The Third Act

From my time in ap English I’ve learned that many of the best writers we learn about have their own definition for the meaning of life; some of them take a darker look on it, going as far to say that life consists of “futile attempts” (woolf). Everyone is entitled to their own opinion but spending your free time trying to crack the meaning of life will leave you frustrated with more questions than answers, these writers got caught up in what life meant for them and when they only experienced what they thought life actually meant... its dissapointed them. I couldn’t help but notice the majority of the passages assigned to us for homework that I actually enjoyed reading were from critically acclaimed writers; and besides their mastery over text and voice, they all had one thing in common... depression and or had committed suicide. This got me thinking one night as to why exactly these brilliant writers were such tormented souls and the only answer I could think of was that they spent...

Troy Michigan March 16, 2019 Dear no one in particular  If I'm being entirely honest "I have often felt uneasy about you" and this time last year I would not have expected to be writing about you for ap english, if anything id say this is just another example of how much can change in just a year. If you ever manage to find this, I want you to know that this isn't one last curse at you to get back for the weeks of self loathing, the loss of confidence, the fractured trust issues, the toxic habits, and the pain you caused me, but it's not. At the time, the past me would have pulled a total McCarthy and witch hunted you to the entirety of the ap class but like I said, people change... Ive changed. I blamed you for all of the things wrong with my life and for that I am truly sorry, an emotional breakdown at one in the morning, the fist shaped hole in the wall, a storm cloud on a sunny day, a stubbed toe, all because of you.  You gave me heartbreak but ...

William Hazlitt believed that "one cannot get on well in the world without money". I believe that mindsets like this are the reason why the statistics of depression are rising from generation to generation. If you know anything about money then you're aware that there will never be a point in your life when you're satisfied, the dream of wealth is a hunger that can never be satiated. And a life built around chasing said wealth is one of a tired existence, for what is wealth? Do really think that you could honestly sit down at one point in your life and say "yep that's enough money for me" The idea of an opulent lifestyle is romanticized almost everywhere you look nowadays, you can't even go on instagram without seeing a famous musician or actor throwing stacks of money off their yacht with various bottles of champagne scattered around the floor. I mean who wouldn't want to be rich right? But then that begs the question of what it means to be...

Barbara Ehrenreich's story about serving in a run down diner in Florida would be a daunting task for anyone as she explains the horrors in an impoverished lifestyle. And for the eight pages of text the reader can devote their empathy for the writer... until of course you remember that to her, this is all just an experiment. At any point in this hardship that she deems to burdensome to bare she can simply pull the chord and eject back to the safety of her PhD bestselling author life to comfort her. I hate to admit this but usually when we have to read stories like this in the textbook i save the author background section for after I finish the piece, and I cannot begin to explain the speed for which the author lost my sympathy for the piece. An endearing story about a woman who has to live basically from paycheck to paycheck and room in a trailer home, but managed to make ends meet and survive where most Americans would fail had morphed into a Cronenberg metaphorical spit in the fa...