Reading Review Week

          It is sort of crazy to take a few minutes to look back on the things I did not even realize I was learning.  I decided to take this class on a whim and I am so glad I did. I have always been a reader, a slow reader, but a reader. I can just remember the summer days where my mom would come make sure I was still breathing because she hadn’t heard a peep from me in hours, only to find me curled up in bed with a book that was the size of my head.

          Upon seeing the reading and realizing what this class was all about, I soon became worried. I always wondered how I was going to manage to do 50 pages of reading in one night on top of my other obligations. Most normal people probably would have thought “Oh, I should do that reading ahead of the assignment day” but that is beside the point. I always found a way to manage. While at times stressful, it has been so rewarding to trek through these stories and read stories I have never read before.

          Ramayana is something I would have never encountered, probably in my whole life, if I had not taken this class. It is such a strange story, but it explains so much about current Indian culture as well as society as a whole. It is sort of funny how our stories can be so similar throughout cultures, yet we still want to argue about religion. (A man born of the gods to come to earth to save the world? That sounds a little too familiar but heck, what do I know?)

          The folk stories I have explored have also been equally if not more rewarding. Again, it is surprising just how much overlap there is within cultures. It may be a different name or situation or place but the root and morals of the stories are always so similar to stories I have heard throughout my life.

          The only problem I have encountered throughout this semester with this class is just the sheer bulk. “Out of sight out of mind” is more than a saying in my life. While rather rhythmic after a couple weeks, it is still easy to forget to do an assignment here and there. Being a slow reader, that has been a struggle for me. I feel as if I want to understand too much when I read. I am constantly looking up words and backgrounds in order to further understand the story and that can sometimes hinder my progress.

          Regardless, I have survived! I hope to get ahead this week and continue another book by Narayan!

Quotation by Mark Twain
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