Reading Plan

For the next six weeks I would like to read lots of different Indian stories rather than reading different versions of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.  This way, I can learn much more about the Indian culture and get ideas for my stories from lots of different sources.  I would like to start with reading Giant Crab by Rouse for week 9 because it sounds interesting.  For week 10, I would like to read Twenty Jataka Tales because it sounds interesting and I think I could get a lot of good inspiration from reading this. I will read The Life of Buddha for Week 11, and then follow that with reading Indian Fables and Folklore by Devi for Week 12.  For Week 13, I will learn more about Krishna by reading Cox's Tales of Ancient India: Krishna and the Gods.  Finally, for Week 14 I will read Legends of India - Arjuna, by Hopkins.

Stack of Books to Read

Reflections: Looking Forward

I have been happy with my performance and progress in this class so far, but there is always room for improvement. As of right now I am still on track with points to get the grade I want, especially if I do about 11 points worth of extra credit assignments before the semester ends.  Looking forward in the second half of the semester, I would like to see myself doing more extra credit assignments and getting my weekly assignments done quicker.  This will allow me to get ahead in the class and not have to worry about getting assignments done on time. Furthermore, as far as my reading and writing skills go, I could definitely use some improvement there.  I feel like my writing skills, especially when it comes to storytelling, are under-developed and need improvement.  For the remainder of the semester I would like to see noticeable improvement in the depth and delivery of my stories that go in to my portfolio project.  I'm sure this is just something that will come with time and I feel like I can already notice small improvements in my storytelling so far, but I hope to be even better by the end of creating my portfolio.

Improvement for the Future

Reflections: Looking Back

This has been an enjoyable, relaxing class so far and I really love reading about different mythical characters in Indian history because before this class I had basically zero knowledge on the subject. I love reading about different cultures and seeing how they are similar and different to my own so learning about all of these different characters and the journeys and struggles they go through has been fun.  My favorite reading so far has been the Ramayana. I'm honestly not really sure why its my favorite but I just loved reading about Rama and his quests he went on.  The most useful thing I have got out of this class so far however, is all of the writing practice.  As an engineering student, I spend virtually all of my time writing out calculations and solving math and physics problems.  I haven't even been in a dedicated writing class since the first semester of my freshman year so I feel as if my writing skills suffered from that. This class gives me a chance to take a break from all of the rigorous math and science and just relax and write about my thoughts on the class readings. This allows me to continue keeping up with my writing technique and writing these stories every week allows me to develop my own style.  I also have benefited from the interactions with other students, as their feedback has proved very useful in improving my stories and letting me know what works and what doesn't work.

Reading the Ramayana

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