Reading Notes: The Gospel of Mark- Part A

(Image of Jesus sourced from Flickr that was labeled for reuse)

If we’re being candid, I have read the Gospel of Mark numerous times throughout my life. I have grown up hearing these stories time and time again. While I was familiar with the meanings and lessons behind these passages, I was not familiar with the storytelling patterns hidden in between the margins. This assignment provided me with the opportunity to read between the lines and hone in on a different angle of the Bible.


By reading these stories in a new light, I realized two main things, each story had a question and Jesus is a man of few words. Just about every passage found within the first ten chapters of the Gospel of Mark contained a question. The people who came to listen to Jesus’s sermons often asked him questions, the Pharisees often questioned the validity of Jesus’s teachings, and Jesus himself asked his listeners questions in an effort to make them think. Rhetorical questions can act as a creative writing technique within one’s story. It encourages the reader to be engaged and actively participate.


The second thing I noticed was that Jesus often only said a few words to get his point across. Jesus always got the punchline of every story found within the Gospel of Mark. For example, in Mark 2 Jesus heals a paralytic man and all he said was “Son, your sins are forgiven,” and he was immediately healed. This was after the fact that the friends of this paralytic man cut through the ceiling of the overcrowded home Jesus was teaching in, in an effort to drop this paralytic man at the feet of Jesus. After all of that hard work of carrying a grown man, cutting through the ceiling, and lowering him through the roof of this home, the only words Jesus had were, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” To me this translates as a story technique because it is proof that your stories don’t have to necessarily be wordy if your story is profound. Jesus’s words were bold and were few, the stories we tell can be the same way.

Bibliography:

King James translation of the Gospel of Mark, link to the online reading.

Growth Mindset

(Image sourced from Robert Cullen's Tweet posted earlier this morning)

Before this assignment I had never heard of Carol Dweck and this idea of growth mindset. However, after watching the two videos I realized that growth mindset is not a new concept in society, the term has just never been coined before.


I think humans innately know that we need to challenge ourselves in our relationships, in our workplaces, and especially in our comfort zones, it’s just a matter of actually doing it. I think Carol Dweck is onto the idea that Growth Mindset and challenging out minds needs to be enforced in schools otherwise we won’t do it. Most people need that extra push in order to do so.


My favorite this Professor Dweck said in her ted talk was “Praise the Process, not the end result.” As a creative person, this is something that I have come to know and live by. One of my favorite things to do is write and I know that in my writing there is a process that takes place. In my writing classes I’ve come to know and love the process it takes to create a blog. However, this does not translate well when I focus on courses that involves numbers.


When it comes to math or business related courses I get trapped in the mindset of now. I don’t appreciate the difficult process it takes to find the end result of an equation because I have trained my brain that I am not a math person, thus making me a failure at all math related things. This goes directly against the Growth mindset that Professor Dweck is so passionate about.


I believe growth mindset is something that I would be more interested in getting to know and understand, as it is applicable to everyday life. This semester I already feel like I am growing my brain just by figuring out the groove of each of my classes. I have a multitude of online classes, I’m skyping with professors who teach out of New York, and I’m getting used to the different online platforms that my professors are choosing to use.


Growth mindset is key in our learning abilities. I think that everyone deserves to know that they have value and worth even when things don’t go as planned. There is joy to be found in the journeys and the process it takes to get to an end result. Whether that end result be a math problem, a creative writing piece, or just to a turning point in ones life.

Starting the Semester

(Personal image of my handy-dandy planner and my favorite cactus Bryn taken in January 2016)

The fact that i’m sitting here trying to type out semester-tips is hilarious to me considering I’m a senior, in my last semester of college, and still have yet to figure it out. I think my biggest piece of advice is to roll with the punches and to relax. Things are sometimes not going to go your way. You might not get into that class you desperately need to or you may not get a 4.0 every semester (or any semester for that matter) but in the end it’s going to work out. I promise.


I often work myself up about classes and the semester ahead and to be honest that doesn’t do me any good. I found that going and talking with my advisor (whom I have a great relationship with, shout out to my girl Kathy) more than once a semester is a huge help. Academic Advisors are there for you and to get you out of college, so go and utilize them. You never know they might get you out of college a semester early, like mine did.


Another useful tip is to get an old school planner and write in every assignment, meeting, and social function you’re going to. I live and breath by my planner, I honestly don’t know what I would do without it. There are digital calendars out there but you never know what might get deleted or lost, that’s why I personally believe in a planner that you write in and carry with you every where you go.


All in all there is no right or wrong tip on how to start the semester, you just have to find what fits you and what you groove to. Organization looks different to everyone, but it’s key you find it.

Reading Options

For my week two reading I decided to go with the Biblical Unit, to be more specific I chose the Gospel of Mark. As a Christian woman myself, I am already familiar with the Gospel of Mark but I wanted to dive deeper and this assignment provides the means for that.


For the readings found in the Untextbook I decided to read the following English Fairy Tales I, Ballads of Robin Hood, and Alice in Wonderland. After living in London for a month studying British media I wanted to dive into British Literature and folklore for the rest of the semester.


I specifically chose English Fairy Tales I, because I wanted to get an Idea of the stories that were passed down in the UK in general. I think by reading a multitude of stories I can gain a better grasp of what the culture was like in England during that time.


To dive a little deeper into British books I chose to read the Ballads of Robin Hood. All growing up I used to watch the cartoon Disney version of Robin Hood but I don’t know the class tale as well as I would like, which is another reason why I decided to read this during the semester.

(Mad hatter Image sourced from Sir John Tenniel)

Alice in Wonderland, was more in my comfort zone which is one reason why I decided to read it over the semester. While I know the general story very well, I wanted to use this project to dive into the characters. I want to learn about why they do what they do and their specific impact on the audience. Hopefully I gain some more insight on why Alice in Wonderland became such a phenomenon in our culture.

Storybook Favorites

After scrolling through an abundance of storybooks and reading a multitude of different stories, I decided on picking three of my favorites which included Fairytale Case Files, Mount Olympus Gossip, and Fireside Freakish Fatalities.


The reason I enjoyed these three storybooks is because each of them had a distinct voice, which provided the storybook with more characters than the other ones.

Fairytale Case Files put the reader into full on detective mode. This storybook had a main character named Wolfgang Forrester who claims to be the best detective in all of the Enchanted Forest. Wolfgang took the reader through 4 major cases and explained them all in through detail. It was a classic spin on traditional fairy tales and kept my interest while reading. The title foreshadowed the cases to come and the introduction did a great job of introducing the main character and laying the groundwork of what the storybook entailed. The author used all dark colors, mainly black, in the design of the website. I believe that the color options were the appropriate choice due to the dark demeanor of court cases.


Mount Olympus Gossip was the next storybook that I looked into. This storybook was a complete 180 turn from Fairytale Case Files in the sense that the authors voice was an entirely different character which gave the storybook a novel vibe. I love the show Gossip Girl and I believe this storybook was a spin off of that show. The title and introduction did a great job of explaining to the reader what they were getting themselves into. The stories centered around a multitude of Greek gods and goddesses and the scandals that followed them. While I loved the stories and the theme of the storybook, the design of the website did not reflect the storybook itself. It looked just like any old template added to a blog, that being said, the storybook itself was executed very well.

(Campfire image sourced from Fireside Freakish Fatalities)

The final storybook I looked into was Fireside Freakish Fatalities (What a Name!!). This storybook caught my eye because of the crazy title. The introduction set the scene of the stories to come. Me being an avid camper myself, I loved how the introduction not only introduced the characters of the storybook but put the reader into the story by providing the location of a campfire. This storybook had each family member on the camping trip telling a scary story, which were based upon urban legends that involved fatalities. This topic peaked my interest because I am a huge fan of murder mysteries. It was enjoyable to read because the story itself was intriguing and then it was backed up by factual accounts.


All in all, these three storybooks stood out among the rest due to their unique voices and their innovative story ideas.

Story: Sue Ellen's Sneezes

(Traditional Nursery Rhyme sourced from The Nursery Rhyme Book by Andrew Lang)

It was a crisp Sunday evening in New York City. Sue Ellen cozied up in her loft on the lower east side with a cup of steaming hot chocolate in hand. Her long brown hair was tied back into a sleek ponytail and she somehow managed to make her pajamas look professional. Sue Ellen was the type of woman who had every minute of every day planned. She never veered from the plan that she made for  herself. Every Sunday she took the day to herself to recharge and gear up for the workweek ahead. Little did Sue Ellen know what this week had in store for her.


“Beep, beep, beep,” Sue Ellen’s alarm clock went off and her week began. She threw on her black pencil skirt, a blazer, and her most comfortable heels and headed off to the office. Sue Ellen ran out the door so quickly she hardly noticed her allergies beginning to act up. She was running to catch a taxi for work when her eyes welled up with tears and she felt a sneeze coming on. Just as Sue Ellen was about to cross the street and hop in a taxi, “ACHOOOOOOOO,” her eyes shut for half a second and then an abundance of horns began to honk and before she could open her eyes someone grabbed her arm to pull her out of the street. Her eyes opened and she came to the realization that she could’ve just been hit by a car due to her allergies. The beginning of an old rhyme her grandmother used to say popped into her head, “If you sneeze on Monday, you sneeze for danger.” The rest of Sue Ellen’s day went according to plan and no more near-death experiences occurred. She could only hope Tuesday would be more in her favor.


Tuesday morning rolled around just like Monday and Sue Ellen managed to make it to work in one piece. Meetings, phone calls, and emails all were completed on time and in an orderly fashion and the office waited for 5 o’clock to roll around. One of Sue Ellen’s co-workers was celebrating her 26th birthday and the whole office went out to celebrate with happy hour. One drink led to another and soon the whole office was seeing double, erupting in laughter, and participating in a night they probably wouldn’t remember. Between the haziness of the alcohol and allergy medicine, Sue Ellen felt another sneeze coming on. “Oh no,” she thought, this couldn’t mean anything good. “ACHOOOOOOO,” Sue Ellen opened her eyes only to find an attractive man standing before her. “Bless you,” he said, and Sue Ellen thanked him and then erupted into nervous laughter. The two hit it off and after hours of authentic conversation, goodnights were exchanged and he kissed Sue Ellen before they parted ways. The second line of Grandmother’s rhyme popped into her head, “Sneeze on Tuesday, kiss a stranger.” Sue Ellen wondered what her allergies had in store for Wednesday.

(Personal Image was taken in NYC in August of 2016)

Sue Ellen woke up Wednesday morning with a major headache and a throat that longed for a glass of cold water. She took some medicine to rid herself of the hangover and the allergies that still lingered. While she lay bundled up in her covers, she dreaded what the rest of the week held. Monday and Tuesday foreshadowed the days to come so Sue Ellen thought it would be best to go over the rest of the rhyme in her head,


“Sneeze on a Wednesday, sneeze for a letter ;

Sneeze on a Thursday, something better ;

Sneeze on a Friday, sneeze for sorrow ;

Sneeze on a Saturday, see your sweetheart tomorrow.”

Sure enough, Wednesday night after Sue Ellen sneezed a letter came through her mail slot from a long lost friend wanting to make up for lost time. Thursday rolled around and Sue Ellen’s allergies remained. She scurried to the office just like any day but there was a bouquet of sunflowers waiting on her desk for her arrival. The sunflowers came attached with a promotion and Sue Ellen thought this couldn’t get any better. On Friday morning, Sue Ellen’s infamous ‘ACHOOOOOOO” occurred once again, and resulted in a downpour on the city. The heavy rain kept everyone inside and their spirits low, just like any gloomy day would. Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday’s rhymes had all come true. Now all that was left was Saturday.



When Sue Ellen returned home Friday night she couldn’t have been more thankful for the week to be over. Her bed awaited her with open arms and engulfed her in a blanket of warmth. As she lay in bed, she realized that her allergies were finally beginning to come to an end and she was hopeful for one last day left of this sneezing madness.



The last line of the rhyme said, “Sneeze on a Saturday, see your sweetheart tomorrow.” Sue Ellen laughed at the thought of seeing her sweetheart because she didn’t have one. She was the type of woman who fell more in love with her job and the city she worked in than with a man. She valued friendships and community and while she was always alone, her heart was never hardened. Saturday she spent the day recovering and taking care of herself and wondered who she would run into the next day.

(Personal Image was taken in NYC in July 2016)

Sue Ellen woke up to get her daily coffee from the coffee shop right around the corner. Her eyes began to water and her nose started to sniffle and she knew what came next. “ACHOOOOOO,” just like clockwork she sneezed and then before her the same man that kissed her goodnight at the bar walked into her coffee shop. Their eyes locked and he flashed a big ole smile just as he blurted out his greatest pickup line, “Bless you.”

Author's Note:

At first, I struggled coming up with a story based off the Nursery Rhymes that were given to us to choose from. I knew I wanted to do something based in New York City because a big part of my heart resides there. In fact, I’ll be moving there permanently this coming December. I knew my story setting but then it became a matter of what the plotline was. I looked through the fables and rhymes until I came across this one and it just stuck out at me. I thought there could be something magical about these said sneezes, thus bringing this story to life. The rhyme allowed for a lot of creative freedom which made this story enjoyable to write. I liked that I could tailor this story to my own liking and insert my own photos. In a weird way, I picture myself as Sue Ellen. I used my own office and experiences to make this story more believable and relevant to the audience. I think out of all the nursery rhymes I could choose from this one was not commonly known which made it enjoyable to write. This story was based on the traditional nursery rhyme found in Andrew Lang's The Nursery Rhyme Book.

Bibliography:

This story is based on the nursery rhyme "If you sneeze on Monday" in The Nursery Rhyme Book, edited by Andrew Lang.

Introducing Amanda

(Personal image taken at Devils Den in April 2016)

Hi there my name is Amanda Clark, and this is my heart’s cry.

I’m a Public Relations student, creative writer, cold-brew coffee enthusiast, and an advocate for patterned socks.

For the last few years my creative outlet has become writing. Pulling sentences and words and then strategically stitching them together in an effort to invoke emotion out of an audience has become one of my favorite pastimes.

I have this longing to travel the world and to get to know people's hearts'. I yearn for a life that allows me to hop on planes, get dizzy on small white vans, and sleep on fast- moving trains. 

I want weave in and out of mountains, climb into clouds, hold local fruit in the palm of my hands, and savor every word I'm lucky enough to hear. I long to learn about and gain a deep understanding of different cultures—what fuels them, what drives them, and what calls them to action. I want to hammock in a canopy of trees and hike across rushing rivers. I want to drink coffee straight from the plantation and pick fresh mangos off of towering trees. I want my ears to be filled with the cacophony of howler monkeys and my heart to be overflowing with this fiery passion to never stop traveling. I want my eyes always opened to things unseen. 

For as long as I can remember I’ve had this innate desire to be a part of something bigger than myself. I believe in my heart of hearts that is where my longing to travel and explore the world began. This desire not only affected my heart but it has overflowed into every decision I’ve made thus far. It has pushed me to pursue Public Relations, it has challenged me to be a writer, it has curated an eye for creativity, and it has al- lowed me to hop on a plane and see the world. 

I want to live a life that is driven more strongly by curiosity than by fear, because I know that there is no fear in love. 

London Calling, My Favorite Place

(Image of London, England sourced from Pexels.com)

The phrase “find yourself” gets tossed around in the same way “I love you” does in today’s day and age. Everyone is searching for who they are and who they want to become; it’s human nature. As college students we go hunting for our identity in a greek system, by the clothes we wear, or who we’re dating at the time. I’ll admit, I’ve searched for myself in all of these things time and time again thinking I’ll find out who I really am and nothing ever comes to fruition. I’ve often prayed asking for the Lord to give me a glimpse into the life I’m going to live but I’ve found out that He likes to keep tricks up his sleeves. His greatest trick so far was sending me to London, England, my new favorite place in the universe.


When I hopped off the plane at Heathrow airport, I didn’t know what I was getting myself into. I thought that I would return to the states the same way that I left. However, that was hardly the case. Maybe it was the fish and chips or the hustle and bustle of Oxford street that made me feel at home, but years of never feeling like I was enough or that I had no value vanished when I looked out toward the London skyline.


The sights and sounds of London was like nothing I had ever heard or seen before. I’ve lived in big cities and I’ve been fortunate enough to travel many places around the world, London however stuck out among the rest. The architecture and the lush green parks welcomed me with open arms. London had a charm about it that can’t be put into words, it’s something that you need to just feel.

(Personal image taken in June 2016)

I started my trip off by witnessing the royal regalia, the palace guards and the Queen herself drive by in the fanciest carriage I had ever seen. From that point forward it was a whirlwind of visits that consisted of news networks, production companies, street art tours, coffee shops, and ping pong bars.


Throughout my time in London this overwhelming sense of belonging had washed over me. What I wore, my addiction to coffee, and what I’m passionate about all finally came together in one place. Who I was as a person finally made sense. British people they wear all neutral colors, they say “sorry love” when they accidentally bump into someone, and they all seem to want to know your story. I couldn't have felt more at home.

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Happy Reading!!




-Amanda Clark