Famous Last Words Week 1

This class has been a pleasant surprise so far. There is definitely a heavier workload than I was expecting, but hopefully I can start getting into a routine where each to-do for the week doesn’t seem as daunting. I thought my best work included my modern interpretation of the “The Wolf and the Kid.” Getting to do creative writing assignments excite me because I rarely get the chance to do them for school. In my own life, I used to journal daily, but have failed to stay committed to that endeavor.

My favorite assignment this week was getting to proofread the two stories because I am oddly fascinated by grammar rules. When I took a class my sophomore year of college, I learned about AP Style, which greatly improved my writing abilities. Creative writing can be intimating at times because there are so many extraordinary writers out there from the past and the present who have honed in on their trade over the years to produce excellent pieces of art. That is something I want to accomplish in the year of 2015. I want to become bolder about my writing and less intimidated by failure. Many joys in life cannot be experienced because of fear. It is a difficult hurdle to jump over though confidently. Fear creeps in at the most inopportune times. 

I haven’t started my other classes yet, but because I start my job next week along with the rest of the semester activities, I wanted to get as much of this class finished as I can while I have the free time. Too much free time can be dangerous and birth apathy.

I started to read the book “The Screwtape Letters” by C.S. Lewis about a year ago, but never fully finished it because of other distractions in the semester, so I decided I wanted to re-read the book this semester. It reminds me of this class just because it is about the head demon teaching a younger demon how to distract and destroy a man’s life through simple earthly tricks that seem so ordinary to mere humans. I greatly recommend it.

The book cover of the book "The Screwtape Letters" by C.S. Lewis. 

Source: Social Dream Lab

UnTextbook Reading Plan

Week 1: I would like to start out reading Bible Women because I am interested in seeing how accurate the stories are with the Christian Bible. The women of the Bible can teach us about trust, grace, patience and mistakes.

Week 2: To start off the second week, I want to read The Life of Buddah beceause I told my fiance the other day that I want to start learning more about other religions so I have a broader knowledge about the different beleifs out there. Hopefully, it strengthend my own faith.

Week 3: The Gospel of Mark is about the life of Jesus and his ministry. To come back to a text based on my religion after reading about a new religion will hopefully give me a new perspective. I have read the gospel of Mark in the Bible many time so I want to learn something from someone interpreting it. John the Baptist is a person in the Bible I am interested in learning about because of his animal like appearance, but supernatural connection to the King of Kings.

A drawing/ painting of John the Baptist.
(John the Baptist, by Lorenzetti)

Week 4: Alice in Wonderland was a funky childrens movie because of the drug references. In recent years I have heard from many people that the story was written by two high authors so I am curious to see if there is any truth to this rumor. 

Storybook Favorites

The first storybook I looked through was Magical Mermaid Tales because it caught my eye with "The Little Mermaid" image. I have always been a huge fan of Disney movies, the beach and painting so I had an immediate connection to this student's storybook. Once I read the title I had a pretty good idea the storybook would be about "The Little Mermaid" since the class is about mythology and folklore. The paintings on the "The Little Mermaid" tab were whimsical and airy with an ethereal touch. Anytime I see beautiful paintings I want to get out my paints and brushes to start a new project. You could say this storybook inspired me to paint today.

Another storybook I took interest in was Animal Tales From India to Oklahoma. I only lived in Oklahoma for three and a half years, but I have a special place in my heart for the state. The Native American culture fascinates me. When looking through the storybook by Benjamin Birdwell, I started noticing the stories had much to do with animals, especially squirrels. One even named Osh-ba-Gosh. After reading through a couple of paragraphs, I started wanting to know more about the story. 

Lastly, I enjoyed When Brothers Cross Paths. The design was eerie and the writing drew me in with the descriptive adjectives and dark feel. The pictures and design were complementary. I didn't even have to start reading before I knew what direction the story was going to head. This was a positive about the website. The story is based on the brothers in Supernatural, the TV show, which is a show I have never actually seen before, but the fact that something modern is twisted with the Grimm brothers is fascinating. I enjoy reading about mysterious stories, and this introduction led me to believe this storybook was a mystery. 

Haunted Forest: Watching Reservation Fall. 

Photo by Mor. Found from "When Brothers Cross Paths." 

Source: Flickr

Introduction: Shalom Friends

Shalom everyone! My name is Brooke Jeary, and I have greeted people with the word "Shalom" for quite some time now. The word means peace in the Hebrew language, which makes it a beautiful greeting in my opinion. I am a senior at the University of Oklahoma studying advertising and minoring in nonprofit organizational studies. 

I have been dating my fiancé since my freshman year of college. He has four younger brothers who I went to high school with and the middle-aged one set us up on a blind date over Thanksgiving break. It worked out great, and we are getting married in June of this year! We did long distance the whole time we dated so I talked to my advisor about making my whole last semester of school online so I could move back home to Texas and live in the same state as him doing normal life instead of just seeing each other on the weekends. She arranged my schedule so I could accomplish my plan, and I am so excited to be back here for a few months doing life with him and living with my family again. 

I will be working part-time at a local nonprofit called Serve Denton doing their social media marketing and design work while I finish up my degree. I worked for them as an intern last summer and when they offered me a part-time job, I immediately accepted. 

I enjoy the outdoors, running, painting, kayaking, hiking, and talking to new people about deep topics. I am a Christian and I love my Jesus. His grace astounds me because of how undeserving I am of forgiveness from a perfect God. Fashion has always caught my interest. I can shop at thrift stores or Nordstrom and mix my outfits to make something I see as stylish. I use to have a Scottish terrier named Sofie, but she passed away a few years ago.  Thanks for reading my ramble and I hope you know more about me because of this blog post!

This is my fiancé Bret. 

Photo taken by Kelly Sparks, one of our close friends. 

Week 1 Storytelling: The Mean Bully and the Child

On the playground one day, a small child named Charlie, in kindergarten at the time, was going down the legendary slide at recess. Some even considered this slide a roller coaster because of its fast speeds and steepness. This was the Rock-Your-Socks-Off Roller Coaster. It had been named by the fifth grade class when they were just youngsters in kindergarten.

Once recess was over, his class was being called in by their teacher Mrs. Nark because the older class had arrived for their turn. This small child just needed one more thrilling ride before he headed back in with his friends to finish the school day so he headed to the slide. As he climbed the tall ladder, he looked back to his kindergarten class in a single-file line and realized they had already started back for the classroom to begin his favorite subject, science. He loved this time of day, but the slide was more important to him at the moment, so he continued on.

Next thing he knew, a big first grader named George was following him up the steps to the slide. He knew he wouldn't get his turn because this big boy was a notorious bully. He would take Charlie's turn without even a second thought.

The small boy decided to tell George that the slide was broken because he had accidentally peed on the slide early in the day. The whole slide was smelly and wet so it probably wasn't worth his time. With disgust and disdain, the bully made a mean joke at Charlie's expense and headed back down the steep ladder.

The little boy clearly made up the story so he could go on the famous slide one last time that day. While the risk was embarrassment, he got exactly what he wanted and slid down that slide joyfully as ever. This young boy was becoming a strategic little fellow.



Author's Note: This story was based on the fable "The Wolf and The Kid," from The Aesop for Children with pictures by Milo Winter (1919). It was written by Aesop. The story is about a cocky little goat who thought he could fend for himself. While his family went home, he stayed in the pasture until it was dark. The Kid then realized the Wolf would come after him if he did not head home. The scared little fellow only got half way home before he saw the wolf. Knowing his near fate, he tried to trick the wolf by telling him to play him a tune so he could be merry one last time. To the Kids luck, the nearby dogs heard this sound and jetted to his rescue. The dogs ran the bad wolf away and saved the little goat from danger.

I decided to make the story about a little boy and a bully to make it more relatable to the readers. By twisting up the end of the story, it made a shocking conclusion that gave it more of a PG rating instead of a G.

A boy hanging off of a slide. 

"Boy Straddling Slide," by ImaSwedeStock.

 Source: Deviant Art. 

My Favorite Place: Turks & Caicos Islands

Turks and Caicos Islands: I visited Turks and Caicos a few years ago with my family for a summer vacation. I have always been fascinated by the beach because of the ocean. It is massive in size and has mysterious features like fish and plants underwater make it a mystical place. Vacations to Turks and Caicos encompass relaxation and experiencing God's beautiful creation with the people I love. The water here is so blue and the sand so fine. You can walk out almost 50 feet before you have to start swimming and can no longer stand on your feet. My mom and I would put out lawn chairs in the shallow water while we sun bathed.

                                     

Photo of the Turks and Caicos waters

by Patrick Nouhailler. Source: Flickr.

Number Uno

Hello World!

         -Brooke Jeary