Sometimes, you turn in sub-par work. It just happens. You get distracted, deadlines approach, stuff falls through the cracks, distractions take your time away from the work you should be doing... there can really be any number of things that detract from your goals. This week, I took a quiz in my LGBTQ Movements class that I was entirely prepared for and ended up turning in awful work. I had done the reading, I had thought critically about the arguments the author made, I had questioned what his purpose in writing it was... I had done everything that I was supposed to do.
However, when my professor gave us twenty minutes to answer the question the author poses to himself at the beginning of his work, I couldn't recall any of that awesome thinking that I had done or understand the notes that I had taken. I had a momentary coma, where the world around me kind of stopped, and despite the fact that my body was there, in the room, my brain was on break, out to lunch, on vacation. When she called time, I stared, kind of dumbfounded, over the incredibly incomplete and unsubstantiated answer that I had typed up. I turned it in, but I also wish that I could reach through cyberspace and pull that e-mail back to the safety of my hard drive, where no one can ever see it.
But hey, there's no use dwelling on it now. These things happen (or, as Carlotta from Phantom would say, "THESE THINGS DO APPEN"), and it's important to recognize them for what they are: temporary mistakes. I'm not sure what to do next time to rectify the situation... maybe bring a cup of coffee to wake me up, or talk to my classmates to stimulate my ideas. My takeaway from this situation is that sometimes things won't turn out as planned, and it really sucks, but you have to just keep on keeping on.
Photo of Anna Gigiel in the role of Carlotta in The Phantom of the Opera at the Roma Musical Theater Source: Wikipedia Image generated by MemeGenerator
I originally went to this article to learn more about the role of Rama in Indian mythology and as a figure within the Indian canon of storytelling; the article did not disappoint! I loved learning about all the ways Rama is represented in Indian culture, which led me to my next page.
This was originally under a section of the Rama article called "Rama Worship", which really intrigued me because I didn't know that Rama was a deity, or considered close to one. Reading about the festival spent honoring Rama provided some more context for reading the Ramayana.
A Home temple with deities of Rama, Sita, Lakshmana and Hanuman, on Sri Rama Navami by Vijay Chennupati Source: Wikipedia
I chose this article because I'm always interested by non-traditional (in the Western sense) forms of musical expression. Chanting as an art-form was something I explored lightly when I was in choir, but I enjoyed reading a more complete article about it.
I ended up on this article because I actually attempted to learn how to throat sing in high school for a song in choir. The song, Past Life Melodies, is a beautiful composition that brings overtones into the main melodic line, requiring throat singing to produce two different distinct notes at once. It's pretty awesome!
Between two part-time jobs, 17 credit hours, campus involvement, scholarship applications, and family/friend obligations, I'm someone that believes very deeply in the important of managing time effectively. As such, I have a few tips below that I follow pretty fervently that help me get everything done!
1. Automate what you can
Sometimes, in an attempt to get things done quickly, I think that some of us sacrifice the quality of our work. In order to prevent that, see if you can create a process by which you're able to focus on the creative aspects of a project/task (the part that can't be automated), and see what you can do to automate the rest of the work. For example, I'm a huge proponent of using Google Forms, bit.lys, and spreadsheets to organize and disseminate information. Learning how to use those tools effectively allows me to do my job as the Secretary for the Undergraduate Student Congress much more efficiently and accurately.
2. Plan out time to plan out time
I have a recurring appointment with myself on Sunday evenings to sit down for 30 minutes and organize my to-do lists and schedule for the week, which really helps me to know what's coming up during the week.
3. Set "office hours" for yourself
Some of you might have jobs that require you to hold office hours; if so, ignore this post. However, for those of you who don't, it's helpful to plan a certain time every week that you devote to working on random/miscellaneous tasks. Personally, I know that I often get a lot of random "to-dos" from people as a week goes on, and I often distract myself from my immediate goals by completing the tasks that were just given to me. To avoid this, use your "office hours" to do all the tasks you hadn't planned to do for the week. That way, you're planning for the unexpected.
Volunteers working in the office of 38 Degrees, posted by 38 Degrees' Flickr account Source: Flickr
I've actually been browsing lately for a timer app to install on my Dell, so it's nice to find out that there's one that's so easily accessible! This will be especially useful for setting timers... I often have a short period of time in-between classes that I can get stuff done during, but I can use this timer to ensure that I get to class on time! I can sometimes get lost in my work and not pay much attention to the clock, which makes a timer all the more necessary.
Of the articles that I read, I most personally connected with the Forbes article entitled "5 Tips For Taking Feedback Like a Champ". I struggle with being very, very sensitive when it comes to feedback, especially as it relates to things that I devote time to (for example, I won't lose any sleep over you telling me that I don't play football too well, but if you were to tell me that I couldn't sing well, I'd be pretty hurt).
As a high school debater, I'm actually pretty used to getting direct feedback; part of the debate process involves receiving a written ballot for every round that you compete in with tips and comments from the judge about the round they just adjudicated. The comments were sometimes helpful, sometimes nonexistent, and sometimes oddly hurtful. That being said, as a judge myself, I'm pretty used to giving feedback as well. I like to use what is referred to as the sandwich method, which follows this model: "I think that you did X really well, but think that you might be able to do X a bit better if you do Y while doing X. I also have to say that I'm really impressed by how you did Z." I'm not often a fan of being passive, but when it comes to feedback, it's generally safer to create an affirming environment if you don't know how the other person will react.
Personally, like I said earlier, I really struggle with negative feedback. The friends that I surround myself with are all very affirming people, and I'm someone that loves to love on the people I love. However, I sometimes get caught speaking hyperbolically, which leads people to not believe that my positive feedback or affirmations are genuine. It is important to balance the two.
Finally, while I usually appreciate feedback, I will always appreciate food.
Feedback Meme from The UTNE Reader, posted by Flickr user Karl Horton Source: Flickr
I’m pretty done with Rama, if we’re being honest. I was giving Vishnu the benefit of the doubt, hoping that he might be able to do something about our demon problem; ultimately, though, I realized that I just don’t like Rama. He’s got everything going for him and it’s just annoying. He’s kind, he stays bound by his own unique code of honor, and everyone seems to be giving him a celestial weapon. Why is everyone giving him a holy weapon? Flooding the non-celestial world with celestial weapons just seems like a mistake to me.
By the way, I’m Brahma, the god that keeps rewarding everyone for their severe self-restrictions and austerities. Not sure why everyone thinks that’s what I want them to do, but it’s pretty entertaining.
15th-Century Statue of Brahma from Thailand
Source: Wikipedia
Anyways. Rama is currently in the hermitage that the women Shabari resides in. I don’t quite remember why the building is stuck in a time-loop, but I’m feeling bored. Being all-powerful and omniscient can get old pretty quickly, so let’s see how Rama can get out of this.
*Brahma instantaneously expands the scope of the time loop to include Rama, trapping him until such time as either Rama breaks free or Brahma gets bored*
Shabari was such a wonderful person to break bread with. I feel as if I have learned much from her, and I look forward to continuing my education as I move forward on this journey. Sleeping in the hermitage will be a special treat; if only Sita was by my side… O Sita, how beauteous she is! Anyways, it is time for sleeping.
*next morning*
I had the strangest sense of déjà vu this morning. I met a woman named Shabari, who keeps a deserted hermitage. I feel as if I’ve met her before, and yet I don’t know where. Perhaps a restful evening will clear my head.
*next morning*
I have the feeling that I am currently being tested by the gods above. I can only imagine what sin or indulgence I must have engaged in to deserve this trial! Alas, I shall rise to the challenge! Somewhere in my stockpile of magical weapons I should have something to help me out. After all, I’ve basically only gotten through all of these trials because I was using holy weapons! Now, let’s see what we’ve got here…
Ah! A magical key! I remember when, long ago, the gods foretold that I would have to use this magic key to escape from an endless time loop.
*waves key around in the air*
*time loop ends*
*Rama just continues on*
Brahma back. That wasn’t nearly as fun as I wanted it to be. Seriously, where does he get all of this magic stuff from? Who planned his life out? He might not be able to return to his kingdom for a bit, but otherwise, he has just about every possible heavenly boon he could want. I need to make sure his life is just a bit harder, because I really can’t handle all of this self-righteousness and moral superiority. Bleh. Source: PDE Ramayana- Shabari
Author's Note- The original source for this story is the 40th story in the PDE of the Ramayana, discussing Rama's visit with Shabari. The hermitage that Shabari keeps in the woods is stuck in a time loop, and I thought it'd be fun to see what happens if the time loop ran amok or, more specifically, if Brahma expanded the time loop. I also decided to use it to express how frustrated I get with Rama for always finding the perfect solution at the last second. He has very few feats that he undertakes by himself... everything seems to be done with the help of some kind of magic weapon that is given to him by someone else. I think this concept is also replicated in a lot of stories, both epic and not. For example, Harry Potter almost always seems to succeed over Voldemort due to the sacrifice of someone else (Diggory, his parents, Sirius, etc). Elizabeth Bennett relied on Mr. Darcy to swoop in and save the day. Those stories were all slightly romantic at least... this one certainly was not, especially considering how Rama treated Sita near the end.
I also really enjoyed the concept of putting Brahma at the center of the story because he isn't a character that you hear from very often. In this story, even his omniscience is not enough to overcome the main problem of the story, which is that Rama gets whatever he wants through the use of celestial weapons. In this story, an interesting addition might be to question who is granting the celestial weapons their power if Brahma is not consenting to it. How does a god grant a celestial weapon? Is there a limit? Is the power of the weapon tied innately to the god, and if so, will a weapon granted by a powerful god overcome a weapon granted by a lesser one? All of these would be super interesting to explore.
Finally, I added Time Warp from Rocky Horror for two reasons: Rocky Horror is one of the queerest things imaginable (far more to do with the author than with the story) and the lyrics fit perfectly with the story.
