Argumentative
The Origin of Bedbugs
Have you ever felt like something was crawling on you in bed? Have you seen little red bites on your back? Or, ever wonder where those little bugs on your bed came from? Bedbugs have always been a continuous battle, but where did they come from? Bedbugs have been living on this earth way longer than humans “The earliest known ancestors of bed bugs, known collectively as the Cimcidae family, first evolved over 115 million years ago” (Brown 1). Even with bed bugs being on earth for many million years before humans, they are still thriving: “Bed bugs are on the rise in the US, with about 20% of Americans having dealt with some kind of infestation” (Peysakhovich 1). Infestations are all around you and can affect everyone's life. It may be your family or friends who have bed bugs and are going through a tough time in life. Without meaning to, they can bring adult bugs, nymphs, or eggs and infest your home. Bed bugs are an epidemic that is on the rise, but there are solutions to it in today's time.
Knowing how bed bugs became living organisms may be part of a solution on how to exterminate them. According to bed bug expert Robert Brown, the “Cimcidae family, first evolved over 115 million years ago. This means they appeared during the mid-Cretaceous period, the period in time where the dinosaurs began their slow decline toward extinction” (Brown 1). There is plenty of evidence that proves bed bugs have survived for so long because they have a food source. If bed bugs were isolated in prehistoric times, they wouldn't be one of the most common infestation bugs today. But if they were extinct, who knows what type of bugs we may have to deal with instead? Therefore, isolation will help slow the spread of the bugs surviving and repopulating.
Isolation is the second solution to finally becoming bed bug-free. Most exterminators know the best tactics on how to get rid of those pesky bugs ”If you’re dealing with a bed bug infestation today, then you’re likely to call upon an exterminator to treat your house. It is a process that’s simple and effective, if admittedly a bit costly” (1). During extermination time, “It can take an hour or two for the extermination team to set up their equipment, and then they need about two hours to perform the heat treatment. It takes another hour or so to break down the equipment and do a sweep of the house. Heat treatment typically takes half a day total, but you may want to set aside a whole day for the treatment” (Horvath1). But, for some people living with a bed bug infestation, it is an issue they have to live with and sadly can't afford treatments. Most expert exterminators recommend a heat treatment due to the bugs dying quickly and because it is the most successful and expensive way of exterminating them. Even with all the ways to kill bed bugs, they are still everywhere in sight, but how do you know where they are?
Bed bugs are known to hide in cracks and crevices, but how do you know where your sleeping is safe? While traveling and having fun, the last thing you want to worry about is bed bugs. Sadly, it is one of the most important things you need to worry about when staying out of town “around 68% of the reported bed bug infestations are in hotels'' (Peysakhovich 1). Even when thinking about buying a super clean 5-star hotel room with every luxury package and amenity, you still have to worry about your room being infested with bed bugs, “Bed Bugs can thrive in clean and dirty areas alike, so highly rated hotels can have infestations too” (1). After hearing all the bad news and where bed bugs thrive, knowing where to find them is the most important part “Bed bug infestations tend to be within 8 feet of your sleeping area. Experts believe that most infestations are 3 to 6 feet away” (1). Being close to their food is how these little bugs survive so long. Another easy way to find out if you have any bugs where you are staying is: “You should check your mattress and bed frame for signs of bed bugs. If you don't find any, check your baseboards, carpeting, electrical outlets, and any nearby furniture” (1). After checking all that, you should know if you're in the clear zone or in the red zone for bed bugs. But there is a chance you won't find any if there are only a couple bugs, so stay on your toes. The final way to know if you missed a bug is to check if you've been bitten.
When waking up in the middle of the night and wondering what woke you, the last thing you want to see is a little red bed bug crawling on your arm. When thinking about sleeping and the pesky little bed bugs there is a famous saying that a majority of people know. Good night, sleep tight, don’t let the bed bugs bite– the saying puts it into perspective on how common bed bugs are. The way bed bugs survive off humans is “A bed bug feeds by poking through your skin with its long beak. Then it drinks blood from the wound” (Peysakhovich 1). The scary part of them biting is that some people do not know it is happening “some people never notice bed bug infestations because their skin doesn't react to the bites” (1). Without a skin rash, there is no way to know you have bugs without checking for them, which can leave you infested with no clue. Which is the reason every homeowner, renter, or traveler should check in cracks and bed sheets to see if those little apple seed-looking bugs are infesting or not.
The bed bug epidemic has been an issue for humans ever since the first day we stepped on earth. These pesky little apple seed bugs have been on this earth for millions of years; scientists even believe they were living here with the dinosaurs in the prehistoric times. Bed bugs have survived for millions of years, but the question is, how do you kill them? Exterminators offer expensive heat treatments that will take a few hours and guarantee the death of these invasive bugs. Some people don't have thousands to drop on heat treatments, so another way to manage infestation is isolation, it is one of the best-known solutions to becoming bed bug-free, and it comes at a much cheaper cost. Any infested family can leave the infested rooms completely isolated for upward of 14 days to kill the bugs and to not break the bank. Even with all the ways to kill bed bugs, they are still everywhere in the US, but how do you know where they are? Bed bugs are known to hide in cracks and crevices, but how do you know where your sleeping is safe? Bed bugs are in hotels, Airbnb’s and motels, so anywhere you go, there is a chance bed bugs are happily living off of you. When staying in a new place, always check the bed, sheets, and any other little cracks and crevices that you think a little bug could fit in. Even after checking for bugs, there is a chance they might still be hiding, so keep watch. When solving the bed bug infestation epidemic, it is imperative that we look beyond what exterminators and isolation tactics have to offer and analyze the root causes of where the bed bugs came from to keep them from infesting homes and hotels over and over again.
Rhetorical
Hitchcock and Bedbugs
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Alfred Hitcchcock was an English suspenseful film director who was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature and for the best director five times. Hitchcock's best known for his concept of suspenseful firm directing (Barson 1). Alfred Hitchcock believed that “Drama is real life with all the boring parts cut out” (Hitchcock 1). Therefore, there would be a rational reason for any epidemic, which keeps life interesting. Bed bugs are a tremendously irritating epidemic, but it is a mystery how they came onto this earth “Mystery is an intellectual process... But suspense is essentially an emotional process” (Hitchcock 1).
The bed bug epidemic, which has affected “about 20% of Americans who have dealt with some kind of infestation” (Peysakhovich 1). Thousands of people are terrified of being infested by these horrible little bugs. Hitchcock believed that “reality is something that none of us can stand, at any time” (Hitchcock 1). This was a topic Alfred Hitchcock addressed frequently throughout his life and in his film. Considering Alfred Hitchcock was most intrigued with creating suspenseful films, bed bugs are little creatures that could potentially add to suspense in his films. To avoid the bed bug epidemic, stay away from travel; “around 68% of the reported bed bug infestations are in hotels'' (Peysakhovich 1). Even without going to hotels, there is still a possibility of being infested. If anyone has bugs and stays somewhere without bed bugs, they can easily hop out of their bags and infest the room they were in. Like Hitchcock said, “revenge is sweet and not fattening” (Hitchcock 1).
Since Alfred Hitchcock believed there is no greater movie than one full of suspense, he would believe that whatever is going to happen will happen and will be full of suspense riding up to the main moment: “Suspense is like a woman. The more left to the imagination, the more excitement” (Hitchcock 1). Alfred Hitchcock believed fear was not a difficult subject to understand. Hitchcock has an understanding that people all have different ways of being scared and that it all comes rooted differently for each individual. However, he would have been pleased to see that this epidemic had forced people to now fear bugs and other creatures. The absurd author states, “Fear isn't so difficult to understand. After all, weren't we all frightened as children? Nothing has changed since Little Red Riding Hood faced the big bad wolf. What frightens us today is exactly the same sort of thing that frightened us yesterday. It's just a different wolf. This fright complex is rooted in every individual.” (Hitchcock 1).
Alfred Hitchcock was also a Catholic, aside from being a director. From that
perspective, his response to the bed bug epidemic would have been one of
Spirituality and prayer: Catholics symbolize some bugs as blessings and pray for them.
“One never knows the ending. One has to die to know exactly what happens after death, although Catholics have their hopes.” (Hitchcock 1). Alfred Hitchcock would not find pleasure in people who wouldn't act like themselves, and he deeply believed in acting as you want. If Hitchcock found bed bugs, he would act in a way that he felt fit for the situation “If I won't be myself, who will?” (Hitchcock 1). Alfred Hitchcock would find the bed bug epidemic funny and suspenseful because homeowners become complacent with no bugs and do not realize they can easily show up in the blink of an eye. Although Alfred Hitchcock believed in imagination, “There is something more important than logic: imagination” (Hitchcock 1). Hitchcock’s attitude towards bed bugs would be one of logic and imagination; the thoughts of how to create a suspenseful film that is also so out of the ordinary would be filling his brain. The goal of successful film directors is to make the best movie of the year. The way Hitchcock explained how to create a great film was, “To make a great film you need three things - the script, the script and the script”
(Hitchcock 1). Many people blindly watch movies as a habit without thinking of the hard work put into creating such a masterpiece.
Alfred Hitchcock once said, “Drama is life with the dull bits left out. There is no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it. I believe in putting the horror in the minds of the audience, not necessarily on the screen. The length of a film should be directly related to the endurance of the human bladder.” (Hitchcock 1). As a suspense specialist, Alfred Hitchcock believed each and every individual person has an exciting, dramatic life, but people can anticipate it too much. People can watch movies for hours and anticipate the drama, but how long can they hold their bladders in the theater? That is a thought that had to play in mind for Hitchcock. If Hitchcock had tried to find a way to make a movie short enough for bed bugs not to bite you, he would have broken the world record for the shortest movie. Hitchcock would hit a stump and not even try to create a movie short enough; it wouldn't have nearly the amount of suspense Hitchcock needed for his movies. People getting bit by bed bugs is a big problem, but the problem is much bigger when you can't seem to get rid of them. Most people try to get rid of the bugs themselves “Many of the bed bugs are resistant to traditional pesticides and difficult to kill. Scientists aren't sure where the pesticide-resistant bugs evolved from” (Peysakhovich 1).
As a master of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock would wait to see what would happen if he left the bugs. Then he would try to get rid of them himself with pesticides. If all else fails, then Alfred Hitchcock would go off and get an exterminator, to kill the bed bugs for him. While waiting for the quarantined room to be exterminated Hitchcock would be cooking him some lunch, like he once said, “Happiness is a small house, with a big kitchen” (Hitchcock 1). Dealing with bed bugs is never a fun task but Hitchcock would make the best of the situation by writing a script, making a movie, and making some lunch.
Alfred Hitchcock lived in a time where bed bugs are an issue in thousands of places around the world “A glimpse into the world proves that horror is nothing other than reality” (Hitchcock 1). Yet he understood suspense and that bugs help keep the world at ease and balanced. Hitchcock understood that people were unable to take the time and proper procedures that it takes to exterminate the bugs, and because of this, there are times when absurdity and suspense need to take a step back and actually handle the situation at hand. The absurd fiction author would handle the situation as best as he could after he first took the initial step of releasing the situation and trying to fix it the easy way but failing. The epidemic of bed bugs is a natural phenomenon that cannot be completely stopped and needs to be handled step by step.
Reflective
Reflective
This semester of College I would say would have to be one of the toughest if not the toughest semester for me I've ever had. I have been working six days a week, trying to balance school and figure out how to squeeze in Tulsa Achieves, which is still in progress for me on how I'm going to squeeze in all those hours. It has taught me that free time is so valuable and needs to be treasured. Having one day off a week forces me to wake up way earlier than normal and stay up later to try and cram my school in. It has also brought me closer to God than I have ever been. Some days are really hard to want to keep going but I know the struggle will bring me success in the end. I have learned more work ethic than I have ever had and I stay locked in when doing my assignments now. I feel as time went on my writing skills immensely improved and my essay formats got quite a bit better. I know how to properly write an essay now. It is just physically writing and finding time to do it is what I'm struggling with now. What I learned about writing in this course is that every type of essay is different. Each requires different research levels, different amounts of times, different writing skills and types. The biggest struggle I had when writing was figuring out how to not do drop quotes. My whole life I struggled with figuring out how to put quotes into essays and make it read out smoothly. With this class I think I finally figured out the secret to it. Now I am definitely not at an English professor level of writing or anything, but I am confident I can write a pretty good essay that is either an A or B everytime! With the practice I got in this class and the amazing teaching and pamphlets you provided us to use as reference I got better and better everyday. Taking time to look at the PowerPoints, student references and youtube videos you provided were the most beneficial to me learning how to properly write. I am still working on bettering my drop quotes and the way I write my essays. My favorite essay would have to be the rhetorical essay, because I personally love getting to do my own research and learn more facts about the topic I chose. Overall, this was an amazing class, I learned so much. It was just very hard for me to keep up with all the assignments and work I had, but it taught me a valuable lesson in life. I have a really solid work ethic now that no one can ever take away from me. This class helped me push forward in life even when I was tired and wanted to give up. I still pushed through and now I grew as a person and grew academically.