Wikipedia Trail: From International Romani Day to Czechoslovakia

 

Flag of the Romani People, via Wikipedia

International Romani Day: I first began with this article due to noticing it in the class announcements (and subsequently writing a blog post about it and how I studied the people in a world music class). I was mainly interested in knowing when it began, which was in 1990.

14th Dalai Lama: I then moved on to the Dalai Lama because I saw he lit a candle to commemorate International Romani Day in 2003. That seemed pretty significant to me, so I thought this would be the right direction to move down the rabbit hole.

Refugee: I then moved on to refugee because of a parallel I thought of. The Romani people were and are often thought of in the same way as many people in the US view refugees -- terrible people. They both are despised by many, even when there is nothing despicable about them.

Czechoslovakia: I ended my journey with Czechoslovakia because of my bloodline. There were many Czechoslovakian refugees during the Nazi era, so that tied well with the previous article. I am also 25% Czechoslovakian, so I thought it was cool to see how my ancestors are just a few jumps away from a holiday that celebrates a group of people that I have been studying in my world music class.

Growth Mindset: Growth Beyond School

This year school year, I have served as a program director for the Union Programming Board, and I can say with 100% confidence that it has been the single most challenging thing I have done in college. It has pushed me in so many ways, and I have seen growth in myself that I would have never imagined. Being able to call me a leader is something I never thought I would be able to do. Yet, here I am, two events down. I have seen growth in time-management skills, growth in empathy, and growth in self-confidence. My own mother was telling me today that it astounded her, and many others from my hometown, to see me flourishing the way I am. This was simply something so out of character for incoming freshman Todd.

Next year, I see even more growth for myself due to UPB. I will be taking on a new role on the executive board -- public relations director. Now, I get to learn a whole lot of new stuff. How to brand an organization, how to effectively use social media, how to market an organization so that we can attract more members, and so on. This is new territory for me, but I believe the growth will be worth the effort.

Image: plant, via Pexels

Learning Challenge: Sharing a Happiness Tip

One tip I've taken and applied to my life is keeping a journal. I've found that since I've started, my overall happiness has increased. I just write down things about my day, whether good or bad, and then I reflect on them. I write how I think it applies to my life and how I should react to those things. I have learned that there are a couple of things to keep in mind when journaling.

First, don't write down only the bad stuff. If you only write down bad stuff, you start to think that your life never has good stuff. Likewise, don't only write down the good stuff. I find it hard to be reflective and self-critical if I don't acknowledge what I don't like.

Next, don't make it easy to journal. By this, I mean you shouldn't have an always-accessible journal. Don't do it on your phone. If you can write something in an instant, you won't give yourself the time to think about the thing. You won't think about how it actually affects your life. You won't be able to realize you overreacted.

 Writing it down makes you acknowledge it's real and that it matters to you. It may not work for you, but it has definitely made me a happier person. I've been able to recognize and work on the aspects of my life that I want to change. But I think self-reflection, in general, can make anyone happier.

Image: journal, via Pixabay

Famous Last Words: Almost Over

It feels weird because this is the first time in a while that I was able to get both reading assignments finished. But that is probably because I finally am finished with most of my extracurricular stuff. I actually enjoyed the challenge of retelling a nursery rhyme. I think it was really good that I challenged myself to take so little content and flesh it out into a story. I also had fun trying to imagine what the mind of a seven-year-old would be like.

I am really happy with where my storybook is going. At first, I was worried that my idea would be great in theory but garbage in execution, but I have pleasantly surprised myself. Now I just have one more story to write, so, hopefully, it turns out as well as the last two have. I am also excited to write it because it will be the first non-"happily-ever-after" story I write. I actually can't wait to have this project entirely finished; it seems like something cool I can look back on in the future.

I wish my other classes were winding down, but most of them are ramping up in the amount of work to do. In contrast, I feel my motivation is quickly diminishing. All I can look forward to is summer at this point. I would like to get the class over as soon as possible, not because I do not enjoy it, but because it would be convenient. I am almost there, but part of me wants to just put a bare amount of effort in each week and not finish early.

My plan is to do all of the extra credit assignments for this week. That is why I'm writing this. If I do, then I think I can get myself enough points next week so that I can coast the rest of the semester in this course. Wow, that sounds bad and lazy.

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Week 11 Review: International Romani Day

 This week, one of my favorite topics included in the course announcements was about International Romani Day. The reason this one stood out to me is because of the world music class I am currently taking. In it, we spent a couple of days watching a movie called "Latcho Drom" which documents the travels of a Romani group from India to Spain. It focuses primarily on the music of the people, and the music is rather depressing. They have a tragic backstory, and they all just wish to be accepted bu the world.

Image: Roma woman and daughter, source

Week 11 Storytelling: The Last Bird

. . . 

ONCE I saw a little bird
Come hop, hop, hop;

. . .

For several months, I have waited for you to appear. You are the last one on my list -- the blue jay. I can't wait to meet you. Are you a boy or a girl? My grandma and I have tried to meet every bird that lives in my area, and we have been working on it for as long as I can remember. I am now seven years old, but in just a few weeks I will be eight. My goal is to finish this list before I am eight so that we can start on a new list. I think I want to try butterflies next! Oh, no! This is my chance!

. . .
So I cried, "Little bird,
Will you stop, stop, stop?"

. . .

Please stop! I must meet you. Surely you understand how important this is. I am almost eight! I've met your friend the red robin -- she was really pretty. I wonder if you are friends with that woodpecker. He got on my nerves. I am so glad I do not need to meet him again. Oh, and the hummingbird! I do not understand how something so small can fly. I, too, am small, but sadly I cannot fly. My grandma says this is normal, but I think I could make wings for myself to try. Imagine where I would go. Maybe I could go and meet your grandma. We could have fun parties and be best friends. I must come and meet you!

. . .
And was going to the window,
To say, "How do you do?"

. . .

What do you do every day? Do you have a job? Where do you live? I wish to know these things. My dad is a lawyer. I am not sure what that means, but he does know some really big words. He tells me that I know some big words for my age, so maybe I'll be a lawyer, too. My mom is a school teacher. She does not work at the school I go to, but I think that is for the best. I get into trouble. My teacher tells me to wear my jacket so I don't get wet, but getting soaked from rain is like swimming on land. I bet you do not like the rain because of what it does to your feathers. I bet your home is somewhere that is always dry. Do you have children? What about grandchildren? Would you take them to meet every kind of people? I am almost there so that I can ask you all of these things!

. . .
But he shook his little tail,
And far away he flew.

. . .

Wait! Where are you going?! I had so many questions! And I am almost eight! How will I complete my list? I do not want to wait several months more just to try and see you again! I was almost to the window where you perched. Is something wrong? Did your family call you away? Sometimes I am having fun but my mom calls for me to leave. I do not like to leave, but I guess I have to if she needs me. Well, I hope we soon meet again. I cannot meet the butterflies until I have met you.

 ~ ~ ~ 

Author's Note: I based this story on a nursery rhyme about someone trying to meet a bird that ends up flying away before he or she can. The italicized words are the actual nursery rhyme, taken directly from the source. All of the other text is what I have added. In my case, it was the internal dialogue of a child. For my retelling, I imagined the person meeting the bird to be a young child, about seven years old as indicated in the story. The most important thing I strived to do was to try and recreate the mind of a young child. Children often talk to things that aren't human as if they were, and I wanted to replicate that. I also let the thought of the child go down long tangents because children's minds will run wild. 

Bibliography: Nursery Rhymes: Natural History, Part 1 from The Nursery Rhyme Book by Andrew Lang

Image: Blue Jay with peanut, via Wikimedia Commons

Week 11 Reading Notes: Nursery Rhymes, Part B

Since so many of the nursery rhymes have no meaning, it has been hard to find areas to be creative. However, I did find one in the Natural History (Part 1) section about a little bird. In it, a person wishes to know how a bird was doing. But as the person neared the window, the bird flew away. This makes me think of a very young child enamored by a bird, curious at how it flies. So if I were to write a story, I would focus on a small child who has a love for birds.

Then there is a story about a little boy going to take hay to a barn, only to be scared by the owl that resides there. If I were to write a story, I could see the boy having a fear of the barn because of the owl. Eventually, he would try to conquer his fear of the owl and see that it is harmless. But in the end, the owl would become scared by the human, fly away, and scare the child. 

Those are really the only two stories I see room for being creative. I figured doing the nursery rhyme section would be difficult anyways. 

~ ~ ~

Bibliography: The Nursery Rhyme Book by Andrew Lang

Image: Humpty Dumpy statue, photo via Pixabay

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Week 11 Reading Notes: Nursery Rhymes, Part A

I chose to read Nursery Rhymes this week because they are often very short. I feel like that gives me a plethora of opportunities to expand on them.

One story that stick out from the section "Tales", is Robin the Bobbin. Robin eats many things, but he is never full. In a retelling, I could make each thing a metaphor for something rather than a straightforward, hyperbole that it is in the nursery rhyme.

Reading from the "Proverbs" section, I could see myself taking "For Want of a Nail" and making it a longer story. It provides key details, but how those details come about would be completely up to me.

I really don't know how to take notes over nursery rhymes, to be honest. They are often childish, nonsensical rhymes. Sometimes they may have a moral behind them, but that is not always the case. A huge part is just making the stories flow well. I think between the two nursery rhymes I took notes of, I will have a good basis for my story come Wednesday.

~ ~ ~

Bibliography: The Nursery Rhyme Book by Andrew Lang

Image: The Nursery Rhyme Book, cover illustrated by L Leslie Brooke, source