Learning Challenge: Attention

When I saw the attention graphic below on the announcement page, it got me curious about other attention graphics or memes. I decided to browse around and see what other ones there were. The one that caught my attention the most was the one that said "the light at the end of the tunnel is not an illusion. The tunnel is." I think this can mean a lot of different things to different people. To me, it means that holding onto something hopeful in a sea of sadness or struggles isn't what you should be doing, but instead paying attention to all the good things that are around you now. I know many of us tend to look past the good things in our life towards some reward at the end. Life will pass you by doing this, and you'll never be happy but always wishing for more. I really enjoyed this post.

Attention Post

Week 8 Review

My favorite post for the week was Sunday's post about interior life. I think mental health it very important, so I really liked the idea of this. It's always good to keep your mind and brain healthy, but a lot of people have trouble grasping this. This was a fun way to explain how you can basically clear out your mind. It's relaxing and uplifting just to look at and read this illustration.

By Grand Snider

Famous Last Words: Class Progress

Well, it seems that my hard work of doing extra credit has finally paid off and I am officially less than 100 points away from finishing this class. I plan to be done by week 10 which is 2 weeks away. I'm happy to be almost done because the workload is pretty rough along with all my other classes, but at the same time I'm a little bit sad to be leaving all the readings and assignments behind. The thing I'm most sad about is my storybook. In fact, I don't think I will be able to just leave it behind. I've sort of fallen in love with the idea and the stories that I'm writing. I think I will continue to submit my storybook assignments even after I have achieved my A, even if those are the only assignments I submit for the class. I never thought I would want to keep working and writing when I didn't have to, but I feel an obligation to bring the storybook to life because I enjoy the idea so much. I know that no one will probably ever read it besides the teacher and other classmates that are assigned to it, but I still can't leave it behind. Anyways, I know that doing about 100 points of work in two weeks might seem like a lot, but I think it's very doable. In reality, it's only working about 1 week ahead to get there. Unfortunately I haven't been able to work ahead all semester, I've just been doing the extra credit. I've been doing all of the assignments pretty much on their deadlines. It seems to have worked out, however, and I'm going to be able to finish the class a little bit earlier than I even anticipated. I'll definitely be taking the Indian Epics class later on, though!

From Wikipedia

Week 8 Growth Mindset

In this class, I think that I have grown in certain areas and also have areas to grow in others. This applies to my other classes as well. I think that in this class and others, I normally don't do the minimum. I have learned to push myself because I don't like feeling like I only did the minimum. I want to be proud of what I did and show others what I can do and not cut myself short. That being said, I tend to stay in my comfort zone. During this class, I have pushed out of that comfort zone a lot but I still have a ways to go. I never thought I could do creative writing at all, and writing stories isn't something I ever used to do. I have gotten comfortable with it and I feel I have grown a lot in that area. I definitely have focused more on learning and less on grades since I started this class. Since I'm almost done with college, grades matter very little in the grand scheme of things. Grades won't matter once I am out in the real world, but rather what I have learned. I love that I can be free to learn in my own way without pressure of being graded harshly.

Although I push myself in ways, I also tend to do what's easy. When I pick my stories, or even projects for other classes, I usually choose what looks easy. I should try to choose more difficult things so that I can get the most out of it and learn. Again, I think one reason why I do this is because I don't want to do something hard and then make a bad grades. But if I focus on learning and not grades, I will be able to do more difficult things. Another place I have room to grow in is wanting to get things right the first time. I hate editing and I hate redoing things. When I write essays, I tend to do them and then just turn them in. I need to learn that the first time is never the best time. You can't always get it right the first time, and it takes a lot of practice to become good at things. Knowing that I have room to grow here is key in accomplishing my goals.

Growth

Week 8 Reflections

It's hard to believe we are already halfway through the semester. It has definitely been an interesting one. I have gotten this class down and I now know what is expected of me in this class. For my readings, I feel that I should explore more and find something I'm more interested in. There were a couple of stories that I just clicked on and started reading just to get the assignment done, but I found myself bored and it was very difficult to do my reading notes. I think that there are an endless amount of options and that I should try to find something that suits me.

The same goes for my storytelling. Some of my stories suffered because I was not as interested in my reading. I did go out of my comfort zone several times, changing my style and letting myself have fun with it. In that sense, I feel like I grew a lot in my writing. I would like to try to work even harder at that and push myself farther. I enjoy it more if I make it completely my own. I never knew how creative I could be, and when I allow myself to not hold back on that creativity I end up coming up with some great stories. I'm most happy with where my storybook is heading. I think since I am most interested in it, it has turned out to be the best thing I have done.

I get a lot out of reading other people's stories. Many people are so creative and have great ideas. It gives me ideas to do things that I haven't yet. One thing that I have yet to really do is take an old story and put it in current times. I kind of have done it, but not in the same way that I see my fellow classmates doing it. I admire their writing a lot. One thing that I see some people do that I try to avoid is putting too much or too little dialogue. It is the critique I give and see given most often. It is a very tricky thing in writing. Too much and there isn't enough description, and too little and it just gets boring. I try to give good feedback, but I know that I am often too nice. I always say that I loved their story even if maybe I didn't. All the stories are good in their own way, but if the story needs work I should probably just find a nice way to tell them that instead of saying it was perfect.

Reflection

Tech Tip: Google Timer

I had no idea that you could set up a timer on google! This is actually very helpful for me because I use timers all the time, for all kinds of things school and non-school related. I can already tell that I will be using this in the future. I have always just used the timer on my phone, but that can be inconvenient if I want to take a phone call or anything like that. Having the timer right there where I can switch tabs to see it is really great. I do think that timers are great for time management, both marking how much time you relax and how much time you work. Overworking isn't good either, so if I've gone 3 hours without getting up for a drink of water I like to let myself know that too. Usually when I get distracted it's on my phone, so having the phone timer there is really good for me as well. Timers are a great way to make sure you stay on task and manage your time well.