My Difficult Experience

Throughout my life, I had many difficult experiences, but the one that affected me the most was in 2015. All through elementary school, I was a stellar athlete as I enjoyed playing soccer, basketball, volleyball, football and hockey. However, my favourite was track and field, more specially the 100m and 200m sprint. I would always make it to the City Finals and place there as well. In 2015, I was in grade 8, so it was my last year to make a huge statement in track. In Regionals, I placed 1^st in the 200m, 1^st in the 4x40m relay, and 2^nd in the 100m. Then, in the Conference Finals, I placed 2^nd in the 200m, 2^nd in the 4x400m relay, and 5^th in the 100m. I qualified for the City Finals in the 200m and the 4x400m relay, however things took a turn for the worse.

I was so excited for the City Finals because I truly believed that I had a chance to finish in the top 3 for both of my events, but the inevitable happened.  The day after the Conference Finals, I felt a sudden and intense pain in my abdomen. I quickly went to the hospital and after waiting many hours in pain, I found out that I was diagnosed with many gallbladder stones. The next day, I had a surgery to remove the gallbladder stones. I then found out that I was not able to compete in the City Finals and that I had to miss a month of school to recover. I was devastated with the news because I was training so hard and I was prepared to give it my all in hopes of top three finishes in my events. This experience was a turning point in my life because I later realized that sometimes things happened for a reason and that you have to accept them and keep moving forward in life. I am thankful for being in good health right now.

            

Osmow's Tribute

Dear Chicken Half and Half with extra hot spice and extra garlic sauce,

    You are my favourite food and I would eat you everyday if I had to. When I place the order from Osmow's to pick you up, my taste buds tingle with sensation, eager to enjoy you. When you are in my hands ready to be eaten, I get goosebumps and your smell takes me back to the markets near the Mediterranean sea. When I dig into you, I love the spicy Mediterranean hot sauce all over my crispy fries and savouring rice. I also love the extra white garlic sauce mixed with the hot sauce which gives you an exquisite taste. When you are in my mouth, the heat of your hot sauce burns me, but the creamy garlic sauce cools the heat down. When I am too full to finish you, I put you away in my fridge to enjoy you later. When I take you out of the fridge after a few hours, you taste even better then before. Once I am finished enjoying you, my craving for you starts again. I hope that Osmow's never goes out of business, so I can enjoy you for the rest of my life.

From,
Mauran, Your number 1 customer!

       

My Social Media Story

             I use a variety of social media platforms including Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and WhatsApp. Instagram is the social media platform that I use more frequently because I use it to share pictures, message friends, and as a source of entertainment. If one were to take a glimpse at my Instagram profile, they would see a three year story of me, which I believe is an accurate representation of myself.

My MJ Thriller Outfit

             I created Instagram in 2015 just before I entered high school. Many of my friends from elementary school already created Instagram a while back, so once I created Instagram, I was eager to gain followers and to share pictures. This was a great way for me to keep in touch with my friends and family members living abroad. My first couple of posts were just me showing off my awards from my elementary graduation, my new pairs of Jordan shoes , and some pictures from my vacation in Cuba. 2015 was when I started performing as a Michael Jackson impersonator and as a saxophonist. I decided to take my talents online so I had a couple pictures of my Michael Jackson outfits to attract traffic to my page. 

            In 2016, I posted a few more generic selfie pictures and some pictures with my brother’s green motorbike. Going into late 2016, I decided to use my Instagram page as a way to promote my Michael Jackson and saxophone careers. Around October was when I released my first saxophone cover for the song Starboy by The Weeknd and I used my Instagram profile as the primary source to promote the audio and music video that I created. 

            In  January of 2017, I released another saxophone cover for the song I Feel it Coming  by the Weeknd, so again I posted previews of another music video on Instagram. After posting a picture for my sixteenth birthday, I did not post anything on Instagram for a long while because I was busy with school. In doing so, the obsession that once had for Instagram started to fade away as I realized that Instagram was just an outlet for people to show off their lives to others. As a result, it adds no educational or financial value to my life.

Highlights from one of my MJ performances

            After almost an eight month absence from posting on Instagram, I posted some highlights from my summer vacation in Mexico. I started to post a bit more frequently as I posted some pictures of my new outfits and more highlights from my Michael Jackson and saxophone performances. When 2018 arrived, I posted another picture from my seventeenth birthday. My latest post was from July which was from a trip to New Jersey where I performed my saxophone covers and Michael Jackson impersonator performances. 

Trip to New Jersey

            Overall, my Instagram profile showcases how my personal style, appearance, and talents evolved over a span of three years. It is a direct representation of my life and I will continue to post to it to keep in touch with friends and family.        

 

English Podcast

Anais Granofsky's Struggle Between Two Worlds

Anais Granofsky had a rough childhood as she lived between two social classes of wealth and poverty. She had various constraints placed upon her many identities resulting in her struggle with pain and isolation as she matured. Her struggle to find her true identity is showcased when she alternated her personality when living with her mother and her grandparents.

            For instance, when Anais Granofsky was living with her mother, she would act rowdy and rambunctious. From the Toronto Life article called Between Two Worlds

Anais Gransofsky with her mother.

, Anais states, “At home, I felt the responsibility to keep my mom emotionally afloat, to need nothing so as not to burden her further. I had a tacit agreement with both women to never speak of the other life that I was living”. Anais purposely lied to her mother by saying that she did not enjoy her visits with her grandparents because she felt guilty whenever she left her mother. This showcases that she did not have an open relationship with her mother because it was filled with remorse. As a result, she was not able to express her emotions or seek guidance from her mother because she was not open with her. Young children expect to turn to their parents for guidance in life, but with Anais that was not the case. 

Anais Gransofsky with her grandmother Shirley

       In addition to living with her mother, Anais Granofsky made frequent visits to her wealthy grandparents. When living with her grandparents she would change her personality by acting quiet and polite with them. She behaved this way because she wanted to demonstrate to her grandparents that although she was considered an outsider due to her black heritage, she was still part of their Jewish community. Again from the Between Two Worlds article Anais states, “I wanted to be the perfect granddaughter, to keep her wanting me back.” Anais enjoyed living the luxurious life with her grandmother, hence the reason why she was always so well behaved. More specifically, Anais tried hard to please her grandfather and built a relationship with him in order to fix the burden that was left between her parents and him.

            Overtime, Anais Granofsky’s started to feel the consequences of alternating between personalities. As a young child, Anais was put through a lot of emotional stress and anxiety trying to assist her poverty-stricken mother, but at the same time her childish self wanted to have fun with her wealthy grandparents. She continuously struggled to find her true identity because she was trying to figure out where she belonged and what was expected of her from her family. Growing up with divorced parents who had a tension filled relationship and were struggling to survive financially, resulted in her to feeling isolated as she was not able to express true feelings to anyone. Likewise, she found it difficult balancing social expectations, racism, classism, and her family heritage over the years of her childhood. She understood the inequality and hostility that her mother and grandparents felt for each other, but sadly she was too young to do anything about the issue. 

Anais Granofsky on the Degrassi Junior High TV show

           Anais Granofsky grew up with a difficult childhood filled with adversity and tough times. Her various identities were a key aspect of her life as she struggled to find her true identity while being stuck between two worlds with her poor mother and her wealthy grandparents. Through the use of her determination and perseverance, she found her true identity and discovered her place of belonging, which was being in front of the camera as an actress. 

Work Cited:

Granofsky, Anais. “My Mom Was on Welfare, My Dad Was a Hippie, and My Grandparents Were Two of the Richest People in Toronto.” Toronto Life, 7 Sept. 2018, https://torontolife.com/city/life/mom-welfare-dad-hippie-grandparents-two-richest-people-toronto/