Somethings Others Did Not Know About Me

Honestly, I like to keep my school life away from my family life and social life. It is like I have different personalities around different people. It all depends on who you are with, you might be comfortable saying different things in front of certain people and shy or uncomfortable saying it in front of other people. That's why keeping your school life and social life is a great life tip that is working pretty well in my case. Usually, the people at school that meet me outside of school might notice some differences in how I act rather than being at school with very limited and precise boundaries. There are so many things that my social life friends (not school friends) could know about that my school do not know about. For example, my social friends back in Canada might have known that I am part Turkish as my grandma's mother was originally from Turkey. Of course, the society here in Egypt is a lot more different than the one in Canada, for example, citizens in Egypt are the nicest people you can ever meet, with there kind, warm hearts that keeps you going no matter what. Something that my school and social life friends might not have known about me is that I lived in the United States before I moved to Canada. I stayed in Dallas, Texas for three years exactly right after I was born. When you hear the name Texas, you'd probably think that we were some sort of cowboys, but actually no, we were just living a perfectly normal life like any human. A very interesting fact that no one knew about me was that I have switched many schools throughout my life, 6 to be exact, including the one and only CISE! I was such an adventurous child going from school to school, teacher to teacher, student to student, just this whole change all at once! This is my mysterious life that no one knows about, not telling anyone what my next move is, no one knows what'll happen tomorrow. Maybe I will become a very famous actor or a heroic figure, changing the world with all my mighty power wearing my shining armour. Who knows what comes next may be a turn-up or maybe and hopefully not a turn-down.

My Trip To Disneyland

In the summer of 2016, my father had this surprising yet exciting idea for a family trip but just not decided where yet. We were in Canada at the moment and were thinking maybe travel across Europe and on the other hand road trip across the United States of America. It was up to my youngest sister to decide where we went as she was the least to experience the fun me and my older siblings had upon childhood. Right when she knew that Disneyland was an option and that she could meet all her favourite princesses, she had made her decision and so my family, I, and family friends embarked on this breathtaking adventures to where dreams do come true.

As soon as we arrived at Orlando, Florida, where Disneyland was, it was evening so we headed straight to our hotel, The Caribe Royale, and checked in our backs and went for dinner in Universal Studios City Walk. My dad is not any man, he is the type of man that likes to adventure and get things done, therefore, our whole group would be woken up by father at seven o'clock in the morning in order to get ready and have breakfast and make it to the dream park by their opening time, nine o'clock. Every day my friend and I would be first to dress so we would make our way down to the mini cafe to get a headstart for the food, if that was done, by the time my parents came to the cafe, me and Ahmed, my best friend, would already be in the arcade winning d'em tickets.

The first dream park we went to the next day upon arriving was the Magical Kingdom in Disneyland where we played many rollercoasters and fun water activities like the ride when the whole family sits in a donut an are pushed with water turbines in a small narrow river and all end up getting soaked. Another game that I enjoyed riding was the Simpsons ride where we don't actually move from our spot but are seats are rock'in like crazy. And the funniest ride of all was the one where we entered a huge auditorium and there stood Mike Wazowski from Monsters Inc. as a stand-up comedian making us laugh our butts off. After the Magical Kingdom, we headed to the Animal Kingdom where we took pictures under the tree of life and danced to traditional African music while getting certain neon body paintings. We did not spend much time there as we had more interesting places to visit such as Universal Studios.

Next, we headed to Universal Studios where I enjoyed my time the most in. The first ride we took was the drop tower and that was nothing compared to the other rides. Our next stop was at those little shacks where we would stop at often to get lemonade, cinnamon sticks, pretzels and hot dogs, and don't forget these rechargeable cups that only last for a day. Next, we headed on this surprising ride named The Jurassic World where we sit on a boat and travel in a narrow river then all of a sudden enter a tunnel that is pitch black and fall a good feet down and splash into the water. Right after that, my mom fought with me because I got her all soaked as she didn't want to go on this ride but I encouraged her. Soon we went to have lunch in one of the restaurants within Universal Studios. Our next ride was never to be forgotten! It was the one where we stayed in line for this new ride called "Skull Island: Region of Kong " for around two hours and when it was our turn they said they're done for the day and gave each of us a Fastlane to any other ride. We made our way to the Harry Potter world, where we drank butterbeer and rode the most terrifying ride in my point of view
"The Dragon Challenge." Of course, we rode the original Harry Potter ride about two times due to its outstanding amusement and also because my mom had her eyes closed the whole ride in the first trial as she was scared. That night was my birthday, so my mom invited us to this amazing Steakhouse where we found a shirt signed by Pepe the soccer player as that was his local restaurant.

I really appreciate the hard effort my mom and dad put to this adventure to make it the most fun ever and to let my younger sister's dream come true. Of course, we visited many other places such as Sea World and Epcot. A very interesting event that happened was that I had met one of my favourite YouTubers in Universal studios which were a very exciting moment for my friends and I. I hope soon we will embark on a similar trip like this and even have more fun and blast it with the people we love the most because family and friends come before anything no matter what!

One Word 2018

This past year of 2018 actually wasn't that bad, though I did expect more to be honest, guess what we must always look on the bright side and appreciate what is given to us. I have no clue where to start, maybe school, or maybe jump straight into the fun stuff like vacation and weekends. If I was to label my 2018 with one word it will take me for ages to get the best suitable word, it would take some looking up to god and thinking inside and outside the box. Hmm, crazy, nooo that doesn't work out. Maybe fun, well no, not the whole year, someday it must come to study. Enthusiasm, yes that's the word, ENTHUSIASM. The year 2018 was an enthusiastic year with many surprises and ups and downs. Let's jump right into my first couple of months of 2018.

Just the ordinary, Sunday to Thursday work, work, work at school then study, study, study and a twist all of a sudden then repeat every week. I would never be expecting the twists that would happen, for I remember one of my favourite twists was when my mom surprised us out of nowhere and we all thought she was still back in Canada. We spent the rest of the week enjoying our time and celebrating enthusiastically the arrival of my mother. Other than some certain twists, I would be doing the ordinary and trying my best at school to one day put a forever lasting smile on my parents' faces.

Soon as the days went on, the spring break approached us enthusiastically and all of a sudden we were all the way in Canada with my older brother and my mom. Pretty crazy huh? I spent my time wisely there with my older brother as it was also a break for him, something called reading week for university students. Soon we were quickly headed into Ramadan, but thank god we didn't how to fast for as long as people in Canada had to, as we had returned back to Egypt by the end of the March break. As the weeks went on, we were coming to the end of the school year, when it was the most fun part of my grade 7. Every day we would return home one hour earlier than usual. Also, every week we would watch different movies with one of my favourite teachers, Mme. Wanda. My favourite movie was " The Greatest Showman" and I seriously encourage everyone to watch it.

Then comes the summer vacation where I meet many of my best friends and family. This year my family, friends and I travelled to a very fun place called Suma Bay at the coast of the Red Sea in Hurghada's direction. We had loads of fun there and we enthusiastically learnt how to dance different types of dances while at it, such as the Tango dance. I encourage everyone in Egypt and Visiting Egypt to go there for a few days. Trust me it is paradise. I am very grateful for my 2018 and hopefully, my 2019 will be as good and even betterer. My one word for 2019 is believe. I must believe that anything is possible and that hopefully if I believe, I believe that my 2019 will be a blast.

Syrian Refugees

All around the world, there are many refugees in many different countries and continents. Refugees might be homeless people that lost where the mubàrak used to live due to war or are people that Re forced out of their country. There is a very well known type of refugees which are the IDPs meaning internally displaced people. All these refugees are held responsible for other people’s actions and unfortunately l, they are the ones paying for others’ penaliteies. For example, there were many refugees in Africa, North America and Asia (specifically Syria).

There are many causes for the appearance of refugees, and one major reason is the political conflicts. Back when there were conflicts between North Sudan and South Sudan, many people living in either side of their country were forced out of their homes. That means that they became interally displaced people until finally problems were solved and Sudan split into two countries.

Another cause for refugees or displaced persons was civil rights in the US, Canada and Mexico. In certain parts of America, due to the color of people’s skin, they were forced out of their homes. Due to wars, Mexico’s population had decreased as people had to escape to nearby countries such as America and they were named Latino refugees.

Nowadays, there are many political conflicts around the world between countries such as USA and Iran. In Asia, there is a very well known country that is always depending on other countries to take care of its people as they are under a major attack and many people were forced out of their homes and many others scraped to nearby countries. This country is Syria. A grand part of Syria’s population was sent to other countries such as Canada and Egypt. Now there are groups and committees that gather money and supplies for this Syrians in need.

As you all can see, all these disasters are happening because of our actions! If everyone could just do their part without any violence or threats, we would be living in a world of peace. Hopefully one day my dream will come true and we will become an anti-violence world and that everyone will be on the same track like a comic book but without any vilains.

"Where's the Love"

Back in the 1800s and 1900s, there were many racial issues and separation among the blacks and the whites. It was a myth or a theory that the whites are better than others and that they    deserve more privileges and shouldn’t be treated the same way. The were many blacks and whites activists that would stand up for their rights as well as other’s. People like Malcom X and Martin Luther King Jr., are great examples of people that changed our lives today, not only did they win equality but also, humanity.

Before the song “Where’s the Love” was published, there were many civil wars due to the lack of equality among the different races. All blacks had to fight for their rights when they shouldn’t have had to at all, because automatically, we are all equal in all ways and just because we born in a certain way, doesn’t mean we are worse or better at all. Also, at the end we are all just “one world!”

After the activists fought for years and decades, they finally achieved their dreams and are almost equal with the whites. The portion that allows me to say “almost” is that there are terrible people still arguing about different races like the KKK (Klu Klux Klan) the disgusting group that goes around causing trouble for the colored people. As this song was announced in 2003, after the civil war and equality, it was made to remind everyone how crazy and inhuman they were until they realized that there is no difference. Guess what, in a period of time, the richest women alive was a black women, Oprah Winfrey.

This song got so much attention due to its great purpose and how the singer expresses his thoughts and feelings, with the strong meanings to his words. In this song, the singer uses great examples of groups and people that encourage segregation between whites and blacks. He is calling to his father from above telling him how much chaos is happening nowadays and begging for his guidance to ameliorate everyone’s living experience because life is something that cannot be returned, refunded or exchanged. 

This song is very heart-warming and was noticed by many prominent people such as the Grammy Awards and this song received 7 Grammy Awards due to its great cause. I wish everyone was like the writer of this song, if everyone does their part, life will be a piece of cake and no one will have to worry about any crimes committed as we will all be living in peace.

Anecdote #3

The Scariest Moment of My Life

Everyday at night something scary must happen right before I sleep or during my sleep whether it’s my spooky imagination or my nightmares. I get many nightmares maybe even more than dreams, I think it’s because of all the horror movies I watch and I reflect on during my sleep. Once I went to the movies with my cousins and siblings and decided to enter the spookiest movie there was, The Conjuring 3! This movie is about a possessed house with ghosts within it and there is a little girl that is getting infected by these ghosts. I watched this movie two years ago when I was in grade 6 and it was super scary that I jumped out of my seat in the theatre and I screamed loudly. All this happened because there was a terrifying par in the movie where there was an old man rocking on the chair in the reception and what was so unusual is that we have a similar chair in our living room, so when I would close my eyes to fall into sleep, I would picture the old man in my living room rocking on my chair! How creepy? Another time during my sleep, I would see myself back in Downtown Montreal in Canada and I would remember when a thief broke into our rented car and stole my older brother’s backpack, but with an extra twist. Now what is this “extra twist?” That extra twist was that I got kidnapped there and they man that stole the bag stole me and I tried forcing myself out his car but it wouldn’t work, then all of a sudden I would wake up and say, “ ohh, I just had the creepiest nightmare ever!!”

Anecdote #2

My Most Embarrassing Moment, Spring Concert

Everyone has had embarrassing moments and star of the show moments, it just happens naturally, but the embarrassing moment that happened to me was so unusual and unexpected. I’ve had many small embarrassing moments throughout my life like when I tell someone a secret and they go tell everyone behind my back, but those kindergarten days are over, now I’m traveling to the past in grade 4 when my most embarrassing moment takes time. Everyone will think that this was not embarrassing but trust me, you wouldn’t like to be in my shoes at that moment. Now let’s embark on a trip to the past with my exclusive time machine.

“Zzzzxoooommmmrrrooommm!!!” goes the machine as it is traveling at a speed of 1 year/sec! Just 4 seconds and we will be there as I’m in grade 8 now and we need to travel 4 years back to get to grade 4 back in Canada!! Quick Math!!

This is me 4 years back, during music class:

On one cold winter Monday, I went to school to learn and to get educated and be a successful man. In second period we had music class with the most hated teacher I had Ms. Raven, we were getting prepared for the Disney themed spring concert that was just around the corner. That day we were discussing the choreography to the song “Under the Sea” in the movie “Ariel.” There was a part in the dance were we would link elbows with the person next to us and luckily we were able to pick our partners. Of course I picked my Egyptian best friend, Mostafa, that I knew since I was born in Egypt, fortunately his family and him made their way to Canada a few years later and ended up living 5 minutes away. Thank god he ended up with me in the same school and yet, in the same class. Anyways, we ended up with each other, and it was a dream come true. Every music class we would practice and practice our dance till the day of the concert. 2 months have passed and there are 2 weeks left till the concert. It was great up until the notice of doom was brought up to me that my friend was traveling to Egypt with his mom for 3 weeks. The days went by quickly until there was 1 day left to the concert and it was the same day we had our dress rehearsal, and that’s when I realized that I was going to do the duo part all of the dance and I had to link elbows with the air and just swirl, while all the other students in class already had their partners. I tried telling Ms. Raven that I would not like to participate, but of course with her “ amazing” experience with children, she said it’s “ a big fat no! N O.” So the day of the concert came and I had to swirl all alone looking so stupid and looked like I am a loser and have no friends. It was so embarrassing! Now let’s travel to the future 4 years after grade 8 and search for any embarrassing moments and try to avoid them when their time comes.

“Zzzzzooooommmmmmmm!!”