Saturday, July 9, 2016

Myths and Legends: a Study


Ok, so I've been a bit off my game this past week.  You might not have noticed this from the other two posts that I did on Sunday and Thursday, but guess what?  That's because I  didn't actually write them this week.  I know, can you believe it?  I wrote them last Saturday, and then set them to post this week.  Perhaps I should not be giving this secret out, but I tend to break all the rules anyways so oh well.

On Monday I actually woke up thinking that it was Thursday for some reason.  I almost walked out of the house before 8 in the morning thinking I had to be somewhere when really I didn't because it was not in fact Thursday yet.  I spent one super late night this week being almost overwhelmed by a somewhat threatening swarm of small children soaking me with plastic fish for three hours.  Just this afternoon I randomly started drinking from a molasses bottle because I wanted to see what it tasted like instead of just maybe dipping my pinky or something in it like a normal person would ( it was super sweet and kind of sickly tasting all by itself, if you were wondering ).

So yeah, just a bit off my game.

But amongst all this off-ness there has been one thing that I've been enjoying immensely.

My study of myths and legends from around the world.

I have taken it upon myself to do a nine month study of nine different cultures that I chose for myself based on how curious I am about them.  They are Rome, India, Japan, Iceland, Egypt, Russia, England, the Celts, and the Vikings.  How exciting does this sound?!

It's not anything professional or a collage course or something.  It's just me being curious and wanting to know more about the old stories that have always fascinated me.  I spent a few months collecting books from used book stores and even antique stores that contained collections of myths from the cultures and peoples I wanted to learn about.  I also picked up at least one history book on each of the cultures as well, because the more I thought I about it, the more I wanted to learn about the people who actually came up with these stories as well as the stories themselves.

So now I shall read.  And read, and read.  I take notes, mark pages with stickies ( but never dog ear ), compare information, etc., and when I've finished with one culture, I'm going to take the opportunity to practice writing reports and essays ( just for me ) on the information I have found for myself.

I gotta tell you, I am so super excited for this.

You might be thinking, "Ehh, what a nerd.", but hey!  At least I'm a happy one!  Or perhaps you are reading this and are now thinking, "Hey, that sounds like fun.  I am suddenly inspired to learn more about something I love, too!!!"  If that's the case, then go you!  You definitely should go do some learning, because guess what?  You are actually never too old to learn something new.  And who said you can't teach yourself?  I mean really, the only teachers I've ever had are my parents and myself, and look how great I turned out.  I have my life so together.

( You might wanna ignore paragraphs 1-3 and then that last statement will be much easier to believe. )


I'm studying Egypt right now, staring with the myths before the history book.  One thing that I'm realizing though is that there is actually a lot of history you find inside the myths that people used to tell.  How they thought, how they acted, what rituals were present in their day to day life because of these beliefs that they had.  It's all been very fascinating to read, and I only starting doing this last week.  I still have nine more months of all this wonderful learning to go.  It's just, well, wonderful!

Now I know this going to be consuming quite a good bit of my free time, but don't worry!  I will not stop posting on my blog, because I know that you would just be absolutely devastated if I didn't post a few times a week.  I will not neglect you.  You don't have to miss me any more than you already do on the those few days when I don't post already.

So here is to reading, learning, and being self-taught.  May these three things never be stopped!

Em

( Oh and here are the molasses cookies my mom made with the very same molasses I was drinking earlier.  They taste great. )
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2 comments:

  1. omg drinking molasses?!? That would've been very intense.😂 You do sound a bit overwhelmed there...BUT HEY ALL THE BEST PEOPLE ARE SLIGHTLY ODD AND PECULIAR AHAHHA. Ahem. *composes self* I think that's awesome that you're just teaching yourself about a ton of history! I LOVE THAT. Whenever I get stuck on a topic for my books I just research so so much and it's really fun! Russia was my last obsession. Anything Russian = I WANT TO LEARN ABOUT IT.😂 It's fabulousness.

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    1. Yes, we all are very odd and peculiar!!! XD Research is the best for getting out of writing slumps, and it has the potential to turn you into a walking encyclopedia of weirdness which is the really the best thing ever. When I get to my Russian books I'll post the titles so that you can look at them too!!! Who knows, maybe you've read them before? Also, thanks for thinking I'm fabulous. *flips hair back* *hive fives you*

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