Growth Mindset

(a brain pumping iron growing itself)

(source: Pixabay)

This is not the first time for me to be introduced to the idea of growth mindset. This is something that was presented to me during a previous communication course here at Oklahoma when I was completing my minor requirement for my major. I do believe that with a concentrated effort and confidence in one's self it is possible to expand the limits of your mind in different areas of thought and research. For me there is no plateau in the level one can achieve academically. Initially my first few semesters of college were a struggle for me to adjust to the coursework and the amount of time that would need to be invested into each class, far more than ever was expected of me during my high school days. Since the second semester of my sophomore year though I have noticed a growth in my academic abilities since changing my major to public relations and discovering what major my manner of thinking was best suited for. Going forward I have continued to struggle with procrastinating assignments, hence why I am writing on a Sunday evening at 9:30 when the blog is due by 11:59. Having been introduced to the idea previously I have a decent understanding of the content but am open to learning more about growth mindset. My biggest goal for the semester is to pass my remaining two course and to walk across the stage in May to receive my diploma, symbolizing my four years of work here at the University of Oklahoma.

Time Strategies

(time management reference)

(source: WikiMedia Commons)

Time management is an essential skill set to develop during college as a way to better prepare for the classes one is taking and to maintain a lower stress level. Entering my final semester of my senior year it is becoming clear I am beginning to suffer from "senioritis" once again. This occurred to me during my final year of high school and has reared its ugly head. Personally my time management issues lie in procrastinating till the last minute to finish an assignment or prepare studying for an exam. The two articles I chose to read related directly to this issue of mine, Four Questions to Help You Overcome Procrastination and 11 Ways Unsuccessful People Mismanage Their Time. The four question article was the more beneficial of the two for me personally as the questions it posed are the very same I struggle with myself on a regular basis. My constant struggle with time management is the little voice inside my head telling me it can wait until later so that I may do another activity that seems to provide me more entertainment at that immediate moment. My desire is to learn from the recommendations in these readings and to solve this procrastination issue once and for all before continuing onto graduate school. As for this course my current scheduling of doing the six hours of work per week over a three day interval, with two dedicated hours each day. Only time will really tell if this will be the best course of action or not in the long run for me.    

Week Two Reading Options

(statue of Poseidon in Copenhagen, Denmark)

(source: WikiMedia Commons)  

Homer's Odyssey 
http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/05/myth-folklore-unit-homers-odyssey.html

This is actually a favorite story of mine, first being introduced to it during high school by my English teacher for an assignment. This is the story I have chosen to read for week two, hoping to enjoy the tale as much the second time as I did the first time around. I also remember watching a movie depicting the story during school that was delightfully cheesy since it appeared to be filmed on a small budget in the 60s or 70s.

Homer's Illiad (retold by A. J. Church)
http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/05/myth-folklore-unit-homers-iliad-retold.html

Being a fan of history, specifically the tales of ancient Greece and Rome I was drawn to this classic tale featuring the  hero Achilles. I have read a retelling of this story once before for a project during high school, and look forward to revisiting the beaches of Troy as she defends herself from foreign invaders. Also the action filled movie Troy with Brad Pitt may or may not have played a part in the selection as well.

Adam and Eve 
http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/05/myth-folklore-unit-adam-and-eve.html

This interests me as return to a simpler time in my life when I would attend Sunday school on a regular basis and the most stressful task I had to complete was practicing cursive. I have recently returned to attending church on a regular basis again and this story still remains in my memory as one of my favorites as a child.

Week 1 Story: The Country Mouse and City Mouse

Maintaining a connection with one's family is not always a simple task and on occasion requires some compensation between the two parties on a variety of different situations. This is the case concerning the cousins who are at the center of our story. One is a simple farmer, Country Mouse, tending to the fields and harvesting his livelihood from the Earth, relying only on himself and the work ethic instilled into him by his own parents as a child. The other, City Mouse, a well-to-do aristocrat from the city who has never experienced dirt and grime during his life, preferring instead to spend his time attending fancy balls and gatherings with others like himself, paying no mind to how the feast in front of him was prepared or contributed to. 

 One day City Mouse decided he would find out for himself why his cousin continued to live alone and in the middle of nowhere in what he believed to be a sad existence. So he boarded a train and left the city limits for the first time, escaping to the open prairies of his cousin's livelihood. Country Mouse was thrilled to have his cousin coming to visit for the first time. As they had only previously communicated through letters this would be their first time meeting one another. Country Mouse took his cousin on a grand tour of his farm, and that evening prepared for the City Mouse a meal he believed was fit for a king. The City Mouse, however, was shocked at the simplicity of the meal and the way of life his cousin had chosen for himself. He believed if Country Mouse could only see the City and all it had to offer someone, then he would surely leave the farm and come to live there with him. Country Mouse was hesitant to accept this suggestion, having always enjoyed the quiet and views presented to him by the open landscape. Feeling he owed it to his cousin to at least hear him out and make the trip to see this wondrous place he spoke so highly of, he agreed to go.  

The two cousins set off the following morning for what would be a visit the Country Mouse would never forget, but not for the reasons his cousin would hope for. Upon arriving the City Mouse took his innocent cousin on a tour of the City, beaming with excitement as he showed him the amazing sights and the hundreds of people calling this place home. As with the visit to the country, the two cousins shared a meal that evening prepared by City Mouse this time, allowing him to show his cousin the exotic and new foods the City had to offer. 

After the meal the cousins began discussing the visit, whereupon the City Mouse began to assume his cousin would immediately wish to move and leave the dust and dirt behind. This was not the case, though, as Country Mouse would explain, "This may be home to you, dear cousin, but to me, the place where we should all call home and hang our hat at night is where our heart feels whole." Upon hearing this City Mouse lamented, understanding his cousin's connection to his farm, and his own to the sprawling urban landscape. Family does not have to be the same to love one another. Our differences can strengthen our relationships and in turn bring us closer together in the end by allowing one another to experience new and wonderful things. 

Author's Note 

This story began as the Aesop Fable of The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse. The story is of two family members who go to visit one another to see just how the other side lives. Along the way the city mouse and country mouse both learn new things about themselves personally, while being introduced to how the other side of life lives. Eventually the City Mouse denounces his previous way of life and grows fond of the lifestyle his cousin has introduced to him. I did deviate from the original story in that the two main characters chose to continue their lives in the manner they were accustomed to. Of course I included some more modern cues to the story, while retaining the old-world feel. Ideally my desire is for the reader to imagine the story taking place near the turn of the 20th century, where the old world truly came to an end and the new modern age began to overtake the past. I was drawn to reading this story originally due to the memory it brought forth of spending time at my grandparents' house where they owned a VHS copy of this story being told in a cartoon format. I really enjoyed the cartoon as a child and sitting there with my grandparents. Now it is nice to be able to look back fondly on this memory and smile.        

"The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse," The Fables of Aesop, Joseph Jacobs (1894) 

The Country Mouse and City Mouse, oil on canvas painting by Scott GustafsonSource: The Art of Scott Gustafson) 

The New York City skyline lit up at night, Oarabile Mudongo: Wikimedia Commons

Country road scenery, Marco Farouk Basir: Wikimedia Commons  

My Storybook Favorites

(literature reading books pile)

(source: Max Pixel) 

The Sherwood Investigators ( https://sites.google.com/site/alecstorybook/introduction )

A new take on the traditional Robin Hood tale, featuring a new character who is introduced as being the new apprentice of the legendary gentleman's thief. Roger Godberd is the main character for the tale, going on a variety of different adventures in medieval England, with and without the aid of the famous outlaw Robin Hood all along the way. As usual with tales of Robin Hood there is a reward offered to the public for the capture of these individuals, however this is against the public opinion as both the men are loved and revered for the variety of adventures they undertake.

Three Labors of Hercules ( https://sites.google.com/site/4laborsofhercules/introduction )

This storybook provides a different viewpoint for telling the story. It is introduced as being a class that is taught at Hogwarts from the Harry Potter universe, with the groundskeeper Hagrid being the instructor for the course known as "Greek Myth, Magic, and Monsters 2". The 12 Labors of Hercules are a classic tale of Greek Mythology that has been retold countless times over, in this story there are an additional three labors that never became common knowledge to the world because Hera was so ashamed at the skills of Hercules in defeating her many tasks. There are three new original tasks introduced for the first time, challenging the Greek hero once again to overcome the odds and to be victorious in the end.

Rise of King Arthur ( https://sites.google.com/site/riseofkingarthur/ )

Notice a trend developing here? I have been drawn to the more classical stories when browsing the storybook selections, it could be due to familiarity or simply that historical settings are more interesting to me than the modern day. The story focuses on an orphan by the name of Riothamus who was discovered as child by the Roman Military and would go on to be trained as a soldier to serve the empire. Riothamus is a gifted soldier who is struggling to discover where he comes from and what his real purpose is in this world; is he simply meant to exist and serve the desires of the empire, or is there a greater destiny that exists for him down the line. The story tells of his arrival in Britain and the journey he embarks on while there. Is he the man we now know today as King Arthur?

Introduction to a Future Lawyer

(Myself and my mother at Remington Park, April 2016, personal photo)

Hello my name is Cole Nimmo and I am currently a senior here at Oklahoma majoring in Public Relations with a minor in communications. I am from Ponca City, Oklahoma, which is in north central Oklahoma, about fifteen miles from the Kansas state line. I have grown up in a fairly large family by modern standards, being the youngest of four children and the third member of my family to attend the University of Oklahoma, with my parents and remaining sibling attending Oklahoma State sadly. Growing up I learned the meaning of hard work and responsibility working on my family's cattle ranch, where I plan to return to one day. These lessons have aided me in achieving my education goals here at OU, such as being admitted to OU Law for the class of 2020. Studying law has been a goal of mine for several years now and I hope to one day return to my hometown to practice law and to eventually begin my own firm or rise to the position of partner in one that is currently established. This course will be testing my writing creativity, a skill that has never been a strong suit of mine as I typically restrict myself to a more professional and by the book approach. Blogging is something I am especially not comfortable with, particularly doing this on a daily basis as I usually prefer for others not to see my writing other than an instructor. So this final semester of undergrad will be one that allows for me to branch out more than I have previously and to experience a non-traditional course for the first time.

My Favorite Place: Grand Lake o' the Cherokees

(A view of a part of Grand Lake near Grove, Oklahoma.) 
Source:Wikimedia Commons 

Growing up in a rural area I was blessed to be a short drive away from bodies of water at all times and this lead to my summers being spent on the back of a boat or floating in the cool water to escape the Oklahoma summer heat. Originally my favorite lake to visit was Lake Tenkiller in eastern Oklahoma, this is where I learned to swim and would spend summer weekends on the deck of my grandparents' cabin there. This little piece of paradise  sadly disappeared for me when my grandparents' decided it was time to sell their cabin and to move onto different things in their lives at the time. For several years after this I was limited to the shores of the Kaw Lake and Lake Ponca, both of which are located in my hometown of Ponca City, Oklahoma on the Kansas border. These two bodies of water were fine for the time and both provided me the opportunity for lifelong memories to be made. Still, there was always something missing that you just couldn't receive from traveling to a lake five minutes from your home. Traveling to a different city, interacting with new individuals who you are unfamiliar with, these were things I missed about our summer visits to Lake Tenkiller. During college I have been fortunate enough to make some truly close friends and this has allowed me the opportunity to travel to a lake that was once foreign to me, but is now slowly becoming home away from home. I have spent the majority of the last three summers on the waters of Grand Lake creating lasting memories I won't soon forget, and new traditions I plan to carry on for years to come.I am never more relaxed or truly at home as a I am when I am on the water with close friends and family enjoying the Oklahoma sunshine, supplemented by a cool breeze off the water. Grand Lake is a wonderful place to visit for a day, a week, or even simply just to drive by and admire. Grand Lake has slowly become my new favorite place and I can't imagine this changing anytime in the near future, unless my family makes a return to Lake Tenkiller. Only time will tell...