Story: Adam and Eve

Oliver Stone Quote

Picture by sundawncer on flickr

Jack Miller was a professional football who played for the Dallas Cowboys. From the moment Jack could walk, he was a gifted athlete. He dominated at every level that he competed at, including the professional level. He quickly became a hometown hero. Everyone knew his name and everyone loved him. When he got older he had two kids. His first child’s name was Sam. Sam looked up to his father, Jack. Sam knew of his father’s accomplishments and greatness. This made Sam want to be equally great, if not better. Jack’s second son, Andrew, was three years younger than Sam. Andrew was more like his father than Sam was. Andrew had that natural talent for football. He was more athletic than Sam, but was younger. Sam started high school and immediately signed up for the football team. He had all of the determination in the world to become great. For a while he was the star of the football team. Everyone in the school loved Sam, and Sam was excited to be great. Jack would go to the football games, and was very proud of his son, Sam. Two years later, Andrew started high school. After only one practice of his freshman year, Andrew was moved up to the varsity team. Sam began to feel very threatened by his younger brother. Sam loved being the hero and the best player. He felt that Andrew was going to outshine him. After only a few games, Andrew had taken over as the clear favorite on the team. Andrew had taken Sam’s starting spot. He was leading the team to victory after victory. He was being called the best player in the state, and Jack began to recognize this. After showing Sam much attention throughout his football career, Jack began to focus on his youngest son, Andrew. He would talk praise of Andrew all the time. Throughout the season, Sam’s resentment for Andrew built up. His jealousy was burning inside of him. He could not understand what everyone loved about Andrew. For awhile Sam played the same role as Andrew. At the end of the season, Andrew received the award for most outstanding player in the state. The entire family attended the ceremony. When Andrew received the award, everyone stood and cheered, everyone except Sam. Sam remained seated with an angry emotion on his face. Jack confronted Sam and asked him why he would not cheer on his brother for his accomplishment. Sam responded with, “What is so special about Andrew? I could be up there receiving that award if I wanted to.” After the award ceremony, Andrew returned to his family with trophy in hand. When Sam saw the trophy and Andrew’s happiness, he lept out and punched Andrew. This started a fight between the two of them. Jack broke up the fight and demanded that Sam stop being a sore loser. Jack wanted Sam to congratulate Andrew, but Sam refused. Sam left for college the next year, and Andrew continued to dominate high school football. Sam would not go home to visit his family as long as Andrew was still playing football. Sam and Andrew now had an intense rivalry.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

In the stories of Adam and Eve that I read, Adam was created by God. Adam was the most impressive human to exist. He was the largest, strongest, best looking, etc... When God created the rest of the world he gave it all to Adam. Adam named all of the animals and inherited the Earth. Satan was an angel who was jealous of Adam. He thought he was better than Adam. Satan challenged Adam to a competition. Satan lost but refused to accept it. God then banished Satan to Earth, creating a rivalry between Satan and Man. In my story, Jack is God. Andrew is Adam. Sam is Satan.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

 The Legends of the Jews by Louis Ginzberg found on website

Reading Notes: Adam and Eve Part A

King James Bible (1611): Genesis 1-3. found on website

God created man in his own image, the way he wanted us to be created. He gave mankind everything he created. He spent 6 days creating everything before taking a break. He gave mankind free will to do anything they wished, except for one rule: Do not eat from one tree. A serpent convinces the humans (Adam and Eve) to eat from the forbidden tree. After eating from the tree, Adam and Eve began making clothes and hiding from their maker.

 The Legends of the Jews by Louis Ginzberg found on website

Adam was created like a man of twenty years of age and was a large, developed man. There were few in later generations who measured up to Adam. Even Eve is compared to an ape when next to Adam. Adam is that handsome. As God created animals, Adam named each one. Adam even named himself. When all the angels came to give reverence to Adam, Satan the greatest of all refused because he was jealous. Satan demanded a competition with Adam and lost by a landslide. Satan was a sore loser and was kicked out of heaven. This created the rivalry between Satan and man. Adam’s wife kept disappearing and preferred punishment over living with Adam. Because a woman created separately from Adam refused to live with Adam, Adam’s wife was created from Adam himself. Eve was created. Adam exaggerated the forbidden tree and told Eve she could not even touch it or she’d die. The serpent tricked Eve by pushing her into the tree so she’d touch the tree. When it didn’t kill her, the serpent convinced her Adam had lied and that she could even eat from the tree. This was the downfall of man. Man was punished, as well as, serpents who were forced out of their upright posture.

Eve giving Adam the forbidden fruit, 

by Lucas Cranach the Elder on Wikipedia

Growth Mindset

(Cheezburger)

I have never heard of Carol Dweck or growth mindset before this post. This does not mean, however, that I did not understand the concepts. I always could tell that there was a spectrum of growth mindset without ever realizing it. With my school work, I have a growth mindset when it comes to anything that can help me get ahead in life. Whether that be directly correlated to my major or anything that I think could be handy to know in the future. My biggest challenges at OU has been keeping up with homework and workload. I enjoy learning new things but the work ethic doesn’t come easily for me. I love to play sports, play video games, read, watch tv/movies, etc.. and it gets difficult to do these things and keep up with school. This semester (and next) are very important to me. They are my last two semesters before graduation. It is also when all of my important major related classes are occurring. The things I learn these next two semesters are the things I will use in my career. 

Starting the Semester

My favorite tip that  follow is to be on campus (specifically the library) as much as possible. I try to be on campus between the hours of 9am and 2pm. This is when I get most of my homework and studying done. If I try to do my homework and studying at home, I just get distracted.

Bizzell Memorial Library. Author: ragesoss. Wikipedia

Reading Options

My choice for week 2 is the Unit on Adam and Eve. This unit was intriguing to me because it is the story of the first man and woman that I have heard growing up as a Catholic.

http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/05/myth-folklore-unit-adam-and-eve.html

(The Fall, by Michelangelo)

The Robin Hood unit interests me because I know the general story of Robin Hood but I have not ever read a full Robin Hood story that I can remember.

http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/search/label/Unit%3A%20Robin%20Hood

The Monkey King sounds interesting because I don’t know anything about Chinese folklore or literature.

http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/search/label/Unit%3A%20Monkey%20King

The Alice in Wonderland unit is interesting because I do not know the story, but have wanted to watch the movies. Might as well read the story first.

http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/search/label/Unit%3A%20Alice%20in%20Wonderland

Storybook Favorites

Ghost Stories of British Castles. https://sites.google.com/site/ghoststoriesofbritishcastles/home

This storybook was about ghosts in British castles as the title very clearly explains. The introductions does a great job explaining what the storybook will consist of. It has an interesting style of writing from the point of view of a ghost who will be guiding you on a tour of the castles. It has a quick attention grabbing joke to start off which is what prompted me to continue reading. At the end of the introduction page, there was a creepy picture of a ghost. This picture grabbed my intrigue and made me want to see the rest.

Stories from Australia. https://sites.google.com/site/storiesfromaustralia/

This storybook described how the world works from the legends and stories of Australian culture. The title didn’t tell me a whole lot about what the storybook would include; however, my intrigue with Australia brought me to the page. The introduction didn’t grab my attention but the side bar on the left with the page names, made me want to continue. This storybook doesn’t seem to convey too much information with the title or introduction however, it does make you want to read on in order to learn more about the stories.

The Band of Pirates. https://sites.google.com/site/thebandofpirates/home

The homepage immediately grabbed my intrigue. The picture of the pirates and the poem below made me want to continue on through this storybook. The title does enough to grab your attention without giving away too much information. The introduction was very informational and prepared me for what I was going to see; however, it didn’t do very much to entertain and keep me hooked. I like the layout of each page which starts with a picture followed by the paragraphs. This is a good strategy because I like the pictures and they keep me reading.

Ghost. Web Source: Fizzy Energy.

Story: Humpty the Construction Worker

Humpty Dumpty sate on a wall;

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall;

Three score men and three score more

Cannot place Humpty Dumpty as he was before.

(traditional nursery rhyme)

An egg named Humpty was a hardworking construction worker with a family. Every day he woke up before the sunrise and set off to work. He had very little money, but did everything in his power to keep his family happy. He worked for the large construction company called Eggscelent Builders. His current project was building a very tall building, a building the size of a refrigerator. Humpty had a best friend named Yolker, who ironically had a terrible sense of humor and was always very serious. Before Humpty ascended to the top of the building, Yolker reminded him to put on his harness. Humpty refused because he found it uncomfortable. Humpty climbed to the very top of the building, and was sitting on the edge as he worked on a piece of the structure. A gust of wind blew and knocked him off of the tower. He tumbled to the bottom and shattered into many pieces. He was rushed to the hospital and would survive; however, he would no longer be able to work. It took numerous doctors and all of the scotch tape in the hospital in order to piece Humpty back together. There were at least 50 different pieces of Humpty to fit together like a puzzle. Eggscelent Builders would pay him workers compensation, and be fined a large amount of money. Humpty would regret not listening to his friend, and taking safety seriously. Humpty used his terrible situation to enlighten others who may not take safety seriously. Eggscelent Builders eventually ramped up safety practices, in order to ensure this tragedy never happened again. The motto “you have to crack some eggs to make a cake” took on a whole new meaning in the world of Humpty Dumpty.

Photo of Humpty Dumpty

Found on Pixabay website

Author's Note

Humpty Dumpty was always one of my favorite rhymes growing up. Humpty Dumpty was an egg who fell off of a wall and broke into many pieces. Many men tried to repair Humpty, but ultimately could not. When I read it for this assignment, I immediately thought of a construction worker on a wall. In my major and work experience, safety is stressed above everything else. I have heard many sad stories of safety being ignored and people being injured. I thought I would combine those two into a tragic story about Humpty the egg.

Bibliography. "Humpty Dumpty." from the Nursery Rhyme Book by Andrew Lang.  Website

Introduction to an "Outdoorsy Netflixer"

My name is Tim, and I am a senior at the University of Oklahoma. I am majoring in Industrial and Systems Engineering. The coolest part about my major is that I can pretty much work in any industry. As long as there is a process that can be improved, I can work in the industry. I like to watch Netflix...and currently just started Lost. My summers are pretty busy with having internships each of the previous three summers. My family tries to get a vacation in each summer, but if not, we can spend a weekend out at the lake. Although I find myself watching a lot of TV, I also love to be outdoors. In the past year, I have hiked Enchanted Rock in Texas and Turner Falls in Oklahoma, as well as, spent numerous weekends out at Lake Cypress Springs in Texas. I have no post-graduation plans, but I would like to be back in Dallas (where I am from). Growing up, I loved sports. I played basketball from the time I could walk until I graduated high school. I had the tough choice between continuing my basketball career in college, or focusing on life after basketball. Although I miss organized basketball, I do not regret choosing my life after basketball. I like to make some time to play up at the Huff here at OU. My favorite food is anything with cheese (like pizza). I love to eat cheese plain and eat things with cheese on it. It may be a little weird but cheese is just my thing, I guess. Lastly, but definitely most importantly, Harry Potter is the greatest book series/movie series/everything in the world, and I am ready to debate anyone who says otherwise. I have read each book multiple times and seen each movie a countless number of times. Harry Potter weekend on ABC Family meant I was going to be inside by the TV all day.

Picture of Enchanted Rock in Texas

 Photo taken by J.B. Hill. Flickr

Favorite Place....Seaside

My family went to Seaside, Florida every summer between when I was around the age of 8 until I was 21 (with a few missed summers). It is the one place other than my hometown that I saw change from year to year. It used to be this little, family town back when I was young. Now it is a more developed adult atmosphere. As much as I hated the changes, it seemed to grow with me. I love going back to the town with my family. As one of my friends said when we were 9 years old or so, "It is one big bubble of fun."

Picture of the welcoming sign in Seaside, Florida

M. Fitzsimmons. Source: Wikipedia Commons

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