Articles written by Rachel Carroll

What is Helium

About me - Rachel Carroll

On the outside, a thirty-something mother of four with pets, a house, a job...the whole 9 yards. On the inside, an adventurer, a car karaoke maven, a reader of fantasy novels and a sly surveyor of the world looking over dark shades and seeing what people don't

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Autos > Buying Cars (Other) How to know a car dealership is reputable: 5 of 20
This price is going fast...you have to make your decision now. This is a tell-tale sign that a dealership is going to try to pull a fast one on you, the consumer. The worst experience I ever had with a dealership included those words and lies about fuel economy, financing charges and blue book pricing. The best way to avoid b... More..
Society & Lifestyle > Racism Racism in America: 34 of 130
I watched the movie "The Great Debaters" the other night. I was horrified at the fear and powerlessness that these brave and educated people had to live with in the 1930's. I was even more horrified to see the paper today that described hate crimes occurring all over the United States after Barack Obama was elected to be the ... More..
Celebrations & Holidays > Christmas Santa Claus, Christmas and religions: 7 of 20
Back to Basics... What is the Christmas Celebration REALLY about?I floated in the world of "going along with the status quo" for many a year before actually going to college and learning a bit about the WHY of things. It would benefit everyone to gain an Anthropology degree, simply so that we stop being so ethnocentric (certa... More..
Parenting & Pregnancy > Parenting Styles (Other) How birth order helps determine our personality: 5 of 14
Birth order may not specifically affect your personality by the nature of your actual order of birth, for instance, if you are raised alone but are one of 10. BUT, I do believe that which order you are raised in your group of siblings can greatly affect how you behave. This seems to be a normal by-product of psychology and th... More..
Hobbies & Games > Role Playing & War Games The Dungeons and Dragons stigma: 13 of 25
The cloaking device... and other tell-tale signs of gaming.There is a perception of role players as odd ducks. I clearly remember growing up in that world where my social network consisted of story tellers and crazy antics. We all ooohed and ahhhed over the foam terrain for battletech when it first came out and met in dark na... More..
Arts & Humanities > Poets & Poetry Does the best poetry come from the heart or from the mind?: 60 of 115
I have read massive amounts of poetry. From the Norton's Anthology to the collected works of nearly 100 different poets, I have poured over poem after poem. What keeps me going back and voraciously digesting these poems? What keeps me walking towards the poetry section at the book store or hesitating only a moment before look... More..
Society & Lifestyle > Personal Morals & Values Choosing between being clever or being good-looking: 37 of 65
I think those individuals who indicate that looks would not be their first choice are fooling themselves. Very few people have lived life on the edge of social acceptance as I have (or so I would believe given the lack of fellows during my youth that associated with me) and so I feel that I have an evolutionary advantage over... More..
Arts & Humanities > Horror, Mystery & Suspense The real monsters in Frankenstein, by Mary Shelly: 8 of 14
The first time I read the book Frankenstein, really read it, was in college. I was given the assignment to read it by my undergraduate professor and to tell you the truth, I scoffed. One look at the thin book brought images of every Frankenstein movie and reference to the creature that I experienced to that date. I was not ex... More..
Politics, News & Issues > Government & Policies Should smoking be allowed in public places?: 189 of 313
Smoking is undoubtedly a health issue. BUT, so are many other things that one could be exposed to. Simply because there is a general consensus that smoking is bad for you should not lead to a conclusion that smoking should be banned. If we were to follow this logic with other things out there, we would ban junk food (especial... More..
Parenting & Pregnancy > Baby Developmental Stages Countdown to no more diapers: Best potty training tips: 27 of 42
1. Getting ComfortableChildren want to be like their parents. This is one of the major factors in potty training that works to your advantage. If you can keep the positive attitude up, the child will continue to want to shadow you to the bathroom and do just what mommy and daddy do. Get the portable potty for your child and a... More..