Catherine's Introduction
Hello! My name is Catherine and here’s a little about myself! To start off here's a photo of my roommate's new cat named Boots.
Originally from Kansas City, I am now a junior at the University of Oklahoma, where I study Letters (History, Literature, Philosophy, and Languages), Arabic, and Psychology.
Outside of class, here are some of my interests:
1. Dancing: I danced from age three until I graduated high school, and at OU I have choreographed for musical theater shows (Scandals) and for children at the J.D. McCarty Center. I love to dance and choreograph because it lets me be creative and stay in shape.
2. Charcuterie boards: For some reason, few things bring me as much joy as arranging a good charcuterie board does. I love making them for birthday celebrations, wine nights, and dinner parties.
3. Reading: As a child, I read constantly, with my favorites being Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, and the Mysterious Benedict Society. Now I have less time, but I still like to participate in OU's informal reading groups. Last semester I read Hopscotch by Julio Cortazar, and before that I led a group reading Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. I also love podcasts when I don't have time to sit down and read a book! My favorites are The Psychology Podcast and Stuff to Blow Your Mind.
4. Art: I love going to the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art when I need a break from the classrooms on campus, and in Kansas City I go to the Nelson. When I need to relax, I'll do watercolor paintings or work in my art journal. I loved visiting the Louvre and the Tate when I studied abroad:
5. Anything International: I love to travel, and have been to Guatemala, England, France, and Greece. Hopefully, I will go to the Arab world soon to practice my Arabic. I was set to go to Jerusalem last summer before COVID-19 hit. At OU I have been involved in many international organizations, and I currently work as a Tutor Coordinator at Paper Airplanes. Definitely go check them out!
6. Nonprofits: After volunteering as a consultant at The Oklahoma Group last semester and with Paper Airplanes, I have come to love the nonprofit sector. Hopefully I can continue work with nonprofits after I graduate, though my ultimate dream job would be working for the United Nations!
Finally, I’m excited to get started with this class. The Myth-Folklore curriculum sounded interesting to me because it combines history and literature with an understanding of culture; I also want to think about what common themes in myths and legends can tell us about human psychology. I also just like to read stories. I didn’t know the course would be so creative and writing-heavy, but that just makes me more excited to dive in as these have been my favorite courses so far in college.
Image information:
1. Western Auto sign, iconic part of the Kansas City Skyline. Photo via Flickr.
2. Personal photo doing aerial silks, something I usually don't do.
4. Art: I love going to the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art when I need a break from the classrooms on campus, and in Kansas City I go to the Nelson. When I need to relax, I'll do watercolor paintings or work in my art journal. I loved visiting the Louvre and the Tate when I studied abroad:
5. Anything International: I love to travel, and have been to Guatemala, England, France, and Greece. Hopefully, I will go to the Arab world soon to practice my Arabic. I was set to go to Jerusalem last summer before COVID-19 hit. At OU I have been involved in many international organizations, and I currently work as a Tutor Coordinator at Paper Airplanes. Definitely go check them out!
6. Nonprofits: After volunteering as a consultant at The Oklahoma Group last semester and with Paper Airplanes, I have come to love the nonprofit sector. Hopefully I can continue work with nonprofits after I graduate, though my ultimate dream job would be working for the United Nations!
Finally, I’m excited to get started with this class. The Myth-Folklore curriculum sounded interesting to me because it combines history and literature with an understanding of culture; I also want to think about what common themes in myths and legends can tell us about human psychology. I also just like to read stories. I didn’t know the course would be so creative and writing-heavy, but that just makes me more excited to dive in as these have been my favorite courses so far in college.
Image information:
1. Western Auto sign, iconic part of the Kansas City Skyline. Photo via Flickr.
2. Personal photo doing aerial silks, something I usually don't do.
3, 4. Personal photos of charcuterie boards.
5. Weather Project at the Tate Modern, 2004. Photo via Flickr.
6. Santa Catalina Arch in Antigua, Guatemala. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.
5. Weather Project at the Tate Modern, 2004. Photo via Flickr.
6. Santa Catalina Arch in Antigua, Guatemala. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.
Hi Catherine,
ReplyDeleteMy favorite non-major classes were history & humanities, and I usually don't find many people who like either these days. I don't think I could ever dance, usually when I try I look like a fool so I only do it when I'm alone. I have also never really like to read books, though reading news articles and the like on my phone is great and I do it often. I have not done any art in a long time but when I did in highschool, my favorite mediums were clay and oil painting.
I have never really been out of the country to experience foreign places and their cultures, but I wish to someday!
I hope you achieve your dream of someday working at the UN!
Hey Catherine!
ReplyDeleteIt was so awesome to learn about you through this post! Our majors are very different (Chemical Biosciences Pre-Med), but I love learning more about that have different interests than me! I think it's so cool that you love dancing and that you have choreographed some shows before. I am a terrible dancer, so I have a lot of respect for people that are able to do it so well. I also think it's so amazing that you love to read as well. I don't find myself reading a whole lot and would love to read more, so if you have any suggestions on how I could get more into it, I would love to hear them! I also love to travel and appreciate art as well! You mentioned that you watercolor sometimes, and I would love to see one of your paintings! If you are curious, I make resin art pieces! You should check out the table I just did that I put an image of in my introduction post! Thank you for sharing information about yourself, and keep up the great work! It's so amazing that you are involved with some nonprofit work!
Hey Catherine!
ReplyDeleteI also grew up reading Harry Potter and Percy Jackson! It's tough not being able to read books as frequently anymore, but in my spare time during breaks I like to catch up on a couple novels here and there, especially since my younger sister is also a Percy Jackson fan and reads the latest books from the same author. I've also traveled to France, England, and Greece, but France probably takes the cake for my favorite other the other two. From a cultural standpoint France is re-owned for fashion, and I love taking my time window shopping at boutiques.
Howdy Catherine! Looking through your post, you've certainly got an interesting life! I grew up dancing too, though I imagine Greek dance is quite different (and quite a bit easier) than musical theater choreography. I can also relate to your love of charcuterie boards. I especially enjoy when I have the chance to bake fresh pita to go with mine. Last but not least, I envy your travels, especially to Greece. My grandparents were from there, but I have never had the chance to go to myself.
ReplyDeleteI hope you have an excellent semester, and I wish you all the best pursuing your dream of working with the UN!
Like I think I mentioned somewhere (email? comment? I can't remember where), I think it is WONDERFUL that you are studying Arabic, Catherine! I did a year of Arabic in school, plus a year of Persian, a couple years of Hebrew... and on my bucket list for when I retire (which is soon!), getting out those books and renewing my students is a serious goal. I have given away so many of my old books from school, but my basic readers in Arabic and Persian and Hebrew are books that I kept because I want to come back to them when finally (FINALLY) time allows. It is so great that OU offers Arabic. Have you worked with Joshua Landis? He and I first came to OU in the same year, and we have been friends ever since. He is such a great scholar, and I follow him at Twitter for all the news about Syria. Not good news, but it is important to know what is going on there. I visited Joshua and his family in Damascus back in 2007, and it is so sad to think that so much of the beautiful world I got to see then has been destroyed in this awful war. I hope you will get a chance to travel the world again soon and use your Arabic. There are so many amazing places to see as well as beautiful languages to learn!
ReplyDeleteHi Catherine!
ReplyDeleteOne of my great friends graduated with a Letters degree! He spoke very highly of it and he loved the writing aspect. Also, he loves reading. Unfortunately, both are things I struggle with keeping the patience for haha. So cool that you have 3 majors! You must be an incredibly hard worker. Keep going strong! Nonprofits are amazing! My minor is non-profit organizational studies and I love the J.D. McCarty Center and The Oklahoma Group. I haven't heard of Paper Airplanes, but I will look into them! Traveling is SO much fun and Jerusalem is on my top 3 list for the future. Hope you get to go to that region soon! Love reading about you and the difference you want to make! Best of luck and encouragement on your dream to the United Nations!
Hey Catherine, first of all your charcuterie boards are actually amazing! I have tried to make some but to no avail it just ended up being cheese and crackers stacked up on a board. Yours look so pretty though and delicious! I think it is awesome you have done scandals! I was a director for scandals for 3 years and now I am on the executive performance committee!!! It is such a fun way to get out of your head for 8 hours a week so I am so glad that is something you have done also! I am also in a class that requires me to go to the FJJMA every week and I have enjoyed it very much! There's so much more of it than I had originally thought!
ReplyDeleteHey Catherine!
ReplyDeleteSounds like you live a pretty exciting life full of art, travel, dance and other things! I have really never had the chance to travel much outside of the US, but that is definitely something that I want to do. I think art and museums are super interesting, I definitely should go back to Fred Jones, it has been a couple years! I hope your semester goes well, best of luck!
Hi Catherine! I too LOVE to travel and that is one of the things that I hope to do once I graduate. I did pom in my high school but nothing too crazy. I was not the most limber person on the team since I was a track star. I cannot wait to read your stories for this semester and wish you the best of luck with your future plans!
ReplyDeleteHi Catherine! Your life sounds to interesting compared to mine! It was crazy to see how much your involved with in school and everything you're studying. My jaw dropped when I saw your charcuterie board pictures! I am so bad at doing things like that so I might have to reach out to you in case I need one (I also love them just cannot organize them). I really enjoy your writing style and am excited to see what you create!
ReplyDeleteHi Catherine,
ReplyDeleteI agree, I think you can tell a lot about a society's culture and values from their mythology. And on an individual level, I think you can also tell a lot about a person from how they tell a story. That is, what they consider important details to include or add, and what they consider irrelevant or flawed in another version. I think that is an interesting aspect to reading all of these retellings.
Hi Catherine!
ReplyDeleteI too share your love of making charcuterie boards, however yours are much more pleasing than mine have ever been, so props to you! I also love to read and loved Percy Jackson as a kid, a huge reason for me taking this class in the first place actually. I too don't have as much time as I once did but I try to always have something lined up for me to read. I'm excited to read more of your stories this semester!
Hi Catherine! I really enjoyed reading your introduction and think it’s really cool how you are learning Arabic. I also really enjoyed reading as a kid and I would read an entire book everyday but as I grew older, I started to read less and less so I think it’s cool how you still enjoy reading to this day. I hope you have a great rest of your semester and good luck on achieving your dream of working for the United Nations!
ReplyDeleteHey Catherine,
ReplyDeleteI really like your introduction, it's not very often that I come across another Letters major! What languages did you take for your ancient language, and did you count Arabic towards your modern language? Many of the books you mentioned having loved to read as a child are among my favorites from my elementary and middle school years, so that's cool! I hate to hear that your trip to Israel got cancelled because of the dreaded Covid, that must have been awful! Here's hoping we're done with this crap soon and you can start planning to travel again!
Hi Catherine!
ReplyDeleteI am so jealous that you are a dancer. I have always thought people who dance are so cool. I have a friend who is a dancer at OU as well and I always find her dance videos so fun to watch. Also I love that you are into making charcuterie boards. They look so yummy and I really want to get into make them as well.
Hi Catherine,
ReplyDeleteYou seem so cool!!! Wow, dance, food, traveling, reading, new languages... you keep busy. I wonder how hard learning Arabic is! I have just come to the point of fluency in Spanish, and man was that a journey - and so many hours of practice. I cannot imagine learning a language with different letters and so much less natural exposure! So much respect!
Hi Catherine,
ReplyDeleteYour roommate's new cat is adorable! I have always loved cats and cannot wait to get another one in the future. I also love reading in my spare time and read almost anything as long as it catches my attention in the first few chapters. My best friend from high school used to dance and I would go to her practices because I loved to watch it but was not good at dancing!
Nice to meet you Catherine,
ReplyDeleteI'm a big fan of KC! I spent two weeks with some family there last summer, but everything was sadly closed down. I still got to try the iconic Joe's BBQ , albeit takeout, lol. I really want to visit the WW1 museum and I'm going to have to add the Nelson to my list. Is the Steamboat museum cool? Anyways, it's awesome to see how well-traveled you are and I'm sure those experiences will benefit your future career! I didn't know the term "Charcuterie boards", but I am an absolute fiend for a variety of cheeses and mustards. Have a great semester!
Hi Catherine!
ReplyDeleteWow life goals! My life goal is to travel the world and it is so cool that you get to go to all these places. I love arts too and I would sometimes paint when I am stressed or whenever I could find time for. I love animals so I appreciated that you post a picture of your roommate's cat. It is so cool that you teach dancing. I love dancing by myself in my room because I suck at it. I also grew up reading Percy Jackson series but I stopped at House of Hades. I never got a chance to read Harry Potter because it is so long but I love the movie. Have a great semester!
Catherine,
ReplyDeleteYou seem like a renaissance woman. That's awesome. I don't think you needed to worry (not that you said you did) about the creative aspect of this class because judging off the story I just read, you know what you're doing. I've been to Guatemala before on a mission trip. Hopefully the other countries you mentioned are in my path, too. Good luck with everything. You seem very talented, so everything is open to you!
Hi Catherine!
ReplyDeleteI am also a huge fan of charcuterie boards – I mean, who doesn't love a plate of food that looks as good as it tastes? I'm so ready to be able to travel again, as there's so many places I'd also like to be able to go visit after covid is long gone! Also, your cat is precious!!! What a cutie!
Hi Catherine!
ReplyDeleteI have a lot of family from Kansas City. It's an awesome place.
Okay, I don't know how you managed to do that pose in the picture of you dancing... I am impressed! It took me a while to orient myself and realize what was going on and that you were hanging. Isn't that like a special type of acrobatics? I've seen it in circus shows and stuff before, and it looks absolutely impossible!