratha go back and forth, but it was even more interesting to see his determination of praying to the gods for thousands of years for the salvation of his ancestors. I also found it interesting that all the holes Sakara's sons dug up to find the horse became "the oceans of today." I'm not sure if I will rewrite this story, because I can't think of a more interesting way to write this; or at least, I think I could write more about other stories than this one. 

Ahalya
I don't usually see gods in an evil light, so when Indra is shown in such a negative way, I was really surprised! I had never heard of his infatuation with Ahalya and what he did to try to receive her love back. I do think it was a little harsh of Sage Gautama to punish her to become a stone for years, though, because she was not aware that Indra had taken her husband's place. This was a fairly short story, but there are still many stories about unrequited love that I could replace the three main characters with.

Sita
I loved the part where Sita and Rama first meet. It was simply adorable and the typical "love at first sight" scene. I could actually picture it in my head. I don't think I could write stories about this one, it's too historical to change :-)

Ram's Exile
I was so upset when reading about Kooni and how she manipulated Kaikeyi to be harsh towards Dasharatha and Rama. Kaikeyi was actually happy to see Rama become the next King, until Kooni told her she was being absurd. Kooni is the one that brought up how Kaikeyi still had two boons, and told her exactly what she should demand. I don't think Kooni had any right saying those things and disrupting a perfectly happy Kaikeyi and her family. I was also surprised about how quickly Kaikeyi changed her views and immediately became so cruel towards Dasharatha and Rama, so I wonder if she actually had the same thoughts as Kooni but did not realize them until they were brought up. I could go with my Lion King theme again here, and replace Dasharatha with Mufasa, Rama with Simba, Kaikeyi with Scar, and Kooni with the hyenas that assist Scar. I'm not sure who would play Bharata, so I might have to add in a character for Scar's son.

Bibliography: Narayan's Ramayana, Part A.

Source: Rama breaking Shiva's bow, which gained him Sita's hand in marriage.

Tech Tip: Announcements Email

I really like reading the announcements because it reminds me of stuff that I should be doing and it helps me make sure I don't forget anything! There are interesting videos and tweets on there every week so it's fun to read through those. Sometimes I miss the announcements because I don't look at the home page of the class often; I go straight to modules or the Blog Stream. So I like that there is an option to subscribe to emails. I love listening to Hindi music so I plan on embedding some YouTube videos or Soundcloud audio into my blog at some point in the semester :)

Feedback Thoughts!

I actually like receiving feedback on my work, whether it be on my writing or on my duties as an Exec member of my organizations. I like knowing HOW I am doing in my work. If I am not doing what I need to be doing, or if I can make what I'm doing better, I'll embrace any feedback coming my way! The only thing that bothers me is when people give negative feedback instead of constructive feedback. If people type something out that comes off as rude, I often get a little upset, but try to fix the issue anyway. However, if people use words like "hey maybe this will work better!" or "hey that looks good but try this!" I don't mind at all - in fact, I love it.

Source: My only request when it comes to giving feedback. (kind of a biochemistry related pun, but it applies)

One of the articles I read was The Psychology of Comparison and How to Stop. I liked this article because I tend to compare myself to others all the time! I often used to compare myself to my sister, who is 6 years older than me. If she made an A in a certain course, and I was struggling in it, I would wonder why! I wouldn't want to disappoint my parents by making less than what she had made. However, I soon realized that although my sister and I may look exactly alike, our personalities and brains are definitely different. Now, I find myself comparing myself to others who are also studying for the MCAT with me. Some of my friends are ahead of studying than me, and I keep doubting my abilities. However, I sometimes need to step back and realize we have different study habits and way of learning things, so I should just keep my head in the game and "be a racehorse" (as the article says) and not focus on how others are doing, because that will only bring me down. 

The second article I read was 6 Bad Mental Habits That Sabotage Your Success. This article was also helpful by putting things in perspective for me. I definitely doubt by abilities all the time, especially if I don't do as well on a test as I would like, or if I am struggling in a class even though I do all my work and study a lot. Everyone has their weaknesses and strengths, though, so I shouldn't berate myself for my weaknesses; rather, I should learn how to make those into strengths. I also second-guess myself on many things, which I know I shouldn't do, but I can't help it! I naturally worry about a lot of things, including my choices and if I made the right decision. I think I have recently gotten a little more confident in myself, but I still need to work on it.

Topic Brainstorm!

At first, I thought brainstorming for ideas was going to be really difficult, since it is only week 2 and we haven't read all the stories yet. However, I looked through the Project Ideas Index and found so many options! All at once, different ideas came flooding to me. 

#1) One of the listings on the page was Supernatural Characters of the Ramayana. My mind immediately went to Doctor Who. It is so intriguing to learn about supernatural creatures so I looked at some of the stories listed on the page. They mentioned rakshasas, which I am a little familiar with only because I know Ravana is considered a bad demon. However, I do not know much about the other rakshasas, especially the female ones. I would like to learn more about these creatures and how they are involved in the Ramayana. I like this past story, called Ravana Diaries, because it gives Ravana a voice and we finally get to see the situation from his point of view. I have a few ideas for this story, but I'm not sure which will write better yet. One of my ideas is writing it in first person, where I am the companion to the Doctor in Doctor Who. We would go to the place that Ravana held Sita and help Ram and Hanuman fight off Ravana and the other rakshasas. Another story I could develop is having good rakshasas in the mix, and us trying to figure out which ones are good and bad while trying to fight them off. Another idea I had was giving Ravana or another rakshasa a background story, so that we can see WHY a lot of rakshasas are bad. 

#2) When I saw the listing for Animal Characters of the Ramayana, I thought about the Lion King (which may partially be due to the fact that I am wearing a Lion King shirt as I write this). I am thinking of making the story set in Africa and replacing Simba with Lord Rama, Scar with Ravana, and Nala with Sita. I would like to add Hanuman in there, but Timone and Pumba are a perfect duo so I might add Hanuman as a monkey in the jungle that befriends them before Simba comes along. I want to learn more about the animal characters that assist Rama or Hanuman in the many battles they encounter. I feel like there is a ton I could write about this in the Lion King setting, because Rama was exiled for 14 years, and Simba also left his home for years. Each one encountered many things in the forest, so I could potentially write many stories about different animals they came across and how they helped. Two resources that I found pertaining to animal characters in the Ramayana were Campfire Animal Tales and a Wikipedia page about Nala. I thought it was very interesting that there is a character named Nala in the Ramayana and in the Lion King!

#3) Another listing in the Project Ideas Index was about Nagas and Naginins. Obviously, knowing me, my mind went straight to Harry Potter because Lord Voldemort's snake was named Nagini. In Harry Potter, she was an evil snake, since she carried one of Voldemort's horcruxes with her. In the Mahabharata, snakes, or nagas, are seen as evil also. I was thinking that in my stories, I could make Nagini a good character. I know that Lord Shiva carries a snake on his shoulders, so maybe Nagini could be his pet instead of an evil person's. Snakes in my culture are seen as auspicious and many people pray to snakes and give it milk, as they believe killing snakes would be offensive to Lord Shiva. I would like to learn more about snakes in the Ramayana and Mahabharata and see why some are portrayed as evil and maybe even turn that around.

#4) Finally, I had a few ideas about the Festivals and Holidays listing. My family celebrates a lot of festivals in our home so it would be fun to learn more about each one, the historical background of each one, and be able to turn it into another story. I was thinking I could talk about Diwali, since it is believed that this holiday celebrates the return of Lord Rama after his 14 years of exile. I could combine a few of my ideas by including a re-tell of what Lord Rama encountered in the forest, but also exiling him to the African forest where Simba went in the Lion King. Then I could have Nala, or Sita, come and help him on his journey back once the 14 years were over. I'm not really sure about the other plots as of yet, but I'm sure once I read through the entire Ramayana and Mahabharata, I can combine and mix-and-match some characters to make a story out of this! I also love celebrating Krishna Janmashtami, which is when Krishna is born. I could provide a back story of how he was born or even the stories of when he is a little kid and his first battles. Another resource I could use for this one would be the small stories I have about Krishna as well as many other Gods and Goddesses. (see the picture below)

This is a personal picture that I took of all the little stories and information I have about some of the Hindu Gods and Goddesses. I'm hoping to find inspiration for my stories through these.