Rick Riordan Who??

 When I first learned we had to create our own myths, I was honestly a bit unsure as to how I could pull it off. I have grown up loving all sorts of religious and mythological stories -- I find them fascinating, and their effects on humans throughout the centuries is absolutely amazing to dissect. Actually creating my own, though, was such a different experience from reading ones that have already been written by ancient peoples. I feel as though it is one thing to break down and analyze a myth to learn about a group of people and to put together the pieces of how it benefits their day to day life, and another to have to sit and think about your own sort of story to explain a common object or occurrence. That being said, I feel as though I am even more prepared to peruse myths from different time periods all over the world. Having to build your own mythological account from scratch really provides a new perspective on the creativity of our ancestors, and I think it has greatly benefitted the way I will approach researching new myths going forward.

After completing my own myth, I had to pause and think about how what I've learned will affect my future teaching endeavors. I concluded that this experience would be an amazing activity to pass on to my own students someday, either individually or in small groups. I think asking students to create their own stories in this manner not only forces them to look at the crucial elements of writing, but also encourages them to nurture their own creative ideas and connect them to real-world examples. It allows them to expand their imagination and critical thinking skills in a safe, harmless way that can also build confidence in their writing skills.