Story: The Higgledy-Piggledy Palace

Long ago, there was a girl who simply went by Kay. Kay lost both of her parents at a young age, and it changed her life forever.  At only seven years old, she was forced to life in an orphanage full of girls who had never had two parents. This orphanage was notorious for signing orphans up for cruel jobs that other Egyptians simply did not want. Kay first worked as a baker, which she loved.  Each morning she would wake up earlier than all of the other orphans and happily run down the street to work. Making the fresh bread every day became a wonderful routine for Kay. Until one morning, the bakery wasn't there anymore. The doors were locked and the sign was gone. Kay was devastated. She swallowed back her tears and began slowly walking back home. Hesitantly, she knocked on the orphanages owner’s bedroom door. The owner listened and quickly thought of a new job. She explained to Kay that the Pharaoh was in need of new servants, and she would be perfect for the job. Kay reluctantly agreed since she had heard such awful things about the Pharaoh.

The next morning, she silently walked to the kingdom to start her new position. Other girls from the orphanage greeted her and they kept repeating that she would love it.  Kay was in charge of wardrobe and cleaning. She observed everything and soon became very good at her job.

A few weeks after starting, there was a commotion in the kingdom. “The queen! The Pharaoh has finally found a queen!” Kay was so excited. She was told to go fetch the royal garments. Shortly after, Kay was officially named one of the queen’s attendants. When Sarah, the new queen, walked in, Kay squealed with excitement. Sarah was the kindest and the prettiest woman that Kay had ever met. Sarah kindly asked Kay many questions about her life, within 20 minutes, they were the best of friends. The Pharaoh walked in and kicked Kay out so he could talk to Sarah. Kay patiently walked outside, nervous of what the cruel Pharaoh may do.

Kay pressed her ear on the door and heard shrieking, but not from Sarah. The Pharaoh walked out looking like someone just punched him. Later that night, as Kay prepared the Pharaoh’s bed, she saw a figure. It was a bright figure that had a calming presence. Kay quietly left the room, as the Pharaoh was ready for bed. Suddenly, there was a very loud boom. The Pharaoh had fallen out of his bed. Kay snickered and hurried to Sarah’s room. Sarah and Kay talked the whole night. “I want you to come live with me,” Sarah expressed to Kay. Kay was baffled. “Are you not going to live here forever?” Kay questioned. Sarah explained that her husband Abraham was planning an escape for tomorrow, and they wanted Kay to come with them.

The next day, Kay made her way to a new country with her new parents, Sarah and Abraham. After four years of being an orphan, she finally had a loving family.

Author's Note: After reading the original Jewish Fairy Tale, The Higgledy-Piggledy Palace, I was fascinated. Like any young girl, I love palaces, kings, queens... Really all of the fun stuff. I wanted to focus this story on the help that the palace was receiving. Thinking up the character of Kay was so fun. I wanted to use an Aladdin theme, but with a Pharaoh instead of a sultan. The Higgledy-Piggledy Palace talked about how Sarah and Abraham made the Pharaoh release them.  I immediately knew that Sarah was a very strong female lead, so I wanted Kay to really love her as much as I did. 

Bibliography: Jewish Fairy Tales and Legends by Gertrude Landa, link to The Higgledy-Piggledy Palace. 

Image: Pyramids in Egypt from Aemes. 

Reading Notes: Jewish Fairy Tales, The Giant of the Flood

When I began reading this, I assumed it was going to be about how unicorns did not make it onto Noah's Ark. Since the story was more focused on the giant (Og) I want to focus more on Unicorns and how we don't see them anymore.  I think it would be fun to name the unicorn (thinking something along the lines of Oscar, or something funny/old man name). Oscar will be the smallest unicorn of the pack, and he doesn't know how to survive on his own. Since he is the only unicorn left, he has not fallen in love with anyone. One day, Oscar meets a beautiful horse. From this: a rhino is created. I think it would be funny to tell the story of the first rhino and his parents.

Image: Cartoon Rhino from Nick Gowman. 

Bibliography: Jewish Fairy Tales and Legends by Gertrude Landa. Link to The Giant and the Flood. 

Reading Notes: Jewish Fairy Tales, The Higglegy-Piggledy Palace

Peasants take Sarah back to her own apartment and dress her in expensive clothing and jewelry. I think an awesome story could be to talk about the servants that helped her. My plan is to pinpoint a girl named Kay who helped Sarah get ready. I am going to show the Pharaoh and the Spirit from Kay's perspective. She despises the Pharaoh, but works because she is an orphan and has to provide for herself. She loves how kind Sarah is to everyone, but how Sarah also tests the Pharaoh.  Kay has never seen anyone disrespect the Pharaoh before, and she looks up to Sarah so much.

I could also talk about how the Spirit detests the Pharaoh. The Pharaoh is an evil man who the spirit has seen before. The spirit keeps an eye on Sarah and Abraham throughout their journey.  The spirit has seen Pharaoh in passing before, but has always kept his distance. This time, he needs to learn a lesson. This could be from the Spirits perspective and how he sees both the kind-hearted and the mean-spirited.

Last, I could talk about the story of the magic jewel Abraham wore around his neck. The jewel that healed the Pharaoh. It would be a riveting story (in my opinion) to write about where this stone has come from and where it has gone. How exactly it got the healing powers. How Abraham was given it and how he uses it for good.

Bibliography: Jewish Fairy Tales and Legends by Gertrude Landa. Link to The Higgledy-Piggledy Place. 

Image: Servant to a Pharaoh from Weiz Social Studies. 

Wikipedia Trail: From the 19th Amendment to English Americans

After reading Friday's course announcements, I was really interested in the 19th amendment. I had no idea that Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton were no longer alive when it was ratified. This got me to thinking: "What else do I not know about the 19th amendment?" And that's where my Wikipedia Trail begins.

I read about these two incredible women and how they worked for future generations. Two women changed the world forever! Their names are so famous, but I still wanted to know more. I clicked on Elizabeth Cady Stanton because I feel like I know significantly more about Susan B. Anthony. Elizabeth Cady Stanton is incredible. She had seven children! She also had 11 brothers and sisters, so she's no stranger to a huge family. Her father was an attorney, so I think that is where she got her determination from. When she got married, she refused to go by "Mrs. Henry B. Stanton" because she was an individual person. (I love her.)

Elizabeth lived near Ralph Waldo Emerson while she lived in Boston, so he is our next step. Mr. Emerson is famous for being an author and poet. After reading a bit about his life, I laughed a little because he proposed to his wife over a letter. Extremely different from our world today. ;) I think it is perfect though since he is an author!

After reading about Ralph Waldo Emerson's ancestry, I clicked on English Americans. According to the 2010 census, almost 26 million people are English Americans! It also talked about how our Founding Fathers were all English Americans. I loved this Wiki page because it told you the top 10 states with the English American population and the last 10! So interesting. California is #1 if you were wondering! :)

Image: Elizabeth Cady Stanton from her Wikipedia page.

Growth Mindset

I had never heard of Carol Dweck before this assignment actually! However, I really do agree with what she stands for. I like the idea of rewarding students by saying "you are not yet ready" instead of "you failed." I think I can definitely improve how I study and work. By have a solid foundation, it is easy to increase your knowledge. That is actually one of my goals for this semester! I am trying to do every reading (plus more) in all of my classes, and take notes on those readings. Then I can study my readings, and really remember what I just learned. It is a lengthy process, but I think it will be worth it.

Image: Meme from MemeGenerator.net

Starting The Semester

I love the beginning of school, but only for one reason: school supplies! Also, a planner helps a ton. I like going through my planner and writing down all of the upcoming dates for my classes. If you want to be super organized, go through and color code each class. It helps a ton! School supplies just get me motivated for a good school year. :)

Image: Color Coded Planner from Rebecca Peterson Studio. 

Reading Options

For week 2, I have decided to go with the Biblical unit. I am familiar with the Bible, but I would like to see if these readings have anymore information or can help me understand it better.
I am going to focus on Adam and Eve.
Some other units that caught my attention were: Jewish Fairy Tales, Women Saints and Bible Women. I think I find all of these the most intriguing because it is something that I am familiar with. I understand the language in this more than a classical story like the Iliad. The Jewish Fairy Tales sounded interesting because of the name! I love fairytales, so I am really curious to see what Jewish Fairy Tales are. As for Women Saints/Bible Women, I am all about women empowerment. I would love to hear more stories about women!

Image: Great Women of the Bible from Aquinas and More.

Storybook Favorites

The first blog I read was a storybook, which was surprising because I thought I would lean more towards a portfolio.  The Magic of Reading was SO GOOD. I loved this and really want to mine to turn out similar. The author talked from a ghosts point of view throughout different stories. It was extremely creative and an absolute page turner. She went through stories like Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Little Red Riding Hood. I think the topic is mysterious, but keeps the reader in the loop. The introduction does an awesome job of informing the reader what will happen. The design and navigation was so easy. I immediately knew how to get around and what order to read the stories in.

Next, I read Tragically Ever After.  The introduction to this one was kind of like reading the back of a book. It was informative, but did not give much away. Definitely made me want to keep reading! This storybook was set up just like The Magic of Reading. They also both talk about Sleeping Beauty. This blog also talks about A Prince's Tale of Woe and Prince Not-So-Charming (Cinderella again). I chose two very similar blogs! I think this is what I will most likely write about. I really like the storybooks and the princess/fairytales!

Last, I read Gossip Girl: The Dirt on Hawaii's Elites. This is not one I see myself doing, but it was a great idea. The author did a great job with the introduction. I was not expecting to learn so much about Hawaii from learning this! My favorite part of this storybook was how it was set up. The format was a little different from the other two. Her tabs were located on the left side and not the top, which I liked better! I am so excited for this assignment.

Image: Found on The Magic of Reading image by Missy Meyer, 2007

Introduction to an Advertising Major

Hi! My names Haley Piper and I am 21 years old. I am from Flower Mound, Texas, but I have lived in a lot of places! My family has lived in Missouri, Illinois, North Carolina and now, Texas. I have one sister who is five years older than me named Katie. Katie attended the University of Oklahoma when I was in 8th grade, so I immediately knew that I wanted to go here!

I love OU and all of the things it has to offer. Currently, I am a senior (yikes) advertising major with enterprise studies minor. I love being in Gaylord because of all of the creative people. My major is so cool because I get to work with all different types of businesses all over the world! This summer I interned with a wedding dress designer which was so cool. I ran all of their social media platforms (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook) and really got some awesome real world experience.

This leads to what I want to do when I graduate in nine months (!!!). I would love to see myself back in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. I honestly will take anything when I graduate, but if I have a choice, I would love to work in fashion/lifestyle industry! Working in teams is something I do best and that's why I chose advertising.

In my free time, I love to travel (would LOVE to visit Austria soon!), shop of course, swim, see movies and reading! Reading is something so important to me because it lets your mind take a break. Recently I read a book called "The Royal We" and I highly recommend it. I also love my dogs! My family has two dogs, Max and Lucy. We adopted Lucy this January and she is the absolute best. She only has three legs, but she does not let anything hold her back. We call her "tri-pawd." :) Max is a white highland terrier who is super cute, but hates people. I have lots to be thankful for!

Left Picture: Personal Photo of Max
Right Picture: Personal Photo of Lucy

Story: The Lion and the Mouse

Once, there was a tiny mouse named Henry. Henry was smaller than all of the other mice in his family. Between his 14 brothers and sisters, he was always getting lost. On one early morning, Henry's family was out and about looking for food. Poor little Henry fell asleep behind a tree, so his family could not find him. They looked every where they could think, but there was no Henry
in sight. His mom left a trail of food so hopefully he could find his way back home. Henry was lost and scared until he noticed the food trail. "What is this?" Thought the tiny mouse. He followed the trail until suddenly he ran into something. It rumbled. He tried to keep walking, but could not see because of this furry object. "Maybe I'll just walk around it," thought Henry. He tried going to the right, but could not see the trail. Instead he tried the left, but still no trail! "Okay," he thought, "maybe I will just try to climb on top of it and look for the trail." Big mistake. The object started to move and growl, and before Henry knew it, a lion was trying to eat him! "Please don't eat me, I'm not worth it! I won't make you full!" He pleaded. "I will do anything, please." The lion heard his plea and decided Henry was right, he was not worth it. The lion snickered and put Henry back on the ground. "Whatever you say," roared the lion. Henry sprinted as fast as he could. Luckily, he found the food trail his mom had left him! Finally, he was home safe and sound. One morning, a few months later, Henry and his family were out and about again. They heard roars in the distance... It was a lion. "Mom, I'll be right back." Said Henry, recognizing the familiar roar. Sure enough, the lion that once tried to eat Henry was tied up in a bag by hunters. "Oh no! I've got to get him out!" Henry waited until the hunters backs were turned, and starting chewing the ropes as fast as he can. "I told you I would help you!" Exclaimed Henry to the lion. Sure enough, Henry let the lion out of the bag. "Thank you for saving my life" The lion said. They both ran straight back to their moms.

Author's Note: I wrote this story after reading "The Lion The Mouse". This story is my own interpretation, meaning I gave the two characters more of a story/names. It was fun to show my own twist on this classic fable.

Bibliography. "The Lion The Mouse" from The Fable of Aesop by Joseph Jacobs. Web source.

Male Lion from Borongaja

Favorite Place: New York City

There are so many places I want to visit! For now, my favorite place that I have traveled to is New York City. I understand that not everyone loves it, but I love how different it is. Every corner you turn has something new. It is so unique and people travel all over the world just to see it! I am visiting New York again in October and I'm counting down the days. If you haven't been there before, definitely put it on your list.

First Image: Top Of The Rock from GenHERation. 
Second Image: Personal photo from Top Of The Rock, March 2015. 

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Image: Bear from Giphy.

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