Week 1: Famous Last Words

So far I feel really great about this class. It took me a couple of days to get comfortable with the layout of the class and with the blogging, but I quickly got the hang of it! Looking back at this week, I am amazed that I have actually created a blog! I am really proud of myself for sticking with this course and getting as involved in it as I have. I would say my best writing for this class so far would be the "My Favorite Places" post, because it was my very first post and I was really excited to get to share a little bit about myself and my amazing journey this summer. I discovered that in order for my blog posts to be great, they must be authentic and representative of myself. When I am writing a post, I try to make them relatable and personable so that they are more enjoyable to the readers. Since this class opened a week early, I was able to get far ahead and work on the assignments before classes had actually begun. This was really nice because I was able to focus all of my attention on this class and these assignments. Now that school has officially begun, I'm already finding it more difficult to stay ahead with all of my other classes. I am in a couple of really tough classes this semester that require a huge chunk of time, but I definitely think it is manageable since this schedule is so flexible. Something really cool that I heard of this passed week was that the University of Oklahoma's admissions office planned to deliver the first acceptance letter for this next year in a huge way. They loaded up all of the football players, cheerleaders, the band, pom girls, ruffnecks, the schooner, and as many students as they could fit onto 6 charter buses, and personally delivered the acceptance letter. I thought this was just such a cool thing for our university to do and it really represents our pride and "family-like" campus. I just thought this was so cool and had to share! Overall, this has been an amazing first week of the semester and I cannot wait for the many more to come!

Image of the University of Oklahoma football team from wikipedia

Week 1: Introduction - About Me

Hey guys! My name is Alyssa Rucci, and I am a junior here at the University of Oklahoma. Originally, I came to OU for the meteorology program, but I soon figured out that it was not the major for me. Now, I am a Pre-Occupational Therapy major, and I absolutely LOVE it! I really wanted a career where I would be helping and working hands on with people, so I think this is a great path for me!

A fun fact about me is that I am absolutely obsessed with dogs! I have two of my own, a golden retriever (named Sugar) and a black lab/collie mix (named Taylor) and I just adore them! I love how each dog has it's own personality... sugar is super clumsy and goofy, while Taylor is really smart and protective!

(Image Information: personal photo with Sugar and Taylor; photo from February 2014.)

I was raised in Southlake, Texas and my family still lives there today. I love everything about Texas, but I know once I graduate I hope to be able to go somewhere new and different. I have a love and passion for traveling and experiencing new cultures. I had the amazing opportunity to study abroad in China this summer, where we traveled all over and experienced so many different lifestyles and cultures. It was the best experience of my life, and I hope to be able to study abroad again before graduating!

(Image Information: personal photo on The Great Wall of China; photo from May 2014.)

(Image Information: personal photo in the Lijiang Mountains; photo from June 2014.)

(Image Information: personal photo at the Aberdeen Fishing Village in Hong Kong; photo from June 2014.)

I think it would be an understatement to say that this was the best summer of my life! I also got the chance to spend a week in Cape Cod this summer, which was so cool because it was such a different setting from where we normally vacation in the summer. I had never really been in the Northeast before, so it was awesome to get to see the city of Boston and the spend a week on the beautiful beaches along the cape. I also got to go surfing for the first time! It took me quite a few tries to get up on the board, but once I got it, it was a piece of cake and so much fun! This was definitely a summer of new experiences and trying new things for me, and I am so thankful for all of the opportunities I have been able to have. 

(Image Information: personal photo surfing in Cape Cod; photo from June 2014.)

Well that was a little bit about myself, my summer experiences, and my interests! I'm very excited for this class and I am looking forward to trying something new by creating this blog!

Week 1: Storybook Favorites

The first storybook that caught my eye was Heavenly Gossip. I chose this storybook because it is based off of my all time favorite tv show, Gossip Girl. The layout and design of the storybook is really eye-catching, with a bright pink background contrasted with the black. I love how this is formatted just like the actual show. "Gossip girl" is character that remains unknown throughout the series, making anonymous blog posts about about scandals and secrets of their peers in the Upper East side of Manhattan. I think this is such a creative way to connect something ancient and historical to something modern and new!

The next storybook that I looked at was Love Diaries. Initially, this one caught my eye because I am a sucker for a good love story, but once I actually opened it up and read the introduction, I could not stop reading it! There is something so captivating about this storybook since it was personally handed down to the writer of the storybook herself. You can really sense the writer's connection and sense of pride toward the diaries, which I loved. I found myself reading almost the entire storybook because I was just so curious about the characters and about how everything ended up! I think the writer did a really great job appealing to the audience and making this storybook into something relatable by changing the diary entries into a modern style. It really is a fascinating storybook!

The final storybook that I looked at was Wives' Tales. The title got my attention, because I could assume the story would be about how wives lived back in time, and to me that seemed like a really interesting concept. After reading the introduction, I thought it was really cool that the writer "went back in time" and told storys comparing the life of wives then to now from her own perspective. Since I have absolutely no previous knowledge of the Indian epics and of the stories that have been passed down, everything that I have read is very new and fascinating to me, making me want to read more!

Week 1: Indian Epics

As this class begins, I feel a bit apprehensive yet excited. I have never been much of a creative or "think outside of the box" person, but i'm hoping this class will help to change that. From watching Nina Paley's Sita Sings the Blues, I noticed that there was a lot of room left for interpretation, and you can really take what you want from the film. I believe this class will be a lot like that, where we will have to read a story and interpret it in our own ways and create it into another story, which is something I am very new to. This class will definitely be a challenge, but i'm hoping it will help me find a more creative side of myself. Something I am very interested in is traveling, and experiencing new cultures. I hope to incorporate some of my experiences with traveling into this class and into my blog posts.

Week 1 Storytelling: The Baker's Man

"PAT-A-CAKE, pat-a-cake, baker's man!

So, I will master, as fast as I can:

Pat it, and prick it, and mark it with a T,

Put it in the oven for Tommy and me."

(Traditional Nursery Rhyme)

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There was once a man, named Bill, who worked at a bakery. Bill didn't do well under pressure, so the new job as a baker posed its fair share of challenges. Bill was not quick with his hands, so when the bakery was crowded with people lined up out the door wanting cakes, they would become furious! One day, the line at the bakery was much longer than normal, and customers were getting mad left and right. One day, a man named Tommy, and his son, were next in line for a cake and after waiting over 30 minutes for their cake, they began to yell and scream at Bill to make it faster. This was very stressful for Bill and he soon became very discouraged. After that day, Bill decided it was time to make a change... he was going to learn how to bake fast under pressure! Days and weeks went by and no progress was made by Bill, and he was soon to be fired if he didn't improve quickly. He was about to give up until one day he realized that he had a genuine love for baking cakes and that he wasn't going to let being under pressure take that away from him. In order for that to happen, Bill created a simple pattern to make every cake with the same details and preciseness. He would pat each cake, prick each cake, mark each cake with a "T",  then put it in the oven, and serve it to be enjoyed by all! Once Bill got used to this pattern he created, he began to bake cakes faster and faster each time. By the next time Tommy and his son came into the bakery for a cake, Bill had mastered baking cakes in record time all while being under pressure. Once he saw Tommy and his son though, horrific memories of being embarrassed and discouraged came flooding back, but Bill shook those memories away, patted the cake, pricked the cake, marked it with a "T", put it in the oven, and then served it to Tommy and his son to enjoy! They were so please with how fast their service was and how delicious the cake was that they praised Bill, and came back every week since!

Clip Art

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Authors note: I created this story based on the nursery rhyme, "Pat-a-cake", from The Nursery Rhyme Book, edited by Andrew Lang and released in 2008. This nursery rhyme does not have much of a meaning behind it, but rather it was created for pleasure. Traditionally, children clap their hands together when saying this rhyme. When writing my story, I wanted to add a meaning behind this rhyme. The meaning I chose to display with my story is that hard work pays off, and to never give up something you love when you are faced by a challenge. 

Week 1: Shanghai, Beijing, Lijiang... My Favorite Places!

Shanghai, China. I took part in the Journey to China 2014 summer study abroad program, where I spent a month of my summer traveling many different cities throughout China. Among the cities that I traveled to, Shanghai was the first and one of my favorites. The city of Shanghai is a relatively new city, becoming modernized within the last 20 years or so. The city is absolutely breathtaking with its mix of modern and traditional structures and I truly enjoyed experiencing its diverse culture. Being the first city I had traveled to, and the first time I had ever been out of the country, you could say it was a bit of a culture shock. With that being said, I had some incredible experiences in Shanghai, and visiting The Bund was definitely top on my list.

(Image information: personal photo of a group of Journey to China students at The Bund in Shanghai; photo from May 2014.) 

Beijing, China. Another city that I had the pleasure of traveling to this summer was Beijing, the capital of China. This city was much different from Shanghai, in that it was an extremely old city with a lot of history. This was one of my favorite cities to travel to because of the amount of history. We got to travel to the Great Wall of China, which was the highlight of my trip. We grow up learning about the Great Wall all throughout the years of history classes, but nothing compares to experiencing it for yourself. It was breathtaking, and an experience of a lifetime that I will forever cherish.

(Image information: personal photo on the Great Wall of China; photo from May 2014.)

(Image information: personal photo of Journey to China students jumping on the Great Wall of China; photo from May 2014.)

(Image information: personal photo on the Great Wall of China; photo from May 2014.)

Lijiang, China. Visiting Lijiang was one of my favorite parts of the Journey to China trip. This was the first city we had gotten to visit that hadn't been modernized. Lijiang has such natural beauty, and I was lucky enough to experience it first hand. We stayed in a hotel in "downtown" Lijiang, which had gravel roads and little huts all around selling hand made goods. The hotel was partly outdoors, and didn't even have air conditioning.. it was quite the experience. The culture was so different from the other parts of China because they lived such different, and much simpler, lives. My favorite part of this city was visiting the Tiger Leaping Gorge, a beautiful gorge within the mountains of Lijiang. The beauty of Lijiang is indescribable, and will forever remain my favorite place. 

(Image information: personal photo of downtown Lijiang, China; photo from June 2014.)

(Image information: personal photo of the Tiger Leaping Gorge; photo from June 2014.)

(Image information: personal photo of the Tiger Leaping Gorge; photo from June 2014.)