Feedback Thoughts

A funny cat meme I found about feedback.

Feedback is one of the best gifts that a person can receive, but it is not always neatly wrapped or presented in a manner that someone believes that it's a gift. Feedback, along with trial and error, are mechanisms that have driven the human race forward since the beginning of time. This is essential ingredient in science, and it is why scientific discovery must be peer-reviewed to be taken seriously. Sometimes we mess up and can be blind to it because of our emotions, but it is important to understand and receive criticism and feedback to be able to grow as a person. However, it is not always easy to hear and it is not always delivered nicely to us. The article Why It's So Hard To Hear Negative Feedback gets to the core of that issue, which is the fact that the delivery of feedback is often done incorrectly and in bad faith. This can really affect and damage your mental image of yourself, and it's often hard to refrain from feeling badly. However, the article Why rejection hurts so much - and what to do about it deals with the latter, recovering and receiving criticism and feedback. The best piece of advice in this article is "have zero tolerance for self-criticism". We are already being criticized, so why pile on ourselves when we could be thinking about how to change in the future. 

Topic Brainstorm!

An image of Lucifer from the story of Dante's Inferno

TOPIC IDEAS

My first topic idea for my semester-long project is Dante's Inferno. I read the entire Divine Comedy in the 8th grade as a challenge from my English teacher, but being in the 8th grade did not fully allow me to understand everything that was happening in the story, and I was not really able to grasp any deeper level of understanding or references. Therefore, I'd really enjoy being able to fully re-read Inferno and become more familiar with a story that interests me! I am a Christian, and I have always been eager to read any story about anything that includes my faith, and the idea of "Circles"of Hell is interesting to consider. I'd likely retell this story in a similar manner to the original.

My second topic idea for my semester-long project is The Man in the Moon. This Native-American story has been so ingrained into the fabric of children story-telling for so long that every single child has at least of heard of the idea of there being a man in the moon. There are countless adaptations of this story in so many styles and languages now that it's crazy to understand the breadth of this story. I loved a version of this story that my mom would tell me, and I think it would be really cool to be able to try to tell it myself now as a 20 year old adult. 

My third topic idea for my semester-long project is Alice in Wonderland. This British story is likely one of the most well-known pieces of folklore or mythology in the world, especially for a newer generation of people that are less likely to study Greek, Roman, or Norse mythology. This is also likely due to the cartoon adaptation from Walt Disney Productions in the 20th century, but it is an iconic story that I hold dear to myself, and I will definitely be re-telling to my children when I have the privilege of being a father. I would re-tell this story in my project as a thought-for-thought iteration and less of a word-for-word one, and I'd be excited to do this project in particular.

My fourth and final topic idea for my semester-long project is Homer's Odyssey. This is one of the greatest and most well-known and studied pieces of Greek mythology, let alone any mythology, in the history of the world, which is no small feat considering how many stories exist in the world. I've read and re-read the Odyssey many times and I am always fascinated and intrigued to do so each time I set out to read it. This story has so many themes common and relevant to the human experience, even now over 2000 years later. It is truly a masterpiece of storytelling and I would love to be able to re-read the Odyssey and do a project over it. 

Week 2 Story: Pygmalion

An image of Pygmalion and his masterpiece, and love, Galatea together

Pygmalion, a decorated and celebrated sculptor, hailing from the land of Cyprus, was a man dedicated to his craft. This, of course, had many benefits, but it also took a personal toll on his own life. Worst of all, after seeing the wicked daughters of Propoetus, he had completely given up on the idea of women and love at all, deciding to live his life as a bachelor. The culmination of loneliness, sadness, and anger lead Pygmalion to near madness, pining for a chance to reconnect with society and with women., but he could not be with just any mere flawed woman of the earth. Therefore, he set out to carve the most realistic, detailed, and beautiful sculpture of a woman. After many weeks and months of careful craftsmanship, Pygmalion had finished. Knowing that the Festival of Aphrodite was just days away, he set out to find a most suitable offering to the goddess of love herself. On the day of the festival, he approached the altar of Aphrodite and he laid out his offering and prayed for many hours for Aphrodite to breathe life into the statue he so lovingly named Galatea. After many hours, he abandoned hope and headed back to his workshop in a depression. In a fit of sadness and loneliness, he laid his lips upon the surprisingly warm lips of the statue. The warmth shocked Pygmalion, and he kissed again to make sure his senses were not deceived. The statue gained color and eventually began walking and talking and breathing like a human. Pygmalion was deeply in love, and it appeared Aphrodite had answered his prayers. Galatea and Pygmalion began living with and for one another and they eventually had a son named Paphos, a shining example of a true man. After years on the island of Cyprus, the townspeople realized that Galatea was not of their kind and not a true Cyprian citizen. The constant scowls and ridicule from society took an even greater toll on Pygmalion, who had given up his life to dedicate it to Galatea. Eventually, the constant berating drove Pygmalion to insanity, which distressed Galatea, and seeing no way out, committed suicide to escape Pygmalion's crazed frenzy. 

Author's Note: I love and respect the nature of mythology, and it has always been a great inspiration for me to read and become well-read; however, progress is only achieved through trial and error, therefore I added a twist to the ending to represent a new take on a traditional Greek tragedy.

Bibliography: Ovid's Metamorphoses, translated by Tony Kline (2000). https://sites.google.com/view/mythfolkloreanthology/metamorphosis

Reading Notes: Week 2 Anthology

An image of Pygmalion, the sculptor who fell in love with a statue.

The story that really caught my attention, and kept it, was the story of Pygmalion. I have always been a huge fan of Greek myth, and I was really excited when I saw this one on the anthology! I read this story in my high school English class for fun, and it's such an interesting concept. Pygmalion, a legendary sculptor from Cyprus creates a statue of ivory that represents the perfect woman and the epitome of womanhood itself. The thought of women no longer interests him when he has already created perfection in his eyes. He prays to Aphrodite, the goddess of love, and makes an offering to her at her altar on the day of her festival. When he returns to the statue and kisses it, he realizes the statue is no longer hardened, and the statue has become a woman, who he marries and eventually produces a child with. The story is so interesting to me because it deals with the idea of beauty and love being in the eye of the beholder, and I believe that's absolutely true to life itself. 

Bibliography

1. Ovid's Metamorphoses, translated by Tony Kline (2000). http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/04/ovids-metamorphoses-pygmalion.html

Week 2 Reading Overview

An image from Greek mythology that I found because of my love of the classic Greek mythos.

Choose from CLASSICAL and/or BIBLICAL units for Weeks 3 and 4.

Week 3: Homer's Illiad

Week 4: Gospel of Mark

Choose from MIDDLE EASTERN and/or INDIAN units for Weeks 5 and 6.

Week 5: Life of the Buddha

Week 6: Arabian Nights

Choose from ASIAN and/or AFRICAN units for Weeks 7 and 9. [Week 8 is review week.]

Week 7: The Monkey King

Week 9: Brer Rabbit

Choose from NATIVE AMERICAN units for Weeks 10 and 11.

Week 10: Hiawatha

Week 11: Blackfoot

Choose from BRITISH and/or CELTIC units for Weeks 12 and 13.

Week 12: King Arthur

Week 13: Canterbury Tales

Choose from EUROPEAN units for Weeks 14 and 15.

Week 14: Inferno

Week 15: Decameron

I am very excited to learn about Greek mythology, and I will likely do some extra credit reading for those weeks, but I am also very excited to read the folklore of Brer Rabbit, as I just went on Splash Mountain in Disney World recently, which is themed around the tales of Brer Rabbit. I am also looking forward to reading British and other European mythos and folklore because I have been interested since reading excerpts of them in my AP Language and Literature classes in high school, and being a biology major, I am not really able to study or read these awesome stories without taking away from my other studies.