Life with no AC?

I try to live my life without feeling the guilt that I am doing something bad to the planet such as using plastic bottles or other single use plastics. I also feel that being vegetarian (and very soon vegan) contributes greatly to helping the planet. Although these things do help the earth, there are things that I cannot live without that aren’t so good. I think that one thing I could not live without would be my car. Although I don’t have my car down here, whenever I am home I have to drive in order to get to places so that of course requires gas. Over the summer I have to drive a lot for work or if I’m traveling. Another thing that I cannot live without would be my laptop. I am always on it and although I love the idea of not using technology, at this moment there is absolutely no way that I cannot have my laptop with me since I need it for school, communication, research, entertainment, and many other things.  To be parted from it would be very difficult to adjust to and I hate to admit that. 

One thing that I believe I could live without would be air conditioning. Although air conditioning is wonderful to have and I love cranking my AC down super low, I do think that I could get along without it. Most places in Europe don’t have air conditioning so really it is just a luxury we have become accustomed to here. The first time I went to Europe and was young and spoiled with AC, I was very uncomfortable to not have some air flow while I slept and had to leave the window or porch door open despite being in two very loud and very populated cities during the 2014 World Cup. As you can imagine, being woken up happened frequently. The second time I went to Europe was last summer. I had gotten somewhat used to the idea of no AC and taught myself that it’s okay to be without it and totally possible. Another thing that I could live without would be electricity. I know earlier I said I needed my laptop which kind of contradicts this but besides that I do think I could live without it. If I had a bunch of candles and a wood stove, I’d be set and content for the most part. 

Most things I buy are because I want them (mostly). I do think that I can reduce my spending/consumption on things such as going out to eat/get takeout and clothing since those are the things I spend most of my money on. I don’t need tons of clothing nor do I need to eat out every day. I think under normal circumstances I could reduce. The thing that separates me from it is want. Less consumption would mean going out to eat only on special occasions, only buying new clothes when I need them, and walking everywhere I go if I can. I would be a lot more conscious about my everyday choices since I eat out a lot of shop way too much.

In the future I would love to be able to live in a small cabin somewhere in the woods with no electricity (but possibly solar powered) and no running water. This dream is pretty extreme but I have been wanting to do it for a while. A reason I love to camp is because it feels more natural and real rather than living in an artificial world where I can turn on a light with a switch or get clean drinking water from turning a knob. I feel like it would be better to work for these things and in doing so I would be a lot more grateful that I had light or clean water. It would also be helping the planet as well. I would also like to have my own garden though I would not depend on this garden for my only source of food. I’d like to live near a small town where I can get basic supplies and food that I could reach by riding on a bike. This would be an awesome way to live for me and would be very beneficial to the planet. 

Just In: Vaccines Do Not Cause Autism

The question of whether or not vaccinations do cause autism has been a topic growing in popularity. The argument, in simple terms, is the theory that if you are to give your kid a vaccination, the likelihood of them getting autism goes up thus indicating that vaccinations cause autism. The authors of this publication are people representing the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. I do find this a reputable source because on the last page it shows all of their references and it is an article coming from a children’s hospital that gives supported evidence. Some of the concerns that the article gives is the possibility that getting too many vaccines in a short time frame puts the child at risk, the MMR vaccine causes autism, and that the thimerosal vaccine causes autism (Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, 2016, Vol. 2). All of these concerns were proven wrong in this article from evidence (Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, 2016, Vol. 2). 

All of the facts that this article gave were supported by scientific evidence. One such study described in the article was by Michael Smith and Charles Woods. They wanted to find out if delaying/withholding vaccines from children due to fear of getting autism would cause the children any harm. They found that children who were not vaccinated and those who were vaccinated were equally as likely to develop autism (Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, 2016, Vol. 2). Another finding in this article was whether or not thimerosal causes autism. Hundreds of thousands of children who were given the vaccine containing thimerosal and those who got the vaccine without thimerosal were studied. The conclusion was found to be that both groups were equally as likely to get autism (Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, 2016, Vol. 2). 

I never believed that vaccines caused autism so this article reaffirmed my opinion. I think the idea of vaccines giving children autism is ridiculous and just putting the children at more of a risk of contracting the illnesses/viruses that the vaccines would have prevented. 

Reference Section

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Spring 2016. "Vaccines and Autism: What you should know". Philadelphia, PA. 

Death to the Truth

Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MqTOEospfo&t=31s

In the society that we live in today, we rely on the information through other people either by facts or opinion and we make our own conclusion from that information. However, often times that information is not reliable or even true. As said by Neil deGrasse Tyson, our country, as well as the world, feeds into this false information that denies science and misinforms the public. This denial keeps people from discussing and fixing the true problems at hand such as climate change. I think he believes that his words are so important because he realizes the state of ignorance and denial that our society is in and how little we do to try to get to the true issues at hand. An example of this that he states is largely represented in politics. Many people would choose to deny a scientific fact and argue over that rather than accept it and work to get a solution.

I do believe that  these words are very important. We believe that our society is very informed by how easy it is for us to get the latest news and information yet many of us are still holding on to beliefs that are proven to be wrong and rather not have any desire to change their belief. They do not want to accept that they are wrong and this is why our society is set so far back. We deny the facts and argue over them when instead we should accept the truth and move towards a solution to better our lives as well as the planet. A wonderful example of this is the argument of the climate change. It is a proven fact that the earth is getting warmer and yet there are still people in politics today that deny those facts despite all the information that is proving them wrong.

I believe that Tyson means, regarding to an informed democracy, that if these science deniers were to rise to power, they would keep facts and information from the public and deny them thus resulting to an uninformed public. Facts will be denied that need to be addressed politically in order to benefit humanity’s future. The truth, in their eyes, does not matter and is wrong so therefore it should not be considered anymore than that.

Who is in the window?

When I first heard that I was touring one of the most haunted buildings in the United States, I was super excited. I was looking forward to it all semester and when the night came that we would actually be doing the tour at The Old City Jail, I was ecstatic. I love listening to ghost stories and looking into paranormal things so this was a perfect trip to experience some real ghostly things. Of course, when I actually got there, things seemed to change. I began getting nervous even outside the jail and something did not feel right. The entire time my heart was beating and my legs were shaking even though I felt fine. There was definitely something in that place that did not like visitors.

The tour was from Bulldog Tours and our tour guide's name was Randy Johnson.
The jail opened its doors in 1802 and closed in 1939. "During that time, it is said that around 14000 people have died there" Johnson stated. With that information, you can assume that many people who were sent here never left. "One of the biggest killers inside the church was the yellow fever and often killed over a hundred people in just a month" Johnson stated.

The jail often suffered from overcrowding and the conditions were very poorly often with many sick people and not receiving proper care, dirty drinking water, and open floors that would leak excrements onto the occupants below. Along the walls you can see graffiti that the prisoners left. Despite what they did to end up there, you cannot help but feel sorry for them. Cages were pretty much in every room that held the prisoners, similar to cages where animals were kept. The cages where the insane prisoners were kept only gave them enough room to stand. They were kept like this for weeks at a time and many of them died. Once the jail was shut down, people were unsure of what to do with it so it fell into disrepair and was finally converted into what it is today: a popular tourist destination and one of the most haunted places in the United States.

Overall, the tour was really fun despite me being pretty scared. I got to learn a lot of history about the jail and of Charleston. I definitely would like to go back on another tour. Later that night when I was flipping through the pictures I took, I think I even captured a picture of a ghost. What do you think? Middle picture, Botton left window, and all the way to the left.

Outside view of the jail 

Can you find the ghost?

Hallway of the 2nd floor

Beyond the Grave Finale

Here are some pictures of my wonderful time in this class! This class was a very fun and interesting time and I learned a lot about the history in Charleston as well as many different facts about cultures across the world.

Beyond the Grave

Exploring the Beautiful Land of the Dead

When I first arrived to Magnolia Cemetery, I was shocked by how large the place was. I knew it was large but not nearly so as when first saw it. Walking around it, each marker was so unique and different than the rest and have some insight into who was buried there which was really special and cool to see how different they are from the markers that are being made now. I really liked how the nature was preserved and it gave the cemetery such a beautiful low-country look that was breathtaking. I think that the nature with the large and unique grave markers is what was my favorite part about the cemetery. You could see the years in the trees just like you could in the markers. There was still plenty of life where many dead are buried, as if the dead are living through the nature that is there.

These first two photos I took mainly showed the sort of nature and layout of the cemetery. As you can see, there are different ponds and paths that one can take when walking around the cemetery. The grave sights are also laid out rather close to each other but are separated by barriers or land marks. I think that the landscape design is brilliant and really adds to it's uniqueness.

The closeness of the grave markers as well as how different they are from each other really brings in a lot of diversity that is really beautiful. I also really enjoyed how there wasn't just regular grave markers but an array of different styles that we went over in class. One of my favorite parts of the cemetery was "Mausoleum Row". The mausoleums have this sort of gothic vibe that is really beautiful and also kind of intimidating as well, to keep in mind that you are so close to their actual bodies that aren't underground (which is not very common) is, as I said, intimidating but also really cool and poetic. 

The first marker that I took a picture of was that of 1st Lieutenant John L. Weeks who fought in WWI and died from a fatal injury to the head while playing football. He was in his early twenties when he died and was attending the Citadel before the war began.

The second marker that I took a picture of was the James Henry and Julia Augusta Parker Exedra Monument that is very popular and was often a place where classes were hold or where people could sit and relax while they were visit their relatives. James Henry died after getting blood poisoning post surgery in his knee when it was injured in a revolving door.

The third and final marker that I took a picture of was that of the William and Hattie Bird Monument. The monument is supposed to be his wife who died of heart disease at 44. William Bird who died many years later. I gathered this information from In the Arms of Angels by Patrick Harwood. 

Unfortunately, my phone died before I could take anymore photos including the photo of myself.  Overall, my experience at the Magnolia Cemetery was very pleasant and was a very fun place to explore and learn. 

Charleston's Controversial John C. Calhoun

While walking through one of the many beautiful graveyards of Charleston, I stumbled across John C. Calhoun's gravesite and was instantly captivated by how extravagant and intricate it looked. His gravesite is at the Saint Philips Episcopal Church Cemetery on Church Street and is definitely worth a visit to go to and find his grave as well as many other promise people of Charleston in the past. I'm very thankful that I was able to find his grave because he is such a prominent historical figure in Charleston and there was a lot that I learned about the city from researching him. 

John C. Calhoun was born in 1782 and lived until 1850 though his years were anything but boring and he created quite the title for himself during his lifetime. Most of his life he spent in politics and began when he was elected in the House of Representatives in 1810. He strongly supported the war of 1812 and was known as a strong republican and was also a leader of the War Hawk faction during that time, those who were in that group believed in war and supported many measures in order to prepare the country for war. Calhoun became the Vice President from 1824-1828 after he failed running for president. 

John C. Calhoun was known for many things, including what was stated above, and also his very controversial beliefs. He was known for being a proud supporter of slavery and fought for the rights of the south and fair treatment between the north and south. His opinions of course sparked tension over the years and finally resulted in him resigning vice presidency to become senator in South Carolina. Throughout the years before his death, he accomplished many political affairs. He died of tuberculosis in Washington D.C. and was buried in Charleston. 

His present reputation in Charleston is not exactly a pleasant one. There have been many arguments about his statue existing in Charleston and let alone having a very prominent presence in Marion Square. The main argument that people feel his statue should be taken down was opinion on slavery and how we outwardly favored it. Nowadays, that will of course cause tension. But considering his beneficial stance in politics, his statue has many other meanings which people should try to consider.

Portrait of John C. Calhoun 

John C. Calhoun's grave marker

 “John C. Calhoun .” Wikipedia , en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_C._Calhoun

Berggren, Jason D. "The War Hawks of 1812", pdf,  http://www.bandyheritagecenter.org/Content/Uploads/Bandy%20Heritage%20Center/files/1812/The%20War%20Hawks%20of%201812.pdf

Waters, Dustin. “Looking Back at the Origins of Charleston's Most Controversial Monument.” Charleston   City Paper, Charleston City Paper, 7 Feb. 2018, www.charlestoncitypaper.com/TheBattery/archives/2017/10/10/the-day-calhoun-rose-in-charleston.