Learning Challenge: Time

(Matt Haig, Reasons to Stay Alive)

I saw this graphic on the Learn by HEART blog and it caught my eye. The sentence in particular that spoke to me was "How to escape time: music." Anyone that knows me, knows that music is a HUGE part of my life. I'm always listening to music, in the car, in the shower, while working out, while doing homework, etc. Music has always played a major role in my life. Music is how I cope with whatever I'm going through. Honestly, I don't know how I would get by without music. There's always a song that can describe exactly how you feel at a certain time. Music relaxes you, connects you, helps you cope, helps you make sense of the world around you, etc. Without music, I couldn't make it through each day.

Growth Mindset: Meme

(Growth Mindset Memes)

I decided to do a Growth Mindset challenge this week and came across this meme. It really stuck out to me because sometimes I'll find myself focusing so hard on the problem that it will take me three times as long to come up with the solution. Only to realize how simple the solution was from the beginning. Sometimes you just have to take a step back and look at the problem from a new, fresh perspective. This picture also really represents that idea as well, plus it's funny. Lol.

Reading Evaluation

The readings I enjoyed the most were the European readings. It was interesting to read stories that I've heard and seen growing up, but in a different light. The reading diary strategy I found most helpful for me was to read one complete story the whole way through, and then go back and jot down the main points of the story and the specific parts of the story that stuck out to me. That way I could think of how to write my story and add in key parts from a particular story in my readings that week. It was pretty easy to write my own story each week because there were plenty of options to choose from in my weekly readings. I always thought it was going to be tough to write a story each week, but once I browsed through the different ways to re-tell I could immediately pick one and match to one of my stories. My advice to anyone taking this class in the future is to get ahead and stay ahead! It's easier said than done, and I wish I would've stayed ahead. I might've been able to finish the class a week early if I would've.

Reflections

Overall, I would say the most valuable take-away from this class for me was learning how to be more creative. This class requires you to think outside the box, look at everything from new perspectives, and let's you say what you want to say. It's refreshing to be in class where there is no right/wrong answer. Every opinion, idea, concept is right. My favorite part of the class was probably the storybook. It gave me the freedom to create my own collection of stories that related to mythology in someway. In the end, this class has helped me to understand that there is more than one way to tell a story. Everyone has a different perspective and each unique viewpoint makes for an interesting world.