Feedback Thoughts

14 Signs Your Perfectionism Has Gotten Out Of Control by Caroline Gregoire, was the first article I read. I have always known I was a perfectionist, but this just went to further confirm what I already knew. I really liked how the article was related and did a really good job of writing down everything a perfectionist feels. As stated, I do have difficult with criticism. It is not that I do not like, or do not want it, but when given criticism I feel like I have failed and that what I did was not right. I am sure everyone who is a perfectionist has faced this. I have gotten over my struggle with criticism and feedback and now openly accept it. I know I am human, so I will make mistakes, and I have realized that I can further learn from my mistakes, which gave me a new outlook on feedback and criticism. I now use it as a source of learning.

The second article I read was Recalibrating the Perfectionist Mind by Dr. Jay-Lee Nair. I really liked this article. It gave a lot of coping strategies and a some useful tips on how to beat that negative mentality that being a perfectionist gives you. My favorite part was giving yourself a list of positive things about you before an exam or somewhere you have to perform. This makes perfect sense. Make yourself feel good about something before you do it, and you are more likely to perform better. Overall, feedback has been something I have struggled with in the past, but last semester, I felt the feedback went very well. Everyone was always very nice and helpful and I appreciated that. This semester, I am working on being more confident when giving others feedback. Something I personally struggled with was giving other's feedback and worrying that I was wrong,but I plan to take a new mindset into feedback this semester.

The most useful feedback I have received is when the feedback is in depth and gives suggestion about what I should do differently versus just stating that I need to fix it. This goes in hand with the worst feedback I have received, which was just a paper showing my errors, with no suggestion on how to fix them. When it comes to feedback in learning tasks, I like to be shown what I am doing wrong and how I can fix it, so it is very similar to on paper.

Funny feedback meme. Source: Create Meme

Topic Brainstorm

• Dharma: 
• I really like the idea of have a really broad theme. Last semester, I did a storybook over the women of Camelot, which was really specific. Originally, I found this topic while looking at Karam, which again, is another broad theme. I like how Dharma has multiple meanings and not a set meaning in the english language, this will really allow for creativity. To retell the stories, maybe I could take a story that does not have Dharma in it and create some, for example, if there is a crime in a story that is unresolved, I could resolve with Dharma.My idea for a storybook with this, would be to create a storybook with each story hitting one of the meanings of the word Dharma. This would also be a good topic for a portfolio project, especially if I decide to explore the different meanings of the word.  A title could be Dharma in the Epics or something indicating that the word has more than one meaning and that each story is about one of the meaning or follows one of the meaning. I think this would be a great topic to explore and would really make me think about the stories I am reading and their messages.
• Lesson on Dharma
• This source had several different "lessons" about the word Dharma and how it related to the Ramayana.
• Love Stories:
• This topic attracted me because what female doesn't like a good love story? For my story book last semester, I used a talk-show theme, interviewing different "women" to create my story book project. There are endless possibilities when it comes to creating a love story book. For this one, I could incorporate the the God of love, and maybe modernize her character and make her a modern day match maker. Another idea is creating a "Bachelor/Bachelor in Paradise" type story and make these love stories a type of competition. I loved seeing stories from last semester that were set in modern time and used a well-known TV show or movies as a theme. I think this topic would be a great one to do  that with. As of right now, I have yet to read any of the stories, so I do not have any specific love stories in mind. I would probably keep the stories the same and just change the setting and theme. 
• ThoughtCo.
• This site gave a list of specific love stories from Hindu Legends
• Sita:



Picture of Sita. Source: ILoveIndia

• I love a story with a strong female character, so when I read a little about Sita, I knew she would be a great character to write about. I feel like this topic is definitely more specific and would make for a better storybook versus a portfolio. Since this story is structured, I could really zoom in on detail and just tell different stories about Sita, instead of jumping around between stories or characters. Again, I am not really familiar with Sita or even what her stories will be like, but I imagine it will be an epic journey. A good idea to retell her stories could be in the form of a journal, diary, or even a blog.  The goal of this project would be just to learn all I can about Sita. 
• Ninapaley.com
• This site gives an introduction and some background on Sita
• Dasharatha and his Family:
• I chose this based on the random generator and it just sounded interesting. This would be a great story to use an interview style, since their are so many people involved, this would be if I wanted to include them all. Another idea with this topic would be to have each of his children tell a story or interview them about their father. I am unfamiliar with the characters, so I do not know a lot about them. If I decided to do this topic, it will be interesting to learn about each of these characters in the book. Hopefully the stories are dramatic. I would really like to learn more about the character before I make any decision on a project or how I would retell their stories. The link I found mentions a curse, and that is what really intrigues me. I really like stories with curse, and you can always retell the story of the curse and make it worse.
• Bold Sky
• This might even be a story I could use. I clicked this link because it was titled The Curse on King Dasharatha. This would be really interesting to explore and would be a great idea for a story.

Week 2 Story: The Story of How a Fairy Defeated the Goblins

Hi, I'm Lily the fairy and I am the ruler around these parts. I live in a forest on the coast of what used to be Goblin City. My castel is huge. I made it in the trunk of an old tree, so it definitely has a vintage vibe to it. Things used to be so lonely around here until I made the goblins disappear. Now, it is the picture perfect forest with all sorts of magic critters just running around. Now, about the Goblins "going away", it is a long story, but today, I am going to expose the truth behind the defeat of the goblins.

The goblins have always eaten people, but the people outside of Goblin City had no idea. Every time the she-goblin's husbands went missing, they would tell an elaborate story about how their husband's ships were lost at sea. Unfortunately, the people could not see through their lies, but I did. It took years for the people to finally realize what was happening, and when they did panic struck. This is when the humans broke the treaty. Ever since then, the forest has been a mess. The humans became fearful of all magic creatures, creating fear and distrust on both sides. I have lived in hiding for awhile now, and I am the only fairy left in the forest, but don't worry. I have devised a plan to demolish the goblins and restore peace with the humans.

My plan started by making a ship crash into the coast just outside of Goblin City. You see, since most of the humans have been devoured or are hidden away from the goblins, the only way for them to hunt is to bring people in, but what they do not know is I am going to create a great army to rise against them. The ship contained a crew of five hundred men and I knew that I was going to win them over. The first night that the ship crashed, the she-goblins took their old husbands to prison, so they could eat them later. The next day, all the she-goblins took clothing and meals to the men and sure enough, they fooled the men and invited the men back to their city. A week passed, and the men began to wonder why there were not other  men in the town. This is when the she-goblins again told their tragic stories of their husbands and once again, the humans fell for their lies. The sailors then decided to marry the she-goblins, not knowing their true identities. 

One night, the she-goblins decided to feast. They eagerly waited for their husbands to fall asleep, and then they snuck to the prison to have a meal. This is when I made my first move. I decided to start with the captain, since he was the most respected man. I woke him frantically, trying to hurry before the goblins came back. The captain woke up confused and startled. I immediately began telling him about his wife's identity and that all the women in the town. At first he did not believe me so I told him to wait and watch his wife. That very night, when his wife finally returned, he heard her singing, "Man's meat, man's meat. That is all Goblin's eat," as she was munching on an arm. The captain, now knowing that what I said was true, alerted his crew the next morning on their daily walk. Some believed him, and to their disfortune some didn't.

 The next day, not wanting to spare any time, I decided to stop the sailors while they were on their walk. This is when I told them the whole story, and to my surprise, the men believed me right away, saying that they had their suspicions all along. Right then and there, we decided to come up with a plan to eliminate the goblins. We decided to make our move quickly, so that the goblins would not expect it. Right on time, the men filed into the forest looking ready for battle. Equipped with some powers I gave them, and beautiful winged horses, we carried out our plan was to capture the goblins, put them in the prison where they stored their prey, and finally give them to the humans to restore the treaty and trust. Our plan proceeded without flaw. Once we had all the she-goblins trapped, we ran into the forest alerting every creature of our victory. Finally, the news reached the humans. The King came to us, took away the evil goblins, restored our treaty, and made me, Lily, the ruler over the whole magic forest. He even threw in some gold and a new ship for my new sailor friends. Now, with the goblins gone and the peace restored, everyone in the forest and I will live happily ever after.

The Sailors on their horse riding to capture the goblins. 
Source: W. Robinson.

Author's Note: 

The original story is, Goblin City. I found it a little odd how the fairy was just mentioned at the end of the story and instantly became the hero, so that is where my idea began. I wanted to make the fairy have a larger role in the story, but she ended up becoming the main character. To start my story, I just asked myself all of the questions I had while I read the story. The main one was why the fairy hated the goblins, so I decided to take an idea from Disney's Maleficent, with a magic forest and the humans not trusting the creatures in it. I then took the originally story line of the sailors crashing on the coast and made it seem like the fairy had devised a plan to bring men to the city. I then decided to make her in control and reach out to these men, essentially making them her army, to create her revenge and restore peace with the humans, which was her plan all along.

Bibliography:

 "Goblin City" from The Giant Crab and Other Tales from Old India by W.H.D Rouse. Web Source.

Reading Notes: Jataka Anthology-Goblins, Reading B

The men riding away on the Fairy's horse. Source: W. Robinson

Goblin City:

• Summary: 
• This story is about a town full of goblins who eat people. The she-goblins catch their prey by marriage. They will marry a man and when they eventually tire of him, they eat them and the process starts over. In the story, a ship crashes near the coast of Goblin City, and all the she-goblins went and tended to the men. To keep the men's suspicion at bay, using their magic, the she-goblins made shapes of men and women in various location and performing multiple tasks to make the city look normal. the sailors bought this scam and felt secure in the city. The she-goblins then persuaded the sailors to marry them, telling them that their own husband had been gone at sea for three years, and that they must be drown or lost. The sailors fell for this. All this time the she-goblins husband has been held in a prison, waiting to be eaten. One night, once all their husbands were asleep, the she-goblins went to the prison to feast. The wife of the captain of the ship, had woken up while his wife was gone and when she returned, he saw her munching away and saying, "Man's meat, man's meat. That's what goblin's like to eat." The captain was terrified, but pretended to be asleep. The next morning he tried to tell he crew about what he saw, but only some believed him, while other said he was dreaming. The captain and the other tried to plot an escape but it seemed impossible as their ship was gone. All this time, there was a fairy who despised the goblins and she was determined to help these men. One day, while the men were out for a walk, the fairy sent a beautiful winged horse to rescue the men and take them home. Some of the men came and the other stayed behind where they were devoured by the she-goblins that very night.
• My Ideas: 
• My idea for this story is to retell it in the captain's perspective and add dialogue. While reading the story, I asked myself why the sailors decided to stay in Goblin City. Was there a curse that the goblin's put over them or were the goblin's just that cunning? Maybe the clothes they gave the men were charmed or maybe the whole town was a charm. With this version, maybe I could change the ending, what if the captain and the she-goblin fell in love and maybe she helped the men to escape and went with them. Also, maybe the she-goblin could go to the fairy and have her change her into a human so she could be with the captain. 
• I could also retell the story in the perspective of the fairy. I thought it was odd that right at the end, the fairy just swooped in and saved the day. I could possibly include some background to why the fairy hates the goblins, maybe they ate her husband. There are really endless ways to change this story. We could also have the fairy team up with the sailor and capture all the she-goblins so they could never do this again.
• Bibliography:  Rouse,W.H.D. The Giant Crab and Other Tales from Old India. Goblin City.

Reading Options

• Reading Guide: 17 Fascinating Women from the Mahabharata
• This reading guide did not have a detailed overview. What drew me to this book was the title. I love reading about women in different eras. I am not really sure why, but I am always drawn to read about them. Last semester I did my storybook project over the women of Camelot, so I thought that this book would be a good choice for me.
• Reading Guide: The Panchatantra
• Last semester, I did not read a lot of stories with animal themes, but I really like animals, so I thought that it would be a good mix up from last semester to try a book with animals in it. Again, this book did not have a detailed overview, but from looking a the titles of the chapters I feel like I have a good sense of what the book will be like.
• Reading Guide: The Missing Queen
• I also really enjoy reading about royalty, so the title is what originally attracted me to this book. After reading the overview, I learned that this story is a modern retelling. This is the other aspect that drew me to the book. I thought it would be a nice mix up.

For this I chose reading guides, because I am more of a traditional book person. When it comes to choosing books to read, I can be quite picky. If it does not catch my attention early on, I tend to loose interest. Honestly, I am not familiar with any of these topics, but I am eager to learn more about the Indian culture and their literature. I chose the image of the book cover from the book The Missing Queen, because I really like the modern feel. 

The Missing Queen Book Cover. Source: WordPress