Week 1 Review

The Map of the Internet was my favorite post from August 30. Look at how big Facebook is on the right side!

I have to also add the Grammar and Style Guide to #Yodify Your Language post from August 26, which I thought was pretty funny.

Famous Last Words Week 1

Since it was just orientation week, I will skip over the My reading for this week and My best writing for this week posts. 

Other people's writing.
Reading through other people's writing opened up my eyes for new ways of writing. I read some stories that were very detailed in terms of character actions and settings. I think I could do that in the future for my own stories since I am currently not very good at setting and character development. I saw some excellent stories that kept me on my toes. I would like to adapt those characteristics into my own writing since I feel like my own can be a little boring at times. 

My other classes. 
Since it's just the first week of classes, I'm not drowning in coursework. Yet. On the very first day of classes, all of my professors jumped right into the lessons and that kind of stressed me out because I have been used to the first day just being syllabus day for the past year or so. But I'm a junior now, so I will get used to it! There haven't been any connections with this class and my other classes yet, but hopefully I can make some connections in the future. Although.. I like that there isn't a way to relate this class to my other ones just because they are all science classes (cell bio, biochem, social psych, etc). This class gives me a break from all of the science so I can just let my creativity have some fun! :)

Outside of school.
There hasn't been much going on outside of school. I've been enjoying the free stuff on campus this past week, like the free food and shirts! It's going to be less exciting next week once it all goes away. On another note, I was worried about parking on campus this year because much of the parking spaces have been taken away in order to do reconstruction, but it seems like it isn't too bad for me since my classes are mostly at 8:30am and that's when there aren't very many cars parked. It's a shame that parking is a huge issue for universities, though. Here's to another good week, self! 

Storybook Favorites

MermaidsOnly.com

As I was scrolling down the list of storybooks, I thought this one had an interesting title so I clicked on it. I mean, mermaids only? I am not too familiar about mermaid lore, but I had a feeling this would be interesting just based on the title. Little did I know that this was a creative little gem because this storybook is actually set up to look like a dating site! Wow, it blew me away as I went through the tabs because of how detailed it was as well! The little testimonials page with the love stories that came true and the profile pages kept me interested. I also liked that the background for the page was just water--as if I was a mermaid under the sea! I think I would like to implement this set up into my own storybook so that my readers will feel as if they're inside the story itself. I also liked that the author included a little search bar on the top right of the page to make it even more realistic looking.

Screenshot of MermaidsOnly.com storybook.

Link to storybook: MermaidsOnly.com

Mean Girls Morals

Truth be told, I enjoyed the movie "Mean Girls" in middle school. A lot. My friends and I would always make jokes that were based on the movie, so I knew that I would have a great time reading this. And I was right! The author linked each of her stories to a story in Aesop's fables all the while incorporating little details of the movie here and there. The topic and stories were very creative and I liked that the physical layout was pink, like everything in "Mean Girls."

The Prince Diaries

This was one of the random storybooks that popped up when I was refreshing the page. As soon as I saw the title, I thought it alluded to "The Princess Diaries" and hoped that this story would be written in the same style. "The Princess Diaries" series is one of my favorite series, so I was quite excited to see what was in store. As soon as I landed on the introduction page, I was met with a question that made me want to know more about the story. It turned out that I was right about the storybook being written like a diary and I enjoyed reading from the princes' perspective. These types of 'diary' stories are generally written from a female perspective and I liked that the author twisted it around, which made it more interesting to read for me. Another great thing about this storybook was that the author created a site map on the last link, which was a nice touch.

UnTextbook Selections

The UnTextbook has so many fascinating units that I would love to delve into this semester. The ones that caught my eye are: 

Buddha

This unit immediately got my attention as soon as I started scrolling through the sidebar because my entire family is Buddhist. When I was much younger, my parents would tell me a lot about the story of Siddhartha Gautama and his path to enlightenment. It's a little fuzzy now, but I would like to learn about it again and see how similar or different the stories will be. 

Monkey King

This is another one from my youth! My mom absolutely LOVES watching Chinese dramas and there was one called "Journey to the West" that told of the adventures of the Monkey King. I didn't really understand the dialogue in the drama very well because they used terminology too advanced for my eight year old self, so I just watched the character interactions and look at the gorgeous costumes. Just reading the overview brings back memories, so I definitely would love to read this unit in detail. 

Cupid and Psyche

Romance is one of my favorite genres and I also love classical mythology, so this unit is a win-win for me! I'd like to see how this story will unfold and whether or not it will be a happy or sad ending. 

Brothers Grimm (Crane)

I used to watch the first season of ABC's Once Upon a Time and a multitude of Disney movies that used stories from the Brothers Grimm, so I want to see how the media changes up stories to appeal to the public. I've heard that the original Brothers Grimm stories are much more gruesome and don't necessarily have that 'happily ever after' ending, so I'm definitely intrigued.

Dante's Inferno

I've heard good things about Dante's Inferno from my friends, but I have not gotten the chance to read it myself. The idea of 'the nine circles of suffering' appeals to me because I've always thought about what happens to someone after they die. Is there really a heaven and a hell or is it just nothing? Also, Buddhism has something similar called 'the eighteen levels of hell' and it would be interesting to see how eastern and western ideals compare!

Baroque painting of Psyche.

"Psyche Honored by the People" by Giordano. Source: Cupid and Psyche Unit

I chose this picture because I love the Baroque style. The colors and detail are absolutely gorgeous and each person in the painting seems to have a story of their own to tell, judging from their poses and facial expressions.

Introduction: Hi! (Tech Tip: Embedded Youtube)

My name is Phoi Nguyen, but I go by Michelle. People have always questioned the origin of Michelle, but even I am not too sure where it came from since it's not my middle name or on my birth certificate or anything. To be honest, my parents have called me Michelle instead of Phoi since I was a wee baby. Hm.. weird right?

I am currently a Junior at OU. This is the beginning of my 3rd year here! I definitely like Norman more than Tulsa since it's closer to OKC. I just like OKC because there are more things to do there than in Tulsa. Going to college was a rough transition for me because I came from a pretty sheltered family, but I'm used to everything at this point! I am majoring in Biology, Pre-Med with a minor in Psychology. If all goes smoothly, I will graduate in the Spring of 2017! Next spring, I will be taking the MCAT so it will be a busy year as I will be making preparations to study for that test as well as applying to medical schools. Last semester, in order to make some new friends, I joined a small asian interest sorority called Phi Delta Alpha. Here are my beautiful sisters!

Photo of the sisters of Phi Delta Alpha.

Personal photo, 2015.

If you have read my "Favorite Places" post earlier, you will have already figured out that I was born in Vietnam! I came to the States when I was around fours years old and I have visited once or twice since then. I hope to visit Vietnam again soon to see how much the country has changed since has been around eight years since I last visited.

I enjoy reading, watching movies/TV shows, eating (I'm definitely someone who lives to eat, not the other way around), and singing! My passion for reading has dwindled a bit since the beginning of college because of the amount of work piled on me doesn't let me curl up with a good book, but I'm hoping on remedying that this year. If you have any good recommendations, let me know! I also love animals, especially when the animals are little baby animals. That's when they are the cutest!

Photo of me with Reid, the kitten at Second Chance Animal Sanctuary.

Personal photo, 2015.

I am an only child so it gets pretty lonely, but luckily I have my dog to keep me company. He's a miniature pinscher and I don't have a picture of him since I'm not too good with cameras and the only pictures I have of him are from when he was a few months old. He turned six years old this summer. But this one will suffice since he looks like this.

Photo of miniature pinscher during in front of Christmas tree.

"Xmas 2010" by Leonardo Dasilva, December 2010. Source: Flickr

Dark Disney: The REAL Stories Behind Popular Disney Films

Week 1 Storytelling: Love Your Mother, Hinny

Photo of a mother kissing her baby.

"Mother Kissing Her Baby" by Larisa Okhtienko, April 2014. Source: Flickr.

LOVE your own, kiss your own,

Love your own mother, hinny,

For if she was dead and gone,

You'd ne'er get such another, hinny.

~~

“Learn to pick up after yourself! Once you’re in college, no one will baby you as much as I do!”

There she goes again… I can’t wait until I’m out of here… Just four more months, thought Mark. With a slight groan, Mark quietly told his friend Joshua about how annoying his mother was and that he had to go before she comes at him with a wet towel. Instead of being his usual cheery self, Joshua suddenly got very quiet. As Mark hung up the phone, he was slightly confused. Why was Joshua so sensitive when it came to mothers? They were constant nuisances and anyone can attest to that. All they do is nag, nag, nag all day and talk about how “you’ll never be good enough.” Forget about it. He probably just lost another game of League.

The next day, he met with Joshua for lunch and it seemed Joshua was still bothered by this comments about his mother. In an effort to resolve the tense atmosphere, Mark decided to ask him what the issue was. After a moment of silence, Joshua finally spoke up.

“My mom died yesterday,” he said. Mark took a deep breath. He didn’t know what to say in this situation. He was one of the lucky few that did not have to experience death yet.

“I didn’t want to tell anyone outside of my family because it’s still extremely difficult for me to talk about,” continued Joshua. “When I woke up this morning, I got up and waited for her to burst into my room… To tell me breakfast was ready and to get my lazy bum off the bed and wash up. But… she wasn’t there. All I heard was the sound of my own beating heart as I cried to myself and realized that I was never going to see her again. I’m no longer going to get to chance to tell her how my day went or what I plan on doing with the rest of my life after high school… or tell her that I finally got accepted into Stanford today.”

Tears were streaming down Joshua’s face at this point and Mark was left speechless. Joshua was always calm and collected no matter what the situation, and to see his friend in such a state, Mark was frozen with uncertainty in how to respond.

“I don’t mean to antagonize you for complaining about your mom, but you’re one of my best friends and I want to make you realize that your mother is human too and she loves you more than anyone ever will. Those times when you roll your eyes at her or make negative comments about her, you’re just hurting her feelings. She will always want the best for you, even though she will sometimes express it in odd ways. Blood is thicker than water, so try to listen to her and cherish the time you have together because once she’s gone, you’ll never get another,” said Joshua as he wiped his eyes with a tear-stained napkin.

Joshua’s words had an enormous impact on Mark. As soon as he arrived at his home, he went looking for his mother only to realize that she wasn’t home. This is weird, he thought. She said she would be home all day before I left.

Mark checked his phone and finally noticed that he received five missed calls and two text messages from his father. With a heavy sense of dread, he opened to the text messages to find that his mother was at the hospital after a car accident. In a state of panic, Mark rushed to the hospital to find her and prayed that she was going to be all right. Once he arrived and gave the receptionist his mother’s name, the nurse escorted him to her room. At this point, tears began to well up in his eyes as his heart began beating faster the close they got to the room. Please, please let her be okay, he thought.

The nurse opened the door and he saw his mother on the bed and he let out a yelp. There she was, looking perfectly fine, with a huge smile on her fact. The only injury she sustained was a broken leg. With a huge sigh of relief, Mark walked to her side and gave her a big hug and a kiss on the cheek.

“Wow,” said his mom. “I haven’t gotten a kiss or a hug from you ever since you left elementary school. Maybe I should break a leg more often,” she joked. Mark smiled through his tears and vowed to himself to always treasure his mother and… to give her kisses.

~~

Author's Note: The story was based upon the nursery rhyme "Love your own, kiss your own" quoted after the picture in this post. For this story, I did a complete makeover. I added characters such as Joshua and Mark. I also added in a dramatic element that created tension between Joshua and Mark, which ended in a lesson learned from Mark. The lesson was that he should treat his mother better and love her more, just like the nursery rhyme indicates. The image I chose for this story was a picture of a mother kissing her baby instead of a child kissing his or her mother. This is to show that mothers have so much love for their children, but some children don’t see that. I found that I could relate to this nursery rhyme on a very personal level because I love my mom and it's a shame some people don't. I’ve seen instances where children are ungrateful and treat their mothers like nothing at all, even though mothers have to go through nine months of, quite possibly, hard labor just to bring them to this world. I wanted this story to be dramatic because I felt it would have more of an impact on my audience.

Book: The Nursery Rhyme Book

Author: Unknown, edited by Andrew Lang

Year Published: 1897

Book Source: Project Gutenberg

Favorite Place

Photo of a bridge and surrounding houses at night in Hoi An, Da Nang, Vietnam.

"Hoi An (Japanese Bridge)" by Hühnerauge, April 2013. Source: Flickr.

Hoi An will always be a special place to me not only because of its raw beauty, but due to the fact that it is my hometown. Although I left this place at a young age, my memories will never fail to bring me back. I especially loved the night scenes and how the river would always hold the reflection of the moon in its flowing arms. People were always out and about once the sun had set because there was less heat and so there was a cheerful atmosphere from the hustle and bustle (imagine lots of children running around while giggling, grown-ups conversing, and occasional voices and sounds from the night market), albeit rather crowded. It has been a long time since I have returned, but looking at pictures of Hoi An brings back a sweet kind of nostalgia as I reminisce about my childhood.