Learning Challenge: 10 Books for a Desert Island

1. The Century Trilogy by Ken Follett.

This is three books (a trilogy) that depict intertwined characters throughout major historical events. The first book is centered around World War I. You meet a set of characters and, throughout the book, you see how their lives and paths cross. The second book is about World War II. The third is during the Nixon Administration. Each of the characters comes from a different part of the world, which makes each vantage point unique and fascinating. I love these books because they are so well written and teach you some context around major events that you have already learned about in history classes!

2. Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow.

I mean, do I even need to explain why? This is the biography that started the social phenomenon that is Hamilton, the musical. Besides reminding the American people how influential this founding father was, this book is a mastery of biographical literature. Chernow is an amazing writer and this book is beautifully written. He brings life to the ten dollar founding father!

3. Washington by Ron Chernow.

Very similar to the reasons listed above, but, obviously, this book is about another American founding father. This book unearths the man who chopped down a cherry tree as a boy and who was the first to lead our great country.

4. The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling.

Duh.

5. The Divergent series by Veronica Roth.

I really really enjoyed reading these books when I was in high school and was immensely disappointed by the movies. I feel as though if I was on a desert island with nothing but time, reading these a couple times over again would begin to replace the movie versions in my head. I always, in a way, looked up to Tris. She's much braver than I would ever be capable of and these are a very easy YA read.

6. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling.

Mindy Kaling is my shero, and I find everything that she does or writes hilarious. I read this book in a span of like 2 hours and laughed the entire way through. She's a phenomenal writer and actress and I wouldn't be able to live without something of hers! If I can't have The Office or The Mindy Project, then I'll take her book.

7. Ana Karenina

This is the kind of book that I've tried to start a million times but either never get into, or don't have enough time to dedicate to. I think sitting on a desert island will certainly free up some time so I think I'd like to bring this so I can finally get through it.

8. A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin.

The reason for these are a compilation of the last two. I've never read these books, even though I've been meaning to, but I've watched some of the series. I really really enjoyed the series and figure if I can't watch it while stranded, the next best thing would be to have the books.

9. Watership Down by Richard Adams.

I absolutely hated this book when I was forced to read it for a class in grade school. I would use it to light a fire to keep myself warm.

10. How to Get Off of a Desert Island

:)

(My Preferred "Desert" Island, web source: Flickr)

Growth Mindset: Finding Similarities in My Classes

I am taking 2 graduate courses, my capstone, this class, and an intermediate language course this semester. These may not seem to have a common thread, but after using this Growth Mindset, I think there is one. One of the biggest things I have noticed this semester is that I truly enjoy all of my classes. I enjoy (most of) the subject matter; the assignments, while definitely challenging, are not entirely overwhelming; and I'm really learning a lot.

When separating out all of my classes and taking a look at the most exciting challenge in each, I find that one thing is common to all of them: I really want to get as much out of these courses as I can. I am far past the point of taking classes for requirements, and am really enjoying getting to choose exactly what I want to learn. Thus, I find myself worrying that I am not getting every single thing that I can out of these classes, and performing up to the level that I should be. 

(Lack of enthusiasm!!, web source: Public Domain Pictures)

I think this Growth Mindset is applicable to things past just classes. I also feel like, in everything I do in my life, I should be seeking to get the absolute most I can get out it. I shouldn't let experiences pass by that leave me with the bare minimum that I could get out of them. 

I think this was a useful challenge in that I feel like I've had this sense weighing on me, but I haven't ever put it into words. I think seeing it out in front of me will hopefully inspire me to achieve these goals and rise to these challenges that my classes are facing me with. I have certainly had a busy semester, but I shouldn't let that be an excuse for lackluster experiences.

You get out what you put in!

Wikipedia Trails: From Antelope to the Old Testament

Antelope:
I chose this to be my starting point because of one of the stories I read in the Blackfoot unit within the Native American story collection we had to choose from. When I was reading the story originally, it wondered about the difference between antelopes and deer, because the story seems to link them so closely.
An antelope is a mammal that is native to regions in Eurasia and Africa. There are many different types of antelopes, but mostly all of them have a stature similar to that of a deer. They are long-legged, with antlers sprouting from their heads. Different shapes and lengths of antlers separate the different kinds of antelope.

Koppie/Inselberg:
When describing the different living habits of antelope, the previous article mentioned something about a kind of antelope that lives on a koppie. I had never heard this term before and was interested to see what in the world it could mean.
A inselberg, or koppie as it's referred to in regions of Africa, is a natural physical structure. It is a small mountain of sorts that is surrounded by mostly flat ground. It sort of sticks out and can look like a large boulder just sitting on flat land.

Hyrax:
There is a section in the previous article that describes some of the mammals that could be found living on an inselberg, or koppie. I saw that hyrax was listed and had no earthly idea what they could be talking about.
A hyrax is a small mammal, which looks to me to be a very round/large prairie dog, without the long and slender shape. It's a very peculiar animal indeed. What is even more peculiar is its apparent relation within the animal kingdom to elephants. I'd invite you to reread my description of this creature and then reread that it is indeed related to an elephant.

(Hyrax, web source: Wikimedia)

Old Testament:
Finally, I came upon the Old Testament. The history of the hyrax was being explained and it said that there were references to it even in the Old Testament. This animal has been around for a loooong time.
The Old Testament is the first half of the Christian Bible. It features the story of the creation of the Earth and speaks of God's love for his chosen people. It teaches Christians faithfulness, salvation, redemption, obedience, and above all others that God is the source of goodness in the world.

Reading Notes: Blackfoot Unit, Part A

Blackfeet Indian Stories, by Grinnell. Link to reading here.

Two Fast Runners:
I love stories like this, where you find out why a certain animal has this feature or doesn't have this feature. These kinds of stories allow for an entirely new perspective. I could make up a different story for how the deer and the antelope lost these different anatomical features. Or I could use a similar story with different losses of body parts.

(Female antelope, web source: Wikimedia)

The Camp of Ghosts:
This is definitely the story. This is a long, beautiful folk tale about a man's journey to get his beloved back. I think there's a lot of potential here to transform this from a simple folk story to a haunting drama about a couple who is lost too soon. There are many precarious points in this story, where the entire fate of the couple and their relationship depends on the man not opening his eyes or the man and woman not sweating off every impurity or other odd things such as those. I think this causes the audience to sort of hold their breath and wait for something bad to happen. For me, what ended up happening is not what I foresaw and it seemed to be a little anticlimactic. Of all the little mistakes that would knock the entire process off balance, it was her not immediately heeding his will? Blech. I think this seems to be out of place in the narrative that this man loved his wife so deeply that he would literally travel where no man has gone to retrieve her. I'm imagining altering the ending of the story. I don't see a nice, soft, happy ending however. There's a lot of grief and sorrow to tap into here that could be taken to other levels. Off the top of my head, I see something going wrong with the original journey to where the man also passes away and is lost in the camp of ghosts, and is to remain there forever. I see the reunion of the couple to be terribly bittersweet, as they were both quite young and had a very young child that was left behind. To bring a very haunting ending to it, they could be trying to manage their new life in this "beyond" world, when they are notified of a new arrival to the camp: their infant son.

Story Planning: British North America

Character Sketches:

"Afraid of Nothing" - I think I would give her an actual name, but maybe maintain the kind of names she has in the story. I'm thinking something like Heroine could suit her nicely. She is going to be this incredible leader of an army. I'll go into some of her background, perhaps a slight Mulan-type character - a daughter raised in an environment that wouldn't necessarily lead her to fight in an army. Something in her past needed her to be strong, and construct and maintain the life that she leads. This is where the fact that she created the entire world in the original story could come in.

Wolf Sidekick - I imagine, following with the Mulan-type background, "Afraid of Nothing" having a sidekick. I don't really see it as being the comedic relief as Mushu is in the Mulan tales, but more of a silent character that our heroine can communicate with. I see it as a mix of Buckbeak the Hippogriff from the Harry Potter series and the direwolves in the Game of Thrones series. Both of these seem to have a level of understanding of their masters that we can't understand, but that we know is there.

(The Direwolf, web source: Wikimedia)

Mountains - I see these as twin brothers. Possibly slightly pompous brothers that came from a well-off background. They were raised to want for nothing, and were educated at only the best schools. They're intelligent, but are often used as pawns for the army of their country. They blindly follow orders at the beginning, making the world inhabitable for others. By this I mean they fought for an army that was and is still very hostile to nearly every other in the world. They were standoffish and halted every country certainly from expanding their borders, but also were merciless if they happened upon someone within their borders.

British North America, tales originally told by the First Nations people of Canada, compiled by Judson. Link to reading here.

Reading Notes: British North America, Part A

Beliefs: "Afraid of Nothing" made the entire world. There was a great war against the mountains (human, made the world uninhabitable). She waged a war against these mountains. This could potentially be a way to think up an entirely new story. Could be an action tale between a heroine and some (human?) mountains. There is no description about the actual war itself, so this would be an exercise of my imagination. "Afraid of Nothing" would be a female general of a great army, while the mountains would be personified to be generals of the opposing army. A very strong contender for story post.

Creation of the World: I've read a version of this story in a Native American Philosophy class! An interesting origin story, especially with a focus on the Old Toad. Could be an interesting perspective to write it from. He watches all of these animals fall to their deaths essentially in order to be a hero, and he reluctantly puts himself forward to help. Maybe I could change the end of the story and have him be successful as he is in the original, but have him die for the cause.

Grizzly Bear and the Coyote: This is another kind of origin story, specifically about days and nights and the seasons. It's interesting that these two animals were the ones that are the two main characters in this story. I guess I can't think of any better animals to make these kinds of decisions for the world, but these choices seem especially odd to me.

The Burning of the World: This could be an interesting mashup with an interpretation of Noah's Ark. Instead of the great flood, it's the great fire. That would actually work really well, the more I think about it. A second great contender for the story post.

British North America, originally told by the First Nations people of Canada, story by Judson. Link to reading here.

(Burning of the World, web source: Wikimedia)

Reading Notes: Japanese Fairy Tales Part A

Japanese Fairy Tales, retold by Andrew Lang. Link to reading here.

The Two Frogs: This is a short and sweet story. There isn't a whole lot to work with, so one option could be expanding upon this simple story. Another could be to adapt the story to fit a moral and possibly use different kinds of animals or tweak the story just enough that it fits both the moral and still remains true to its original.

The Stonecutter: I really really enjoyed this story. I think it has a lot of good morals wrapped up in it, and it allows for some creative wiggle room. I think this story is my winner for this week. I may play with changing up the moral a little bit from, "Be satisfied with what you have," to "Be careful what you wish for." This way I could change up the ending and possibly not have an ending that is content, but rather a sad or unfortunate ending. I think that's my best bet.

The Maiden with the Wooden Helmet: I kept getting a "Mulan" vibe from this story, which may lend itself well to a combination of this story and that story. I also think that the female protagonist here is very well maintained; she doesn't melt into a damsel in distress or necessarily rely upon a man (although her mother appearing to her in a dream telling her to marry this guy isn't the best).

(Hua Mulan, web source: Wikimedia)

The Envious Neighbor: Okay, so I hate this neighbor. I'm not sure what exactly I could do with this story, so I'll leave it. I wouldn't want to write about a dog killer anyway.

The Sparrow with the Split Tongue: Why is it that there are animal abusers in these fairy tales!? This wife is the worst, that sweet old man deserves better. Good riddance.

The Cat's Elopement: I didn't really like this story as much as some of the other animal stories, so I think I'll stick with my original plan with the Stonecutter or the Maiden with the Wooden Helmet.