"Oh my gosh, President Boren just tweeted that Buddha is coming to OU this semester!" Reagan exclaimed.
"There's no way.. Isn't he like super important?" Ashley scoffed back at her.
"IDK, he said it, not me," she replied.
It was the first day of the Spring 2017 semester and Reagan and Ashley woke up tired, already unmotivated, and not prepared for class. "Can I borrow a piece of paper? I forgot to get school supplies," said Reagan. The girls had been too focused on planning their spring break trip to think about the classes they were enrolled in. They walked part way to class together and then went their separate ways to different buildings. As Ashley walked through Gaylord, she noticed the OU Daily was posted in the usual place on the wall and the headline said, "Buddha arrives on campus," with a photo of a normal-looking young man below. She still thought there was no way he was ACTUALLY Buddha.
Later that evening, Ashley was walking home from the Union and noticed a ton of students gathered on the South Oval. She stared at her phone screen and tried to walk by without getting noticed; she hated getting approached on campus to look at flyers or getting asked to donate to organizations. This time she heard something out of the ordinary, it looked like one long line was formed behind one table. Intrigued, she got closer to check things out. She saw someone she knew in line and the boy excitedly said, "This guy said if we speak with him, we'll all get 4.0's!!"
Ashley thought it was just a frat boy wanting some extra attention so she continued to head home without thinking further about it. Over the next few days, Ashley noticed all of the study areas on campus like the BIZ, the Union, Starbucks on Campus Corner, and the study areas of class buildings were more full than ever. There were more students in the library on regular class days than she had ever seen, even during finals. She sat down with a study group because everyone was making her feel like she should do some homework. "Why are there so many people here?" she asked.
"Buddha has been sending out tips on how to be better college students! Look he even made an app for it!" a girl said. The app consisted of study tips, time management information, diet plans, and homework advice. It even suggested to stop drinking, go to sleep early, and exercise. "Was he trying to steal all our fun??" she thought. It's as if the entire campus had turned into boring, actual college students.
As time went on, it got worse and worse. By the time midterms came around, Boren sent out another tweet, "Most 4.0's in the history of the University of Oklahoma, proud of our students for working so hard!" Ashley and Reagan were literally so deprived of fun they thought they would do anything to go to a party. They even tried to throw one and no one showed up! They were sick and tired of studying; they knew something had to be done.
They were determined to get Buddha to transfer so they could have their fun back...
(Photo from: Life of Buddha by Andre Ferdinand Herold)
Bibliography: Life of Buddha by Andre Ferdinand Herold
Author's Note: This story is based off of "Siddhartha becomes the Buddha" from the book Life of Buddha that I read for this week's reading assignment. While I was reading more about Buddha, I was thinking about my previous knowledge of him, which I realized wasn't very much. I knew that I had seen decorative Buddhas before and heard you are supposed to rub their bellies for good luck. I thought I would put a modern spin on the story of the birth of Buddha by incorporating the "here in Oklahoma" storytelling idea that was listed for the class. I figured all of us college students could use some of the teachings/lessons Buddha has to offer since college can be quite the struggle. Some readers may think the twist Buddha brought to OU is a miracle, while others may have the character Ashley's mindset and think it is absurd or unnecessary. I definitely changed up the tales of Buddha a lot, but kept his character intact. I had fun writing something unexpected and unusual for a story with Buddha in it. I wanted to do something that had never been done before, that would also be relatable for all of our classmates.
I would not have thought to input Buddha into the modern world. I enjoyed your description of him as a normal looking man in your story. I certainly agree that we need many of Buddha’s life teachings, but I also need some fun to survive the college struggle as well. I thought it was interesting twist how the character never personally saw or conversed with Buddha on or off campus. Well done!
ReplyDeleteThis was such a fun story to read and something very unexpected too. I never would have thought of something so back to in the day to show up in the modern world and actually work well too. It was very refreshing to read, and I enjoyed it too.
ReplyDeleteHey Jamie!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your story! I thought that the idea was unique and you wrote the story beautifully. I did have one small issue though, I wish that we had a meeting with Ashley and Buddha. I feel that it could allow for some wonderful humor and add some depth to the story. Other than that I found that you did a great job incorporating him into the story. I feel that you could also allow the readers to meet the Buddha as well? I, for one, would love to see what he was telling everyone that caused them to study. I also would love to have that app! If only it existed! I like how you provided President Boren's tweets as well throughout the story to allow room for his feedback too! Great job! I can't wait to read more of your stories!
Jamie I thought your story about the modern Buddha was great. I liked how you made the two main characters dislike all of the help that he was trying to give. In order to do well in school and being healthy is so difficult and sometimes quite boring. I felt you did a great job highlighting that. Also, I thought it was really creative to incorporate Buddha into the modern world and even creating an app. I always picture Buddha as someone in the distant past but this was a different outlook. In terms of structure, I really liked how you broke up the paragraphs. It really made this a quick and easy read. I do wonder if they were able to finally get their freedom and fun back though. Overall, great story. Looking forward to reading more of your stories.
ReplyDeleteJamie, what a different style of story to read! I thought it was very interesting. Here are my thoughts on your story:
ReplyDelete1. Very good introduction.
2. "The girls had been more focused on planning their spring break trip to think about the classes they were enrolled in."
This sentence does not make sense - possibly missing a word.
3. What if you incorporate Reagan more into the story? I feel like she needs to be more included.
4. I wonder what would have happened if Ashley did in fact decide to go see why the group of students were bundled together?
5. Are you going to continue this story?
Well done!
Hey Jamie! I thought that you wrote a great story. I like how you put your "modern twist" into the original. Was there some parallelism between rubbing his belly and talking to him in your story? It seemed like by talking to Buddha they were luckier or at least better at studying! That would be similar to rubbing his belly and seeing your luck turn around I guess you could say.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read a story with the style of being "here in Oklahoma", but I thought that was a really cool way to take this one. It was neat reading about campus because I actually am familiar with the places.
The ending is definitely open ended, so it makes me wonder if you are going to continue this in the future? Hopefully Reagan and Ashley don't become bullies or are too harsh on Buddha. Maybe they can come up with a compromise. Keep up the good writing!
Hey, Jamie! I really love this story. I like how you placed the story in Norman at OU. This is the first story I have read with the "here in Oklahoma" storytelling idea. I honestly love it and want to try and use it in one of my stories before the end of the semester. I also like that you told the story in a creative way through the characters Ashley and Reagan. It helped make it more relatable and modern. It would be cool if maybe you could add a specific event or interaction that someone has with Buddha. I think it would give the reader the chance to really see his character. This would be a great way to further illustrate that you did not change his character in your version of the story. I also really want to know whether or not they were successful in forcing him to transfer. You should write a sequel to this. Haha. Overall, great job!
ReplyDeleteI think what you did was a very unique idea. I would have never incorporated Budha with daily OU life in such a way. It is a very interesting idea and it worked out just fine. I like how you told the story as well. It seems very casual, but not so casual to the point I feel like someone is simply talking to me. It was also nice to read something that I can relate to, like walking from the union or seeing David Boren. It was a refreshing story to read after reading so many others! One thing you could expand on is the background of the main characters. This could add a little bit of length to your story and help us better understand what role they serve as characters to the plot. Maybe they could be athletes or book worms. It would be a cool idea to give them a little bit more of a personality.
ReplyDeleteJamie, I thought that your story was hilarious and such a great read. It was funny that you put this character in the modern setting to mesh with college students of today and the technology around us. By just listening to Buddha, students started studying better because of the tips and he even “made on app” to help. I thought that was funny. It almost seems that he brainwashed everyone into studying because at the end the two decided something had to be done because no one was having fun anymore and just mindlessly focusing on just school. I think that you had an excellent feeling of describing the setting (which I am already super familiar with because it was just the University of Oklahoma campus) and dialogue between the characters. The only thing that I would suggest is maybe adding an OU picture to the story to represent our school. Great job!
ReplyDeleteI thought the way you incorporated Buddha into the life of an OU student was pretty unique because I never would have thought of an idea like this. I thought it was funny how you portrayed Buddha creating a study app that students actually used in order to improve their studying habits. The story flowed smoothly and it was a nice read with just a touch of humor. Since the ending was pretty vague, do you plan on continuing this story or is it meant to be finished according to the imagination of the reader. I agree with Ryan that an OU picture would be a great addition to add to your story to represent our school. I also think adding some type of interaction between Buddha and Ashley/Reagan would add some more depth to your story and introduce a new direction your story could potentially take. Overall, great story!
ReplyDelete