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Showing posts from August, 2020

Time Strategies

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When it comes to time management, I have everything blocked into time slots of when I can work on things. Because I have demanding work and school schedules, I don't have much of a choice in my time allotment. I like structure, so it helps me to have everything worked out ahead of time. However, my biggest struggle is starting . There are times when I can see the time slipping away, and I continue to stare at the clock, instead of just getting to work. As was stated in The Important Habit of Just Starting , this greatly adds to my stress level, when I could have just gotten the work done and saved myself the anxiety. I was drawn to this article because I am a terrible procrastinator, despite my limited time to get things done. What I found the most interesting about this article was its link to impulsiveness. I have never considered procrastination a symptom of impulsivity, but it makes perfect sense. The now is the focus, rather than the later . As this semester goes on, I need t

Technology

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I do not consider myself a very tech-savvy person, but I am fortunate enough to work in a job that does everything online. So, I have gotten much better in this regard. Most of these extensions I already had set up on my browser, although I did add the word count tool because copy/pasting into a separate document for each blog post was getting tedious. What is new to me, though, is the application of these tools to blogging. I have never blogged before, so having the chance to play around in this kind of space is fun and interesting. I am pretty strictly a Chrome girl, although I do have Safari on my computer as well, because we often check our work content on multiple browsers to make sure strange errors don't occur. I am also a bookmark fiend, so organizing them into folders is going to help me immensely!  A lit-up computer keyboard Source: Pixabay What I am least familiar with is image resizing. I often find myself in situations where I need to resize photos, but have no idea ho

Assignments

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After scrolling through the core assignments for this course, I am most excited about reading stories and then having the chance to reinvent them in another context. I enjoy writing, but I am not a creative enough person to pull story ideas out of thin air. Being able to remake stories within my imagination will be a lot of fun! I am also excited to read the stories of my classmates! A woman writing at a table Source: Pixabay Extra credit is such a great way to get ahead in a course, and I am happy to see that it is available! What jumped out to me was the option to follow a Wikipedia trail. As someone who frequently finds herself in Internet rabbit holes of interest, I'm glad to see that I can get some extra points for it! Because I know very little in the way of mythology and folklore legends, I am excited to learn more about it. Once I am excited to learn about something, I can quickly find myself six pages away from the original headline I clicked on. What interests me the most

Growth Mindset

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I had never heard of Carol Dweck or a growth mindset before watching these videos. I find this theory interesting. People always say, as Dweck did, in her TED Talk that parents have created a generation of students/workers who can't get through the day without praise, or that we've ruined the next generation by giving out participation trophies at every turn. This has always been strange to me because I was never given those things. Perhaps this really is true, and my parents just didn't raise me that way, but I remember plenty of failure as a child, and in the long run, it has made me a hard and determined worker.  Cycle of Growth Source: Christopher Mance, Flickr By nature, I am a perfectionist. I like things to be clean and in their place. I've always done well in the aspects of school that I enjoyed, and when it came to things I didn't enjoy, I didn't try very hard so I could accept that as the reason for doing so poorly, not that I just had a hard time with

Courtney Macom - An Introduction

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Hello, friends. Welcome to my first-ever  blog .  My name is Courtney Macom, and I am a senior English Lit major originally from Visalia, California. I'm a fan of early 2000s rom-coms, street tacos, and music that can be sung to. I have a 14 year-old cat that I've had since I was a little girl, and I have a fiancĂ© who is much newer in my life.  I like witty people, and my goal in life is to be able to say I'm  well-read  (whatever that means).  My snoozing Kitty Source: personal photo I currently work as an editor for an online publishing company, and I love it! I eventually hope to move into trade publishing and work on novels and long form pieces. I love to read (which comes with the territory as a lit major), but I am still guilty of buying more books when there are plenty on my shelves still unread. My favorite book is Catcher in the Rye because it was the first book I ever liked enough to read in one sitting. I am excited to take this class because I haven't learn

Storybook Favorites

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After searching through the storybooks of past students, my favorite three are Peter Pan: Revisited, Mythical Greek Women and Feminism, and Hawaiian Mythology. While the first two tell stories from lesser-known perspectives, the third tells stories of history and culture.  Peter Pan: Revisited is a retelling of the famous Peter Pan stories in Neverland from a different perspective. I love stories of "misrepresented" or misunderstood villains, and the introduction to this storybook begins with an interview with the infamous Captain Hook, referred to informally as James Hook. Taking well-known and beloved classic stories and turning them on their heads makes for an interesting perspective. The design of the website is also appealing, as it lends bright and colorful images, which help to transport the reader to Neverland.  Captain Hook and Peter Pan Source: Wikimedia Commons Mythical Greek Women and Feminism jumps out to me because I don't know much of classical Greek myth

My Favorite Place - Costa Rica!

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Hello, readers!  In high school, I took a trip through Western Europe and visited six countries. As they say, I caught the "travel bug" and haven't been able to shake it since. I have visited many places in the United States and abroad, but the one that holds closest to my heart is beautiful Costa Rica.  (Image information: personal photo from my trip to Turrialba, Costa Rica; August 2018) I grew up just outside Sequoia National Forest in California's Central Valley, and this instilled in me a love of really green trees! Costa Rica is a gorgeous green wonderland complete with waterfalls, rivers, beaches, and even volcanoes. The people, known as Ticos, are kind and laid-back people. Upon arrival, you'll quickly hear the words "Pura Vida" which literally translate to "pure life," but this motto has become a general catch phrase by which Ticos live their lives.  As Costa Rica is home to thick untouched jungles, it is also home to diverse animals a

First Post

First Post