Story: Only One Time

After school, I decided to stop by the store and get a test. I knew what the answer was going to be. It had to be a negative. After all, it was just one time. We were at party, both drunk. It was a mistake, but nothing permanent would come out of it...it was just one time. We're only juniors in high school, sixteen-years old. We just got our licenses. There's no way. I haven't even taken my SAT test yet. I still have a year and a half left in high school, then my undergrad, then med school. There's no way. I just have to know for sure..but there's no way, it was just one time.

As I walk into the store, I can see it on everyone's faces. They know what I'm doing here, they know what I'm about to buy. I hope they all know the answer that I so clearly know. They can't be thinking any other way. I decided to go two towns over, just so I knew I wouldn't run into anyone I know here, pretty good thinking on my part if I do say so myself. I finally find the aisle and there are so many to choose from. Which do I choose? How many should I buy? Are the more expensive ones better and more accurate? Why am I here? I shouldn't be here, I'm only sixteen.

I decide to buy two different brands, just in case. People are watching. Maybe they think it's just for a friend, or even my mom. That's probably what they are thinking. They're thinking, "This girl is only sixteen. She has her whole life ahead of her. She will finish high school, go to college, and be successful in whatever field of study she chooses." Thank goodness I have cash on me because I don't know how I would explain a $20 shopping spree at the local grocery store two towns over to my parents. Should I take the test here? Do I go home? If I go home my mom will see it. But if I stay here, then people may see my tears. I shouldn't even have tears though because I'm only sixteen and it was only one time, so I ultimately decided to just take the test here.

I decided to take two tests, both different brands, just in case. It felt like I waited for ever and ever in that bathroom. Finally I looked down and the result was becoming clear. It was a negative, I knew it! I looked at myself in the mirror and just laughed, how could I ever think anything other wise. I'm just sixteen! I looked down at the tests, just to get one final look before I left and went home to my normal life. In that instant everything changed. The test was finished developing. The vertical line appeared. It was just one time. I am only sixteen. I am a mother.

Do I tell anyone? Do I wait? Do I get it "taken care of"? Do I keep it? Do I give it up? How will people look at me? How will my parents look at me? Should I tell him and see what he thinks? I am the only one who can come up with the answers to all of these questions. 

I throw the tests away and drive home. My mom greets me as she always does, she smiles, offers me food, asks how my day was. I lie obviously. I tell her I'm not feeling well and I head up to my room to rest a while. 

A week passes and I've barley eaten anything. I can't hold this secret in and hold down food. I finally decide to tell my mom. We both cried. She asked me why I would let something like this happen. She told me that I knew it only took one time. Then, she asked me what I wanted to do. I knew getting it "taken care of" wasn't an option. There was only keeping it or giving it up. I had nine months to decide, but I felt like once the decision was made there was no turning back.

Eventually people at school figured out. People starred. They stayed away as if it were contagious. Months passed and I hadn't made my decision. I thought every night, would I be able to take care of a child? Could I do go to school then come home and take care of another life? Could I even afford daycare? How could I, a child myself, raise a child of my own? I already love this child and I haven't even met it yet. I know that I could provide all the love the child would ever need in it's who life, but what about everything else? In that moment I knew what I had to do. I went downstairs to my mother with tears in my eyes telling her how much I loved this precious life inside of me. I told her how because I love this child, the best thing would be to put the child up for adoption. She held me as I wept into her arms.

Author's Note:

I decided to use the story of Kunti and her child for this week's storytelling. Kunti decided to give her child up and she floats him down the river and he lives a very good life with his new mother. I decided to modernize this story using the "16 and Pregnant" approach. She continues saying "it only happened one time" and " I'm only sixteen" to convey just how young she is and the invincibility principle many young people feel.

Bibliography

Public Domain Mahabhrata, Online source

Photo of a babies hand, Web Source

Reading Notes: Mahabharata, Part A

As we start reading the Mahabharata, I've decided to read the online PDE version of the Mahabharata. One reason I did this was that when we read the Ramayana, I chose to read Narayan's version. I really enjoyed this version, however I wanted to give the PDE version a chance to see different writing techniques then Narayan used. I also chose this version because it was free, this way I didn't have to go buy the book from either the bookstore, Barnes&Noble, Kindle, rent it from the library, etc. So for I've found that the Mahabharata is more difficult to read for me than the Ramayana was. The reason behind this is because there are so many characters in the Mahabharata, all with very similar names so it's hard to keep track of who is who.

While reading, I really enjoyed that the author decided to go into more detail about when Pandu accidentally killed the Brahmin and his wife. It made it very easy to understand what was happening and who died, unlike some of the other stories in this version of the Mahabharata. I also really like the way that the story of Amba was written. You could feel the pain that she felt when she was betrayed by her husband to be, the King of Shalwas. Another part of the story where I could feel the pain the character felt was in Drona's story when he was told that he wasn't actually friends with Drupada due to their financial standing. This was very sad and when the author said "Then abruptly he turned away, nor spake he in reply. His heart burned with indignation as he hastened out of the city." you can tell that he will make sure Drupada feels the way he made him feel.

As I was reading through part A, I came up with a few ideas I can use for my re-telling this week. They are as follows:

2. King Shantung and Ganga

• Could write where Ganga gave birth and kept the babies
• Could write where Ganga gave birth to stillborns

5. Bhishma at the Swayamwara

• I could write the battle in a modern way, perhaps using a video game rather than actual battle

6. Amba 

• I could write where Amba actually wanted to marry Vichitracirya rather than the King of Shalwas whom she had already promised herself to

8. Kunti and her Son

• I could write from Kunti's point-of-view of what it was like for her to give her child up for adoption

10. Son of Pandu

• I could write hoe Pandu dies in a freak accident rather than dying because he was cursed

13. Bhima and Nagas

• I could write how Duryoshana accidentally ate the poison that he meant to give to Bhima

14. Drona, Son of Bharadwaha

• I could write how the two friends started off hating each other but when the rich one became poor they became friends
• I could set it back to the Great Depression when everyone was struggling

16. Ekalavya

• I could write how he was already deformed and didn't need to cut off his thumb

17. The Contest

• I like how this part was written in rhyme, and I could integrate that into my story

Bibliography

Public Domain Mahabharata, link to Reading Guide A

Painting of Ekalavya cutting off his thumb, web source

Week 4 Review: Laser Pointer

While reviewing over this weeks announcements, I came across the following gif in Thursday's announcements and I thought it was hilarious! At my house we love playing with the laser pointer with our dog and cats, so I think that this is the cutest thing ever!

Feedback Focus

The three strategies suggested to us are all very helpful in focusing in on what you are reading. If I were to rank the strategies, it would be:

1. Setting a Timer

2. Reading Aloud

3. Copy & Delete

Using these three strategies, I could tell that it had a positive affect on my reading. I was able to understand what the author was trying to convey in each of these things. For each of these strategies, there were advantages and disadvantages. An advantage of setting a timer was that I was able to focus just on the story for 10 minutes without having any other distractions. I was able to read through the story multiple times and catch things I hadn't previously caught the first time. For this strategy, I wouldn't really say there were any disadvantages to it. An advantage of reading aloud was this it made it very easy to tell if you missed anything, which helped make sure you were understanding what the author is trying to convey. A disadvantage would be that you have to read it out loud which isn't always the most feasible thing to do depending on your location. An advantage to the copy and delete strategy is that you focused on the paragraphs rather than the story as a whole. The only disadvantage to this is that sometimes it's nice to be able to go back and quickly re-read something and this is somewhat difficult with this strategy. 

I will definitely be using these strategies in the future because I think that they really helped me focus on what the story is about and helped me get good notes on these stories. I've never used these strategies before so I'm very excited to see how much better of a reader/feedbacker I become with these strategies. I really enjoyed reading "Midterm Madness" because I thought it was very clever how the author was able to integrate the Ramayana into something so relatable for every student with using midterms as the theme.

(Photo of a person studying,

Web Source)

Tech Tip: Google Site Website

For this tech tip, I decided to make a website using Google Sites. I am using this website for my storybook. Here is the the link to the website

(Photo of the Haunted Mansion in Disney World,

Web Source)

Story: House Hunter

Hi, I'm Visva-mitra, the old city guru. Although I love my luxurious life in the big city, I think it's time for me to make my move to a rural country life. As of right now I don't have any jobs lined up, so I have a pretty low budget, but I don't need much, just a bedroom, kitchen, electricity, internet (I have to be able to watch my Netflix!) and plumbing...oh and plenty of room to entertain my guests. Just kidding! I just need enough room for me because I'm a hermit and don't really want to deal with people for a while. If I could get a few upgrades like some granite countertops, hardwood floors that would be incredible. But, I definitely think my realtor will be able to help me find something well within my budget.

So today is the day that me and the realtor are going to go and look at a few different options for me and my new life. The first house was pretty nice. It was small and there weren't too many upgrades. Just the bare minimum, everything a hermit could ever need. The neighbors were all about a mile away from the house though, and that was a little too close for me. The next house was almost too much of a hermit hole for me. The house was maybe half the size of the first house and there was no way I could comfortably be in the bathroom, I always felt squished. I will say though that Debbie, my realtor, hit the price right on the nose. It was about half my budget, which is incredible. The third and final place we saw was spectacular. Brand new upgrades, the kitchen was beautiful, the bathroom was incredible, and the bedroom was spacious. It was almost like what I had in the city, expect on a smaller scale...and maybe not so luxurious. The best part about this house was the property that came with it. It sat on a two and a half square mile lot, and the closest neighbors were three miles away! Incredible! The only downside to the house was that the price was a little over my budget.

Once I saw all three houses, I knew it would be a difficult decision to choose the perfect one for me and only me. Do I go with number one, the quaint house that wasn't too special? Or number two, the house that looked like something the peasant people from the city live in? Should I dare with number three, in a house made for the city transported to the country? I decided to make my decision a little easier by removing number two. Even though I wanted to get away from the city, I didn't want to live like a poor man. So now the decision was between number one and number three. I could see myself being comfortable and enjoying life in both houses, so this really was the hardest decision of my life.
I finally came the decision and realized that house number three really screamed Visva-mitra! When I walked inside for the first time, I could see myself loving life here. I saw myself sitting on the sofa, reading a book or watching the latest season of Orange is the New Black on Netflix. I could see myself cooking in the kitchen. And most importantly, I could see myself living peacefully, and alone, here with no one to bother me.

Author's Note

For this retelling, I decided to use Visva-mitra's story. In The Divine Archer the author never really touched on Visva-mitra's life other than the fact that he needed Rama to help him. I wanted to show him finding the perfect house to become a hermit in, and what show is better at helping people find their dream homes than 'House Hunters' on HGTV? I thought that having Visva-mitra being the buyer of a new property was the perfect platform to creating a backstory for him! 

Bibliography

The Divine Archer by F.J. Gould, online book

Logo for House Hunters, web source

Reading Notes: The Divine Archer, Part A

For this weeks reading, I decided to read The Divine Archer by F.J. Gould. I chose to read this because it seemed very interesting and I like that it is mainly based on Rama and how he uses archery to help him in all of his battles. As I was reading, I really liked the format of the book because it was very easy to read. This version seems much more like a fairy tale for children, where as Narayan's Ramayana read more like a novel. The fairy tale like writing makes it very playful, while also stressing the evils that Rama faces.

Something I really like about this version of the Ramayana is that the author focuses on Rama's brothers. I know that is Narayan's Ramayana he discussed Lakshman and Bhartha, but he didn't really go into that much detail about his third brother, or much detail about the other two in general other than the fact that they both trusted Rama and did what he said. When Rama meets Sita and gets married to her, the author explains that all three of Rama's brothers got married that day as well and I think that that is good information to have. I also enjoy how he told the story of Rama and Sita meeting and getting married. There was more detail to it than the fact that they saw each other through a window and Rama was able to string the bow to win Sita's hand in marriage.

As I was reading through The Divine Archer, I was thinking of ways I could retell the story. Here are a few options:

Chapter 1

• I could write about Visva-mitra's life and the journey that he went on with Rama and his brothers from his perspective

Chapter 2

• I could write how Sita at first didn't love Rama back, but she eventually fell in love with him
• I could write that Rama had failed to string the bow, but was able to still win Sita's hand in marriage

Chapter 3

• I could rewrite the story where Dasaratha doesn't give Kaikeyi what she wants
• I could rewrite the story to where Rama gets furious at his father's decision to not give him the crown

Chapter 4

• I could write where Kaikeyi was Rama's charioteer and abandoned him in the forest on coronation day rather than he asking Dasaratha to not crown Rama

Chapter 5

• I could write a story where Maricha disguised himself as a dog rather than a deer

Chapter 6

• I could write where Ravan was defeated by the vulture rather than Ravan defeating the vulture

Bibliography

The Divine Archer by F.J. Gould, online book

Symbol of an archer, web source