May 8 - Psychological Symbols and Meaning in Art, Religion, and Education

Trinity College

Divinity, law, medicine, and science as the four pillars to the bell tower.

Book of Kells was exceptional and the library was surreal, I am again incapable of describing every aspect. For example, pictures help but cannot communicate the smell of the treated leather. Or the feeling of reading the name on each of the busts while recognizing a majority of the names from science and philosophy classes. One thing I particularly enjoyed was the Gothic font Latin. I had a tattoo idea already in Latin and the Book of Kells inspired the font.

Merrion Square

Was beautiful and was just another reminder of how important nature can be when all you ever see it's the hustle and bustle of the inside of a city. Again, reminding me the ridiculous extent some people choose to go to in order to feel as though they are not living in nature but the city boundaries must stop somewhere. Nature is everyone's neighbor.

Temple bar district

For lunch we made our way to the Badass Bar for my second time. However, everyone that was with me this time absolutely loved it so I was glad to be there sharing in that enjoyment.

Penney's

There were a few girls that were dead set on shopping and I enjoy being with good company so I opted in! It. Was. Insane. It was a massive store and we did not have much time. We broke it down into goals and time periods like, dressing rooms by 2:30, checkout line by 2:50, tram stop by 3. It worked out great and I had plenty of experience shopping with sisters and girlfriends so we were able to remain relevant and helpful throughout that process. It was unexpectedly enjoyable.

Spike Island's Kilmainham Gaol Tour

Kilmainham Gaol was a jail that housed many influential people from Ireland's history. It is similar to what Americans may recognize Alcatraz to be. Kilmainham Gaol is located on Spike Island, slightly off the coast of Ireland. We had to take a ferry to get out there, just as the guards and prisoners had to.

We heard many of the same names from Glasnevin cemetery like, De Valera and Countess Malkovich. Along with some of the infamous and notorious stories derived from ideas of solitary confinement and ideas for punishing some of the least compliant people in the country, assuming those in Kilmainham were there for good cause. This was not often the case for the children and women taken to the island. We saw some of the entries for why an individual was brought here and it was anywhere from falling out of the social norm to attempting to steal a single loaf of bread for their starving family. Structured society comes at a cost, even when that structure isn't really doing much for the individuals within it anymore. Deviance, like nature, cannot be completely avoided.