Learning Challenges

In all of the HEART areas, I found that Happiness/Health and Attention were the topics that interested me the most. I have actually been working on all of these areas in my life but am a little unsure how to really make a change, difference, or become more invested positively in these areas. After browsing the Learning by HEART website, I stumbled upon a few challenges that I would like to try this semester.

Happiness/Health : I would like to try the happiness jar for a week or two to see how it goes. I think that remembering the positive and happy things (little or big) can help keep your mind in an encouraging state. Also, it would be rewarding to look back and read all the happy moments over time.

Attention : I have practice mindfulness before and gave up because I believed that I wasn't very good at it. I would like to try mindfulness again and start to incorporate meditation into my daily life. I have done a little bit of mindfulness before bed when I am anxious and can't sleep, but I give up too quickly. I would like to improve this area of my life.

Staying Focused

Growth Mindset

  

I had never heard of the growth mindset before until this class. After watching the videos, I became very interested in the growth mindset and was eager to learn more. 

I can relate personally to the growth mindset. I am a perfectionist, always trying to make everything I do in cheer, school, relationships, and every aspect of my life correct and perfect.  My biggest challenges in learning new things is not learning the material and understanding it fully, but instead being able to regurgitate it perfectly and correctly to get the best grade possible. I struggle with anxiety and knowing that I didn't complete or do something flawlessly, makes me very nervous and worried.

The growth mindset videos allowed me to realize that challenges and failure is okay. Challenges should be exciting and something I should want to do in order to broaden my mind, experiences, and opportunities.  Last semester, I got mostly B's and one A. I was crushed that my perfect 4.0 was ruined. Instead, after a lot of convincing from friends and family, I learned to except it. My classes were all upper division and challenging and to do absolutely perfect in all of them AND maintaining a social life, being an OU cheerleader, and taking care of myself mentally and emotionally was something so unrealistic and far fetched. 

I am much happier knowing that life is a journey, not a destination. You will never be completely satisfied and should never try to be perfect. Life is continuous and so are the challenges that it brings. Being able to get through life and challenges is way more rewarding that perfecting every detail on the way.

I definitely want to learn more about the growth mindset and apply different growth mindset challenges throughout the rest of the semester. I think learning more about the growth mindset could help me not work in just this class, but other classes and cheer as well. 

Embrace Challenges 

My Storybook Favorites

Bedtime in Oz. This storybook caught my attention right off the back because of the word "Oz". I love the Wizard of Oz and frequently played the role of the Lion in many different childhood plays. I thought that the author did a great job of coming up with creative titles for chapters/sections such as Toto's Tellings and The Scarecrow's Story. Each different story is about a different character telling their personal experience of the road to Oz. I loved this idea and have been brainstorming about creating a storybook using a similar angle on a famous story, movie, or show. I also thought the photo of Toto on the Toto's Tellings story was very cute and allowed me to imagine cute little Toto actually telling the story himself.

Yellow Brick Road

Another storybook that caught my attention was the Happily Ever After? A Prince's Perspective . Each story was about a different Disney story and what happened to the prince and princess afterwards, years later. Once again, I enjoy taking a classic story or movie and rewriting it, changing the viewpoint or perspective in which it is told. I also liked that the author elaborated and made the stories of the storybook modern day. The different princes' stories made the book easy to follow and easy to understand. 

Lastly, I also enjoyed  E! True Hollywood Story: Women of the Bible. I liked how the author turned Bible Women into a celebrity gossip show in the form of a storybook. The storybook had a consistent and identical structure to how hosts speak on E! True Hollywood Stories I enjoyed the modern day twist and also the title also grabbed my attention because the show E! is very familiar to me. The author had an image on each story's page which allowed me to make each story more realistic and made me imagine the E! drama as if I was watching it on TV. 

Un- Textbook Overview

After browsing the different units in the Un-Textbook, I have decided that I want to read the Bible Women for my Week 2 reading and Alice in Wonderland for my Week 3 reading.

Bible Women. I have always have had a strong Christian faith growing up and I think I would enjoy the readings and understand them better. I also find details about the Bible and aspects of Christianity very intriguing and would love to learn more and dig further into the content.

 Alice in Wonderland. I loved the Disney version growing up and am very familiar with all different story versions of Alice in Wonderland. It will be very interesting to read different stories about Alice in Wonderland in the Un-Textbook. I have always been a big fan of Disney and this unit immediately caught my eye.

A Mad Tea Party (illustration by Sir John Tenniel)

Some other units I found interesting and perhaps possibilities for future readings include Nursery Rhythms and Cupid and Psych.

Nursery Rhymes . I am such a kid at heart and can relate to a lot of the nursery rhymes described in this unit. It is rather fun to go back and digest something that you once did when you were young.

Cupid and Psych. I learned about Greek Gods and Goddess in sixth grade and am a love story fanatic. I really enjoy romance stories and I think the love story of Cupid and Psych will be very fascinating.

Introduction to an OU Cheerleader

Hi! My name is Bailey Farmer and I am a junior at OU. I am an advertising major and also minoring in health and exercise minor and Spanish.

I was born in California and moved to Southlake, Texas when I was 3. Southlake is a suburb, 30 minutes outside of Dallas and Fort Worth. I enjoy being in the middle of these two awesome cities and only 10 minutes away from the DFW Airport. Southlake is a such a beautiful city family oriented community.

Gameday in Norman, OK (taken November 2014)

I am also a third-year on the OU All-Girl cheerleading team. I have been cheering since I was 9 and my love and passion for the sport hasn't changed at all over the years. I remember how ecstatic I was when I made the team at the end of my senior year of highs school. I struggle with ankle issues from multiple previous injuries, overuse, and the excess pounding and stress that cheer puts on my body. Regardless of the pain, I am so blessed to be able to do what I love for my university and so thankful for all the opportunities this team as to offer. I am also so lucky to be able to share this experience and cheer with my best friends.

In high school, besides cheerleading, I was very involved in track. I ran the 400 meters and 4x4 relay. I had to give track up in college in order to cheer. I still run everyday, reliving my glory days at the OU track. I also am avid workout fanatic and love to be active.

Bid Day 2015 (Taken August 2015)

I am an active member of the sorority Kappa Kappa Gamma. I am very thankful for my sisters, pledge class, and to be a part of a chapter that shares my beliefs, goals, and morals.

Bid Day 2014 (Taken August 2014)

I love to cook. My mom and her mom are both excellent cooks. Growing up, I always aspired to cook as well as they both do so I decided to teach myself how to cook when I moved into my house last May. It has become something I look forward to doing everyday.

When I'm not cooking, I enjoy eating Mexican Food at Mi Cocina or enjoying a nice steak at Bob's Steakhouse. I have recently discovered that I like sushi and have been trying new things on the menu each time I'm at a sushi restaurant. However, my absolute favorite food in the entire world is chocolate and peanut butter. I could not think of a more perfect combination of foods. I love sweets and desserts in any way, shape, or form. Chocolate is my weakness.

My family is the most important thing in my life. I love going home to visit them and I love that they come up very frequently to watch me cheer. We enjoy traveling to different countries for vacations and spending time together. My sister, Keaton, is a freshman at TCU and my brother, Jordan, works and lives in St. Louis. 

Farmer Family (Taken May 2015)

Jackson being Photogenic (Taken October 2015)

Jackson is my pride and joy, and the family pet. He is a miniature schnauzer and is 15 years old. He is  and old soul but is in such great shape due to the exercise, special food, and love and affection that we give him.

Jackson with Christmas Socks (Taken December 2014)

I am also very close with my extended family. We have traditions each year including summer vacations to Beaver Lake, Thanksgiving spent in Dallas or Chicago, and Christmas spent with all 50 members in Kansas. 

Christmas in Kansas  (Taken December 2015)

Thanksgiving @ Beaver Lake (Taken November 2015)

Lastly, I enjoy going to the beach, wake boarding, snow skiing, bing watching on Netflix (I recently discovered Gossip Girl and am obsessed), eating chocolate, and taking long naps. 

I am very excited for another semester at OU and can't believe I am already over half way done with college!!!

Image information : All personal images from personal camera 

Week 1 Storytelling : The Monkey And The Dolphin

The shipwreck was still daunting on me. How I managed to survive the storm, the crash into the rocks, and the raging sea was beyond me. I am only one of the few who survived the shipwreck and am only one of the few who are stranded. I believe we are close to Piraeus, the port of Athens, but I am not certain how I will ever get back home without a ship or any sort of transportation.

I saw something in the water near the shore. It started to approach me, so I walked towards it in the water. To my surprise it was a dolphin.

“Are you one of the shipwrecked victims?” the Dolphin asked me.

 “Yes, yes I am. I need to get back home to Athens but it is too far and dangerous to swim there,’” I answered.

“I can take you to Athens. It is custom for us dolphins to help stranded Athenians, like yourself, out,” said the Dolphin.

“That would be so generous thank you so much.” I felt so thankful to have found someone who was willing to help.

I set out to Athens on the Dolphin’s back. He was very kind. He asked about my family and life in Athens, and was genuinely interested in my noble family.

 “So being from such a noble family, I’m sure you visit Piraeus a lot,” he asked.

“Oh of course. It is one of my favorite places to visit. Except this time when our ship wrecked right on the coast. I am just so thankful you are taking me back to Athens,” I replied.

 “Thats interesting, because earlier I saw something in the ocean. Thinking that it was a human, I picked him up on my back to return him back to Athens. On the way, I asked about his life in Athens and he described his family as very aristocratic and righteous. I then asked if he visited Piraeus frequently and he responded that he did and that Piraeus was his best friend.”

“Piraeus is a place though,” I said.

 “Exactly. So I turned around and realized that his person wasn't a person, he was a monkey! A MONKEY! So I reimbursed the fibber for his falsehood and dropped him off in the middle of the ocean for him to take care of himself.”

Point proven that dishonestly and falsehood never prevail. I’m glad I didn’t try to convince the Dolphin that I was a monkey.

Author’s Note: I chose to rewrite the Aesop’s fable, The Monkey And The Dolphin, from a different viewpoint. The original story of The Monkey And The Dolphin was told in third-person. Instead of re-telling the story in third-person, I decided to tell my story in first-person, and I also added a human character to the story. The original story plot discusses how dolphins are friendly to mankind and how the species returns shipwrecked humans to back home to Athens. When the dolphin picked up the monkey in the original story, the monkey lied to the dolphin about being from Athens and having a noble family. The dolphin was tricked and thought the monkey was a human until the monkey declared that Piraeus was his best friend. Piraeus is a place in the story, not a person. Immediately, the Monkey's comment caused the dolphin to dump him into the ocean for the monkey to fend for himself. I wanted to keep the theme of dishonesty involved in my story by describing an outsider's viewpoint. I chose to include a human character because it shows the friendship between the dolphins and humans of Athens. Also, I decided that the human character would be very nice and not lie about anything to depict the theme of honesty.

Bibliography.  This story is written by Espo and from the ebook The Esop for Children With Pictures by Milo Winter. Produced by Jason Isbell Christine D.

Photo Credit.  An Indian Monkey(Photo by Jim Ankan Deka.) Oceanic Dolphin. (Photo by sheilapic76)

My Favorite Places :Caymans Islands, Florence, Paris, Beaver Lake

Since I love to travel and have been many places, I could only narrow my favorite places down to four :)

Cayman Islands: My family and I took a summer vacation to the Cayman Islands in 2014.  The Caymans is my favorite beach spot to relax and get some vitamin D. During our trip, we swam with stingrays, took a catamaran out on the ocean, relaxed on the beach, ran on the beach, played beach volleyball, and enjoyed amazing seafood and drinks. 

The Caribbean Sea ( Photo by Patrick Nouhailler)

Florence, Italy: My family and I took another  summer vacation Europe this past summer. We visited three cities in France and three cities in Italy. My absolute favorite city was Florence. The history, architecture, churches, art, and vineyards were absolutely amazing. My favorite thing about Florence was seeing the Statue of David and viewing the entire city of Florence on the best site seeing hill.

Florence, Italy ( (Photo by Justus Hayes)

Pais, France:  During our Europe trip in 2015, we also visited Paris. I fell in love with the city and was memorized by the Eiffel Tower. The Eiffel tower was so surreal, beautiful, and larger than I would have ever expected. The view from the top was breathtaking and it was so awesome to see the entire city of Paris from a bird's eye view. Of course being a cheerleader, I had to stop and take my signature picot (a back flip picture) in front of the tower ;). 

 (Image Information : Personal photo of me flipping in front of the Eiffel Tower; photo from June 2015)

Beaver Lake: Beaver Lake is a man made lake located in Rogers, Arkansas. My family has been taking annual summer vacations to Beaver Lake for over 50 years. This trip is such an important and enjoyable vacation, probably my number one favorite place out of all four places. The water is so clear and we enjoy boating, wake boarding, skiing, tubing, jet skiing, swimming, wake surfing, and relaxing on one of the country's most beautiful and natural lakes. 

(Image Information: Personal photo of Beaver Lake, Arkansas ; photo taken from July 2013)