Week 8 Growth Mindset

Growth Mindset

After viewing Carol Dweck's video about children in school and changing their mindset it brought a lot of thoughts to my mind. The video spoke about a study that was done between a fixed mindset group of kids and a growth mindset group of kids. It showed over the course of two years that the kids in the growth mindset group excelled more. The reason she said they did was because they were thinking more positively. The kids with the fixed mindset did not take risks and therefore did not succeed like they could have. The growth mindset group, on the other hand, excelled because they learned new ideas and material just to learn. This study goes to show how much better someone is internally when they believe in themselves and focus on growth and not perfection.


Looking at the growth mindset in my own life I tend to fall short. The biggest problems for me is I consistently think I am not good at something or I like my comfort zone quite a bit. At a young age I was bullied for my weight and made fun of for ridiculous reasons, like not being "popular." I think because of that it put an idea in my head that I should not try to excel at anything because I already get a lot of attention and I do not want it. Overtime as I grew older I began to see myself slightly different. About two and half years ago I boarded a plane to China and did a study abroad. That was one of the first times in my life I have ever done anything "ballsy", per say. I decided one day that I could not sit around and wait for opportunities to happen so I created one. After I spent about 6/7 weeks in China I returned home and had a different view of the world. That moment I realized that I needed to be more positive about myself and how I feel. I think my strengths would be I learn well from my mistakes and I am always eager to learn more. I consistently makes mistakes because I am human. Instead of putting myself down I usually get up quickly, brush myself off, and move on to better things.

The biggest Idea I will take from the growth mindset for this class is being more diligent. Even if I have a lot of assignments going on and I am overwhelmed, I will make it a point to devote time to the class. I can challenge myself more in this class and step out of my comfort zone when it comes to my writing style. I also believe in myself in order to create a more fluid and imaginative story. The second half of the semester will allow me to showcase more of my abilities as a writer and strengthen me as well.


Determination

References:
Carol Dweck's Growth Mindset

Week 8 Reflections

Readings
As I was reading through my notes in the past I think I did a pretty good job at setting up for my story that was to be completed the next day. I believe the biggest way I can approve my story notes would be to break down on what I think my story should be. I write in such a way that I am already waiting a story, I could try the opposite. I could write my notes in a note taking form instead of in paragraph form. So I don't give away too much of what will happen with my story. My favorite story thus far has been reading about the "Nine Ideal India Women." I found the different take on R.K's Ramayana's stories were beautiful. I like the way they were interrupted differently and I really liked the stories about princesses. I do believe the writing is a bit darker but these versions had a more pleasant ending. Also I found that writing at night is better for me because I work and go to school during the day and sometimes do not get home till 10 pm. So I find the best time for me to write is late at night. During the weeks to come I cannot wait to read about Gods and Goddesses. I think that Indian epics shows how well the writings depict certain topics through Gods and Goddesses. It provides the story with more interesting background and I quite enjoy it.

Writings

During this half of the semester I do like the writings I have posted. I like the way I take the original and twist it into my own story based off of my creativity. I do believe that I could improve my writing overall. My biggest issue is my grammar. Sometimes I may rush my writing and if I took the time to edit some more and sharpen my story than it would be a lot better. There are times I may rush through more than others and I think the extra time could help me improve. I have liked the other ways my peers have created their stories. I have seen some use diary like speech within their writings to tell their story, and I was not as into that. I feel like that is just too easy to created within a story. Usually within a writing its not very descriptive except maybe descriptive about the main character's thoughts. I think there are better ways to write that involve some more thought and calculation to make the story great. I like that I describe my characters feelings and also try to incorporate the background they are in. I do believe sometimes I don't describe the same amount of a situation in the first part of the story like I do the first. I think if I focused on a strong ending like the beginning than I could create stronger stories. In the second part of class I will focus on my editing better and use the helpful hints the professor gives as well as sharpen my skills.

Connecting
I have already stated above how I feel about some of my peers stories but I could add a few more. I saw a story one of my peers wrote and was amazed. He made me think about the different ways I could write a story for this class and the future. He spoke through to the reader breaking the 4th wall, so to speak. I felt like he really captivated the reader instantly and kept their attention. The way he spoke suggested us to think about something other than what we are writing. I think everyone deep down needs a sense of belonging and a sense that in this world we wont just amount to nothing. The idea is breathtaking. To think we are brought here for a reason and continue to be for a reason. I think instead of giving more critical criticism I wanted to praise that story. Regardless of what I just stated I think I could give better feedback to my classmates by giving more detailed feedback. I felt like sometimes I would be too vague on what feedback I gave and I could do better.


Writing