Liam's Blog

Liam Voycey 05-27-20 English  O’Connor  This is America If you were to look in the minds of Americans across all ages, what would be the main factor that drives them? Of course, people have different motives and ways of attaining their goals. However, I believe that there is one goal that motivates the majority of people in American Society; wealth and the status that comes with it. It’s not hard to see the evidence that supports this, money is needed to enjoy life, feed yourself, clothe yourself, and anything that involves the most essential components of living. Beyond those essentials though, there are the dreams of wealth and riches. A dream that people will go to great lengths to achieve with drastic measures if necessary. Take Jay Gatsby, from The Great Gatsby. It’s implied from the book that he received a great deal of his fortune from bootlegging (smuggling alcohol). Like many Americans, Gatsby aspires to be great and the only way to do this is to become we...

Again we have approached another Friday. Friday isn't an unusual thing, it happens every week, but as of lately it feels strange. Usually, I'd be excited to see my friends and be outside doing things on the weekend. It's different now though. Sure, I can skype with my friends, but it's just not the same. These Fridays are just so different because there isn't a whole lot to look forward to anymore. It feels like what made the weekend so fun, has just been completely stripped for the time being.

I've started investing now. Trading stocks seem like the easiest thing in the world, spending money for more money by simply clicking a button, that's the life. Unfortunately, it requires a lot more skill and persistence then most people think it does. Sure, you could just guess by there's just as much of a chance of making lots as much as there is losing lots. Especially now in this climate with companies unexpectedly losing profits and companies like Zoom, skyrocketing in profits and users. It really is just so unexpected and a lot of research and reading is required to make the right decision. I think I'm up for it though, as hard as it will be I hope to come out of this a more educated and well-rounded person.

Before today I had been running a lot. I love to run, especially sprint, and in this time with not a lot to do, it is one of the only exercises that are available besides strength training. I can't even do that anymore because of course luck would have it that I get shin splints which make it super painful every time I get into a jog. So, now with even more time on my hands, I have come to realize that too much free time actually is not an advantage. I know it sounds dumb what I'm saying, but having a structure in your life just makes life more meaningful. Sitting around watching TV and playing video games is fun, but at a certain point, I just feel lazy, tired, and a sense that I haven't done anything useful in my life. My point is I think I need to give myself some work to do so when normal life resumes, I am still motivated and ready to work.

I think in most circumstances, looking forward to the weekend is an exciting thought. Especially a 3 day weekend really gets me going. However, there is so much less to look forward to that it really doesn't even feel like a true weekend break. Sure, school is delayed until Monday but do opportunities that we would have in normal circumstances present themselves, no they don't. There is no gathering, there is no going to restaurants, it's almost all gone. It just blows my mind. All these activities and exciting things to do are all gone, things that I realize I have taken advantage of. When this stay at home order is removed and humanity is able to begin to return to daily activities, I promise to never take advantage of another sunny day, another time to hangout with my friends, another time to go to a store or a restaurant, another chance to meet new people. I'll never take for granted any of those activities ever again because if I have learned anything from this qua...

The world hasn't ended, yet. Normal life has prevailed and it seems pretty normal for the most part. Yes, the stock market is in a bad spot, some people have died and a good amount of people have filed for unemployment. But, in terms of a complete collapse of the world economy and its governing bodies, we seem to be ok. The part that troubles me though, the thought of it happening. It being everything as we know it, collapse in front of out very eyes. I know its a long shot, but how can anyone really say they know what people will do when they get desperate. Of course, they're are a select few that are "pure" and will go out of their way to help others. But, will they even stay the same when money gets tight, jobs get lost, and resources like food and other materials get scarce? There is another side to the human race, a side that could be unleashed very soon.

I don't think I'll ever fully get used to online learning. Every day it does feel a bit more normal as i get more experience with it, but the loss of face to face human connection is a barrier that is very hard to overcome. This combined with the escalating tension in this dire pandemic is utterly disoreinting. It feels like im stepping into a dark street alley, unknowing of where I will find my self next. I do have hope though. Even as controversial as the current Administration is I believe they are working hard to ensure that our country prospers, regardless of how much criticism they receive.  

Foreign Policy has always been a topic that I found quite interesting, especially when it comes to the rather “spectacular” track record of the United States. Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, it's really quite impressive how much damage one country can inflict on nations with not even close to half of its own population. But there was one event that caught my attention fairly quick: The Iraq war. A war dubbed by scholars as one of the worst foreign policy disasters in American history, a war filled with corruption and ignorance, a war that had a complete disregard for the facts, a war that I had to find out what went wrong.      I think the most important part about my paper is that the people in charge of the operation, like Bush and Rumsfeld, were elected officials that the population wanted to be lead by, yet support for the war hit around 20% when people realized it wasn’t going smoothly. Bush’s own base didn’t support what he was doing in Iraq and that poses ...

Liam Voycey 12-06-19 English O’Connor The Dream We Choose to Live In     In the eyes of Ta-Nehisi Coates, the dream is a state of oblivion in which the brutal history of enslavement is justified or forgotten to remove any guilt one might have. He depicts this dream as white picket fences and Sunday barbecues in which white people are asleep to the damage they have inflicted upon African Americans. On Page 29 Coates says, “Fear ruled everything around me… this fear was connected to the dream out there.” I don’t think this fear is one of violence or death, but more of a realization that white people believe that their actions have been justified. The dream then becomes a nightmare when looking upon the divide between the white picket fences and the slums of utter poverty.  Coates analyzes this sense of justification of slavery on page 33 where he says, “ Mistakes were made. Bodies were broken. People were enslaved. We meant well. We tried our best. “Good intention” i...

voyc9.blogspot.com Our Planet, it contains everything and is almost everything we humans know. I'd like to think everyone cares for our planet, but I would be a fool to believe in such an outrageous idea. It's hard to not see the movements taken by mostly younger people to help slow this rapid increase in climate change. It's also hard not to notice the hard right-wing stances which question the legitimacy of such changes. However, both sides understand that we only have one planet for the time being. As of recently, Climate change is becoming more of an issue. Carbon Dioxide, a greenhouse gas has hit 408.55 ppm as of October 7, 2019 (DailyCO2). As this gas continues to increase, the earth gets hotter and hotter, which leads to problems such as pollution, more dangerous storms, and an increase in sea levels. It seems that the current Trump administration has no regard for the climate as they have ended the old Obama era sanctions on Fracking. (New York Times). Maybe in ...

Hey guys, this is my first post.