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Photo by pieceoflace photography on Flikr.   The pond had been the home for generations of fish. The pond had seen generations of schools, all swimming up to feel the warmth of the sun after being burrowed in eggs on the deep floor. As the years passed, the pond kept losing water, kept losing fish. What was once a booming pool of abundant creatures slowly became a warm puddle with fish that were slowly suffocating. The wild crane, the old and cranky one near the bay, watch the water line dip lower and lower every year. Instead of working hard to catch a few fish every day in a deep pond, he waited. Patiently. He watched the waters evaporate from the now shallow pond and saw the booming schools of fish starting to panic. He smiled to himself, knowing his long-awaited moment was almost here. "I don't know what much else we can do, sir," said Lole, the wisest fish in the pond. "I've never seen anything like it," said Boe, the oldest fish in the pond.

Illustration by W. Robinson. The Cunning Crane and the Crab   from The Giant Crab, and Other Tales from Old India by W. H. D. Rouse The story begins with little detail about the small pond. Still, I liked the way that it was described from the crane's point of view. I imagined the voice of the fish to be distinctly different from the crane. The tone of the fish were innocent and it kind of upset me that they never had any chance to develop. Instead of writing about any realization the fish might have had, it simply described that they were eaten. Likewise, was there meant to be any reason that the fish skeletons were dumped by a tree? The author mentions it several times, not only when referring to the fish grave but also when talking about the scenery passing the crane as it carried the crab. I think I was just a bit underwhelmed overall. I read a story of a crane being tricked when I was younger and it was filled with more strategy than just violence. While I can&

Books have always been a tricky part of the college routine, at least for me. I tend to value cost over the physical quality of the text. It's not that I don't like having a physical book, I just know it normally costs more and hurts the planet a little more. Because of these reasons, I chose the online version of Ramayana. Photo by Marduk at Flikr Some of the comics I grew interested in were  The Sons of Rama: Luv and Kush — The Invincible Twins .  I chose it because it reminded me of the various twins that I learned about in Greek mythology. They are abnormally stronger and tend to have a complicated storyline. According to the reading guide attached, both siblings seem to begin that same archetype in this story.  I also chose  Mahiravana: A Magician Outwitted . I chose it really because I thought the title was interesting. After reading through the guideline, I got more interested. Shapeshifting is not common in the stories I typically read so this was a nice sens

Hi! This is what I look like! Photo by Melanie Foster, personal use.  Cheers to a new blog! Ideally, you, the reader, and I, the writer, have never actually met before. Lucky for the both of us, there's much to learn! I truly believe that writing about anything makes one more knowledgeable than before they wrote about it.  While I don't have an eight-course thesis about myself, there are some basic components I would prefer people to know about me before the rest of who I am. Let us begin.  -I hate frogs.  I do not know where this originated from since this feels like a recent phobia. I remember I was not frightened or even close to crying when I dissected a frog in my 7th-grade math class. In fact, I was the leader of my group that did most of the dissecting and identifying of the innards. Now, however, if I see a frog after a rainy day in Norman town, I will cry. Immediately. It's not like anything traumatic happened, I'm just like this now. 

Technology is a very double-sides coin for me. By Joe Bennetton on Flikr .  And it's a constant battle for me to flip it. I read a few articles talking about time management to help me gauge how important it is, especially now more than ever as I step into my courses and career. The Important Habit of Just Starting : This article really hit hard because I know it is a habit I need and have lost over the past couple of years. No matter how I spin it, college work is usually six-step setup that tumbles from one process to another. The article talks about we are increasingly entering a world that is built for nothing but our consumption and that we still need to be ready to work through it. For people who get pulled into any content that seems just a little newer, people like me, it can be hard to pull away long enough to focus on what we already have on hand. This article helps to remind me that starting is a battle in and of itself, if not the toughest part of any task.

I like to think I can take technology in stride. From Melvin Mallard at Flikr .  I think I have to readjust what that phrase means to me every semester. Normally all that comes to my head is how often I would use technology I already know about and am skilled at. However, it seems that new advancements in higher education blow me out of the water with new techniques every time. I'd glad that I get to learn so many different things as I go but sometimes new platforms and tools take some time for me to get used to than others. For example, I began using Canva my freshman year of college. And I truly love it. On the other hand, Wix was a very difficult concept for me to understand. For whatever reason, I simply couldn't figure out exactly what it was I needed to drag or needed to download or etc. etc.. It didn't dawn on me to ask for help since Wix seemed like a program most everyone around me understood so I didn't want to push it. But look at me now. I have a

I think the way this class is unravelling is very interesting .  By Hindu_gods on Flikr . It is certainly not what I expected but I'm excited to work through it. I think it is very empowering (?) to be able to do the work at my own pace. At first it made me nervous to even start because I never thought I would be motivated enough to do work at my own pace. For me, the key seems to be to just work through and staying steady. I get the urge to just zoom through the assignments instead of taking the time to do them well or making sure they meet my own standards. While I can't guarantee what will happen to my later assignments, I'm glad that I have kept a good pace that I can only hope to continue. I have always been fascinated by the beliefs that people hold that I do not hold. It comes from a place of curiosity but I like to see what values and lessons align. I am somewhat familiar with Indian epics since they were common narratives from when I lived in Banglades

Reading for pleasure is not something I get to experience often. So when I was asked to read rando short stories for class, I experienced something I haven't in a long time. Relief? Joy? Excitement? Anyway, here is a brief report on all my thoughts of my favourite stories I discovered! The first story was titled " Stories For Your Unruly Children " by an unknown author. Karma as an Action and Reaction; Web Source:  Wikimedia Commons This story reminded me a lot of my own childhood. Even though I grew up in a very Christian household, Hinduism always trickled into our lives through very common things such as popular books and movies. My family was never against us asking questions about the stories we would hear and this is very similar to how children's books were set up. Even the artwork on the cover resembles the storybooks I grew up with. The story itself would have been very appropriate for someone much younger. While I don't know who exactly the

Hello!  When I pondered about a favourite place, I couldn't help but think of my home country of Bangladesh. While I don't want to say that I don't think about that place often, it certainly isn't enough.  This picture by Verity Stokes-Clark at Flikr. I think it is a favourite place because it holds memories of mine that can never be recreated. I haven't been back to Bangladesh since 8th grade and it isn't something that crosses my mind until my story of immigration comes to the surface.  No matter how I spin it and how much of American culture I manage to accumulate every day, I just can't seem to shake away that I am at least a bit different at the core. And that's okay.  While I love the whole country, this mountain that once used to be a castle holds a dear place in my heart. I believe it was one of the last places I saw the family on my dad's side. They always lived quite far away and even if I enjoyed their company, it was hard