Week 15 Review

For this week's review post, I wanted to share something that I found very interesting! On this week's announcements, I came across some sources of intrinsic motivation by Emily Magruder:

Source: Mindset: The Psychology of Learning and Achievement.

Learning by H.E.A.R.T.: Meditation

Headspace. Source: Headspace.

Research shows that one of the fastest ways to grow your attention span is to practice meditation, so I wasn't surprised to see an entire section of Learning by HEART's page on attention devoted to meditation and mindfulness. Recently, I downloaded an app called Headspace that guides its users through meditation. It starts out with shorts intervals of time and works up to extended periods of time. I haven't gotten to use it as much as I would like with school being so demanding but this summer I hope to become a meditation master! Headspace has excellent reviews and I have enjoyed it thus far so I would definitely recommend it.

Headspace calls itself a "gym for the mind." As you can see depicted below:

Headspace. Source: Headspace. 

Growth Mindset: Biology

For the last week of growth mindset, I decided to read an interesting article called The Biology of Positive Habits by Leah Shafer and Iman Rastegari. ONCE AGAIN, I came across more evidence that your brain can be rewired!! I keep seeing this idea but I don't understand why more people don't realize this. Everyone thinks that they are a certain way and that's it but we can become whatever we want - science says so! You can train your brain to be more positive and here are some ways that the article highlights:

1. savor the moment
2. look for beauty in the smallest things
3. see the best in others
4. exercise
5. be mindful

Even if you aren't necessarily trying to "change your brain," I think these are good habits for everyone to get into!

Positivity. Source: The Chatham Group.

After this course is over...

I have actually always wanted to get into blogging just to practice my writing skills. So now that I already have a blog filled with lots of wonderful ideas and stories, I hope to keep it going! I doubt that I will be able to post as much as I have this past semester, but I would love to be able to jot down some thoughts every now and then on my blog. Similarly to journaling, I think it is a really good habit to write out your thoughts and be able to visualize them.

When it comes to my storybook website, Kurma and Karma, I hope to keep that as well just to check it out every now and then! I still can't believe that I created it!!

Journal. Source: Lifehacker.

Reading Evaluation

* What readings did you like best?

I appreciated the more structured reading style at the beginning of the semester where we had assignments. I also really enjoyed the 7 Secrets of Hindu Calendar Art videos. I think they should be a requirement for everyone taking this class because I learned so much about them! I also was very thankful for Dr. Laura Gibbs' reading recommendations based on our own interests - it was nice to have a class tailored to individuals. 

* What reading diary strategies were most effective for you?

Just utilizing the reading diary in general was extremely helpful for me! By writing out my thoughts, I was able to see connections between different stories and really analyze them as well as find patterns in things that stick out to me and that I found interesting! Had I just been merely reading, I know that I would not have gotten so much out of this literature. 

* What did you think of the overall balance between reading - writing - commenting in the class assignments?

There was a LOT of writing in this class, and although it was time consuming, I believe that I have grown as a writer thanks to the course Epics of India. 

* As you look back from the end of the semester, what advice about the reading do you have for students who will be getting started next semester? 

Advice I would give students next semester is to just enjoy the readings. Sometimes it is hard to really grasp them, but before you know it, you have learned so much about a really complex culture!

Week 15 Reflections

To wrap up this semester, I wanted to say just how rewarding this class has been! It has been a lot of work at times but I always felt so proud after pushing myself to use my creative writing skills. It is crazy just how rusty these skills have become after not using them often enough over the past few years. Furthermore, I have learned just how important storytelling can be to cultures, specifically the Indian culture, but they are so powerful to all people!

Storytelling. Source: Green Book Blog. 

Week 15 Tech Tip: Google Timer

I have chosen to write about Google Timer for this week's tech tip because it is a feature that I have been utilizing a lot recently. I have been studying for the GMAT so timing is of utmost importance - you are actually penalized for not finishing on time! This has been a great help in pacing myself. Additionally, I devoted one of my learning challenge blog posts to the Pomodoro technique. Essentially, you use a timer set to 25 minute intervals in order to make the most of your studying. This is a feature of Google that I definitely recommend!