Week 1, Introduction
Greetings and Salutations!
My name is LaDawn Beckman and I am excited to be taking this Indian Epics class. I found out about this class last semester when I took the Mythology and Folklore class. My Spring classes are going to be all writing intensive, but it will all be worth it. My Spring and Summer breaks are already calling to me!
I am from Camp Verde, Arizona, a tiny little town North of Phoenix and South of Flagstaff. It became a town after being a military fort back in the days of the cowboys and Indians. When it was a fort in the wild west back in the 1800's they named it Camp Verde because the valley was green and lush, people died of Malaria then because of it. Now it is more like shades of brown because of the changing weather patterns and also the dwindling water tables of rivers and lakes due to modernization. Camp Verde is also where you will find the state parks of Montezuma's Castle and Montezuma's Well. Interesting historical Native American sites to visit.
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| This is my husband Barrett, me and my daughter Maya at the Butterfly House in Missouri Summer 2015. |
My name is LaDawn Beckman and I am excited to be taking this Indian Epics class. I found out about this class last semester when I took the Mythology and Folklore class. My Spring classes are going to be all writing intensive, but it will all be worth it. My Spring and Summer breaks are already calling to me!
Camp Verde Arizona
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| Montezuma's Castle |
I am currently in my second year here at the University of Oklahoma. I am a Religious Studies major with a minor in History. I graduated from Oklahoma City Community College where I got an Associate of Arts degree in Psychology and almost had an Associates of Applied Science in Business Management but I am one class short of that degree because I didn't want to take finance. I found out that I really don't like business, or accounting. I decided to follow my passions.I am now technically in my senior year here at OU. I look forward to graduating in December of 2016.
I love to read, write, travel, garden, bake all kinds of foods, and lounge around in my pajamas. My friends and family live all over the United States. I am lucky enough to have a sister who lives here in Norman and also goes to OU. Considering we are 15 years apart in age, this is a neat experience for us! I hope we all have a great semester and have fun learning new things. I look forward to reading all the interesting things that people will be posting!
It is so nice to get to meet you again for a second time around, La Dawn! And having a bunch of writing classes all at once will probably be an intense but great experience: writing is all about practice, so if you are getting lots of time to practice, you will probably see some great developments in your writing style. I am glad this class will be part of that semester writing adventure for you! And please say hello to Whitney for me! :-)
ReplyDeleteAnd I did not know (or did not remember) that your daughter is named Maya! Maybe you will want to do a project inspired by Maya in the Hindu tradition! Wikipedia: Maya
And I am guessing you will REALLY like these videos by Devdutt Pattanaik: he talks about Maya in his Shiva videos here: Devdutt Pattanaik: videos - Shiva.
I am so curious to see what parts of the Indian tradition are going to grab your attention!
Hi Laura! It is great to be back in your "classroom" again. I look forward to finding out all the parts of the Indian tradition that will grab my attention most too. Thank you for all the wonderful ideas and links that you have. They are wonderful and helpful.
DeleteHi La Dawn,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your introduction and the history that you provided over Camp Verde. I ended up on Google, and reading more information about the area. It is really beautiful. From the pictures, the area has some great hiking trails and the Verde River rafting seems a lot more fun there in comparison to here in Oklahoma. I don’t know if you have finished all of your program courses for Religious Studies, but I took Professor Vishanoff last semester for Islamic Theology and he was great. I wish you the best!
I have not had the pleasure of having one of Professor Vishanoffs' classes yet, but I have met him a few times as a guest speaker in a few of my religious studies courses.
DeleteYes, Arizona has some really neat places to see and learn about. Most places do. I am often amazed at the treasures I find here in Oklahoma.They are just a different type of fun.
Hi La Dawn,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your introduction. I am interested in knowing what is in the background of your blog. It looks amazing. I have actually traveled to Arizona a few times. Back in high school I played soccer and we traveled a few times for tournaments in Phoenix, Arizona. I see that we will be graduating at the same time! I am interested in reading more of your blogs.
Yay for graduating! Woot!
DeleteThe background is a picture I got from Google images. It is a concept of Mohenjo Daro in India. It is an ancient civilization referred to as the Harappan culture. The site is radio-active and the bricks, pottery, bones and things there are vitrified, showing signs of having gone through intense heat like a nuclear bomb. I find this so interesting considering the stories that the Indians have in their works such as the Mahabarata about the wars and the weapons of the gods.
It also strikes me as so similar in structure to the Anazazi culture in the desert southwest where I am from. Oh how I wish I could time travel. To be a fly on the wall in the ancient places!
I may have just mispelled a whole bunch of stuff...like Anasazi, Mahabharata and who knows what else... sorry I forgot to spell check...
DeleteNice to meet you, LaDawn!
ReplyDeleteYour major and minor are so exciting to me for so many reasons!
1. As a fine arts major, I always support people following their passion when it comes to picking a field to study! I love that you're so confident in your goals, it's truly inspiring.
2. As a history nerd, I love when people study history! I'm considering grad school for music history, so much respect to you for recognizing the importance of this field.
3. As a peer in this class, I'm so excited to see your insights on the material! You'll definitely have more knowledge in this area than I will, so I'm already planning on following your progress if I ever feel lost.
Best wishes for the semester!
I am glad we get to share ideas with our peers, I hope I can shed lights on ideas for others. I also look forward to seeing things from your perspective. As an artist you will have insight that is unique and compelling to others as well. Yay for us history nerds! I actually have a hard time narrowing down all my intrests in life and would like to have many life times just to squeeze it all in!
DeleteNice to virtually meet you, LaDawn! Might I add, I really love your name. It's very unique! I just want to wish you good luck on all your writing-intensive classes this semester. This is the only writing heavy class I'm taking, and I think it's enough. I can only imagine how much you're writing each week!
ReplyDeleteHello Roshni, it is likewise nice to virtually meet you!
DeleteHey LaDawn, I just wanted to check back in with you since its the end of the semester. I truly enjoyed reading all of your stories. You have such a creative mind. Congratulations on being nominated as one of the favorite portfolios for this semester! Good luck with your last semester in the fall!
DeleteHi LaDawn! I loved reading your introduction. It was very fun to read. Thanks for telling us about where came from. I liked how you included so many pictures. I'm a visual person so it was helpful. I understand what it is like to have an intense semester. I hope your semester is manageable. I wish it was spring break too! I love to travel too so I will be traveling during my break.
ReplyDeleteHi Jordan!
DeleteI am doing okay so far this semester! I was planning to take a trip this break, but things have come up and so I will only get to do stuff around town. I will enjoy it anyways! I hope you have a fantastic travel on your break!
Hey LaDawn!
ReplyDeleteSo nice to meet you! Camp Verde looks amazing, I have actually heard of it as one of my roommates enjoys roadtripping with her family and has been to all sorts of cool places! I too am graduating this year, in May, congratulations on your upcoming graduation in December - it is so exciting!
Thank you Abi! Congrats to you as well!
DeleteLaDawn,
ReplyDeleteIt is so nice to meet you! I love how you mentioned the history of your hometown! I am always so interested in where a person comes from! Every place has a great story just waiting to be told. It is really cool that you have the opportunity to be in school at the same time as your sister. I wish my siblings were at OU with me but they have chosen different paths. Congratulations on getting to graduate in December! Good luck in your future endeavors!
Thank you Chelsey! Good luck to you too!
DeleteLa Dawn,
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting place to be from. I visited Flagstaff once, and I loved it. I'll have to visit Camp Verde if I ever go back. Religious Studies must be a fascinating major. I loved my World Religions class in high school. Thanks for sharing, I look forward to keeping up with your writing over the semester.
Andrew
Andrew,
DeleteYou must have had an amazing high school to have offered World Religions. My school was small and it was long ago. I am so jealous. JK. Have a wonderful semester!
LaDawn,
ReplyDeleteThat is so cool that you are getting to go to school with your sister. I wish I had gotten that experience. But then they both graduated years ago. I’m almost forty and just now coming back to finish….
Montezuma’s castle looks amazing. At first I thought you were referencing Mesa Verde from the pictures. I went there with my family as a very young child. I would love to learn more about these historical places!
I went to Mesa Verde when I was a kid too. I have wanted to go back as an adult, but have not managed it yet.
DeleteI am over forty and finishing school, it's all good! Have a great semester!
Hi LaDawn! Those are some beautiful pictures of Camp Verde! I wish I could visit a place that beautiful. That is really great that your sister goes to OU as well since you are both so far apart in age. I bet even with all the class work you both have that you get to spend some quality time together. Good luck this semester with all your heavy writing classes.
ReplyDeleteSavannah,
DeleteHave a great semester! I am super lucky to have an opportunity to be in school with a sibling.
Hi LaDawn,
ReplyDeleteWe were in the same Mythology and Folklore class last semester! It's really nice to "see" you in class again! Camp Verde looks insanely beautiful! I must visit some time! Do you have a focus in Religious Studies or are you just getting a wide variety of information on a bunch of religions? I always thought that Buddhism was pretty interesting and have always wanted to learn more about that. Can't wait to read your stories this semester!
Hello again! Last semester was fun, this one is too so far!
DeleteI am not really focusing on one religion, I am trying to study them all. My history minor is more focused on Medieval European History, which works well for study many religions. I look forward to reading your stories too!
LaDawn,
ReplyDeleteIt’s so great to meet you! I definitely feel for you on the spring and summer breaks haha. Camp Verde sounds like such an awesome place. I have only visited Arizona once, but I loved it. It is so pretty! That is so cool that you have a sister that also goes to OU with you. I have too much separation in age for me to have attended school with a sibiling. It was nice to meet you and I hope you have a wonderful semester!
Hi Jared,
Deleteit was nice to meet you too, have a great semester!
Hello LaDawn,
ReplyDeleteIt was great getting to know you through your introduction. The pictures you posted of Arizona were so beautiful! I love how you said you don’t like business or accounting because I feel the exact same way. It may come easily to some people but I am definitely not one of them! I also love to read and travel! I have also started baking some and it is getting so fun! I hope you have a great rest of the semester!
Hi Bayan!
DeleteSounds like we share many interests! I hope the remaining of your semester is wonderful!
It's really nice to meet you LaDawn! Where you live looks like a beautiful place to be and with such a rich history your incredibly lucky to call it home. I’m also graduating in December and my education has also been a long journey (been in since 2010)! So, I understand the struggle and I understand how hard it is to find your place and where you want to be in the future. I wish you the best of luck and you have a beautiful family!
ReplyDeleteHi LaDawn! Have I really not commented on any of your posts yet?? How strange!
ReplyDeleteI also took Mythology & Folklore, a couple years ago. What did you do your Storybook project over? What was your favorite set of readings from that class? I think I remember the ballads best, and seeing different versions collected an ocean apart that were still so similar.
Hello LaDawn. That is good that you were able to figure out what makes you happy and then focus your career around that at OU. Those Native American sties must be pretty interesting. I am actually taking a Native American Philosophy class right now so I am just starting to learn about the culture. Good luck with the rest of the semester. I am also graduating in December of this year so it should be fun.
ReplyDeleteHi LaDawn,
ReplyDeleteI am surprised I haven’t comment on your introduction yet. It seems like I have commented on everyone’s. It is awesome that you know so much about Camp Verde. It was nice to read more about you and learn some interesting stuff. I hope the best for you at OU and after. Good luck studying Religious Studies, it seems like an interesting major.
Hi La Dawn. This week’s blog comments calls to reconnect with someone in this class. I have been familiar with your work since last semester in Myth and Folklore and have been impressed ever since. Congratulations in earning one of the best portfolios in the class! Summer break is just around the corner!
ReplyDelete