Reading Notes: The Aesop for Children, Part A

My ideas and notes from Reading Part A:


The Wolf and the Kid & The Tortoise and the Ducks:

Instead of ducks, I would make them eagles, and instead of a tortoise, I would make it a sloth. The story would take place from a zoo, and the sloth would be in the zoo and unable to visit places, including his best friend’s wedding that he so wanted to go to, he was just too slow, and honestly, too lazy. So he gets help from the eagles, but just as he passes the lions cage, the lions say out loud that the sloth must be the Chosen One! Just as the sloth agrees, the eagles drop him in the cage. This would be part 1 of the story teaching the lesson that you must not live in vain, especially when someone is helping you. The second part of the story would be based on The Wolf and the Kid, where the lions are going to eat the sloth, but the sloth convinces the lions to wait because the sloth can entertain them by doing magic tricks. The lions have never seen magic tricks, and so they agree. The sloth makes a deal that if the lions are impressed, they cannot eat him. But if they are not impressed, they can proceed. The sloth does several tricks that last into the night. The lions are somewhat pleased, but as they near the sloth to eat him after his last trick, the sloth disappears. This is the sloth’s famous and last trick: disappearance.


The Boy and the Filberts:
Once there was a poor, poor village just outside the kingdom’s reach, and every morning the baker would put out a basket of burnt bread for the children to get on their way to school. One day, the prince, just 7 years old, had found himself escaped from his palace keeper, and ventured by this bread basket and the children who seemed so delighted in it. The boy wanted to join these kids, for he never got play with children his age, he was always stuck in the palace, bored as ever. So he ventured over to the bread basket and the children, and the poorer children looked at him and told him to go away. They could tell by the prince’s clothing that they weren’t like him. But the children grabbed as much as their hands could hold, and then the prince put his hand in the basket and grabbed as much as he could, but his hand would not come out of the basket. The longer he kept his hand in the basket, the more his hand kept bending.

Baskets of bread. Source: Wikimedia Commons

He started to cry out, and the children who hadn’t made it very far, turned around to look. Some came back to him, and told him to let go of some of the bread and take only what he could eat. The prince immediately let go of the majority of the bread, and only picked up what he could eat. His hand was free and his belly was full. The lesson? Those who are fortunate should only take what they need and leave the rest for those who are not as fortunate.


These stories are part of the Aesop (Winter) unit. Story source: The Aesop for Children, with illustrations by Milo Winter (1919).

Reading Notes: Apuleius's Cupid and Psyche, Part B

Notes:

Venus and the Goddesses:

When Venus is mad I think she should turn into a large sea-like serpent.

Venus and Psyche:

I would change the punishment to making Psyche eat a bunch of food, basically force feeding her instead of flogging her. I think Psyche should be pregnant as well, and Venus would not be able to torture her but to cast a spell on her unborn child to get back at Cupid and her daughter-in-law.

I think Cupid would then come in and stop his mother from torturing his wife so, and then Cupid would use his powers to chain his mother up for eternity.

Psyche’s Task:

I think instead of sheep’s wool Psyche was required to get, I think it should be she must learn how to talk to silk worms on a tree to get them to make her enough silk to make a dress for Venus’s ball. Unfortunately, she is unable to speak to the worms, does not get enough silk and can only make a headband out of the silk she does have. So Psyche is tortured again, but this time goes to bed without food.

The Jar of Beauty:

I think in the jar of beauty will be all of Venus’ secrets and her form, and Psyche will accidentally drop the jar and inherit all of Venus’ power from that moment on. But the catch is that Psyche can no longer be with Cupid, and Venus must live without him even though she is having his baby. So Cupid and Psyche are still unable to be together and raise a child together.

The Escape:

The donkey doesn’t just escape from his chains, but bites and kills all the robbers to save the princess. But before the donkey and princess escape, the old lady casts a spell on the girl now. When she marries, her first born will turn into a donkey unless met by a kind owner who feeds his barley.

The donkey from Cupid and Psyche, The Golden Ass by Apuleius.
Source: Calvary Chapel Birmingham

Bibliography:

Cupid and Psyche by Apuleius

Feedback Thoughts: Week 2

Praise Makes You Feel 
Good photo. 
Source: Psychology Today

Articles on getting feedback:
I read: 5 Tips For Taking Feedback Like a Champ and Using Harsh Feedback to Fuel Your Career

Articles on giving feedback.

I read: Presence, Not Praise: How To Cultivate a Healthy Relationship with Achievement and Be a Mirror: Give Readers Feedback That Fosters a Growth Mindset


Thoughts on 5 Tips For Taking Feedback Like a Champ and Using Harsh Feedback to Fuel Your Career:
These articles got me from the very start, because I am, in fact, a perfectionist. But, I like to think of myself as open to criticism. Yes, of course, it's not fun and sometimes it can sting, but it's necessary for anyone who truly wants improve in or with something. I know I don't do everything perfectly, but when I finish something like a project, I know that it's done perfectly to my standards. 

The article mentions that feedback is sometimes uncomfortable; well of course it is, you have other people basically criticizing something you put a lot of effort and time into. But it is something we all must get over if we want to improve. I think this article has to do with a growth mindset, too. If we constantly finish things and don't ask for feedback, then how can we grow? How can we reach a higher potential if we stop at the finished product? Also, another thing: People aren't criticizing you, they are criticizing the work (well, most of the time.)

Thoughts on Presence, Not Praise: How To Cultivate a Healthy Relationship with Achievement and Be a Mirror: Give Readers Feedback That Fosters a Growth Mindset: 

I think it is important to admire the effort and the process more than the finished product. This relates to growth mindset in many ways. I think all too often education focuses on the finished product and praising it instead of the process, which leads children to believe that as long as the end product is great, the process to getting there isn't important. This can lead to cheating in many different forms, and we shouldn't value that. We should value hard work. I think the most important thing to remember when giving feedback is to put yourself in their shoes, remember they are a regular person too, and they need to grow and develop as much as you do. 

I think 5 Tips For Taking Feedback Like a Champ was the most beneficial for me because it sums up criticism/feedback all in one article. I believe feedback is a normal part of life and the only way to improve your life in different areas is to get feedback in all those areas. 

Week 2 Storytelling: The Unforeseeable Foggy Future

The unforeseeable foggy future

On a rainy day in Brownmote Village, there were three vicious witches stirring up trouble. The first sister, Meg, was the brightest, but she never knew when to stop talking; the middle sister, Patty, always messed up the easiest spells, even turning her own dress into a pumpkin one time; the youngest sister, Serena, was by far the prettiest of them all, which isn’t saying much, and she was also the nicest of them all.

Coloring page of three witches standing over a cauldron. Source: WooJr.com

After stirring up the last of the potion for their latest spell, Patty said the last words, and poof! Three robots appeared. These robots were meant to destroy the garden of Pete, their archenemy, who lived one village over. Instead, the robots were programmed to plant flowers and give compliments. 

This is not what the sisters wanted. Or at least two of the sisters. Meg and Patty were busy arguing about how Patty messed up the spell again, and the two failed to notice Serena talking with the new robots and making friends with them. The robots and Serena shared the same love of daisies and tulips, especially in springtime. Meg and Patty stopped fighting for one moment to yell at Serena to quit talking to the “nice” robots, for it was time to send them back to the pot and do the spell right. 

But Serena stood up abruptly and said, “No.”

Meg and Patty twisted their heads around to look at Serena in disbelief. 

“Did you say no to us? Why on Earth did you say no? Is something wrong with you?” Meg asked.

“Nothing’s wrong with me, Meg. I just don’t think we need to kill these robots. They are nice, and they mean well,” Serena said.

Patty interrupted and shrieked, “Mean well? Mean well? What do you mean they mean well? They aren’t the evil robots we need. We must get back at Pete the vegetable farmer over yonder!”

Serena took two steps toward her sisters, and shouted loud enough for the village and the village over to hear, “I DON’T WANT TO BE EVIL ANYMORE!!!”

In an instant, Meg snapped her fingers to cast an evil spell, but Serena was gone. She had turned good and was not looking back.

Three months later, Serena had found herself a prince to marry. He loved her for being a nice witch. But Roger was not attractive at all. He resembled a wolf. Little did Serena know, though, her two evil sisters could see into the future. They knew she would meet a man and fall madly in love with him. He would be sweet, rich and nice, but he would be ugly. Meg and Patty thought that by turning Roger into a wolf-like creature, Serena would never truly love him. Instead, she would want to marry him for his money. Serena did marry him. 

Shortly after, though, Meg and Patty were watching the couple together, and they became jealous of the relationship and the strong bond, even with Roger being as hideous as he was. Serena and Roger even had a daughter.

So the witches changed their appearance to resemble old ladies who had just come back from the market together. They knocked on Serena’s door. They told her that her husband was not the man for her and had committed awful crimes before he married her. Meg and Patty, still disguised as the old ladies, ordered her to kill Roger before he could hurt anyone else.

Serena was too gullible. She believed them. Then she thanked the kind, old ladies and started plotting.

Meg and Patty looked into the future and could see that Roger would be dead soon, and Serena would be a sad old maid raising her daughter alone. Serves the good witch right for abandoning the other two.

As night fell, dinner was served and their daughter put to bed.

Roger and Serena were in bed for five minutes before Roger began to snore. Serena thought this would be the moment she would kill the man who lied to her and hurt others. So, right as she lifted the knife up to her husband’s breast, he immediately turned into a handsome man — the handsome man he was before. But Serena was already falling forward with the knife in her hand. She stabbed her husband in the chest, killing him in one fell slash. At that moment, she realized the two old ladies had tricked her. They weren’t two old, sweet ladies. They were her evil sisters. They had tricked her into becoming the mean witch she was before.

So to get back at them, she did nothing. This made the sisters even more terribly upset.

The two evil sisters had seen into the future as their sister being a sad, lonely widow raising her daughter by herself and working in the field, but they didn’t think to look into the future for a specific place where the sister had gotten revenge on them, especially in this way.

As the two sisters sat perplexed, they realized that their sister was very smart and deserved to be left alone… for now, at least. Maybe something was in the works. Maybe it wasn’t.

* * *

Author's Note: Above is the original story from Apuleius's Golden Ass, (translated into English by Tony Kline, 2013,) and below it, I have written my own version of it. Originally, the story describes a woman, Psyche, who has been married off to a creature whom she cannot see. Her sisters think she isn't safe. But when they learn she is safe and that her husband treats her well, they devise a plan to get their sister to reveal what her husband truly looks like. They aren’t happy that her sister is happy, either. Psyche's husband has forbidden her to ask about his appearance, too. Well, Psyche takes her sisters' advice, and one night tries to reveal her husband's appearance. Once she does, he flies off and leaves her. I took the story and decided to use three evil witches, one of which turns good. My idea of using witches was based on the characters from the original story with two sisters who were basically evil as well as petty. In addition, I was thinking about the three witches from Hocus Pocus the Halloween movie. It was a favorite of mine growing up, so I decided to use the idea of three witches and a boiling cauldron. For my stories, I always like to incorporate a universal lesson. For this story, the lesson is at the very end and is unexpected. So, the moral of the story is that the good witch doesn’t get revenge in a stereotypical way.

Bibliography: This story is based on Apuleius's Golden Ass, Psyche's Husband Revealed in the Mythology and Folklore UN-textbook.

Reading Notes: Apuleius's Cupid and Psyche, Part A

Notes:

Chapter: Captive Woman

- After they kidnap the woman, the bandits tell her not to fear for her life and to understand they just want money. I could change this part to have the bandits make fun of her lifestyle and how it is so easy and come to find out, the woman has a rougher life than some of the bandits, who then sit down next to her and relate to her. Of course, they still keep her captive. 

Chapter: Her Dream

- Instead of a cousin to who she was supposed to marry, I would change it to a little orphan boy who the family took in and raised to be a servant in the castle. The woman has fallen in love with him, and we find out later that the king and queen had planned for the boy to be kidnapped, but the head bandit got so greedy that instead of kidnapping the boy so the woman couldn't marry him, they kidnapped the woman (a princess instead) to get more money. 

Chapter: Psyche's Beauty

- Instead of the youngest girl being born from the sea, I would say she was born from a volcano. 

Psyche would be born from a beautiful volcano instead of the sea.
Photo: Flickr

Chapter: Fears and Doubts
- High on a mountain crag, decked in her finery,

Lead your daughter, King, to her fatal marriage.
And hope for no child of hers born of a mortal,
But a cruel and savage, serpent-like winged evil,
Flying through the heavens and threatening all,
Menacing ever soul on earth with fire and sword,
Till Jove himself trembles, the gods are terrified,
And rivers quake and the Stygian shades beside.

General thoughts near the end of reading Part A:

- Instead of cupid being invisible I would make him ugly, and right as Psyche holds the knife to kill her husband, he would immediately turn into the handsome god that he was, but it would be too late, because the other gods would force the knife in cupid's beautiful face and he would be wounded but handsome for eternity. 

Bibliography:

Cupid and Psyche by Apuleius

Growth Mindset: Review

Growth Mindset and the wonderful Carol Dweck:

So to preface my post, I want to say that I love Carol Dweck, and I have heard her talk on Growth Mindset before this class. I am a Peer Learning Assistant through the OU Student Learning Center for Intro to Mass Comm. I recently went through a 10-hour training for this position as a tutor, and in this  time period, we reviewed these videos.

I believe that the best strategy to being a student for life is to believe that you have a growth mindset. Too often students believe when something is too challenging or difficult that they are stupid or can never do what they think is impossible. But something Carol Dweck encourages is the power of Not Yet. So, I usually try to approach all my challenging learning curves to this — I can't do this test... yet. Or I can't complete this assignment... yet. It's important that we help students understand that their brain can grow and develop for their entire lives, research has found. So with a growth mindset, I believe anyone can achieve anything they truly want to.

A brain lifting weights as to explain how the brain is a muscle that with exercise and practice,
can grow and develop and ultimately learn. Photo: LinkedIn

In my last semester here at OU, I think my brain just wants to be done with college classes. I am honestly ready to work in the real world with people who don't have homework. I understand that learning is important in life, and someday I want to teach children how to learn, but for now, for me, I want to do my classes to the best of my ability and graduate with a smile. That being said, I approach my classes thus far with the idea that my goal is to learn something new today or apply something you've learned already to something you are doing today, because that is learning, too.

Time Strategies

For the end of week 1, I read "The Myth of 'Too Busy" by Tim Grahl and "The Psychology of Checklists: Why Setting Small Goals Motivates Us to Accomplish Bigger Things" by Lauren Marchese.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading about organization and prioritizing because I can apply these concepts not only to my classes but my life. When I was a freshman in college, I wasn't involved in many things. I wanted to get my college life situated and figure out how to do it before I got swamped with things to do other than school and work. Well, I think a lot of people will say they want to get involved but then don't actually do it. Well, I didn't do that. I got involved. I would say that I got so involved that by the time I reached my junior year here at OU, my friends made fun of me for having to schedule hang out time with me because I apparently was "too busy," or how Grahl puts it, "I didn't prioritize my time well for hanging out with friends. Furthermore, while I enjoyed reading what Grahl had to say, I definitely took offense at first. I personally like to say, "I am too busy to do this or that." I actually do get a weird sense of joy out of saying I'm too busy for something. It honestly makes me feel my life is important enough to be busy. While I know this is not necessarily true, for me, it is. I am the type of person who would rather have too much going on than nothing at all. I understand other people are different, and I respect that, but I choose to "not prioritize my time well."
But I see the truth in what Grahl has to say, but I'm not sure I'll ever want to use his words.
As for the checklists article, I relate to it on every single level. I love lists. I make lists for almost everything I do. In fact, I probably have founds myself making a list and putting "make a list for vacation or for next semester," on it. Some people might call it a sickness, I just call it life.

Photo of an hourly planner with ball point pen.
Photo: Best Online Universities, LLC. 

I don't have a set plan for studying really, because my major requires me to go out into the field and gather materials and then come back and write. My major doesn't require me to read textbooks and then take multiple choice tests where I must study for hours. I appreciate this.
In addition, I have an At-a-Glance Weekly planner, which is broken down by single days of the week and on every day there is a line for every hour starting with 6 a.m. and ending at 9 p.m. This is by far my favorite planner, and I never go anywhere without my planner. It's my entire life. So, I use this planner to plan out my classes, work and other activities, and that usually keep me from procrastinating. An advantage to being "too busy," is that if I don't get something done at the time that I've planned it, then I know it won't get done. So, that gives me motivation to get my stuff done in a timely manner. I'm happily busy.

Reading Options: Choice for Week 2 and more

Week 2 Story selection:

Apuleius's Cupid and Psyche

I chose this story because I love fairytales. In less formal wording, I am a sucker for fairytales. I love love and the first section was so intriguing that I read the next three. I’m very excited to continue the old woman’s story and to see how the young girl fares in the end.

For later in the semester, I'm interested in...

... the Asian Unit
China: The Favorite of Fortune and the Child of Ill Luck & Filipinio Tales


I am really interested in reading this entire story, because I was adopted from China, and as I stated in my last blog post, the country will always have a place in my heart. In addition, I love fairytales and stories such as the first one about a young girl who chooses a peasant over other suitors and stays loyal until death. I look forward to really digging into this unit.


... the European Unit

Dante's Inferno

When I saw the title, Dante’s Inferno, my brain screamed with excitement. I remember playing a four-movement arrangement of Dante’s Inferno in my high school wind ensemble. I YouTubed it, and I couldn’t believe how vivid my memory was of playing this entire piece. Before we sight-read each movement, my band director read us an excerpt of this story, and now, I’m looking forward to reading it in this class.

Painting of The Barque of Dante by Eugène Delacroix. Oil on canvas.
Source: Wikimedia Commons. 

A little extra for this selection: Here's the YouTube video to the first movement of The Divine Comedy: The Inferno. 

(Fun fact: I played the clarinet in my high school band.)

Storybook Favorites: The 3 That Caught My Eye

Story 1

Chasing a Rabbit Trail

The intro truly drew me in to the storybook, Chasing a Rabbit Tail, because of the passage from the Velveteen Rabbit. The Velveteen Rabbit is a book I remember from my childhood very dearly. I continued reading past the passage.

Lithograph for The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams, 1922.
Photo: William Nicholson, leoframes.com.

The introduction was well-written, and I got a great sense of who the rabbit was and what its mission was as well. The layout is more pleasing to the eye than some of the other storybooks I briefly browsed, but did not continue due to lack of interest in the content, such as Harry Potter references (I am not a HP fan.) Regarding the design, I enjoyed reading it in short columns with bold headings, making it easy to read and to follow. Navigation was easy as well, and the font was easy on the eyes. Again, a few other storybook I briefly saw were discouraging due to the style of font used, such as old timey font which is hard to read with the serifs. So this design and the content was well done.



Story 2
Arthurian Women

I chose to browse this storybook because of the title: “Arthurian Women: Queens, Damsels, and Villainess.” I enjoy reading about women and their place in society back in the day to present time. Being a leader and a woman is somewhat a difficult concept for some people to grasp still today, so again, I’m always interested in reading about how society views women in roles such as queens, damsels (in distress) and villains (or otherwise known as bossy). The introduction is well-written and continues to spark my interest until the end. I was actually very impressed with how intrigued I still was after the introduction, wanting to know the secrets of the Arthurian Women. The design is not as pleasing to my eye as the design used for Chasing a Rabbit Trail. I do not like how small the tabs are on the left side. In addition, the green text color kind of clashes with the green of the entire page, which is something I noticed immediately upon beginning to read. Moreover, it does not discourage me from reading, but does draw my attention away briefly. Navigation was seamless, but again, I didn’t care for the tabs on the left; I would much rather have the larger tabs at the top like a mainstream website.



Story 3
Ancient Chinese Fairytales

I was immediately drawn to this storybook, again, due to the title, Ancient Chinese Fairy Tales.” When I was about 3 or 4 months old, I was adopted from China (Guangzhou, China, to be exact) by American parents. Although I do not speak any Chinese nor have I ever been back, there will always be a place for the county of China and the city of Guangzhou in my heart. So, I enjoy chinese art, culture, food (especially food) and pretty much anything related to China. I did not find the introduction to be as well-written as the two storybooks above, but I found the author’s passion to be most intriguing. You can tell that the author is passionate about his wife and his wife’s culture, which is charming. I also think it is charming that he not only loved fairytales growing up, but that he’s stepping out of his own culture and wanting to learn about another culture’s fairytales. It’s a wonderful idea. Regarding design for this storybook: I don’t care for the sidebar on the left, (as with the Arthurian Women storybook mentioned above). I would use a different layout if possible, if I chose to do the storybook project.

Introduction: My life in a nutshell

Photo of me in Bricktown 2016. Photo: Kaitlin Mani

My name is Mia Chism. I'm a senior print journalism major with a minor in psychology. I will be graduating this May. I enjoy my major, and the best part about it is working with people every day and getting to experience something new and sometimes unexpected. 

Last semester, I was chosen to represent Gaylord College as its overall outstanding senior for 2016-2017. I was honored at a ceremony with OU President David Boren, and I was recognized at the OU-Baylor game during pre-game on the field. It is such an honor to be able to represent Gaylord College and our staff, faculty and students. In addition, I will be giving the convocation speech at the Gaylord Convocation. 

Over the break, I read Amy Schumer's biography, The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo, and it is one of the best books I have read in a while. 

My career goals have recently changed. This past summer I spent two months in New York interning with CUNY's Graduate School of Journalism and O, The Oprah Magazine. It was an experience of a lifetime. But after I came back to Oklahoma, I realized that I didn't want to pursue a career in journalism after graduation. So, I'm back to square one again, and I am interested in pursuing a career in non-profit, event planning or education. I'm not sure where my path will lead me, but I'm excited for the journey. 

My favorite hobbies include watching Friends. I have watched all 10 seasons at least three times. I just enjoy the humor and the friendships. I enjoy reading in my free time, which in the last couple of semester I haven't had much time for. I enjoy listening to all kinds of music, but my favorites are jazz and R&B. I don't have any favorite artists in those categories, because I think it's all pretty grand. 

Lastly, I love to be involved with people wherever I am at any given point in time, and so at OU I am a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (even though, I am not Hispanic, I enjoy representing and learning about hispanics in the journalism industry), the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, Alpha Phi Omega- Delta Beta, Gaylord Ambassadors, and Diversity Enrichment Programs. I also recently left my job as copy manager at the OU Daily since I am no longer interested in pursuing journalism. I am a teacher's assistant for JMC 1013 Intro to Mass Communication, where I lead two separate discussion sections each week. As you might be able to tell, I enjoy being around people and helping others.

If I had an extra day for fun, I would spend it with my closest friends and my family members. Nothing beats spending time with people you love and who love you back. 

Week 1 Storytelling: The Beauty in Friendship

An oil painting of a fox climbing on a branch in the night.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Week 1: The Beauty in Friendship

A fox has by some means got into the store-room of a theatre. Suddenly he observed a face glaring down on him, and began to be very frightened; but looking more closely he found it was only a Mask, such as actors use to put over their face. “Ah,” said the Fox, “you look very fine; it is a pity you have not got any brains.”

(Traditional Aesop Fable)

* * * 

On a cold, dark and stormy night, Pat the Fox peeked into windows of every building on Main Street looking for a warm place to be. Finally, coming across Hound Theatre, Pat the Fox noticed a light had been left on and the window accidentally ajar. He jumped through the small, but large enough for him to fit crevice and began drying himself off from the rain.

Then he heard a faint sound, something that sounded like a little girl laughing. Pat the Fox looked up from cleaning himself and his face was met with a person. Jumping back on all four, he exclaimed, “Whoa! Watch yourself there missy.” Then he realized it was just a mask, and coolly laughed his fright off. Pat the Fox, still somewhat hesitant, took a few steps toward the mask when it shouted back, “How did you get in here? You shouldn’t be here at this hour. You look like a freak.” Pat the Fox twisted his head as to listen better, and responded, “Why, I came in out of the cold. Besides, at least I am only temporarily wet, while you, Mask, are only a thin piece of paper mache with no body or a brain.” 

Ventian carnival face mask. Photo: Pixabay

The mask laughed heartily and said, “At least I bring joy to people who use me and those who see me. I am the epitome of beauty.” Pat the Fox was insulted by this. He thought to himself that he may not have all the colors of the rainbow on his snout, but he gets the glory of exploring the world.” He said to the Mask that was still quietly laughing, “I may not be as colorful as you, but I don’t have to reply on humans to dictate when I get to explore or enjoy the beauty of the world.” 

The Mask stopped laughing. The Mask was sad at the thought that Pat the Fox was right. The Mask only ever got to see other people or explore new roles or see the different landscapes (which were only painted backgrounds) when the humans needed her. As beautiful as she ever was on the surface, she knew she was without a brain and without a body, too. She would never be free to think for herself or see the beauty of the world. The Mask began to weep, and Pat the Fox decided to comfort her by curling up near her. He asked, “May I stay the night? I will tell you stories about the wonderful world that maybe one day you will get the chance to see.”

* * * 

Author's Note: Above is the original Aesop fable, and below it I have written my own version of The Fox and The Mask. Originally, the fable describes a fox that has wondered into a room of a theatre where there is a mask. The fox tells the mask that it's too bad it doesn't have any brains. I have continued the story from there to reflect the idea that friendships can develop out of thin air and between things and people. In addition, not only can friendships develop but beauty can be interpreted many different ways, whether it be in the form of theatre art and drama or outdoors in the natural world.



Bibliography: This story is based on the Aesop's fable "The Fox and The Mask." in The Fables of Aesop by Joseph Jacobs.

Central Park, My Favorite Place

Central Park in New York, New York

This past summer I spent two months in New York interning with CUNY's Graduate School of Journalism and O, The Oprah Magazine. Sometimes I would need to take a break from busy city life, so I always found myself sitting and admiring Central Park. I would just pick a bench and people watch, stare at the clouds (which are different than Oklahoma clouds), and take a breath and a moment to enjoy the beauty of nature.

Central Park in New York, New York, from the air: Wikimedia Commons. 

Central Park in New York, New York at sunset June 2016. Photo by Mia Chism.

Comment Wall

I'm a journalism senior with a minor in psychology. I will graduate in May.

Test Post - 1/17/17

Mia Chism's Mythology and Folklore test post.