Topic Research

I'm really interested in the Irish Ghost Stories topic and decided that was the topic I was most interested in from last week's assignment. After spending a little time in Ireland, I was fascinated with the history of the country. All the buildings are extremely old and hold some sort of story. There are a lot fables that haunt each place. A lot of the stories I'm going to read about are true to an extent. They come from real history or places and have been passed down. The book, "True Irish Ghost Stories" by John D. Seymour have a lot of stories about occurrences of ghosts and the supernatural in Ireland. The first, "Haunted Houses in or Near Dublin" is really interesting. Dublin is the only city I've been to in Ireland and believe me I can see why people would have these haunted occurrences. These people recount the many times they have come in contact with a ghost. Whether it's waking them up from their sleep or seeing the ghost in their kitchen many times, these people believe that what they saw was real. On the other hand, there are other people who say that the reason they are seeing these things is because the estates are very old, not because it's a ghost. Another part of the book is, "Haunted Places." This part of the book focuses on specific places in Ireland that people see similar things. People will tend to see a little girl in the middle of the street as they drive by or seeing a strange figure in the distance. Because these people have been told some see these things, maybe they convince themselves that they are seeing them as well when they visit. Another interesting part of the book is, "Legendary and Ancestral Ghosts." These are all the stories that are passed down from generation to generation. Growing up, it's always interesting to hear these different stories. These stories tend to lean more toward monster stores and ghost stories. I think it will be really interesting to dive more into this topic and discover more of these stories.

True Irish Ghost Stories by John D. Seymour

Reported Haunted House in Ireland. Source: Wikipedia

Week 3 Story: Eve and Adam

When all land, patterns, and creatures were created, God decided to create the ultimate man setting an example for mankind after. God created the depiction the most beautiful woman that will ever be created. He named her Eve to represent her simple yet unmatched beauty.

Eve walked with the caress of a floating antelope. She had golden hair that waved only when she walked. Her complexion matched a tinted porcelain and was left untouched. She could do what others only dreamed of. She could bear children and withstand extreme amounts of pain. She was undoubtedly beautiful. Her male counterpart, Adam, was a little more complex to create.

Adam was brute. He showed many animal like characteristics. He was savage by nature. He grew hair like an ape and had poor hygiene. He walked like bear hunting for supper. He fought like a warrior but only when provoked. He was no match to Eve.

Eve and Adam lived as one, working together to create the power of their existence. Eve carried great responsibility. She nurtured and cared for all the living creatures that roamed the earth. Adam protected the world from natural and cosmic forces that would danger them. They were a team, but a team unlike any other.

They were meant to marry to show the world how much they cared about the unity and harmony. Although Eve had no desire to marry Adam. He was repulsive and no match for the beauty she exuded. The two instead parted forces because of their many differences.

Now, Eve nurtures the many beautiful creations God has constructed. Adam creates wild forces from the wind, earth, and sea to try to destroy the wonderful creations Eve protects to prove that they will always live in harmony when together. Eve knows the creations will prevail on their own if they are kept happy.


Authors Note:
In the original story, it talks about how Eve was made to be the companion for Adam and all the flawed characteristics she possesses. I wanted to make Eve the main character and show that she is unmatched compared to Adam. It is a tiny feminist take on the original story.

Story Source:
Eve by Louis Ginzberg

Eve. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Reading Notes: Adam and Eve; The Beasts of the Creation

This story starts out with both Adam and Eve crying because God speaks to them as their protector. They feel God is acting as parental figures in their lives. Adam was given the responsibility to name every creature that God created and now Adam's fear is that even though he had the responsibility of naming them, they will plot against him to destroy him and Eve.

At first, God said he planned on having the beasts destroy Adam and Eve because they had gone against the Lord and therefore couldn't see any creations. But then he decided the beasts should become familiar with Adam and Eve and to not give them any trouble. After, the beasts learned to respect Adam and Eve. God decided to let Adam and Eve come in contact with the creatures and they began to worship God for everything he had done for them.

When Adam and Eve walked out of the cave they had been in, they were greeted with a garden rooted next to the Tree of Life which had flowing rivers going off of it. They had taken the water and the beauty for granted and decided to never overlook the beauty of creation again.

The Beasts of the Creation by Rutherford H. Platt, Jr.

Adam and Eve and Priest. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Reading Notes: Adam and Eve; The Ideal Man

This week I decided to learn more about the Biblical unit, more specifically Adam and Eve. There are a lot of great stories about Adam and Eve and even though I am a Catholic, I don't know that much about the stories of Adam and Eve. I decided to take this opportunity to learn more!

"The Ideal Man" talks about the creation of Adam and how he came to be. He is thought of to be the perfectly created man. His body proportions were extraordinary and didn't compare to the generations of men that came after him. He was the goal for man. Other men were compared to Adam because they exhibited similar characteristics. In the end, those characteristics that were similar ended up being their downfall.

When Eve was created, she was also known as the perfect woman and that no other woman even compared. However, Eve didn't compare to Adam, he was the perfect man. God put a soul into Adam's body so that he could life fully and because souls fill the body like God had filled the world. When his soul was put in by God, he became alive.

Adam possessed more wisdom than other men because he was given more responsibility. He was responsible for naming each animal God created. Adam was even responsible for naming himself because he was the lord of all creatures. He was given even more responsibility when creating language and writing. This story says God created earth, and Adam was responsible for determining the settlers of earth.

The Ideal Man by Louis Ginzberg

Adam and Eve; Source: Wikimedia Commons

Feedback Thoughts

As a dancer, I have received criticism my whole life. Sometimes it has been good and constructive, other times it can be a little harsh. I respond better to constructive criticism rather than negative criticism because I hope to improve on what I can. I read the article, "14 Signs Your Perfectionism is Out of Control" which was absolutely perfect for me. I've always been a perfectionist but as I get older, I'm more okay with making some mistakes. This article talks about the many ways perfectionism can get the best of you. For me, I would ever say it has ever been out of control. At times, I get frustrated when I'm wrong about something or haven't gotten something on the first try. That's when I need to take a step back, take a deep breath, and try again! The next article I read was "Why Rejection Hurts So Much." Rejection is never an easy thing to hear but unfortunately we hear it all the time. I apply for a lot of internships and positions around campus and sometimes it doesn't always work out, but that's okay because there's always something to learn from rejection. Also, I'm a firm believer in everything happens for a reason!

Perfectionism Source: Youth Voices

Topic Brainstorm

Storybook Topics:

The Nursery Rhymes topic has me interested because over the years, I’ve learned how corrupt nursery rhymes can be. Yet, we still pass them down from generation to generation. It would be cool to go in depth to see how they came to be, if they have been changed, and why they have the meanings they do. There are also many different types of nursery rhymes. They can be songs, idioms, poems etc. So it could be interesting to come up with many different variations of them as well. Link


Hawaiian mythology interests me because Hawaii is a place I have often visited my whole life. I’ve been going there ever since I was a kid and it would be fascinating to hear of all the stories that come out of Hawaii. It’s such an exotic place with such a rich history that I could know more about. There are many different stories to choose so I know I could find a lot of information. Link


The Irish ghost stories also intrigue me a lot. A good bit of my heritage is Irish and ghost stories are so fascinating to me. I’ve even been to Dublin and found it one of the most interesting places because of its unique history. Because the country is so old, there are so many stories that come from different places and people throughout the land. I can’t wait to read more about these spooky stories. Link


The Brothers Grimm are responsible for most of the fairy tales and stories that we are familiar with today. Although the versions we see in animated form are very different than the stories they tell. Most of the endings in these stories are twisted and it can be shocking. This would be something I find very fascinating because I grew up with these stories. However, since there are so many variations online, it might be hard to narrow down which stories I want to go off of. Link







The Brothers Grimm

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Week 2 Story: The Woman in the Woods

There once lived a young woman that lived in a secluded village just west of the big city. The village was small and the people were poor. The woman lived with only her grandfather, and he was becoming very frail with old age.

One day, her grandfather became very ill, and it was apparent that he only had a little time left if he wasn’t healed. The woman searched the village for potions and remedies that would aid in her father’s recovery. Sadly, the village was dry. The local alchemist approached the woman knowing of her situation and said she should travel to the next village 30 miles away to find Calendula, a critical ingredient for healing. The woman set off into the woods in hopes she could trade what little money she had in order for the herb that would save her father.

The journey took days and the woman was famished. She could barely stand on her feet when she came across a small house much bigger than any others she was used to in her village. She needed the rest and some food and water so she decided to stop. She found the house eerily quiet from the moment she entered.

She found porridge boiling over the lit fireplace and decided to get herself a bowl. The moment she sat down, a bear entered the room demanded for her to leave threatening to eat her if she didn’t obey orders. The woman froze with fear not sure of what she would do next. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a bunny also trembling with fear in the corner. The bunny’s eye were full of relatable sympathy.

The woman took the bunny with her and headed off for the next village. The bunny told stories of the bear, how he was once a youthful, greedy man who was cursed and is now forced to live as a bear forever. The woman was perplexed, wondering how his life came to be. However, her mind was focused on one thing; she needed the Calendula to help her ill father.

When she reached the village, it was abandoned. Not a soul was in site and the place lived in rubble. The woman turned around with tears in her eyes and set back on her journey to her own village knowing that fate would be waiting for her upon her return.



A young girl and a bear in the forest.

Source: Maxpixel



Authors Note:
The original story called The Three Roses was about a mother with three daughters. One of the daughters requested only three roses when the mother came back from her trip to the village. When the mother was getting the roses, she was approached by a basilisk who demanded her daughter in exchange for the roses. I used this story as a lose base of my own. I wanted the main character to be approached by some sort of monster and I wanted there to be some sort of peril. I changed mostly everything about the story however because I wanted to make it completely my own.


Bibliography. "The Three Roses" from Czech Folktales by Josef Baudis. Web Source

Reading Notes: The Indian Who Wrestled with a Ghost

The story starts out with, "a young man went alone on a warpath." Right off the bat I am curious about the journey this boy is on. He hears voices in the middle of the woods. The first was from an owl screaming out hello. The second, he claims from a woman screaming wondering about her son. His behavior remains unchanged. Maybe he figures if he moves or responds to the voices he will end up upsetting them. He claims a woman approached him wearing elaborate, olden clothing decorate with beads. The woman grabs his legs and throws it to the ground three times before the man finally moves to address the woman. She runs back into the woods. For the rest of the night, he lay awake.
Another night the man finds himself alone in the woods. This time he hears a woman singing and he shouts to her only to get no response back. He brought with him 'wasna' which is explained as, "grease mixed with pounded buffalo meat, and wild cherry." The 'ghost' approaches him asking if he has some of the mixture. At first he lies and says he doesn't but eventually offers it to the woman. He then sits to have a smoke with what he then sees as just a skeleton with no flesh. The ghost then asks the man to wrestle and he agrees. The ghost approaches him and wrestles with the man as just a skeleton and gives the man a good fight. The man struggles to beat the ghost but just as the morning sun rises, the man finds that the ghost is gone and he won the wrestling match.

Myths and Legends of the Great Plains by Katharine Berry Judson (1913).

Man standing in front of a campfire

Source: Adventurejay

Reading Options

When I think of "mythology and folklore," the first thing that comes into my mind is stories. Growing up, we are always different stories and fables that have been passed down throughout the years. When looking at the UnTexbook for the first time, I noticed all the different stories I could click through, but I noticed how they're based on different regions of the world more importantly. Stories come from every part of the world and from every different culture. One that stands out to me is the Cherokee Myths. Since I am a tiny bit Cherokee, this fascinates me because I don't know a lot about the stories and myths. When looking at the different stories in this unit, the rabbit is a common theme and I think it's because the rabbit traditionally is known for trickery in Cherokee culture.

Another unit that caught my eye were the myths from South African culture. In this class, I hope to expand my knowledge of other cultures I'm not that familiar with and one of them is the South African culture. When I think of Africa in general, I think of all the exotic life forms that inhabit the continent. Looking at these stories, it seems that a lot of the stories are based on different animals and how they interact which can be very interesting.

The last unit that caught my eye was Russian Fairy Tales. The overview explains how the stories are based on legends of the undead and include a mixture of fictional characters to explain the stories. That really intrigued me because I know Russian culture had a lot of stories about how "undead" subjects can affect the culture.

I'm excited to read these stories because I know they are all going to be very interesting and I will learn a lot about different cultures and their beliefs at the same time.

Sadko from Russian mythology underwater

Source: Wikipedia

Time Strategies

I'm no stranger to time managing. I am a student athlete, a member of different clubs on campus, and am a full time student which means I'm very busy throughout the week. I'm used to creating a study schedule that works with my schedule in order to be successful in all my classes. Sometimes it get's hard to balance and I end up procrastinating the work. Therefore, I read the article 'How to Beat Procrastination.' The first technique they talked about was to visualize how great it will feel once you get what needs to be done, done! I'm sure a lot of people can relate as checking things off the to-do list is so satisfying. Another technique is to commit to the task publicly. If you tell people you're going to do it, you are more inclined to do it! Procrastination is always something I can improve on. One strategy that always works for me when I have a lot to do is putting myself in a place where I have to do the work. If I'm sitting at home on my kitchen counter trying to do homework, it's not going to get done because I get distracted by other things. If I go to Starbucks or the library, I'm going to have to do my work there because that's the only reason I went and I'm less likely to get distracted by other things. Hopefully my time management skills get even better this semester during this course.

(Quote about time management. Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Class Technology

I am no stranger to using different types of technology for school. With this class being online, that leaves most of the learning to be done using different technological tools. This is the first time I've ever had to use a blog for a class before. I have always heard of blogs but have never needed to use one before. It's a very interesting way for people to publish content and communicate. It's always important to learn new things about our ever changing technology. As we get older, technology gets more advanced and it can be hard to keep up with. The biggest thing I have learned in the first week of this class is how to cite images when you reuse them. I didn't know that had to be done! Using the different technology tools provided in this course will help me learn the material and go really in depth as well.

(My dog, Caggie, playing on our couch in 2016)

Assignments

At first glance, this class seems really interesting. In most of the other online classes that I have participated in, the structure is very different than this class. They were very lecture based where as this one is more interactive. I will say, this class seems to have more work than other classes, but the content is so interesting that the work won't seem like a lot! The extra credit offerings are very important as well. I will definitely be taking advantage those opportunities. I can't wait to see what this semester has in store!


P.S. Anyone else miss OU Football?

(The Sooner Schooner on the field of an OU Football 

game in 2015. Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Growth Mindset

I've always believed in the power of positive thinking. My parents instilled it in me from a young age and I continue to carry it with me to this day. It can go a long way. Growing the mindset is a lot easier said than done however. When it comes to school and life, I tend to get very stressed out. This is mostly because I like to keep myself busy at all times and I don't enjoy being bored. When it comes to college, my mind is very different now compared to when I started school in the fall of 2015. I would say it's easier for me to adapt to different learning situations and conquer big learning obstacles. However, school has never been easy for me but I help myself by making sure I'm prepared for each of my classes. I'm not the kind of person who can not study for a test and still get a good grade. I have to put in the work to get good grades. Getting good grades is something that's important to me because I'm a perfectionist and I want to make sure I'm putting the best in everything I do. Getting a 4.0 is my goal for this semester. It won't be easy at all but I'm hoping that with hard work, I'll be able to pull it off.

(cheezburger)

Introduction to a Pom Girl

Hello everyone! My name is Peyton Mackay and I'm a junior advertising major and a communication minor here at OU! I'm originally from a small town in the mountains of Colorado. A lot of people ask me why I chose to come to Oklahoma for school. I came here for a lot of different reasons! First of all, I had family friends go here and I heard nothing but great things; once I visited, I was sold! Second, have you ever been to an OU Football game? It's one of the most amazing experiences. Finally, a big reason I chose to come to OU is because I'm a member of the OU Pom Squad! Being on Pom is so exciting. I've got to travel to so many different places and have gotten so many cool opportunities from it! Most recently, I got to travel to California for the Rose Bowl and parade. That will forever be a highlight in my life.



(Our float for the Rose Parade!)

This past weekend, my team and I went to the national championships in Orlando, Florida and we placed third! That's the highest placement in the history of OU Pom and we got to bring home a bronze medal! I've worked for that most of my life and it felt amazing to finally accomplish that goal.




(After placing third at the National Championships!)

At home in Colorado, I have two dogs that I love and miss dearly. They are my babies and it's hard being away from them the majority of the year, but every time I go home I'm welcomed by lots of snuggles by them! I'm not exactly sure what I want to pursue after graduation, but my main goal is to get a job. I also hope to work someplace really cool, maybe in my favorite place (London!). For now, I'm going to enjoy college and the places it takes me.




(Christmas with my dogs!)

Storybook Favorites

OU's Haunted Hall's:

This story book intrigued me first because of it's title. As a student of OU, the history of the university has always fascinated me even when it is supernatural. During my first week of school my freshman year, I participated in the OU's ghost tour. We were taken throughout different parts of campus to explore the traditional supernatural stories. The validity of these stories remain a mystery. However, the storybook I have chosen dives into the same stories that are always told around campus and passed down from student to student. The introduction does a good job at introducing the history of the stories and makes me very interested to read them.

(The inside of OU's Holmberg Hall

Picture by Uncovering Oklahoma)

Love at First Retweet:

I found this one interesting because the digital age is so prominent in today's world especially. It reminds me that stories and storybooks don't always have to be historical. They can take place in present day. The introduction is all about how historical love stories don't rely on social media to find the love. They rely on true connection. This day we can get so caught up in finding our "love" on social media and then only knowing them in that form. I'm interested in reading more about how these social media's can affect love connections.

Princesses from All Around:

When I was little, I didn't necessarily want to be a princess, but I loved watching princess movies all the time. They lived lives I could only dream of living and they got to sing beautiful songs while doing it, at least in the Disney versions. This storybook focuses on princesses from around the world from Japan and the Philippines, and how when they're together, they don't necessarily get along. In the end, the message is no matter where we come from, we can all live as one with peace and unity and I think that's really special.

London is My Favorite Place!

When I was a senior in high school, I was able to visit my sister who was studying abroad in London. I took time out of my busy schedule to travel across the pond to see her and the city she called home for a semester. I absolutely fell in love with the city. The history is rich and the buildings and monuments are fascinating.

(Tower Bridge)

The most fascinating part was how the street layout hasn't changed. Normally, city streets follow a grid layout. London's streets haven't changed over time. A tour guide told me while I was there that if Shakespeare were to come back, he would recognize the streets but none of the buildings. I thought that was the coolest thing ever! I loved the city so much that I'm actually going back this summer for a three week study abroad program. I can't wait to explore more of London in the upcoming months!

(My sister and me in front of the Thames River and Big Ben!)

Test Post

Just testing out this new blog! Boomer Sooner!