Assignment 8 - Kyle Hosey

Fears - spiders, most insects, social rejection
Annoyances - People who hate sports (or like Louisville), conspiracy theorists
Accomplishments - Have an A in AP French (for now), couple top-10s in high school tournaments this year, broke 80 at Stonecrest
Confusions - French, how the political environment became such that Trump looked viable
Sorrows - social timidness, occasional procrastination
Dreams - work in the golf industry, play golf in college
Idiosyncrasies - talk to myself when driving, mostly about other people being stupid
Risks - occasional roller coaster rides - I know, it's not much but I hate taking risks
Beloved Possessions - Nintendo DS (then), golf clubs (now - ironic since my putter was lost/stolen last week)
Problems - talking, especially when uncomfortable; starting conversations

Confusions - French is hard. AP French is hard. The AP French test is hard. I find myself going "wait what" and "how... why" in that class more than any other. There is an exception to literally every single rule in that language, and sometimes many rules are in play for a single phrase. French grammar is even more confusing. For an English speaker, the words appear backward, until sometimes they don't have to be that way. The fact that I have a 93 in that class is nothing short of a miracle. Who knows how long it will last. The AP test in may hangs over my head like a piano in a Wile E. Coyote cartoon, and one of my lesser fears is being as confused as I am right now when it comes time to take it.

As for my second confusion, I understand perfectly well how Trump became the Republican nominee this year. Enough people harbored resentment at Washington and globalism that they were prepared - even yearning - to accept Trump's brand of nationalism and loud condemnation of the establishment. No clear opponent emerged until very late, splitting the vote of the anti-Trump Republicans among many other options. These facts are not what confuse me about this year's election. However, I have no clue how those conditions came to exist in the first place. Four years ago, Trump probably would have been laughed off the stage at his announcement speech. Most people would have seen through his utter lack of substance or actual plan and noticed that his rhetoric consists solely of general phrases designed to provoke a strong and usually unwarranted emotion. Now, not so much. What changed in since the last election such that people looked to him for leadership? I have not yet heard a complete answer to this question, and doubt that I will anytime soon.