Story: Cupid and Psyche

A little back story first...

Venus was the goddess of love. While looking down upon her subjects, she realized that they were no longer worshipping her, they were worshipping a beautiful mortal named Psyche. So she sent her son Cupid to make her fall in love with the most wretched, vile thing on earth. However Cupid soon fell in love with her himself. Cupid flees after Psyche finds out he is a god, and the rest is the tale of her trying to find her love. 

(Cupid and Psyche, Boston Public Library)

I am the leader of the Gods, King of the skies, Ruler of thunder and lightening, but can you guess my name? You may know me as Zeus, however in this story I am known as Jupiter. My role in this love story began when Cupid approached me after fleeing from Psyche. He explained that he had fallen in love with a mortal, a mortal whom his mother hated and wanted punished. So he was seeking solace from not only his mother Venus, but also his love Psyche until he was sure his mother would leave her alone. He asked me to keep watch over Psyche and make sure she was safe, while he went away for a while. I agreed (because he was always my favorite, and I'm a sucker for love). After he left, I began looking down on earth quite frequently. At first Psyche was in no danger; she was only searching to find her love, Cupid. However, she soon got desperate and as I watched she approached Venus. Venus, determined to find her son told Psyche that if she completed three tasks, he would come back to her. 

(Juno and Jupiter, Wikimedia)

The first task was easy, all Psyche had to do was take a pile of grains, beans, seeds, and lentis and separate them into individual piles. After watching for a few hours, I felt bad for the poor girl so I sent along some birds to help her sort faster. She was done in no time, and when Venus came back another task was given to her. 

This time she was instructed to obtain precious golden wool from the sheep in the meadow. I saw that these sheep were crazed from the heat of the sun, and would likely injury Psyche, so I sent a warning to her through the wind. It whispered to her as it blew past her ear telling her "wait until the sun sets, and the sheep calm down, then go to the woods and grab the golden wool hanging from the branches." 

After giving the wool to Venus, Psyche's final task was assigned. She was to fill a vial of water from the Styx. As I was even afraid of these waters I sent my trusty Eagle to obtain the water for her. All three tasks completed, Psyche walked back, hoping her love Cupid would be awaiting her return. When she arrived, Venus told her one more thing needed to be done. A jar of beauty needed to be delivered to Tartarus. But as I watched, Venus filled the jar, not with beauty, but with sleep. Psyche opened the jar, thinking some beauty would help bring Cupid back to her and fell into a deep sleep. Not to worry however, as I had warned Cupid of his mothers transgressions, and he came back just in time to wake her of the sleep. 

(Ganymede with Jupiter's Eagle, Wikimedia)

They flew straight here, where I gave Psyche ambrosia, making her immortal. This brings us to today where I am writing this tale in a book, to give as a gift to Cupid and Psyche... on their wedding day. 

Authors Note: 

This is just a small part of the original story of Cupid and Psyche. This part was taken from the second half of the story. The background in the beginning of the story tells the main points from the first part of the story but a lot of the details are missing. The plot remains the same in this part as in the original however instead of a unknown narrator, I changed it to where Jupiter is the narrator. 

Bibliography: Cupid and Psyche from Apuleius's Golden Ass translated by Tony Kline link to the reading online

Reading Notes, Cupid and Psyche, Part B

I found the second part of Cupid and Psyche to be more interesting than the first. Psyche gives herself up to Venus in hope that she will get to see Cupid again, however Venus wants Psyche to prove herself first so she assigns three tasks to complete. The first task is to separate grains, chickpeas, lentils, and beans. In Cinderella, she has birds come help pick up spilled beans, however ants come to help Psyche separate the above. The second task is to obtain some wool from sheep with golden fleece. A reed warns Psyche to wait until the heat dies down, and grab the wool from the branches in the woods nearby. The third task is to capture water from the Styx and Cocytus. After completing all the tasks Psyche was sent to the Underworld to obtain beauty for Venus from Proserpine. On the way back, she opened the vial and was sent into a slumber only to be awakened by Cupid himself. This part reminds me of the story of Sleeping Beauty. After receiving permission from the gods, Psyche was made immortal and a wedding occurred.

(Wedding of Cupid and Psyche)

Bibliography: "Cupid and Psyche" from The Golden Ass written by Apuleius and translated by Tony Kline

Reading Notes, Cupid and Psyche, Part A

What I find really interesting about the first part of Cupid and Psyche is Venus, Cupids mother tells her son to "let the girl be seized by violent, burning passion for the most wretched of men, one to whom Fortune has denied rank, wealth, even health, one so insignificant there is none on earth equal to him in misery." Yet, even after his mother gave him those orders, Cupid went and married Psyche. I was really surprised when after Psyche revealed her husband was Cupid, to her sisters, they both went and jumped off a cliff, trying to marry him themselves. This story is upon which Beauty and the Beast is based however, I think there is a little bit of Cinderella in it as well, because both sisters are jealous of what the younger one has. I am curious why Cupid did not want Psyche to know who we was; why he wanted his identity kept a secret. I could write a story where Psyche knowingly marries Cupid however, since that is the main plot of the story I feel like I would be ruining the story. Maybe instead one of the sisters won't jump off the cliff and will instead marry Cupid. I also don't like how Cupid sneaks into Psyches bedroom every night, and she lets him regardless of the fact she has no clue of what he looks like.

(Cupid and Psyche, by Stanhope)

Bibliography: "Cupid and Psyche" in the novel The Golden Ass, written by Apuleius and translated by Tony Kline 

Link to Cupid and Psyche

Growth Mindset

The concept of growth mindset is completely new to me; as is Carol Dwyer. In today's society, it feels like everything revolves around how successful you are. It puts a lot of pressure on us, as students because if we get a bad grade on a test, or even in a class, we think "Oh my gosh, we have to change our major, we're not going to get into graduate school etc." I personally am no different. It extremely difficult to get into Physical Therapy school, so when I received a grade last semester, that I wasn't happy about I thought my life was over. Even my advisor said that it was going to be difficult to get into PT school now. So this growth mindset could really help a lot of students. It could show them that rather giving up after life gives them a challenge, they need to learn all they can from it and move on. I want to learn more about the growth mindset this semester so that I am able to apply it to all my classes not only this year, but also in graduate school.

(Growth Mindset, Flickr)

Starting the Semester

To me, the beginning of the semester is when I am the most organized because it's when I have the most time. So to stay organized throughout the semester, I use different color pens for each of my classes and write out the due dates in my planner. I also have places that I go to study because if I stay at home, then I start talking to my roommates or get distracted. So everyday after my classes end I try to stay on campus an extra 3 hours to get some homework done. The library is not my favorite places to study because its too quiet so I've learned to find new places such as empty classrooms, the Union, or the HES building.

(Wikimedia)

Reading Options

For week two, I chose a Classical story, Cupid and Psyche. This is the story upon which Beauty and the Beast is based and I love that story, so I figure to be able to read the original would be really cool. A unit that sounded interesting to me was Alice in Wonderland because I like being able to read the original and see how the movies and books we watch and see today differ. Another couple units that sounded interesting to me were all three of the Ovid units. Each Ovid unit contains different well-known Greek mythology stories (and some that aren't as well-known). If I liked the popular mythology stories than chances are I will like the ones that I have never heard before.

(The White Rabbit, Alice in Wonderland)

Links to Units
Cupid and Psyche: http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/05/myth-folklore-unit-apuleiuss-cupid-and.html
Alice in Wonderland: http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/search/label/Unit%3A%20Alice%20in%20Wonderland
Ovid 1: http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/search/label/Unit%3A%20Ovid%20I.
Ovid 2: http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/search/label/Unit%3A%20Ovid%20II.
Ovid 3: http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/search/label/Unit%3A%20Ovid%20III.

Storybook Favorites

After looking at what seems like a thousand storybooks, I have identified my three favorites. The first (and what is most interesting to me) is called Mount Olympus Gossip, and is about the main Gods and Goddesses of Greek mythology. The second, titled Tales of Grimm revolves around the stories written by the Grimm Brothers. Finally, the third, Fairy Tales: The Other Side, adds a twist to some of the classic fairy tales.

Mount Olympus Gossip tells the stories of two Greek Goddesses and two Greek Gods from an inside point of view. Greek mythology is one of my favorite things to read about, so this title was the main reason I chose to further explore this storybook. The author did a good job keeping the title short, while also still making it intriguing. Although, this topic is very familiar to me, the introduction did a excellent job on cluing me in about how the stories were going to be told, and who they were going to be told about. However, the way the introduction was structured was kind of odd to me. The author included details about each god/goddess that should have been told in the story itself. It gave some of the gossip away before the author had even written the stories.

(Zeus)

Tales of Grimm retells stories written by the Grimm Brothers. This title was very self explanatory so I knew exactly what type of stories I was about to read. I have read a few stories written by the Grimm Brothers but the author did a good job about choosing some that are not as well known. The introduction didn't really explain the topic very much, but really made me want to read the stories. It grabbed my attention because the entire introduction was written as a dialogue.

Fairy Tales: The Other Side adds a twist to some of the most well known fairy tales. The title did an okay job at letting me know what the storybook was about. The introduction explained very well about the contents of each story. The only thing about this storybook that I didn't like, was the introduction wasn't labeled as such. It was labeled Make Mine with a Twist and made it very difficult to find as it seemed like the title of a story rather than the introduction.

Bibliography:
Mount Olympus Gossip: https://sites.google.com/site/mountolympusgossip/home
Tales of Grimm: https://sites.google.com/site/talesofgrimm3043/home
Fairy Tales: The Other Side: https://sites.google.com/site/fairytalestheotherside/home

Introduction to a Former Baker

Hi! My name is Bailey Ruby and I am 20 years old! I was born in Fort Worth, Texas but my dad’s job has moved our family all across the country! I have lived in Minnesota, South Dakota, Kansas, Iowa, Washington State, and now, again, Texas! My favorite place that I have lived was definitely Washington State. I love the outdoors, and there was always somethingfun to do there; hiking, skiing, swimming, not to mention the scenery was BEAUTIFUL! I have two sisters, Mackenzie who is a year older, and Kennedy, who is a year younger. Both attend Oklahoma State University. I also have a 9-month-old puppy, Hudson, who is a Yorkshire Terrier and Bichon Frise mix.

(Hudson, Personal Picture)

Choosing to attend the University of Oklahoma was a difficult decision for me. Growing up with two sisters (and being so close in age) really made me want to branch out on my own and go to a school far away from home but, once I saw the OU campus I knew it was the only place for me! I am currently a Health and Exercise Science major (pre-Physical Therapy) with a minor in Psychology. Once I receive my Doctorate in PT, I want to work with military veterans, specifically amputees, or those recovering from injuries received while on active duty. I’m currently volunteering in the PT center at the Veterans Hospital in Oklahoma City, and it is one of the best things I have ever done!

In my free time I LOVE to bake! When I was a little kid, I wanted to open my own bakery but once I found out I had to wake up early as a baker, I changed my mind (I’m so not a morning person)! I also really like traveling although I don’t get to do that very much! This summer however, my best friends and I were able to take a vacation and go to Disney World. We stood in line for every ride, and took pictures with a ton of characters. My number one place I want to visit is Greece. I love Greek mythology so to be able to see the place that those stories stem from would be my dream.

(Disney World, Personal Picture)

Story: The Lion, The Fox, and the Beasts

There once lived a Lion, who was so gravely ill that he was unable to leave his home. He summoned all the animals to come visit him in his cave and hear his last Will and Testament. The first to come was the Goat. The Goat walked in, his hoofs lightly clicking against the cave floor, and stayed, listening to the Lion for a long while. Next, the Cow walked in and, seeing the Lion on the floor, lay down next to him to better listen. He too, stayed. 

                                                                (The Lion, Flickr)

Meanwhile the Sheep arrived. She began walking inside the cave but was stopped suddenly by a voice. This high pitched, almost silent voice arose from behind her, in the open field outside the entrance of the cave and heeded a warning; “Do not enter if you wish to live, all who have entered have not returned.” The Sheep glanced around and at last saw who had spoken, the Fox. The Fox was known to be a trickster and a liar so the Sheep took no notice of him and continued into the cave to hear the last Will and Testament of the Lion. 

(The Sheep, Flickr)

At last, when it seemed all the animals had come to pay their respects to the Lion, he made a miraculous recovery and exited the cave to go find water (as he was parched). Upon exiting, he encountered the Fox, still in the field the Sheep spoke to him in. The Lion, asked the Fox as to why he did not come pay his respects. The Fox answered, “I have been sitting here all day, watching, and have seem many animals go into your cave, however, I have seen none leave. Until I see all the animals who have entered, come out again I think I will just stay out here.”

(The Fox, Flickr)

Authors Note: The original story is titled "The Lion, The Fox, and the Beasts" and was found in the Fables of Aesop. The plot is very similar to the the original story, and is about a Lion who pretends to be ill in order to gain visits from a bunch of animals, and ultimately turning them into prey. The Fox is smart enough to realize this is occurring and is able to prevent himself from becoming food.

Bibliography: This story is based on the fable called "The Lion, The Fox, and the Beasts" found in the Fables of Aesop, written by Joseph Jacobs.

My Favorite Place... Cannon Beach

(Cannon Beach, Oregon, USA Flickr)

I grew up all across the country so I was able to see and visit many different places. Each place was unique in its own way however, one place stood out way beyond the rest; Cannon Beach, Oregon. Cannon Beach is a small town on the west coast of Oregon. It has cute antique shops, amazing restaurants, and spectacular views. We climbed a cliff that had a breathtaking view of the Pacific Ocean, and from the top we were able to see whales out at sea. The beach had these huge rocks that when the tide rolled out, were littered with starfish and seashells, and the air had the same cool, crisp, calming feeling as the water.

Comment Wall

Link to Storybook

(Rapunzel by the Grimm Brothers, Johnn Gruelle)