Growth Mindset

Before this assignment, I had not heard of Carol Dweck or the grown mindset before. I found the concepts from the videos on this assignment very interesting and relatable. Since I have been a cheerleader for almost my entire life, the desire to grow and improve myself physically and mentally is always a goal. I think there is always room to improve and cheerleading has made me realize that no matter how physically demanding and even dangerous it can be, it is much more mental than it is physical, much like other sports. Since I've been at OU, I have learned a lot about managing my time and the downfalls of spreading yourself too thin. It is easy to get the desire to be involved in everything possible, but I have realized that sometimes you need to give yourself some time for yourself as well. I am looking forward to exploring the growth mindset even more and applying it to my classes this semester.

(Photo by: Growth Mindset Memes blog) 

Time Strategies

I think online classes require just as much or more time management as regular classes because you are given more freedom to work at your own pace. This online class has a very large amount of assignments compared to online classes I have taken in the past, but I am prepared to finish everything by the deadlines. I read the articles "The Psychology of Checklists" by Lauren Marchese and "The Myth of Too Busy" by Tim Grahl. The article "The Psychology of Checklists" provides tips on how to make a great, effective checklist that will help you complete everything you need to do. The article "The Myth of Too Busy" encourages us to replace the term "busy" with "prioritizing my time". I really like this phrase because I think people often use being busy as an excuse to not be able to do something. If you really manage your time well and focus on the most important things, you will be shocked about how much you can accomplish.

(Photo by: The Psychology of Checklists- Lauren Marchese) 

Reading Options

Reading Options for Week 2:
1. Homer's Iliad (retold by A.J. Church)
I want to read this story because I am very unfamiliar with the Trojan War. I am looking forward to reading about the Greek hero Achilles and the Trojan hero Hector. I find the stories a little bit challenging to understand since the topics are not familiar to me, but I think the plot seems to be very interesting and worth exploring.

(Photo From: The Iliad for Boys and Girls) 

Middle Eastern and Indian Units

2. Arabian Nights (Scheherazade)

I am looking forward to reading the Aladdin and the Lamp stories in part 2 of this section. Aladdin is a character that I am familiar with and I am looking forward to seeing what unique stories are told. I am not familiar with any of the characters in part 1, but I think it will be fun to find out about these Middle Eastern tales.

Native American Units
3. Myths and Legends of California and the Old Southwest (Judson)
I am looking forward to this unit because I am currently taking Choctaw and I took Native American Studies in the past. These classes have expanded my horizons and introduced me to Native American lifestyle. These stories are about how the world came to be, which should be an interesting read.

Storybook Favorites

My favorite storybooks are...

1. "The Dog That Learned To Share" from The Diary of A Dog: A Daily Recount of my Ruff Life.
I like this story because I love dogs. I knew I would enjoy any story about a dog, and I think the dog in the story, Mercedes, is so adorable. The title provided a good preview of what the story would be about. The introduction also caught my attention and was a great lead in to the stories. It provided some background information about the author and her dog, the inspiration of the story. I liked how she even included the dog's perspective, it made the story more enjoyable and fun to read. All of her stories were based on true events. I think the design for the story was quite simple and the formatting could be better, but overall it looked clean and wasn't distracting.

Mercedes (Cedie) from the story 

Photo by: Emily 

2. "Move in Day" from The College of the Elite. 

I thought this story was interesting because it put a mythological spin on a real-life scenario. I chose to read this story because I found it relatable since it was about girls going to college. Although neither of them wanted a roommate, the unlikely duo of a siren and a banshee turned into a normal friendship. I think the introduction did a great job of introducing the characters from the stories and the design and layout looked great. 

Screenshot of text messages exchanged between one of the college girls and her mother, which leads readers to believe things are not starting out well.

Photo by: Katie 

3. "Leah and Rachel: Part 1" from E! News Special: Diary Reveal. 

The "E! News" part of the title is what inclined me to read the story. I like E! News so I figured the story would be filled with drama and excitement. As I began to read, I realized the story was based off a story in the Bible and I was very entertained by it. The physical layout of the pages were good and it was easy to get from one story to another. The introduction was fun and kept the news report theme going. 

Introduction to an OU cheerleader

Hi! My name is Jamie Andries and I am a Junior Public Relations major. I love being a PR major because one of the main focuses is communicating with others and I enjoy being able to meet and socialize with new people. I am a cheerleader here at OU, so I spend a lot of time at practice and cheering at games for football, basketball, volleyball, wrestling, gymnastics and soccer. I have been a cheerleader since I was 7 years old and I love being able to continue doing what I love while I'm in college. Besides cheerleading, my favorite things to do are workout, shopping and traveling. I love shopping so much because I am very interested in fashion and I would love to have my own store or clothing line after I graduate. I travel pretty often and have been to some really fun places, but I have never left the country. My goal this summer is to travel to at least one other country and I would really like to go to Paris or Australia. My favorite places I have been to are New York City, Florida and California. I love how busy it always is in NYC and I also love to go shopping there. It definitely isn't a city that suits everyone, but I think it would be fun to live there at some point.

I am from Allen, Texas and I have lived there since I was 5 years old. I have a Yorkie named Nike and I love her so much! I have my parents bring her to me in Norman any chance I can get since she can't permanently stay here with me.

I am also a Pi Beta Phi here at OU. I like greek life because it allows me to get involved on campus through philanthropic activities and other events just for fun. Being a cheerleader and a Pi Phi definitely keeps me busy, but I wouldn't want it any other way!

(Photo by: Jamie Andries)

I never thought I would be one of the girls wearing oversized t-shirts, decorating myself with greek letters and glitter, but it sure is fun!

(Photo by: Unknown)

The sidelines are definitely my happy place. I love football season so much and I cherish all the moments I get to cheer on the Sooners. It is such an amazing feeling to do what I love in front of thousands of Sooner fans. Boomer Sooner!! 

(Photo by: Jamie Andries) 

As you can see, I love to go to the gym to workout. (lol)

(Photo by: Jamie Andries)

New York City. You can't take cheerleaders to the city and not expect some stunts get thrown! The past two summers I have had the amazing experience of coaching cheer camps all around the country. I made tons of new friends and memories as I traveled to new places with the friends I work with. 

Week 1 Story: Robbin the Bobbin

(Photo From: Pixabay) 

Robbin is most definitely the largest man in the entire world. He is a man who is demanding, controlling and just plain pushy. No one ever wants to be around him because, to put it simply, he is a big burden. Not only that, he eats everything in sight. Robbin lives in a small neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts and none of his neighbors like to associate with him. Most people say they don't see Robbin anywhere except the grocery store and restaurants. The problem is, he is eating all of the food that is supposed to be for the entire community and there is never enough left to feed anyone else. He eats enough to feed about 100 people each day. Every time he makes a trip to the grocery store, he almost clears out every aisle. His home is filled with food; each room has been made into extra pantries to store all his food in. If someone doesn't put this man on a diet, the food shortages will never get better! His neighbors are worried about him hogging all the fresh food. They say, "He doesn't care about anyone but himself!" 

One day, a women is determined to put a stop to his ridiculous eating habits. She puts on her favorite workout outfit and marches over to his house with her personal trainer by her side. They pound on his door until he dramatically swings it open. The two women couldn't help but stare at Robbin in shock. He just never stops getting bigger and bigger. They start by asking if they can come in. He scolds, "What do you two want, I'm busy!" The trainer took a deep breath and asked the man if they could discuss a dietary plan. 

That was a big mistake. The man roared with anger and slammed the door in their face. Although their plan was not successful, a moving truck was seen in front of his house just a few days later. Men were loading up all of his food into the truck and he took off, never to be seen again. 

Author's Note: 

In the original tale, Robbin the Bobbin eats a cow, an ox, the church, the steeple and all of the people. I recreated the story, using the same character and theme, but I changed the plot to something a little bit more realistic (but still very exaggerated). 

Bibliography: This story is based on the nursery rhyme "Robbin the Bobbin" in The Nursery Rhyme Book edited by Andrew Lang. Web Source.

My Favorite Place... La Jolla California

 La Jolla, California. My favorite place that I have been to is La Jolla, California. I absolutely love the beach and I hope to live somewhere with beautiful beaches someday. I have some amazing memories from La Jolla and I could never get tired of the view. The last time I was there this summer, there were so many sea lions on the shore, so close you could touch them (even though you shouldn't). Although I hate getting in the water, I love being at the beach to get a tan and relax. I can't wait to go back to La Jolla again next summer to enjoy the perfect weather. Life is better by the sea!

Photo From: Flickr

The sea lions weren't bothered by all the people around. They laid in the sun and let everyone take their photos. This is a photo of me trying to get a sea lion to look at the camera (it didn't go as planned). 

My friend and I explored some of the cliffs and caves at the beach and took a lot of photos of the amazing scenery. 

The sea lions are sunbathing again in this photo. There were also a lot of people snorkeling to see all the sea life.