Week 2: Famous Last Words

This week was incredibly hectic, but, all in all, it was a great week.

 Family from Oregon came to visit, and we had a great time. One of the people who visited is Tamil and is a professor, so he was able to read the Tamil portion in the beginning of the Ramayana book we are reading. It was fun to compare the literal translation with what the author interpreted the quotation to say, especially since I thought the quote in the book was the literal translation.

The author's interpretation is, "I am verily like the cat sitting on the edge of an ocean of milk, hoping to lap it all up." (p. xii)

After reading the literal version and the author's interpretation, he commented, "Ah, he did a good job keeping the spirit of the quote. The yearning and longing is portrayed well in his interpretation." I wish I could remember the exact literal translation he read, but I remember thinking that it was very interesting. There isn't a cat in the quote as he translated it, but since milk is such a strong symbol in Indian literature, the author kept the milk metaphor and put a cat into the quote to make it understandable to people from other cultures. It was fun exploring the text outside of assignments for this class.

(Image information: Cat with milk image from pixabay)

This being my last year, I want to do as many things as I possibly can, but even though it's just week two, I'm discovering that not everything is possible. OU is such a great university, and I'm so sad to be leaving come spring. Hopefully, I'll soon figure out my scheduling to a point where I'm satisfied with my amounts of time spend for family, campus involvement, friends, schoolwork, volunteering, and sleeping. I was once told that every college student has to pick two of three to succeed in: school, sleep, or socialization. I want it all, so hopefully I find a happy balance and can make appropriate choices with how I spend my time. In the past, I always prioritized school and sleep.

I'd like to work on how to use more details in my storybooks without being overwhelming. I've read some amazing storytelling projects that have such vivid detail but remain concise and memorable. I would love to bring stories to life in a way that is relateable and enjoyable, so hopefully I can improve upon my skills as time goes on!