Wow. It is crazy to think that I am already back in Norman for my junior year. While my first two years were full of unique experiences, I never imagined that I would be a writing a blog to begin my third year! To start off, I am psychology major on the pre medicine track. Ever since I took psychology in high school I found studying the mind and the way people act so interesting. However, I always had the goal of becoming a physician which explains the pre-med track. Although I am an OU student, I still consider myself a proud Texan. I come from a relatively small town in East Texas where high school football is king and perhaps the most famous thing is that Matthew Mccounaughey graduated from my high school (he even came to our high school graduation this year to give a speech!). Wikimedia Commons : Longview High School Now some other facts about me. I am a huuuuuuggeeeeee tennis fan. I have been playing tennis since I was 7 years old, and played through out high schoo...
Hello!
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I absolutely love the title of your storybook. I feel as though this is something we can all relate to, and it makes for a very interesting theme to the rest of your storybook. I wonder if I nice addition to the application process would be for the applicants to write a story about their favorite God or Goddess and why; that way the interviewers will know who the applicants admire most in the program! This is something that has to be done for grad school, so it's just an idea to throw out there! Also, I like how encouraging the tone of this story is; it makes for a very inviting read. What if you set it up differently and gave the intro and then at the bottom said "Application requirements" and then listen them in a bullet point format? That is how the application requirements are usually seen on most websites, so that could be another design idea if you wanted to play around with it.
Hi Neal!
ReplyDeleteI love the concept of your storybook. It's definitely bringing some deja vu of applying for college, lol. I'm curious — and maybe you'll get into it in future stories — what did Zeus and Athena major in? What are their specialties? How does Zeus use his degrees when ruling as a god (or does he)? I'm definitely really excited to read about the applications. I'd love to read about interviews the applicants have with admissions officers — what kinds of questions would they be asked? I also really like the way you worded the intro; it's very reader-friendly and inviting, unlike the archaic and often complicated language the old myths used. I agree with Madeleine's idea of listing application requirements like the real common app; I think that would be really cool and would make more clear the things the gods and goddesses would be required to complete to apply to colleges.
Hi Neal,
ReplyDeleteThe concept of your Storybook is definitely unique, I don't know if I would have ever come up with something like this, and I went through dozens of ideas! I can't wait to see how you bring it to life. The design of the intro page is great and it really does look like something I would have received back when I was applying to college. "'All you need' is to spend hours and hours worrying about this application!" I am so curious so see how you develop this idea.
The link to your comment wall is a bit difficult to find (especially after you add more story pages), maybe you could add it on a new page or add it to a footer that is present on all pages? At the top of the Intro page, there is a line that says "Add Headings and they will appear in your table of contents."
Also, love the Hunger Games reference there at the end.
I look forward to reading more, and definitely will be checking back in to see what happens.
Hi Neal,
ReplyDeleteThat's really creative of you to combine Greek Mythology with applying for college! I think there is a lot of room for creativity with this idea. I can see the School of Athens being a more practical school with fighting classes, leadership development, and getting the most out of their powers. I was wondering, what happens to the people who go to these schools but their applications get turned down? That's funny that the currency is drachma instead of dollars. I think since the role of being a Greek god is so important, the application should be more rigorous than a regular application process. I think it would also help if there were pictures of the gods to provide better visuals. I also really like the layout of your storybook. It looks really clean. Just so you know, the arrow at the bottom of the home page doesn't work. I'm really looking forward to the stories that come out of this introduction!
Hello Neal!
ReplyDeleteThe title of your storybook really piqued my interest and I couldn't help but be drawn into the idea of combining the vast world of Greek mythology with the daunting college application process. There is so much potential for world-building! I wonder what the stories in your storybook will look like. Will we see minor deities stressing over the college application process? Or will we see the applications themselves? Furthermore, since this is the Greek Common Application, I wonder what the different universities that deities can apply to are. You already mentioned the School of Athens and the University of Olympus and I'm curious to see whether the characters will struggle deciding between which university to apply to or attend. I also have a quick suggestion for your website: there is a piece of text ("Add Headings and they will appear in your table of contents.") at the beginning of your introduction page that seems out of place so you might need to delete that. I'm really looking forward to reading how different gods navigate college applications!
Hello Neal! Your website sounded so interesting that it wasn't possible to not click and check it out. I love the setup of the website as it is very simple and easy navigate and follow where things are at. The image that you used is a very famous one which is good to use as people will recognize it and want to continue reading as it may show some professionalism to those reading that stories on the site. The introduction is awesome. I love that you used the idea of the Common Application for your Greek college. That is a great idea to use that as readers who have done the Common Application will relate heavily with the "students" in your story. Relating to the reader is always good as it keeps interest and the reader wants to try to live through the characters life while they read. The first story is awesome and I love that you chose one character and had him explain himself and what he is like. The first person view that you give is exceptional. I love when a character talks to me and it gives me the feel of being in the story with them which is always a key for me to enjoy a story. One thing I had a question on was is there any chance we could find out what college they get into? That would be a detail for another that you could put in the introduction or the stories but that is me just being hopeful. One suggestion I have is to include some more details on the intro about what is to come with the applicants. Such as where they are applying and the different constraints that come with that college.
ReplyDeleteHey Neal!
ReplyDeleteTo start, I absolutely love your idea of making your storybook a common application!! This is something that every college student can totally relate to. You did a great job of making the opening page seem very realistic and written exactly as any college would have written it. Something that really stood out to me was the way that you wrote the essay like it actually was a high school student trying to get into college, but also in a way that taught me the story of Apollo. Your writing style was super effective and easy to follow along with.
Something that I would suggest adding would be maybe like a list of admissions requirements as well as a list of colleges that the common application goes to. This would make the website seem even more realistic than it already does, and you could even make them somewhat humorous. Overall, I really enjoyed reading your story and I'm looking forward to seeing how the rest of your stories turn out this semester. Great job!
Hi Neal! I love how creative your storybook project is. I am a student worker in the Office of Admissions and Recruitment here at OU, so I definitely appreciate the theme of college admissions. Your introduction does a great job setting up the book while also making the reader want to know more about what is to come. Using different Greek gods as the names and subjects of the stories in your book is an interesting way to organize everything, and it looks like that is going to work well for your project. Your first story is very well written. I can almost hear Apollo telling it to me himself. It would have been interesting to find out a little more about Apollo’s life as a high school student. For example, what clubs he we a part of or what courses did he enjoy the most? I am excited to check back and see the story additions to your project. Good job!
ReplyDeleteHI Neal,
ReplyDeleteI like how creative and original your story book idea is. It is something I have not seen before! I thought it was really interesting you took these stories from greek gods and goddesses and turned it into a college essay promo. The introduction does of good job of making the application precess seem realistic. My only wish is the you told us which stories you are going to use! Now I have to wait and see and the anticipation is killing me haha, I am excited to see how you will showcase your other stories. The pictures you used were also very captivating along with your title. It was what peaked my interest and lead me here to your profile. I like your Apollo story, it was a goo dmix of keeping the original tale but still adding enough to make your own creative twist with it. Your authors note also did a great job with explaining what you did! I cannot was to read more!
Hello Neal! Great job coming up with such a creative way to tell Greek mythological stories! As soon as I saw the logo for the Common App I figured this project would be a fun and relatable read. I really enjoyed how you basically wrote a whole college entrance essay for Apollo in your first story because it seemed like I was reading an actual entrance essay instead of the background story of a fictional Greek mythology character. The prompt is especially fitting for Apollo and his victory over Python, and it is not surprising that he was able to learn so much from his experience. One suggestion for your story could be removing some minor parts that do not necessarily contribute to Apollo's main story, such as his mention of Daphne near the beginning. Otherwise, though, you did a great job with your first story and I am excited to read the rest of your stories!
ReplyDeleteHi Neal!
ReplyDeleteI am so excited about your storybook idea! I hated the Common App but this is just about the only way to make it enjoyable, haha.
One thought I had was that it could be fun to add in other personal details in addition to the stories? For example, who wrote their letters of recommendation, basic background/ID information, etc. That way it looks more like an application. But using just the essay portion is a super fun idea in itself!
Your introduction is really fun and brings the reader in immediately. You explained everything well and somehow avoided being boring despite it being about an application.
For the Apollo story, I like the prompt you chose because it is so open-ended. It gives a lot of extra room for the re-telling of Apollo and Python. You did a great job of focusing on reflection and keeping it within the writing boundaries of what the Common App would be looking for.
Great job, and I look forward to seeing what else you write!
Hi Neal!
ReplyDeleteI love how your project buts figures from Greek Mythology into the very relatable situation of applying for college. I think including the common application logo on your introduction page was really smart and it brought me back to when I applied to OU. You may want to proofread you introduction again because I noticed a few sentences that didn't quite make sense and seemed to have an extra or incorrect word in them. Overall, I really like what you have in your storybook so far. I definitely felt like I was reading an essay on a college application. The story of Apollo really matched the prompt you chose. It could be interesting if you added like an admissions commentary that points out what Apollo did well and what he didn't in terms of writing a successful college essay. I look forward to reading the rest of your stories!
Hi Neal!
ReplyDeleteI was instantly excited and eager to read your Introduction and story, "Apollo," when I read the title of your storybook! One of my favorite aspects of this class is the imagination and creativity that comes with it. I love how you took a mythological story and made it into something very familiar with the students in our class. I really enjoyed reading your introduction, but I have also found just a couple errors that I think can be fixed with just a little revision! I wasn't sure if you were aware of them, so I wanted to let you know! Overall, I love where you are going with your storybook and can't wait to read what's to come!
Hey Neal! I just read your first story and really enjoyed it. I love that you decided to structure your storybook as essay submissions from various gods. I'm excited to see who will come after Apollo! I like what you did with expanding his story, and I felt that it fit the prompt really well. I think a cool addition could be a paragraph before or after the essay where Apollo tells the admissions board what he wants to major in. It would definitely be interesting to see if he would pursue something like archery, or if he would expand past just the activities his father wanted him to do. Something else that might add some depth to your stories is the inclusion of letters of recommendation from Apollo's teachers. It would be really neat to see others' view of Apollo and how he handled schoolwork alongside his revelations with his mother and his battle against Python. I'm really looking forward to seeing what the future stories hold!
ReplyDeleteHi Neal!
ReplyDeleteWhen I first saw the title of your storybook, I was instantly intrigued! I'm also doing a storybook on Greek Mythology so I love seeing all of the different takes people do with their projects. I love the idea in your storybook of gods applying to college to try to make it to the big league aka Mount Olympus. I read "Apollo" and thought it was so good. I like the idea of telling the gods' stories through essays. I think you did a great job of describing Apollo's story through his own perspective. We've all read his story through someone's else's point of view, so reading about him saying things like "I know I am spoiled" and "having immensely good looks" was fun. I think something that would be cool would be to include what the god wants to major in and you could give them a major that would match with their story and personality. Overall, I think your storybook so far is awesome and I can't wait to see what other gods you write about!
Hey Neal! I just finished reading your storybook intro and first story, and I really enjoyed them! I thought your topic was really unique and relatable; I was reminded at times of when I used the Common App to apply to colleges. Both your introduction and your story flow really well. You do a great job of welcoming your reader in and selling the Greek Common Application. The writing in your first story is very descriptive, and it's easy to imagine what Apollo would look like. I liked the way you wrote this essay through Apollo's perspective and how you include some of his feats throughout the story. What if you included some commentary from the Greek Common App about why this essay is so good? That way you could really sell your storybook as a website. I'm looking forward to see what you add to this later in the semester!
ReplyDeleteNeal,
ReplyDeleteI love the theme and concept of your storybook. It seems like such an original idea, and a very interesting one as well! I really liked how your introduction was like the actual beginning of a college application with the college history and requirements, and the image you used was so fitting! I am also very curious to see which other Gods or Goddesses you will use in your stories. The way you use the essay prompt to allow the reader to learn about the character's history is genius, and it was so fun to read about Apollo with a modern twist. I'm looking forward to reading your other stories!
Hey there Neal! I was really intrigued by the overall theme and concept of your project. I have never seen someone do anything like this before, so great job in being so creative and really thinking outside of the box! The introduction of your page sort of gave me PTSD as I was reminded of when I had to apply to OU four years ago haha! I have to admit that I was really curious as to how you were going to lay out each individual "student" and I was glad to see that in your first story of Apollo, you chose to write his story through the essay prompt. Im curious to see if you are going to continue to present the characters this way or if you have some other ways to tell their stories. Overall you did a really great job writing and your site was easy to navigate. Just as a side note, I loved how you added his preferred major at the bottom of the page!
ReplyDeleteHi Neal! I was curious about what type of stories you chose to include in your storybook after the exciting premise you presented in your introduction. I have to day, I was not disappointed! I liked that you chose to tell the story of the twins Apollo and Artemis. Although they are siblings, I got the sense that I was reading essays from two very different people which I appreciated. The changes you made from the source material are necessary, both to ensure that a character doesn't do anything uncharacteristic of them and also to serve the idea that these are the stories of teens completing college applications. Something that might help the reader become more immersed in your stories are short profiles for each of the characters including a picture. This way, the reader can better visualize the people writing these essays. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this and I look forward to seeing who your other character(s) will be!
ReplyDeleteHi Neal,
ReplyDeleteI am back read your new story on Artemis! I was excited since you wrote about Apollo first so I knew naturally Artemis would follow. You did a good job of making sure the central focus in the story was Artemis and her grow from her experience she gained and learned from during high school. You did a splendid job portraying Artemis as a strong, powerful, independent woman. It was a good judgment call to make her and Orion friends over lovers which like you said keeps the focus of the story on Artemis' personal growth. Although it was a tragic story, I am glad Artemis came out so strong. I think making Gaea the antagonist in the story really helped me empathize with Artemis more. Overall, I have enjoyed your story on Olympian Gods and how their stories can relate to an essay prompt. I cannot wait to see what else you come up with!
Hi Neal!
ReplyDeleteI came over here from the Epics of India class, since we're allowed to look at the other class' projects now. I saw the words Applying to College and it immediately caught my interest on what you could be writing about. Seeing the words Common Application immediately brought back memories of when I was a senior in high school applying to OU. So that immediately gave me some nostalgia. I love Greek Myth, so I had some idea of what you were writing about. I loved the Apollo story, his personality reminds me a lot of how he's written in the Percy Jackson series. I loved the part where he took responsibility for his family and killed the Python so that his mother could stop worrying. That story also reminds me a lot of just how much all the gods are interrelated haha. I love the Artemis story a lot too. I love that she's strong and she was kind to Orion and she was breaking the mold for goddesses. She's not only a leader of a hunt, but she's one of the few major goddesses who never marries or has children (at least from what I remember). Fantastic job and keep up the great work!
Hello Neal,
ReplyDeleteBeing a huge fan of greek mythology and understanding how stressful the application process for school was I was very intrigued to read this storybook. When I opened this up I read through the intro to the Common App and I was amazed at how well you integrated greek mythology into the college application process. This is one of my favorite styles of writing, When someone can take a dystopian idea and mold it into a sideways in time kind of concept it showcases their creative ability and how far they can stretch it. When you wrote about Apollo I really enjoyed how you gave him the narrative of a high school jock. Once I started reading I thought, yes of course! who else would fit that roll better? I also really appreciate how you included other characters in apollos story like how he spoke of his sister Artemis and her interest in women's rights activism. Overall this is a very creative and well put together story and I had a great time reading it.
Neal,
ReplyDeleteCommon App! What a brilliant idea for a storybook project. The title of your storybook is what caught my eye and I am glad it did. It was so much fun to explore your project and see what you have been working on. I hope you have enjoyed it as well.
Your author's notes are well-crafted and it was nice to easily read how you got from one story to the next. One note I had that you might consider would be to split up the author's note into sections. That can sometimes make it easier to read than having just one large paragraph. Either way, the way you worded it still made it easy to read - so kudos to you for that!
You did a great job fusing these two concepts of Greek mythology and applying for college, I am also combining two concepts for my storybook so I know how difficult it can be. Great job!
Hi Neal! Abby from Epics of India here. I love the theme you've chosen for your project, and I think the Introduction sets it up extremely well. I also appreciate that you took prompts directly from the Common App (or at least they certainly sound like it, brings back memories..). The Intro definitely wow-ed me though, and I like how it addresses the reader directly, suggesting that they may be their own applicant after reading sample essays from successful students. I did notice several spelling/grammar mistakes throughout the stories, so it may be worth a closer read-through to pick some of them out. Also, Artemis's story left me wondering if she and Orion did date? The Author's Note said she didn't, but the way she set it up as "I'm not the type of girl to date...then one day, there was a new tall, athletic student.." definitely made me think they would be going down the dating route. Does Artemis consider this a relationship do you think? Is it intentionally kept kind of ambiguous because that's how the relationship was? Overall, great job with your Storybook, I really enjoyed reading it!
ReplyDeleteHi Neal,
ReplyDeleteI already commented on your storybook near the beginning of the semester and I am glad I came back to read more of your storybook. This is not the direction I expected your storybook to go. I think that it is really well executed. I almost missed the prompts on the last two stories, if I hadn't seen it on the first one I would have missed them completely. I think that maybe they should be bolded or underlined to make them stand out a bit more. In your author's note at the end of the Atlas story, I did notice that there are a few typos. I think that your explanation of the reason that you chose the story that you did is very thorough but I would like a bit more information on the original story and how you changed it/built on it. I enjoyed reading your Storybook, great work!
Hello Neal!
ReplyDeleteFirst off, I love the combo theme you have chosen for your storybook. I think combined greek mythology with real world twist is absolutely genius and draws people in. I really like the way you incorporated realistic looking features into your storybook. The common application graphic on the introduction page just really gives it that nice touch. I also thought you supplied sufficient information into your author's notes. It was really nice to see how the greek characters would retail their stories in their own words. Then with you giving us a good amount of information regarding the original story it really brought the whole thing together. Overall, I think this a great storybook and I can see the time and creativity you have put into it.
-Sam
Hi Neal! I decided for my free-choice this week to come back and see your third story. think it's really interesting that you chose to do Atlas for this one. I remember learning a bit about him when I read the Percy Jackson series growing up. He was an interesting character. Obviously those stories don't give us the full picture, so it was nice to learn more. I think the picture that you chose fit very well with the story, and I think it was well done. I just think the premise of your storybook is so neat, as college students I think we all relate well to the application process. This is reminding me of when I had to write my application essays. Overall I think it was well done, and I can see the effort and creativity you've put into these stories. Fantastic job! Keep up the hard work, you're almost finished with the semester!
ReplyDeleteHello Neal!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading these college application essays! This was a really creative way to retell some of these stories! It was really cool how you put them in first person and also talked about the lessons some of the characters faced or obstacles they over came. Reading what they had to say about the situations they were in was cool. I think the Greek stories I have read so you never get see the god's opinion or feelings which these stories gave us. I didn't know much about any of these gods before reading your stories so it was a good learning experience for me as well. I really like the one about atlas. I didn't know that he was titan. All I knew was that he was forced to carry the world on his shoulders. Seeing how he overcame that punishment by helping out someone else was a great example for a college application! Great job!
Hi Neal!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great tool to dive and portray the profiles of these infamous characters! I feel like one's personal statement, essay responses, or resume is one of the most holistic ways to present these characters, yet it is still such an unique project idea. It is interesting to analyze these stories from this perspective because I kept wondering: Where the plot lines accurate to what the character actually experienced? Or is each god/goddess fabricating the story in efforts to present themselves as the most attractive candidate in the Common Application system?
Because this week's feedback challenge was about paragraph formatting, I had a few notes. I would consider breaking up your paragraphs in the Atlas chapter. Although the second paragraph is beautifully written, there are many shifts in the plot where you could use formatting in your favor. The breaks would really drive the plot forward wherever you choose to do so.
Fantastic job!
Hi, Neal!
ReplyDeleteI just finished reading through your storybook, and wow! What a creative way to tell the stories of Olympus and Greek mythology through a modern lens! There were quite a few grammatical errors throughout the intro and stories, so you might want to go back through and check for some of those, but once you do I think this will really shine! My favorite was the story of Atlas, and the way you framed it as an essay on his personal growth after choosing the wrong side in the war between the titans and the gods. I also really thought it was cool that you portrayed him as a non-traditional student, coming to college later on in his life, because it makes sense for the story while simultaneously adding some variation to your "applicants." Overall, this was a really fun read, so great job! Good luck on the end of the semester!
Hi Neal!
ReplyDeleteThis was a fantastic concept for a storybook project. I've never seen anything quite like a parody of the commonapp, this was unique and you really pulled it off! It took me back to my days of writing those essays haha. The layout of your storybook was nice and the whole website overall was very visually appealing, especially the images you selected. I enjoyed all three applications, but particularly Apollo's! Using stories of mythology and converting them into personal narrative to highlight strengths was impressive. I would definitely read more of these! I liked that Apollo had a "preferred major" that really fit his character. Have you considered adding preferred majors for the other two stories/charcters? The way you had Atlas talk about himself was interesting and well-done. Overall, this whole project is compelling, creative, and fun to look through. Congrats on a great storybook, and I hope you have a good rest of your semester!
Hi Neal!
ReplyDeleteI think that your storybook is so clever and probably my favorite one I've seen all semester! Using essay prompts as your stories gives the reader such great insight into who your characters are, and it was so creative to make your intro the intro to the common application. I also think that you did a good job at changing the tone of your stories from the original to make it sound like an application essay. I think it would be so interesting if you made one overarching story, like a prequel or a sequel. Did these characters go to high school together? Are they friends? Did they get in to the schools they wanted? Also, your authors notes were very descriptive and were helpful in reading to compare how you took the original story and turned it into the new ones, especially since I’d never read the originals. Great job!
Hi Neal!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy your theme you have here. It really clever and something fresh and new. I like your idea of using essays to show who your characters are and their thoughts. You site is nice and visually appealing and I can tell you took lots of time and effort. I dont know much about greek life but this gave me a great insight on the types of personalities and answers they look for. I think this is one of the better storybooks ive seen because its almost like a modern day movie scene. I can tell you were very creative on this because you took your knowledge of each mythical legend and put into their one words and interpreted how they would answer those questions. I think it would make it extremely interesting if you could include how these characters know each other and where they came from. Maybe a little background history of each character and how their worlds cross. This is an excellent idea for a storybook so great job on that!