My Transition to a Growth Mindset

Growth mindset is a topic that I was not familiar with until now. I have never heard about Carol Dweck until today. I really liked the transcripts that I read. I think that she makes several good points. One in particular that caught my eye was the question "Are we raising our kids to be obsessed with getting A's?" To be completely honest I definitely think we are. We are always told that getting an A in the class proves so much about yourself. However, I do not think that this is the case. I think that a letter grade might have more to do with effort than it does intelligence. I like the mindset that you are just not there YET. Meaning that a person is still learning and growing regardless if they fail at a thing or two. I know for myself I learn better when working with someone 1 on 1 or in a smaller setting. However, there are times where I am in class with 400 people at once. With the growth mindset I can tell myself that this will be a challenge that I can succeed in. A class that I am excited for this semester is History of Racism. A class that I think will be my hardest is class is possibly Ethics for Intercollegiate Athletics. However, with the growth mindset I trust that I will do just fine.

To grow yourself, you must know yourself. 

(Source: Growth Mindset Memes Blog)

Time Strategies

Time management is extremely important especially when you have a busy schedule like I do. One thing that I do to stay on top of things is keep a planner. This planner is filled with details about when I have an assignment due and for what class. It also has the times of when I work and volunteer. I write everything in my planner at the beginning of the semester so I never double book myself for anything and can see my year laid out. The article that I read was "The Psychology of Checklists" by Lauren Marchese. This article in particular caught my eye because I am obsessed with checklists. After reading the article I did like that they she mentioned using SMART goals. It is important to set goals that are measurable and attainable. I also took away the reward system. I plan to set my goals and have a reward for whenever I finish them. This reward will be either getting my nails done or going out to dinner or watching a movie in theaters. It is something to work toward and look forward to. Another way I am going to manage my time this semester is by having someone keep me accountable. By telling my fiance some of my short term goals it will help me stay on top of it. I know that in a few weeks when he asks if I accomplished them or not, I can say I have. It is not easy to always manage time because everyone has lazy days. However, I am going to attempt to have the least amount of lazy days as possible.

Checklists for Dayz. Source: Pixaby

Narayan's Ramayana Reading Option

It was really interesting to see all the different options available to us. I am going to choose the Narayan's Ramayana's reading option over the other one because I like print copies rather than online copies. I also liked that there was a single modern style and not all over the place. I like consistency. Some other reading options I am interested in reading is Krishna by Sister Nivedita. It sounded interesting to me because of the battles he faces between humans and demons. I also noticed that I am interested in any stories that have powerful Indian women or love stories.

I have not taken an class of epic literature before. This is my first time, and I am quite excited! I have also not taken a religious class either. However, I have many friends who are Hindu and have learned a lot from them. I am also Muslim so I practice Islam. I have also read parts of the Bible. I enjoy learning about different religions and cultures.One thing that I love to do in my free time is watch indian (bollywood) movies. I am also a big fan of Indian music and Indian dance. I do understand Hindi, however I do not speak the language.

I am thrilled with everything that I have learned so far and cannot wait to see what is in store for the rest of the semester.

Rama and Sita, a modern sculpture;

location unknown.

Photographer: Indi Samarajiva

Source: Flickr

I have chosen the image above because of the immense beauty of it. I love how the sculptures look intimidating and serene at the same time. I also like that it looks like the sculptures are places in a small village. The people have something so powerful and amazing "watching" over them. The beauty of it all just takes me in.

Storybook Favorites

Hello,

The following are my favorite stories from The Storybook list of Indian Epics. 

When Love Confesses

This story immediately caught my eye when I was scrolling through the storybooks. I think the reason being is because I am engaged to the love of my life. I know some people find it cheesy, but I think love is something very beautiful and something to be proud of. Therefore, the title did catch my eye since it is relate able to my own life. I do believe the title did a really good job of letting the reader know what the story will be about. The introduction was my favorite part because it was a conversation between a mother and a daughter who is in college. I think it helped grab my attention because the style of a conversation pulls me in more than just bulky paragraphs. The layout of the page was easy to navigate through, which I really appreciate. One design feature that I want to use in my own project would be soft colors of the page. It was not hard to read. I also like how clear cut it was. I hope to use this in my project.

Horses Divine

This was a quite an interesting story! The topic of this story are powerful beautiful horses. I chose this story because horses are my favorite animals. The title did do a good job of conveying what the story is about because the stories are about divine horses. I think the introduction was well written. It starts off by saying that horses have been used throughout human history for several purposes. The layout was nice because it was cut up into small paragraphs. This is easy on the eyes for readers. I like that the navigation was really easy to spot. There was an image on every page which helped my interest grow. I also liked that it was a few different stories that each taught a lesson. I found this picture to be very powerful piece.

Hayagriva Returns the Vedas, Ramanarayanadatta astri. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Epic Couples: The Magical Book of Love

The topics is something familiar to myself and I think that is partly why I chose to look into it. I think the title did do a really good job of explaining what the story would be about. Since the stories were about couples and their amazing love stories. The introduction was very helpful. It laid out the foundation of what was to come. It gave helpful information that we could reference back to if needed. The overall design was really nice. I think the serene colors were a good choice. The pictures helped me understand more of what the stories are about. I also appreciated the author's notes at the end of each story. The sitemap at the end is very easy to comprehend as well. These are definitely somethings I will try to include in my project.

Introduction to a Human Relations Senior

My name is Mehik Malik and I am a Human Relations senior here at the University of Oklahoma. I was born in Pakistan but moved to the United States when I was three years old. I grew up in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma with my two brothers!

As you know I am a Human Relations major, so what does this mean? As a Human Relations major I am learning about what connects humans to one another. Pretty interesting right? Well there's more! Within my major I learn about people and the different ways to interact with them. I also learn about different cultures and religions and how to create a safe environment for everyone. I am a strong advocate for social justice issues and hope to create a positive change in this world. I have the most interesting classes I believe. Some courses I have taken are History of Racism, Intro to Counseling, African American Aesthetics, and more.

The HR major has helped me be more involved on campus. I am a Resident Adviser for Couch Center. This means I oversee 70 girls that live on my hallway and help guide them during their time here. I am full of helpful knowledge about this university in which I share with my residents to help them flourish. I am also VP of the Student Society of Human Relations. This club meets once a month and discusses different ways that we can positively influence this campus. We also engage in various activities to help our community. For example, for one of our activities we went to an assisted living home and played bingo with the elderly. We also plan on participating in Big Event this semester to help out the environment for our local community. This semester I am also a Pink and Black Ball Ambassador. With this role I help plan the annual Gender and Equality Center Ball that helps raise money for the events they put on throughout the year. In the past semesters I have also volunteered at the Boys and Girls Club. I loved being around children and seeing them grow throughout the year. As you can I love being involved in the community and on campus. I have been volunteering since I was in elementary school and have been taking on leadership roles since middle school. It is a great passion of mine to be a strong leader!

Besides taking the most amazing courses and being involved on campus, with the little free time I have, I like to spend with my friends and fiance. My friends are a big part of my life. I believe in making bonds with people that are gonna last a  lifetime and not just a few years. When I get overwhelmed and  feel that down my friends are there to cheer me up. I also tend too involved in my work and school life, so it is nice to have a break and just to hangout with them. They help me take my mind off of, well pretty much everything. Furthermore, I am engaged to the love of my life. We started dating when we were 15 years old. I met him at a sweet sixteen birthday party, I know very romantic. We dated for about four years and then he proposed! Of course I said yes! He is such a sweet person and makes me feel whole. We are going to wait till I am out of grad school to get married!

I have grown a great deal here at my time at University of Oklahoma. I have not only learned a lot about the world around me, but I have learned a great deal about myself. I have learned that I like to challenge myself in every aspect. If I am not constantly improving then I am not doing something right. I believe that a person can always do better and strive for greater. My ultimate goal in life is to become a licensed professional counselor. I hope to make a difference in the lives that I meet and hope to leave these world knowing I have made a difference.

(Image information: personal photo of my engagement party; photo from July 20th, 2015.)

Week 1 Story: The Frogs Desiring a King

There once was a swamp far far away named the Simple Swamp. The swamp was filled with joyful little frogs who lived a simple life. The frogs were always aware of the unspoken rules of their swamp. For example, every frog was aware that once a frog claimed a log or a lily pad that it was off limits to the others. The frogs could challenge each other to a dual on the first Monday of every month if they wanted to fight over the log or lily pad but that is the only way it could be done. Another unspoken role was that once every female frog chose their mate, that frog was not to be messed with by anyone. This was just how the frogs lived their simple life. They never had a problem with any of the frogs disregarding the rules, until one day.

(Simple Swamp)

One day a group of frogs migrated from a nearby swamp to the Simple Swamp. The frogs from the strange swamp seemed to not have any manners or respect for the Simple Swamp's unspoken rules. These frogs were jumping on every lily pad they laid eyes on, regardless if it was claimed or not. The female frogs were going around and talking to all the male frogs in the Simple Swamp, in a fashion that can almost be labeled as "flirting". The frogs of Simple Swamp were enraged and could not bare the commotion that was brought into their simple life. The frogs called for change. They croaked for a king and some set rules and guidelines.

(King of the Frogs)

They called upon the eldest frog of the group and asked them to be their king. The elderly frog agreed and so the change begun. The frogs were called into their first swamp meeting with the king. The king went over specific rules and guidelines. The king said " if you do not like the rules of the Simple Swamp then you can leave and find yourself another one." The new frogs were not fond of the rules. They believed the rules were old fashion and outdated. However, they had respect for the king and decided to go find themselves another swamp. Though the trouble maker frogs had left the Simple Swamp, the frogs decided to keep the king encase future decisions needed to be made. The Simple Swamp frogs continued to live their simple life, until once again when troubled frogs found their way to the Simple Swamp. 

Author's Note:

In the original fable there are frogs who live a simple life in a swamp. The frogs one day wanted a king and an official constitutions. Their calls were answered and they got a log as a king. However the log was not vocal or ruling enough for them and they asked for another king. Now they were sent an angry stork who started to gobble them up. I decided to keep the factors of the simple life, the rules, and the king in my story, however, I wanted to spice things up. I thought it would interesting to bring in more conflict in which would result in a king. I feel that it is like this in real life at times. The more conflict that arises in a situation, the more strict rules can get in that environment.

Bibliography:

This story is based on the fable "The Frogs Desiring a King" in Aesop's Fables.

Spain My Favorite Place

One of the places I have always wanted to visit is Spain. It's culture and beauty intrigues me pulls me in. I want to visit beautiful antique museums and view the phenomenal architecture it has to offer. I also want to visit the capital city of Madrid and explore the Royal Palace of Madrid.

The Culture & Beauty of Spain. Source: Wikimedia Commons