Famous Last Words: Spring Break

(Sunny Day: PxHere)

It was so nice to finally be able to take a break from school. It was honestly getting overwhelming. I did not get to travel anywhere for spectacular spring break, since I had work, but I still had a lot of fun doing nothing! Also, the weather was so nice outside; it made me super happy to see the sun shining (aka I hate the cold lol). I did get to take a day trip to Tulsa though. I am originally from Tulsa, but I did not stay that long because my parents were out of town. I went to Tulsa to show my boyfriend around. He had only been a couple times, but he did not get to do anything fun, so I wanted to show him all the cool stuff in town. Since, we were only there for a day, we did not get to visit everything I wanted to show him, but we did go to some very cool spots. We went to the zoo, then to a food market, and then to the Boxyard, which is a shopping center that had metal containers as buildings. All these places were primarily located in North Tulsa, but if we ever go again, I would want to take him the West Tulsa, as there are a lot of fun activities and cool places there too.

As for this class, I really enjoyed this week's reading. I chose to watch the Epified videos of Mahabharata, and I loved it. It can be really hard for me to get into reading especially if the language is a bit older than modern English, but these videos were so engaging! The drawings really helped me visualize each character and actually helped me remember all them (there are so many it is kind of overwhelming hahah). Also, the narrators' voices were so soothing; I could listen to them all day!

Reading Notes: More Mahabharata Part D

(Draupadi and The Pandavas: Wikimedia Commons)

• Draupadi had a ceremony to find a suitor.
• Arjuna won the competition and Draupadi married him (and his brothers too?)
• The Kauravas heard of the news, and made a decision to call the Pandavas back to Hastinapur and crown Yudhishthir king of Kandavaprasth.

Bibliography

The Mahabharata by Epified

Reading Notes: More Mahabharata Part C

(Arjuna vs Karna: Flickr)

• Karna finally found a teacher to teach him the art of war
• But his teacher had a hunch that Karna was not a Brahmin, so he stopped teaching and cursed him
• The Pandavas held a competition to show their great skill
• Karna attended and outshone Arjuna in all weaponry competitions
• The Pandavas wanted to battle him, but they could only do so if Karna was of royal lineage
• Since Karna only knows of his humble family, Dhoryoda gave him his crown and announced Karna as king of Anga

Bibliography

The Mahabharata by Epified

Week 9 Story: The Kingdom That Wept

(Shantanu and Satyavati: Wikimedia Commons)

Once upon a time, there was a kingdom named Hastinapur that was ruled by King Shantanu and his wife. It was once a beautiful kingdom with many wondrous and delightful sights, and the sun was always shined on this happy kingdom everyday. But one day, the queen fell ill, and soon after she passed away. King Shantanu's heart shattered into a million pieces. He could not believe his one true love had left this world, and he began to cry. And as the tears began to stream down King Shantanu's face, the sky wept with him. As long as King Shantanu was in despair, the sky was in despair the with him. The once bright and luminous kingdom became down and gloomy.

King Shantanu's son, Devavrat, could not bear to see his father in such a state. He had only known his father to be a beaming light of positivity, but now, he only saw an unmotivated, heartbroken man. Devavrat tried everything in his power to make his father happy again. He tried buying him gifts, playing his favorite music, taking him on trips, but nothing worked. Finally, as they were returning to the palace from their last trip, they passed through a fishing village. King Shantanu was conversing and connecting with the people of his kingdom but suddenly stopped. His jaw dropped as he laid eyes upon the most gorgeous woman he had ever seen. Her name was Satyavati.

King Shantany spent the day getting to know Satyavati, and his heart was enlightened. As he got happier, the sun began to peak out of the clouds, little by little. Devavrat saw what was going on, and he knew that his father's heart was mending. Devavrat knew that Satyavati made his father happy, and he knew there was only one thing he could do to keep his father happy.

Author's Note
I wanted to take my own spin on how Devavrat tried to keep his father happy. In the original story, Ganga had been absent from Shantanu's life for quite some time, so there was an appropriate length of time before Shantanu fell in love again. In my story, Satyavati helps mend Shantanu's broken heart. Also, in The Mahabharata, it seems as if King Shantanu was really respected by his people, so I wanted the kingdom and the weather to reflect Shantanu's feelings as a way to show that the kingdom was on his side through this tough time.

Bibliography
The Mahabharata by Epified

Reading Notes: More Mahabharata Part B

(Boon Of Indra To Kunti: Wikimedia Commons)

• Kunti befriended Durwasa, a sage that had a short temper and was known for laying curses upon people for the slightest offense.
• Durwasa enjoyed Kunti's company because it was unlike the way that everyone else treated him.
• When he left, he whispered to Kunti a mantra and told her that it would summon any god.
• What the actual mantra did was summon a god AND Kunti could bear their son.
• This is how Kunti gave Pandu five sons, despite his curse of death by intimacy.

Bibliography

The Mahabharata by Epified

Reading Notes: More Mahabharata Part A

(Oath Of Bhishma: Wikimedia Commons)

• Devavrat wanted to make his father, King Shantanu, happy by convincing Satyavati's father to let her marry Shantanu.
• In order to gain her father's trust, Devavrat made a vow to never marry or have children, thus giving up his biological seat to the throne.
• Devavrat swore this to the gods, and the gods renamed him Bhishma - he of the terrible oath.
• Her father then allowed Bhishma to take Satyavati to Hastinapur to marry Shantanu.
• Shantanu feels bad for Bhishma but recognized his sacrifice, so he granted him a boon. Bhishma now could choose the moment of his death, making Bhishma into a demigod.

Bibliography

The Mahabharata by Epified

Tech Tip: First Tweet

I normally only use twitter for to get social and political news and to look at funny tweets and videos. I posted some photos for this assignment, and I went to check my media on my profile and found out the last time I posted a picture was in 2016 LOL.