The Stuff of Wonders

For our final action project for our STEAM class Populations, we didn't have very much time. We spent a lot of time in unit 2 and we learned a lot of valuable things. You can view my action project for unit 2 here. For unit 3, we only had about two weeks. Because of this, our teacher decided to not put a full action project on us. This was because our teacher wanted to make sure we understood what we were studying. Consider this project a mini action project. For this unit, we learned about preservation methods and population changes. We looked at data from all around the world about population growth and carrying capacity. We asked the question: “Why is it important to tell the story of populations for future generations.” When we asked this question we started learning about preservation methods. We took a trip to the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum in Chicago. There, we looked at different organisms and a lot of taxidermies. We also saw a demonstration of a bird going through the taxidermy process. For this final project, we were asked to pick a method of preservation, I chose taxidermy. With this method, we had to create something to explain why it is important I chose to do a short essay.

What is taxidermy? Many people might know what it is and think it is pretty gross. I would like to offer the point of view that it is a beautiful form of art and science combined. Taxidermy is when an animal dies and its skin is collected to turn it into what it would look like when they were alive. The process of taxidermy can be small scale or very large scale. No matter the animal, the process is the same. You take the skin of the animal and stuff it with a moisture absorbing material. You then sew the animal back up and pose it into what it would look like in real life. This kind of process is called a display mount. This is for viewing purposes and is usually not meant to be handled. The process may sound simple, but it can be very time consuming.

This is an example of what taxidermy looks like. It can look very realistic. Taxidermy can be a form of art. Some taxidermists are better than others, just like artists. Some taxidermied animals are put in dioramas to make it look like they are in their natural environment. This bald eagle is not placed in a diorama. He is in a case with other birds and placed on a fake rock.

DS. Bald Eagle, (2017)

Taxidermy has been around for a very long time, thousands of years in fact. Taxidermy goes back to Ancient Egypt when people would mummify their pets. Taxidermy has gone through many innovations. In the middle ages, people got a lot better at taxidermy. A man named Pierre Belon was the first person to publish a book on taxidermy. He published his book in 1555. In the Victorian era, taxidermy was at the peak of its popularity. People would go on trips and kill and taxidermy animals to document their travels. This is when taxidermists started putting forms in the skins instead of stuffing. This made the animal look more realistic. This is also when people started placing taxidermied animals in natural positions and in dioramas. 

CM. Deer. (2017)

This deer is placed in a diorama. You can see the background and the plants surrounding him. There are also other animals in the scene to make it feel like it is a forest. Dioramas are an important part of taxidermy, and often they will go together. A diorama shows what the animal’s natural habitat would look like. This can provide more context to a specific animal. There may even be other animals that are not of the same species but do live together in the wild included in the diorama.

Unknown. PSM V59 D023 The taxidermy laboratory.png. (1901) Wikimedia Commons.

This is what a taxidermy laboratory looked like in the Victorian era.

Taxidermy can also be used to create animals that are extinct. Taxidermists take various skins and parts from other animals and make it look like an animal that has gone extinct hundreds of years ago. This is how it works in the case of the Dodo Bird. These birds were hunted to extinction hundreds of years ago. We have no bodies left, but there are taxidermied statues of them made out of different animals

Thomas Quine. Raphus cucullatus -Museum fur Naturkunde, Berlin, Germany -taxidermy-29Aug2009.jpg. (2009) Wikimedia Commons

Taxidermy is very important for scientists and citizens. There is a special kind of taxidermy called study skins. This is used not for display but for research. The animals are usually tucked and put in drawers. These specimens can be very old. Scientists can go back and look at the animal's years later and make measurements and observations as to what those animals looked like when they died. These study skins are very important because it allows scientists to look into the past. These study skins can provide answers as to what different animals looked like in different time periods. They can also compare shape, size, colorations, and markings on the animals to animals today.

Notafly. BNHSColl.jpg. (2007) Wikimedia Commons.

 Citizens can benefit from taxidermy as well. Taxidermy can educate people. Schools often take field trips to museums with taxidermy displays.Taxidermy teaches people about animals from all around the world and in all shapes and sizes. Additionally, people can also learn about extinct and prehistoric animals.

Sources Cited:

The Taxidermist. “How Taxidermy Got Its Start.” The Taxidermy Hobbyist. N.p. N.d. 29, Oct 2017.
http://taxidermyhobbyist.com/history-of-taxidermy/how-taxidermy-got-its-start.html

In the end, I liked this project and this class. I thought we maybe could have done a full action project, but I enjoyed doing something different. I thought the most challenging part of this project was writing it. I didn't find that hard though. This project was a nice and fun way of ending this class. I really enjoyed the class population, and I am glad that I did well the whole way through.

My Heroes (It Might Be a Fish)

For our final unit of our humanities class Stories, we learned about the hero's journey. We had to tush through this final unit because we spent a lot of time on Unit 2. In this unit, we learned about the hero's journey.  That was most of what we learned because we didn't have much time to do anything else. For this action project, we were asked to think of a real-life hero and a fictional hero. We then made a slideshow showing 8 of the stages of their own hero's journeys. We then compared and contrasted them.

The hero's journey is a cycle that is used in many books and movies. This is basically the steps that a hero takes when they go on an adventure. The first step is the call to adventure. This is when the hero is called to go on their journey. The second step is the supernatural aid. Not all heroes have a supernatural aid. Real life heroes also can follow the hero's journey.  In most cases of real-life heroes, the supernatural is not involved. The third step is crossing the threshold. This is when the hero goes to the unknown world or sets off on their journey.  The fourth step is the mentor. The mentor is someone who helps the hero along the way. They could give them advice, or follow them along on the journey and support them The fifth step is trials and tribulations. This is when your hero is on their journey and is encountering challenges and meeting new people. The sixth step is the abyss. The abyss is when all hope is lost. The hero might die and be reborn, or it could seem like the challenge is impossible. The seventh step is atonement. This is when the hero reflects on what went wrong. This may be the time when they realize their strength and keep going. The eighth and final step is the return. This is when the hero returns home with the stories of what they have done. Their home might be a better place because of what they have done.

Slashme. Heroesjourney.svg. (2009). Wikimedia Commons. 27, Oct 2017. Web.

My 2 heroes are Marlin from Finding Nemo, and Mitch Grassi from Pentatonix. I chose these 2 heroes because they both have a personal connection to me. Marlin is the hero from my favorite childhood movie, "Finding Nemo." Mitch is my favorite member of my favorite band, Pentatonix.  Mitch and Marlin may sound very different, but they are actually quite similar. They both set out on adventures with aspirations of success. They both are successful in their endeavors, and they both set out on their journey for someone they love. Even though one hero is real, and one is fictional, They both are heroes in their own unique ways.

I enjoyed this project. I thought it was challenging trying to come up with heroes. I went through a few different options before I settled on these 2. I finally chose them because they both had pretty clear connections to the hero's journey. I think the most rewarding part of this project was seeing it come together as the last action project of  my class Stories.

The Fox, the Owl & the Rabbit.

For our second unit in our humanities class Stories, we learned all about fables and moral lessons. We read and analyzed Aesop's Fables. We also did character analysis discussing personification on different animals. I really liked this activity. We were given a list of animals and had to think of keywords that describe their personality. We studied genre as well. We though up of what made different iconic books and movies their genre. We also were asked to make a list of characters that stood out to us in books, movies, and TV shows, and why they did stand out. For me, this was just the whole cast of Grey's Anatomy. The last thing we studied was symbolism in stories.I thought it was interesting to find hidden symbols in books and movies. For the Action Project, we were asked to write out own fable. I was excited because this kind of writing came a lot easier than the creation myth, which I really struggled on. We had to think of animals and give them their correct personification, as well as a lesson to teach and a symbol to represent a deeper meaning in a story.

CM. The Fox & The Owl. Drawing, (2017)

The Fox, the Owl, and the Rabbit.

One day, there was a Fox who lived in a forest in a den below a tree on the far side of the forest. There were 2 rivers on the other side of the forest that the Fox had to walk to every day to get water. The Fox always felt very confident about crossing the 2 rivers. Even though many of the forest animals would not cross the river, the Fox always had confidence that he would never fall even though the other animals told him to be careful. The Fox was lonely. He didn’t have any family or friends. The other forest animals wanted to be the Fox’s friend, but he would always deny them. The Fox’s favorite food is rabbits. The Fox would set out every day and go hunting for rabbits. He would cross the small creek and the big river and get a drink of water along the way.

The Fox would always see the other forest animals. They would always say hello, and the Fox would always ignore them. The other animals all know that the Fox was rude, but they still tried to be friendly to the lonely fox. One of the most persistent animals in the forest was the Owl. Every day, the Owl would hoot, “Hello!” to the lonely Fox. The Fox would merely look up at the Owl and ignore him. The Fox and the Owl had had troubles in the past. They both liked to eat rabbits. Even though the Owl knew there were enough rabbits to go around, the Fox was always greedy and would shout at the Owl if he got too close to him while he was hunting.

One day, the Fox woke up in his dark den. Sleepily, the Fox walked out of his den and set off to get himself some breakfast. The Fox walked along his usual path. Up the hill, over the ravine, and through the first river. The first river was smaller and was always easier to cross. The Fox just had to step on some rocks and jump to the other side. The second river was much bigger and had a much faster current. The Fox knew the shallowest part to cross.

Before the Fox got to the second river, he heard the familiar hoot of the Owl.
“Good morning!” said the Owl cheerfully.
“Morning.” said the Fox.
“Out to get some breakfast I see.” said the Owl.
“Yes I am.” replied the Fox “And I don’t want you to take it from me!”
“Why would you think I would do that?” asked the Owl
“Because! You're always following me!”
“Very well.” said the Owl. “But I think we can become friends.”
The Fox felt upset. He was just trying to get some breakfast on his own. He didn’t need a silly Owl following him around.

After a while of not seeing any rabbits, the Fox wondered if the Owl was going to give up and turn back. All of a sudden just as they were approaching the big river, with their bellies grumbling, and both wanting a rabbit, they saw it. A rabbit just across the river. The Fox and the Owl both looked at each other. They took off. The Owl was flying as fast as he could and the Fox was running as fast as he could. The only problem was that the Owl could fly, and the Fox had to cross the river.

As the Fox scrambled across the river he slipped. The Fox felt his heart drop as he was submerged under the rushing water. The Owl then noticed what was happening to the Fox. As much as he wanted to catch the rabbit, he felt it was more important to save the Fox. The Owl swooped down and grabbed the struggling Fox from under the rushing water. He pulled the Fox to shore.

“You saved me!” exclaimed the Fox. He then remembered the Rabbit. “I didn’t get the rabbit!” He shouted.
“But I saved you!” said the Owl. “Are you not grateful?” The Fox thought about what the Owl said. He was more focused on the rabbit than he was at the Owl saving his life.
“You know,” the Owl said. “I could have had that rabbit but I chose to save you! Even after how you have treated me, I chose to save you.”
“I have treated you very poorly” said the Fox. “I am sorry. If you had treated me like that I would have not felt for you as you had for me.
“I am glad you are ok.” said the Owl. “Just remember, treat others how you want to be treated.”

I enjoyed this project. I thought it was fun to come up with animals for characters and make their own personifications for them. I liked how we could really get creative with the story. I thought the most challenging part was figuring out a lesson, and working backward to tie the lesson into the theme of the story with the animals. In the end, I am most proud of how the story itself came out because I really like the plot and I am proud of it.

Can Gibbons Take the Heat?

For our second unit of our fall term class called Population, we took a long time in the unit. We decided to take a long time and dive deep into our investigation of unit 2. We learned about standard deviation, permutations and combinations, statistics, box and whisker plots, DNA and genes, and evolution. For our FE, we went to the Field Museum. We went to the evolution and dinosaur exhibit, as well as the animals. We tried to find our own animals in the displays. I was successful in finding the white-cheeked gibbons. I enjoyed this unit. I wasn’t the biggest fan of all the math but I liked the things we learned in this unit. For this action project, we were asked to use our animal that we used from AP1 and see what would happen if we put it in a different environment. I continued with the white-cheeked gibbon. We found at least 10 representatives of our animals in photo form, and chose which 3 we thought would survive in our environment. We also found the data in our samples, as well as investigating their relatives and ancestors.

clazic. Laos Rainforest. 2015. Photograph. Vang Veing, Laos. Pixabay. 10, Oct 2017. Web

White-cheeked gibbons or Nomascus leucogenys live in the tropical rain forests of southeast Asia. The countries they usually habitat include Vietnam, Laos, and southern China. This is only a small part of the southeast Asian rain forest. The rain forest is the oldest in the world and ranges 1,112,000 square miles. The temperature usually ranges from 70 to 90 degrees with very high humidity. The rainy season usually takes place between October and February. These rain forests get about 79 inches of rain annually. The plants and animals that inhabit these rain forests are adapted to deal with the hot humid conditions, as well as months of sometimes constant rain.

In my scenario, the temperatures increase 4 degrees annually. This could mean a lot of things for the land. The rainy season may shorten and droughts may occur. This means the trees that the gibbons live in and eat from my die. This also means the hot humid seasons will be longer and hotter. This may be too hot for the gibbons who have hair and can tolerate some heat, but may not be able to tolerate the rising temperatures.


I think there are downfalls and opportunities for the gibbons in this scenario. The gibbons could possibly survive in this environment. Gibbons are made to withstand the hot humid climate of southeast Asia. This will be a more gradual change as the temperature is rising over the course of years. Some gibbons might starve because of drought caused by an increase in temperatures. Some gibbons might migrate to new lands and thrive and re-populate.

These are some traits that white-cheeked gibbons possess that allow them to live in their habitat

• Brachiation-This is a feature that many primates have that allows them to swing in trees.
• Herbivore-The Gibbons only eat fruits leaves and seeds.
• The weight-Their light weight allows them to live in trees and swing from all sorts of branches.
• Families.- Gibbons family structure allows them to live only with their families.

These are some immediate effects that the change would have on the population.

• Animals with fur could overheat more easily 
• Plants that animals rely on for food will die because of the heat 
• The rainy season will shorten and plants will die from lack of water. 

Imagine we had a population of white-cheeked

Derek

Add cPoplin, Ryan E. White-cheeked Gibbon. 2007. Photograph. Wikimedia Commons. 10, Oct 2017. Web.

Deb

Add capSpangenberg, F. Southern white-cheeked gibbon. 2007. Photograph. Wikimedia Commons. 10, Oct 2017. Web.

Sam

Smith, Roger. White-cheeked gibbon (male) 2010. Photograph. Adelaide Zoological Gardens. South Australia. Flickr. 10, Oct 2017. Web.

Christina (center)

Kilby, Eric. Gibbon Family Portrait. 2017. Photograph. Stone Zoo. Stoneham Massachusetts. Flickr. 10, Oct 2017. Web.

Phillip

cuatrok77. WHITE CHEEKED GIBBON. 2014. Photograph. Monroe, Florida. Flcikr. 10, Oct 2017. Web.

Maggie

Mamoritai. White-Cheeked Gibbon (Female). 2009. Photograph. The Bronx Zoo. New York, New York. Flickr. 10, Oct 2017. Web.

Paul

Voight, Garret. White-Cheeked Gibbon. 2014. Photograph. Minnesota Zoo. Apple Valley Minnesota. Flickr. 10, Oct 2017. Web.

Stephen

Karen. White Cheeked Gibbon. 2008. Photograph. San Antonio Zoo. San Antonio Texas. Flcikr. 10, Oct 2017. Web.

Paula

Smith, Roger. Mother and daughter. 2012. Photograph. Adelaide Zoo. South Australia. Flickr. 10, Oct 2017. Web.

Owen

Trumbo, Anthony. White-cheeked Gibbon again 1. 2008. Photograph. Nashville Zoo. Nashville, Tennessee. Flickr. 10, Oct 2017. Web.

Richard

More, Josh. White-cheeked Gibbon (Nomascus leucogenys.) 2007. Photograph. Minnesota Zoo. Apple Valley. Minnesota. Flickr. 10, Oct 2017. Web.

Pablo

More, Josh. White-cheeked Gibbon (Nomascus leucogenys)_5. 2015. Photograph. Minnesota Zoo. Apple Valley Minnesota. Flickr. 10, Oct 2017. Web.

Here are my calculations of central tendencies. Central tendencies show all the numbers of the data set. Here, I am listing white-cheeked gibbon weight. White-cheeked gibbons usually weigh 15-20 pounds and are some of the smallest apes. the following number represents the weight of each gibbon in my sample.

a.) 15
b.) 17
c.) 19
d.) 21
e.) 20
f.) 22
g.) 19
h.) 16
i.) 21
j.) 18
k.) 17
l.) 21

Maximum - 22

Minimum - 15

Range - 22-15 = 7

Mode - Most occurring number - 21

Mean - 15 + 17 + 19 + 21 + 20 + 22 + 19 + 16 + 21 + 18 +17 +21 = 226 / 12 = 18.83

Median - 15, 16, 17, 17, 18 , 19, 19, 20, 21, 21, 21, 22 = 19, 19 Average = 19 + 19 / 2 = 19
                 x    x    x    x    x                 x    x    x    x    x

1QR - Median of the first half = 15, 16, 17,17, 18, 19 1QR = 17

3QR - Median of the second half = 19, 20, 21,l21, 21, 22 3QR = 21

IQR = Range of the 1QR and 3QR = 21 - 17 = 4

Box and Whisker Plot

CM. Box and Whisker Plot. (2017)

CM. Standard Deviation.(2017)

CM. Calculations.(2017)

Standard deviation is a tool used in statistics to show the variation in a set of data values.


The next equation shows how many possible ways I could have chosen my 3 gibbons.These equations are called permutations and combinations. A permutation is when the order of the choosing matters. A combination is when the order of the choices does not matter. The way I groupes the surviving gibbons is called a combination. It is a combination because I chose 3 random gibbons that I thought would survive. I didn't put them in order, otherwise, that would be a permutation.

CM. Combinations & Permutations. (2017)

Northern white-cheeked gibbons (Nomascus leucogenys) are in the family of primates. The first primates were believed to have developed in North America around 55 million years ago. They formed into what would look like lemurs today. Apes evolved around 25 million years ago. Apes are smarter than monkeys and have bigger brains. Both monkey and some apes can use brachiation, which ables them to swing through trees. Lesser apes evolved out of apes. Hylobatidae is the technical name. This belongs to gibbons, which are all parts of Hylobatidae. Gibbons are different from apes because they have low sexual dimorphism. This means that males and females are closer in size. They also have longer arms for swinging in trees.

Living Relative: Siamang Gibbon

suneko. Symphalangus syndactylus, Chiba Zoo, Japan. 2007. Photograph. Chiba Zoo. Japan. Wikimedia Commons. 11, Oct 2017. Web.

CM. Siamang Gibbon Comparison. (2017)

Extinct Relative: Gigantopithecus

Kaekart. Gigantopithecus. 2016. Drawing. Wikimedia Commons. 11, Oct 2017. Web.

CM. Gigantopithecus Comparison. (2017)

In conclusion, I think the gibbons will survive. They may evolve to be smaller with less fur and may have a wider variety of diet possibly including small animals. Even if the gibbon's trees do die from a drought, they can still migrate to other areas that are less affected by the temperature change, and they will repopulate there.

I really enjoyed this project. I liked how it covered all the topics and different steps of our unit. I found this project somewhat challenging. It was difficult to format the whole blog post, and it was also difficult to make sure that all of the equations were right and looked clear for the reader. I am proud of how this project turned out. I really like this class and I look forward to the rest of the classes of sophomore year!

Works Cited:

"Gigantopithecus" Prehistoric Wildlife.com. n.p. n.d. Web. 16, Oct 2017.
http://www.prehistoric-wildlife.com/species/g/gigantopithecus.html

Platt, John R. "Sunday Species Snapshot: White-Cheeked Gibbons." Scientific American.com. Scientific American. 3, Nov 2013. Web. 16, Oct 2017.
https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/extinction-countdown/sunday-species-snapshot-white-cheeked-gibbon/

"Siamang (Symphalangus syndactylus)" Arkive.org. Widescreen. 2017. Web. 16, Oct 2017.
http://www.arkive.org/siamang/symphalangus-syndactylus/

"Siamang" Smithsonian National Zoo.edu. Smithsonian. n.d. Web. 16, Oct 2017.
https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/siamang

"Southeast Asian Rainforest." Blue Planet Biomes. n.p. n.d. Web. 16, Oct 2017.
http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/se_asian_rnfrst.htm

"The Evolution of Primates" Lumen Learning.com. n.p. n.d. Web. 16, Oct 2017.
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/biology2xmaster/chapter/the-evolution-of-primates/

"White-cheeked gibbon." Smithsonian National Zoo.edu. Smithsonian. n.d. Web. 16, Oct 2017.
  https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/white-cheeked-gibbon

An Original Creation Myth...

For our first humanities class of the Sophomore year, called Stories, we studied stories and specifically creation myths. In this class, we had to study creation myths and made them into stories. We had a professional storyteller come in on an FE and tell us creation myths. She also explained to us how to write a good story and what makes stories interesting and engaging. We also went to the Field Museum and visited the Ancient Americas exhibit as well as the Ancient Egypt exhibit. We went through the exhibits and took notes on specific creation myths from each culture. For our action project, we were asked to create and write a creation myth of our own. We had to describe our planet's name, and how it got it's name, as well as some features of our planet. My art piece depicts the great lake Glace. I used watercolor pencils and soft pastels to create the image. I wanted to create the dramatic bright look of the landscape. I used the watercolor pencils to create the bright shifting look of the water. I used watercolor pencils and soft pastels to create the bright green lush rolling landscape. My story is inspired by the Japanese Creation Myth, with Inzanagi and Inzanami. The myth depicts gods in the heavens who create a world by using water droplets from a sacred river.

CM "Lake Glace" Painting. (2017)

Once upon a time, there was a Demigod in the heavens. His name was Glace. Glace longed to create a land of his own. He was the youngest of nine sons under their father Kas. One day, Glace was ready to create his land. Glace went to his father and asked if he was ready to make a land of his own. Kas refused him the right saying he was not mature enough. Glace was upset. He thought he was old enough and mature enough to create his own land

Glace hurried over to the river and dipped his sword into the water. He went to the edge of the heavens and watched the water drip down into the nothingness. The water droplets formed into three different land masses that morphed together. Glace watched in amazement as his land came together. He had seen all of his brothers create their own lands. He sent his wishes down to the land and spawned the first human on the planet named Oran.

Glace was overcome with excitement. He ran back to his father, not remembering that he had disobeyed him. Kas looked at his son as he ran up with excitement on his face.

“I have created a land! It’s the most beautiful land I have ever seen!” yelled Glace.

“You what?” roared Kas. Glace realized his mistake and started to cry. “I will punish you for what you have done.”

Kas banished his son to his own planet, which he knew would not survive because he was not mature enough. Glace begged for forgiveness, but it was no use. Kas struck Glace with his sword and he fell down onto his planet.

Glace fell for what seemed like forever. He finally landed with a loud thud on his planet. Oran hurried over to the site where Glace landed.

“What has happened to you?” exclaimed Oran.

“I have been banished from the heavens, I am going to die here.” Before Oran could say anything, three huge chunks of the earth where Glace had landed came loose. They erupted into light and became the deities of Fire, Water, and Air.

“Who are you?” exclaimed Oran.

Glace responded with his dying breaths. “I am Glace. You need to show my father that this planet can survive.”

“How?” said Oran, but there was no answer. Glace cried and filled up the crater with tears. He then died right on the ground. His body dissipated and the magical lake filled with his tears formed. Oran sat there stunned. He was determined to make his planet survive.

In honor of the great demigod who created his planet, Oran named the planet Glace. Oran needed to make his planet habitable. There was a crater as big as the heavens themselves where Glace had landed, filled with glistening blue water. Oran decided to drink from the lake to gain strength. He submerged himself in the cool water. When he got out the water, droplets rolled off his body and formed more humans. The lake stood in the middle of the planet like a mighty ocean. The royal blue water splashed against the shores shimmering in the sunlight.

The people of the planet needed places to live, to shelter from the anger of Kas raining down on their planet. The people dug up the ground and threw it into mounds around the lake. They built the mounds so high they towered like skyscrapers guarding the lake. These mountains stood above looking down on the lake with a watchful eye. The mountains were rugged, steep, and smelled of wet mud and sand.

The people dug into the side of the mountains to create caves to shelter in. Oran built the biggest cave. It loomed in the sunlight like a mighty landmark. The rest of the people built their own caves on the sides of the mountains. The mountains were dotted with dozens of caves all around. The people prospered in their dark caves. Soon the planet was massively populated. Even more so than any of Glace’s brother's planets.



In the end, I thought that this project was actually very difficult. I thought it was one of the toughest projects I have ever done. I am a very prolific writer, but I am really bad at writing fantasy. I struggled with coming up with a world and a story, and I went through 2 other worlds before I finally settled on this world. Once I got into the groove of things, it got easier, but I still think the project was very difficult. I am happy with how it came out and I hope for people to read and enjoy my creation myth.