Learning Challenges

I am actually really surprised I have never seen, The Time You Have (In JellyBeans). It really puts into perspective of what you want to do with your life. You only have one life to live, and I do not want to waste it. We are never guaranteed a certain amount of JellyBeans, so we should be living life to the fullest. Sometimes I feel as if I am wasting my days in school. I am ALWAYS studying it seems like, and I never have enough time in the day for everything I need to do. But, I know that it is an investment into my future, even if it is not necessarily guaranteed. I want to be educated and help others. Although I am still in school, I can still make time for meaningful relationships. I can still help others in need and reach out to the ones I love the most. That is something I am going to really strive to work harder on.

Just do it now.

By: Laura Gibbs

Growth Mindset

I was first introduced to growth mindset last year in psychology. We hardly talked about it in class, but I found it to be very interesting. We learned that there are two different kinds of mindsets, fixed or growth. I hate to say it, but I am classic fixed mindset. I have always been the kind of person that always wants to make A's and so afraid of failure. I think our society does not help either. I just took my MCAT and applying to medical school this summer. Medical schools do not give you a 'not yet,' they give you a huge harsh rejection. Now, medical schools expect you to have A's. Getting B's are not enough anymore. If you do not have at least a 3.7 GPA then you are not considered competitive. It is extremely stressful! Those huge rejection makes it hard not to take it as defining who you are as a person.

Failure hurts but it does not define me. 

Cheeseburger

I think I have the fixed mindset mostly in my life except traveling and adventure. If that even can remotely makes sense. I am always up for a grand trip to anywhere. I love hiking, kayaking, camping, running, anything that is challenging and outdoors. I think that I would like to have more of a growth mindset when it comes to becoming a doctor, after all that is my ultimate goal. I do not want to look at it as a timeline and having to get to point B in X amount of time. That is one thing that I want to change.

Storybook Favorites of India

First off, reading through the list of titles for all the Storybooks for the Indian Epics was absolutely hilarious. The first story that immediately caught my eye though and is one of my favorites is “Hindu Beasts.”

 Brahma

All Hindu Gods

The story really stuck out to me because I love learning about Hinduism. If anyone knows about Hinduism it is that they have so many gods. I have also been taught that it is the oldest religion known to us. I love going into Hindu temples and seeing what gods they have and what the gods represent. It is so fascinating to me! There are always new gods you can learn about and each temple can have as many or different gods as they want. I really found the introduction to be clever and outside of the box. The introduction was set up as telling a bedtime story while telling about three different gods.

Site: Hindu Beasts

The next Storybook I found interesting was “Epic Adventure 21.” I really liked the formatted colors but I did not like the font of the links. I did not know what it actually said until I clicked on them. They were too small and the font was too hard to read. The writer did an awesome job of depicting a love story while explaining about different sites in India. Who does not love a good love story?

Site: Indian Adventure 21

When reading the introduction of “With Love From India” it made me so nostalgic. One of my favorite things to do is travel, and I am often gone all summer. I send my family postcards or letters periodically of my travels. The postcards or letters are my way of sharing and communicating to them all what I am experiencing. I find it hard to communicate everything I want to over the phone in such a short time, so writing letters or sending postcards are a good way to share. My family loves it, especially my younger brother. The writer does a fantastic job of really putting herself in the shoes of a traveler going from city to city experiences all that they have to offer. 

Site: With Love From India

Overview

I have decided to use the online version Ramayana. It is very convenient and I do not like having to go to the library to do my homework. Plus, I do not have to buy it! I am a big culture person and even bigger religion fan. I love to learn more about religion and culture. It really fascinates me (which is the reason I am taking this class). I have never taken an epic literature class before, so this is very much out of my comfort zone. However, I have taken religion classes, and they are by far my favorite classes. I just took Islamic Theology and taking The Qur'an this semester! Islam is extremely cool to me, and I am always eager to learn more. It has been really heavy on my heart to know more about the religion. I was so close to Mecca two summers ago! I really want to go to Saudi Arabia one day.

Kaaba, the center of Muslims most sacred mosque, located in the 

city Mecca in Saudi Arabia. Muslims gather here every year. 

Islam- Wikipedia

I have visited both a Hindu and a Buddhist temple. Both in and outside the States. I do not know everything about the religions but I know a little! The church that I worked at in Singapore actually had a five story Buddhist temple next to it and on the other side was a Hindu temple. Their chanting every day was so loud we could not here each other speak!

Introduction to the Marathon Biochemist

Hi Everyone! My name is Jordan Shayne Thompson. I have a boy name, courtesy of none other than my father. First and foremost I am a Christian and love the Lord wholeheartedly. I have a heart for missions, and I have been all over the world doing them. 

Me playing with the kids on one of my mission trips. 

They always wanted to take pictures. 

I am 22 years of age. I grew up in Southwest Oklahoma. I am a proud Okie through and through, but I love to travel A LOT. For 2016 I plan to travel to Canada, Mexico, Iceland, Italy, the Vatican, and Germany. I am severely addicted to marathons. I have run eight marathons and one ultra marathon (more than 26.2 miles). I love to travel to different states to run. I am currently planning on running one in Washington and just got back from Nebraska, Arizona, and Tennessee! 

                                                     After finishing the Houston Marathon I stopped to take a picture 

                                                              with my finisher medal at NASA Space Center

I am a senior studying biochemistry with a Religious Studies minor. I am applying to medical school this summer, so prayers would be appreciated. I want to become and ER doctor. I love the adrenaline rush and the shift work. I also want to help others that cannot afford healthcare. It makes me sad that people die, even in Oklahoma, because they cannot afford treatment. 

Only until the beginning of my senior year did I switch to a Religious Studies minor. I took Islamic Theology because after traveling through some Middle Eastern countries and Southeast Asia I became really interested in Islam. I became fascinated with the religion and dropped my mathematics minor and switched to religious studies. 

I love sports. I played all through high school, but after tearing all the ligaments in my knees three times I could not go to college and play. It is okay because I am a secret nerd. I love Star Wars and will talk theory with anyone at anytime. The Periodic Table is the coolest. Recently adding four new elements to the Table is worth celebrating. I was a NASA intern and did research for them. I designed nucleases for their Synthetic Biology Department. It was tons of fun and learned so much. I am also an avid knitter, so if you have any cool things for me to try then please let me know.

One of my friends and I posing after a long day presenting our research.

Week 1 Storytelling: Rain, Rain, Go Away

Little boy looking out rainy window.

Pexel.com

 RAIN, rain, go away;

Come again another day;

Little Arthur wants to play

One dreary Saturday afternoon, Arthur sat at the window all day watching the heavy rain pour down on the street. He desperately begged his mother to go outside. All he wanted was to play basketball with Sally. Sally was a fourth grader that lived across the street. She was fantastic at everything she did, including basketball. Arthur really admired Sally. He always hurried home after school and asked Sally to play. Arthur was just a lowly third grader and never got to play with Sally at school. This made Arthur so sad! However, every Wednesday at 2 o’clock right in the middle of multiplications, Arthur could look out the window and see Sally playing with her friends on the playground. Arthur seemed to always be watching Sally from the window. Sometimes Sally would see him through the window and wave. He would always get in trouble by his teacher for being distracted when this happened. “You should be doing your multiplication tables like the rest of the third graders,” Arthur’s teacher fussed.

What Arthur did not know was that Sally also admired Arthur. Sally would sit in class and think about what Arthur and her were going to do after school. She was always so antsy to run home so she could see him. She loved when her parents would leave for the evening, so she could go stay at Arthur’s house. Arthur’s mom made the best pizza rolls!

Sally sat across the street watching the rain beat down on that Saturday. She wondered when it would ever stop. She begged and pleaded her mom to let her go outside, just for a short while. “You will catch a cold,” Sally’s mother said.  Sally replied, “Oh, but please, Mom! I have been cooped up all day!” As soon as Sally said that the rain stopped. The clouds suddenly did not look so scary. Sally and Arthur sprinted out of their house, Arthur with basketball in hand. Arthur and Sally both smiled at each other with joy.

Authors Note. We have all been there. We look out the window and see the sudden down pour. Our plans that we were so excited about, that we prayed would not get ruined, inevitably did. So we hoped that it will just magically stop raining and the sky clears. When I read this nursery rhyme that is what immediately came to mind. However, growing up on a farm, it was a sin to pray for the rain to stop. Every drop was welcomed and encouraged. This was always such a mind conflict for me. 

Bibliography. This story is based on the nursery rhyme “Rain, Rain, go away” in The Nursery Rhyme Book, edited by Andrew Lang (1987).

My Favorite Place: The Red Dot Country

Marina Bay and skyline of Singapore

 Wikipedia- Singapore

My favorite place on Earth is Singapore. I like to call it the Red Dot Country because it is so tiny. I spent a month there two summers ago and fell in love with the beauty. It is the cleanest country! You will find no trash on the streets and no chewing gum being sold in the entire country! (Luckily, you can just go 30 minutes over to Malaysia and get some.) The official language is technically considered Malay but only Malaysian descent knows Malay. Instead, it is a giant melting pot of Asia! The people are very kind and show great hospitality. One of my most favorite trips!