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