Famous Last Words: Week 1

Well, I have finally finished the first week of this class and I finally think I am getting a hang of it! My favorite assignment so far was probably the Storybook Favorites because I got to look through a lot of other students’ work to kind of see how this class will come along. When commenting on other students’ blogs, I encountered a lot of interesting Storytelling posts which was really entertaining. When I first started this class I was kind of overwhelmed by all the assignments and blog posts but now that I have completed the orientation, it doesn't seem as chaotic.

My other classes are going pretty good right now. I have been doing my best to try and work ahead in my classes so I don’t end up getting frustrated when everything starts piling up. The only bad thing about this semester is that all my classes start at 8:30 AM on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I’m not really a morning person but I’ve been doing well so far, granted it’s only been a week. Besides that, this semester is going pretty smooth! I also just got hired at CASP, which is the Community After School Program here in Norman. I will be starting to work on Tuesday! Besides that, I have just been busy with rush for my fraternity and trying to get back into the swing of things.

It’s good to be back in Norman and have something to do. I enjoyed being home over winter break but I didn't do much besides watch Netflix, sleep, and relax. It got sort of old after the first couple of weeks. Now that I am back in Norman, there’s so much more to do and I get to keep myself busy! I am starting to feel the lack of sleep already hitting me though!

It's good to be back; Wikimedia

Indian Epics Overview

Growing up in an Indian family, a lot of these stories I am familiar with although I’m sure there’s plenty of new things that I am bound to learn. I am excited to see how this class goes and what all I will learn! This is actually the first class I will be taking that focuses on the Indian culture but I really haven’t taken any classes that focus on a specific culture.

            Ever since I was a little kid, I have been watching Indian movies and listening to Indian music. It’s cool how I can enjoy music from one culture, and then also have the opportunity to enjoy music from another culture! Indian movies are also very different from Hollywood in my opinion.

I have been to India three times in my life! Once when I was really young, another when I was in second grade, and the most recent time when I was a freshman in high school. It’s like a whole new world there. The style of life is different, the environment is different, as are the people. One thing I would never do in India is drive. It’s crazy there! The road/highway system isn't nearly as developed as it is here. There’s always people honking at you and tailing you, there’s no stop signs or stop lights, and there’s really no one to enforce traffic! So I wouldn't recommend driving there if you haven’t already been exposed to that kind of chaos.

Traffic jam in New Delhi; Wikipedia

I’m really excited to see how this class goes and to learn more about the Indian culture. Hopefully it’s an enjoyable experience!

Storybook Favorites

As I was looking through the various Indian Epics storybooks, I found quite a few that I found interesting. Three of them though, stood out the most and were very intriguing!

The first storybook I found extremely interesting was Stories of an Elephant-headed God. Growing up as a Hindu, stories of Ganesha had always been prominent and abundant in my childhood. From his beheading to the noose stories, I have probably heard almost all of the stories! The title did a very good job at describing the overall content of the storybook. I also liked the simple layout and the ease of navigation of the storybook!

The second storybook that caught my eye was Arjuna: Essence of a Hero. This one is especially interesting because my name, Parth, was the name Lord Krishna used to call Arjuna by. “Parth” in Sanskrit means archer who never misses his target, which accurately depicts Arjuna! Basically, Arjuna is one of the Mahabharata’s most prized warriors, an archer whose dead eye accuracy made him legendary! He also becomes very close to Lord Krishna, who is like a mentor to him. I liked the simple layout and design of this storybook as well. The images in this storybook went hand in hand in giving a visual display of the story that was told.

Krishna offering advice to Arjuna; Tales of Arjuna

The third storybook that I found intriguing was Epic Festivals of India. This I thought was fitting title because of the vast assortment of festivals and holidays that accompany the Hindu religion. I have heard that India is sometimes called the “Nation of Festivals”, which I seem to think is very fitting as well. There is always something to celebrate or something going on somewhere! Every festival or holiday that I have heard of has always been a vibrant celebration with lots of lights and colors and whatnot. I liked the simplicity of this storybook as well and it did a really good job of providing an example of how many festivals and holidays there are in the Indian culture!

Introduction: A Little Something About Me!

Hey guys! So I’m usually pretty bad at this “about me” stuff so I’ll just start with the basics. My name is Parth and I’m currently a junior here at the University of Oklahoma studying Microbiology/Pre-Med. I plan on graduating in May 2016, barring any complications! I am involved in a couple campus organizations such as Pre-Med Club and the Oklahoma Undergraduate India Society (OUIS). I am also an active member of Delta Epsilon Psi, which is a multicultural social and service fraternity. I have also volunteered to be a part of the Medical Brigade that will be going to Panama this upcoming semester and I’m really excited for that! I want to go out and do something that will make a difference in less fortunate countries and this is a golden opportunity!

This is me! (taken by a friend of mine)

 Before I moved to Norman, I lived in a few other places. I was born on July 4^th, 1994 in Salt Lake City, UT. I don’t really remember Salt Lake City that much, but I hope to go back and visit there soon! When I was two and a half years old, my family and I moved to a small town called Ardmore, OK where my parents bought a hotel and basically jump started their life. Ardmore is where I call home because I lived there for thirteen years. After my sophomore year at Ardmore High School, my parents decided to buy another hotel in Burleson, TX so then we proceeded to move there. That was a huge decision considering I had spent my whole life in Ardmore but I dealt with it and it ended up okay. I played on the varsity basketball team there and graduated in May 2012. After that, I obviously came back to Oklahoma to go to OU!

Growing up, I was always allergic to furry pets so I only ever got to have fish as pets. Recently though, I realized that I’m not allergic to cats anymore so my roommates and I all pitched in to get a Bengal cat! His name is Shere Khan, or SK for short, and he is probable the best random decision I have ever made! He’ll be a year old next month.

This is SK when he was 8 weeks old, we had just got him (photo taken by me)

Besides all that, I’m really just a laid back person who loves to meet new people. I want to be a successful doctor in the upcoming future but I haven’t decided yet what I want to specialize in. Medicine is so vast though so I feel like I’ll figure it out once I make it to medical school. If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask!

Week 1 Storytelling: Work Ethic

EARLY to bed, and early to rise,
Makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.

-The Nursery Rhyme Book, by Unknown

As a young man, sleeping and waking up early was something Jack could never do. He loved his sleep very much. He would sleep for hours on end, snoozing for nearly twelve hours a night! He would go to bed at odd hours of the night on weekends, some nights 2:00 AM, some nights 4:00 AM and wake up in the afternoon. School nights weren't any better, he would fall asleep around 1:00 AM and barely wake up in time to get ready and get to school on time. It got so bad that he ended up being late almost every day! After a few years of this, Jack started to see a decline in his health and productivity. He had gained a lot of weight over the years, he was broke and was failing his classes, and he had no motivation to do anything. His father had noticed Jack’s bad habits and decided it was time to talk to him.

“Hey there”, he said. “I've noticed you've been failing your classes. You also aren't making any money or have a job like the rest of the kids your age. Do you know why?”

Jack responded by saying, “I just love to sleep, Dad”.

“Do you know how I got to be as successful as I am today?” he asked Jack. Jack shook his head no and looked up at his dad. “Work ethic”, he said. “I was always up by five in the morning. I would go workout, shower get ready, eat breakfast and be ready for class or work an hour before I had to be there. Waking up early ensures that you’re not wasting your whole day. It gives you time to do more, like study, stay healthy, have a job. After work or school, I would come home, eat dinner, relax, and then take care of any other errands I had to do. I wouldn't laze around all day. And then around ten or eleven, I would already be in my bed, ready to wake up for the next day of opportunity.”

From that day, Jack took his dad’s advice to heart and fixed his sleeping schedule. He would wake up every morning at six, get ready for school by 7, eat breakfast and be on his way to school. He immediately noticed improvements in his health, grades, and social life. He got a job and started making money, and he also realized that sleeping early gave him enough energy to carry on throughout the rest of the day and accomplish more tasks. “This is great”, he thought. “I should have started doing this a long time ago”. In the end, Jack became a successful businessman and it was all because he made one simple change to his daily habits.

"Early bird gets the worm"; Sketchport

Author’s Note: I chose this proverb from The Nursery Rhyme Book, edited by Andrew Lang (1897). The proverb is pretty simple, stating that the person to sleep and rise early will be the most successful. I took that in relation with school and work ethic and how that plays a vital role in the outcome of a person’s success. A person who is disciplined enough to get the day started early is bound to succeed in my opinion.

My Favorite Places

As hard as it is to choose from the list of places I call my "favorite", I'm going to keep it simple and talk about two places that really stand out to me:

The first place is just a general place, a place where I go to relax when I'm stressed out or just need to think. It's where I go when I want to be alone and just do my own thing. That place is just any old basketball court I can find. It can be at the park, or at the gym. It doesn't have to be nice or anything, I just need a ball and a hoop, something simple.

Empty Basketball Court; Flickr

The second place is Niagara Falls in Canada. The first time I went there I was just mind blown by how powerful and big the falls are. It's definitely one of the best places I have been to just because of the sheer beauty of it! If you've never been here to visit, I definitely recommend it to anyone!

Niagara Falls, Canada; Wikimedia Commons