Catching up with Carly

 I am definitely very proud of my progress. I am most proud of the fact that I have managed to stay at least two weeks ahead of schedule in this class the entire time. Doing so has totally relieved me of any stress and allowed me to work at my own pace. I enjoy the story writing assignments the most. I am able to do my own thing instead of following strict guidelines and I am able be creative. I have only used a couple of the extra credit options, but so far I have not need to because I have not missed any assignments. Things have been going well in terms of developing my portfolio and I am happy with my progress. So far there is not really anything I want to change moving forward. I like how I have been doing everything and am looking forward to the next half of the semester.  Pixy

 Overall, I have been receiving some really good feedback from other students in this class. It is most helpful when they ask questions about my story that get me thinking about what I could change or add and how to explain things better. Some people just compliment my stories, which is very kind, but it is more helpful when they give their own suggestions or say whether or not they were confused by something. I also think that I have been giving pretty good feedback. I make sure to point out what they are doing right and what I like about the story the most. I could definitely work on giving more suggestions and being more helpful, because sometimes I forget to add anything other than compliments. Reading other people's stories definitely does help me with coming up with my own ideas. I love seeing all of the different styles that people use and all of the ways in which they change the reading into their own unique stories. I definitely have felt like I have gotten to know some of...

 So far, I am very happy with my portfolio and my blog posts. I definitely think my writing has improved throughout the past few weeks. My stories have become longer and are beginning to include more details. I really appreciate the comments that we get from the teacher each week because I am able to better adjust my stories to her expectations. So far, I really like how my portfolio is coming together. All of my stories are sort of light and almost child-like in nature, which I really like. I feel like I am writing a kid's book! I have been able to base all of my stories off of my reading notes while still making my stories original. I like having those reading notes as a guide for my reading. Looking forward, I need to work more on my reading and reading notes. I much prefer writing to reading, therefore it is harder for me to get through the reading and engage with the reading. I need to work on enjoying the reading more and letting myself be captivated by the stories.  ...

 There was once a beautiful, colorful female bird that flew amongst all of the other birds in the rainforest. While most of the birds were simple shades of brown, her feathers displayed a beautiful rainbow of colors. She knew that she was far more beautiful than the rest of the birds, and therefore demanded to be treated as such. She knew that every male bird wanted her and that every female bird wanted to be her. As a result of this, she demanded to be crowned Queen of the sky. Although the other birds thought that she was obnoxious and full of herself, none of them objected. They knew that if any bird should be the queen, it should be her.  However, soon after she was crowned queen, the other birds became annoyed with her rules. They began to conspire with another on how they could get rid of her, or at least humble her.  "We could start an uprising," one bird suggested.  "That will never work! She will simply punish us all!" replied the others.  "We have to ...

  The Forest and its Ghosts Many years had passed and a day came when Yudhishthira and his brother and their wife Draupadi adventured to the homage of their elders  They found they were there to save Vidura who had departed to a sacred place on the banks of the Ganges River to wait for Yama, the god of death Many people went to find Vidura but when they came to him, he was aged and starved  They all waited beside him while died and mourned tougher  The great sage Vyasa then appeared and said to the people that if they should bathe in the river at sunset, their dead loved ones will appear throughout the night  As the sun went down, they chanted mantras and went into the river  The waters began to heave and foam, and Vyasa spoke holy words and called out the names of the dead All of the heroes who had been slain appeared one by one  Drums and trumpets were sounded and it looked as if the armies of the Pandavas and Kauravas were once again ready for battl...

  Riddles at the Lake While in exile, the Pandava brothers thought to leave the forest However before they could leave, a strange adventure awaited them  One of them climbed a banyan tree to look for water They found a pond nearby and Yudhishthira sent Nakula towards it Nakula went and a voice said to him that he should answer some questions and if he does not he should not drink the water Nakula was so thirsty and afraid that he drank the water anyways Nakula died instantly  Sahadeva followed him and was confused why his brother had died, he also did the same thing and fell dead Arjuna and Bhima repeated the same  Yudhishthira was next to approach the pond he was smart and responded to the voice, agreeing to answer his questions  Yudhishthira got all the questions right and the voice revealed himself in the form of Dharma: god of wisdom and justice  Dharma granted Yudhishthira two boons  He wished for his brothers to be restored to life and that they ...

 Mason rolled his eyes as he walked down the halls of his high school, hearing the same loud cheering that he heard nearly every week. The football captain, Charlie, had won again. He had won every single game all season, and yet everyone still cheered and went wild like he had done something new. Mason just did not understand it. Why did Charlie get all the praise? Why did everyone love Charlie so much?  "Football is not even that hard." Mason would say to his friends out of jealousy. "All he does is throw the ball. He does not even tackle anyone." he would continue.  Charlie was the quarterback, which meant that he was the most popular guy in the whole high school. Every guy either wanted to be his best friend, or wanted to be him. No one was ever rude to his face and he got whatever he wanted. He was bad at school, but even the teachers gave him extra help so that he could play each week. His girlfriend was the cheerleading captain of course, and also the most be...

  The Gambling Match Duryohdhana was in a jealous rage when he saw others being praised for the trump of the Pandavas He set up a gambling match to prove he is also worthy of praise He went before his father and asked if they could invite the Pandavas - Yudhishthira  The Pandavas agreed despite not knowing how to play and knowing the game may be played unfairly Duryohdhana practiced with his uncle, a renown gambler, to ensure that he wins  When the gambling match started, Duryohdhana asked his uncle to play and they both conspired to play together: one would roll the dice and one would place bets Because their team was unstoppable, Yudhishthira lost everything Even after he lost all of his possessions, money jewelry, chariot, cattle, elephants, slaves, slave girls etc., he bet in Draupadi  Yudhishthira lost yet again and Draupadi was handed over the Duyrohdhana as a slave Birth of Draupadi  When Drupada lost half of his kingdom, he sought to do whatever it takes...

  King Shantanu and Ganga King Shantanu marred the goddess Ganga  Ganga agreed to be the human mother to the Vasus and cast them into the Ganges as soon as they were born so they could return to their celestial state  Ganga made each of them promise an eighth of their power to her son who would stay human She gave birth to the first son and casted him into the Ganges, which horrified the  king  This continued seven more times The king was disgusted by his mouth and broke his vow  She eventually came back to bring the king their one son named Devavrata  Vyasa and Ganesha The king Chedi, uparichara, scared other gods into thinking he was going to steal their power The gods sent Indra to bribe him with a flying car  He was flying one day and his semen fell into a river A female fish swallowed the semen Ten months went by The female fish was caught by a fisherman and two children came out also The fisherman tells the king  The king take...

  The Scheming of Kaikeyi  We learn the real person behind Rama's banishment is Manthara, who is Kaikeyi's servant When Kaikeyi heard that Rama would be crowned king she was happy for him, believed he would be fit, and thought her son Bharata would bask in the glory as well  Manthara convinced Kaikeyi with jewels and gifts that if she came up with a plan to have Dasharatha make Bharata be king and Rama to be banished Manthara reminded Kaikeyi of the three boons Dasharatha gifted to her, and persuaded her to use one of them  Kaikeyi goes to talk to Dasharatha  Sita Stolen Ravana sees Sita waiting alone for Rama's return He goes to her and Sita, thinking he is a Brahman, and gives him food and water Ravana orders her to be his wife and Sita becomes very angry and scolds him Rama seizes her, but Jatayu, a great vulture catches Ravana doing this As he leaves to let Rama and Lakshman know, Ravana starts attacking the bird Although unsuccessful at first, he kills Jata...

 https://sites.google.com/view/carlypotfolio/ Hi everyone! I appreciate all of your comments in advance! Let me know what you think of my portfolio!   Wikimedia: Comments

 I really liked learning about microfiction this week! I was not previously familiar with this style of writing and had never been exposed to it before. I really enjoyed the 100-word microfictions , especially the Tiny Love Stories. I feel like 100 words is just enough to intrigue the reader and provide a little bit of detail without turning too complicated or becoming boring. They are quick, fun little stories to read and I really enjoyed the more contemporary style of the love stories featured in The New York Times . I do, however, think that the 6 word microfictions are just too short. While they can be intriguing because they can appear as eery or allusive, they do not provide any detail or really create a story at all. I just felt like I was reading random sentences. In the future, I do want to try writing microfictions in this class! I think it would be a fun way to challenge myself. While you might think that writing less is easier, it is often difficult to fit a cohesive an...

  Rama Attacks War was coming, the sky darkened, the earth shook, and destruction was foretold Ravana's spies disguised as Monkey's to spy on the Monkey army and bring back news  The spies came back and advised him of Rama's power and encouraged him to surrender Sita to Rama  Fearful of Rama, Ravana decided to betray Sita He tells her that Hanuman and Rama are both killed, presenting her with a head and bow similar to that of Rama's Sita begged for Rama to kill her as she cried out mourning for her slain groom  Ravana's spies burst in to inform Ravana to prepare for battle  The head and bow  disappeared  Sita knew she had been tricked with illusions  Kumbhakarna The Rakshasas were in desperate shape and resulted to their last result to help slain Rama and the monkey army, which was to awake Kumbhakarna  Kumbhakarna was the mightiest of all demons, he ate humans and has a curse casted upon him He is forced to sleep for six months at a time and...

  Sugriva and Hanuman Sugriva and Hanuman disguised themselves to ask Rama and Lakshman who they were and what they wanted Sugriva told Rama that his brother Vali drove him out of his kingdom and kidnapped his wife Hanuman was happy to see Rama because they saw him as an ally who could help Sugriva Rama and Lakshman  explained that Rama was in exile  Everyone left to meet Sugriva in order to help him defeat his brother  Sugriva's Story  One night Vali was being attacked by an enemy and dragged the enemy into a hole Vali ordered Sugriva to watch the hole until the enemy came out; he watched it for one year Sugriva saw blood spill out of the hole and returned to the kingdom because he thought Vali had been killed Vali had not died and struggled to escape the hole because Sugriva filled it with a mountain Once Vali returned to the kingdom, he was so angry with Sugriva that he took his wife  Hanuman's Leap   As hanuman saw other Monkeys make great leaps, h...