ANN MAKOSINSKI

A.
1.)
Ann never owned a smartphone because she never felt the need of having a
smartphone. She grew up in family where everything she does is different from others.
She grew up in a community where she is one of the different people. She is one of
which no one wants to hang out with. But despite of all that, she is contented on what
she has and never expect more than that.

2.)
Ann thought she wasn’t culturally uneducated because she grew up doing things
that most kids that don’t do. For example, she watches old films from the early 1900s
while others line up at the theater to see Star Wars or Star Trek. She was a ‘differentist’
which is a term that she made up because she was different from others. She thinks
she wasn’t culturally uneducated because of the different hobbies and level of
contentment that she has.

3.)
For Ann, the phrase ‘less is more’ is something to live by. She opened her mind
into thinking that she doesn’t need all the material things in the world. Having less than
others is a challenge for her to make a difference and change that less to more. She
creates her own toys to a heat powered flashlight to solve her problems in having “less
than others”. Having less material things means she’s gaining more knowledge,
improving her skills, her critical thinking, and her creativity. Having less means she’s
challenging herself into doing more and creating difference with an inspiration of “having
less than others growing up.”.

Dear Ann,
 I just want you to know that you have made a huge impact to me and how I think
about life. You made me realize that having material things spoon fed to you is
something not worth doing. Instead you taught me on how to work on things and how
we should appreciate the things that we have right now.
I feel like it may be hard for you to live through middle school and high school
without a phone because of all the things you are going to miss out and having less time
with your friends. But, you showed me differently. You showed me the difference of the
people who has more and who has less. You showed me that despite of not having a
phone, you can survive. Despite of not being ‘it’ and not being one of the cool people, it
is not important. At the end of the day, the important things is thinking how you can
improve your life and solve your problems on your own. That one should learn how to
work hard for things. You made me realize that at the end of the day, life is just about
improving yourself, others, and the community. It is also being able to help in small
ways that can possibly be a huge difference for some.
Thank you, Ann Makosinski for being an inspiration. Thank you for showing me
that it’s not how popular or cool you have to be to succeed in life. Thank you.

Very respectfully yours,

Bianca Plabasan