rca Sirenee Bonadonna
,le tend to deem moving from a small, t town to an immense and towering i trying and arduous atonement, not 1g that moving from city to town is just 路ous an acclimation. Raised in New 1ty, I was used to being exposed, learn1Ut, and in many cases adopting and lizing the conventions, civilities, and m of other cultures other then m y own rorld Sicilian and Orange Irish polrudition. 1e city the heritage of any given creed ts with the crossing ofa street. I had no idge of any other such place where I neander through tiny chards of the Puerto Rico in South Bridge and China in China Town, Israel in mt Town, Italy in Little Italy, India n Allen Street and Eighth Street. ng a walk in Manhattan harks back to 1dering around the Metropolitan Mu,f Art on Sunday afternoons. I never iability to study the works in the high~d halls one at a time, rather I absorbed 1ece as I roamed room to room, from e, exotic musical instruments, to the l, serene ancient Egyptian tombs, to g statues in Roman gardens, to the
Missy Matta Jarrod Mayhew Angela McCalips Rachel McCann Ian McClellan Josh McClintic innon McClintock
ifanie McCormick John McGregor Heather McKean phraim McKenzie Bryan McKirmey lichael McMurtrie Sean McWilliarns
Nikolai Mebane Anne Meredith Jessica Merkle mily Messersmith Andor Meszaros Jason Meyer Anthony Miccio
Allyson Miller Brooke Miller Meredith Miller Miranda Milliron Micah Minasi :queline Mintrnier vt:atthew Mischley
spiritually humbling paintings, to the mysterious, sensual Asian mastery, to the blood tarnished astonishment of the medieval armor. These cultures as their artistic mastery have strived, endured, outlived all of u s, made me realize how insignificant I am. After noticing the diverse differences, I used them to my advantage making me more knowledgeable, embracing and human. Upon reestablishing myself in State College, I chose to look at my fresh surroundings as another city block. Startled and paralyzed from my lack of understanding and experience in such a close-knit town, I first observed this new cultivation in a school. Later when I walked into my first period English class my first day of school, I realized that I had taken the Holland Tunnel from the United Nations World Conference to the Big Ten Conference. I can't remember being a classroom with so much Polish, German, Anglo-Saxon, Caucasian lineage. I slid from a rainbow onto a fluffy white cloud. The whole school mentality was different. True, State College High School students were very well behaved compared to the New York City students, but State High students as a whole were not willing to express themselves. I sometimes would speculate, are my class-
mates paying attention? Don't they have any ideas and opinions of their own? But after living here for five months I had come to accept and realize that my new peers are showing their respect for their teachers in a way fo~eign to me. They sat quietly working, preferrmg notes to their memory. In New York, to show respect for their teachers, students questioned and in terrupted to show interest. I constantly saw people p laying sports on immense fields. Due to lack of open space in the city, my peers spent more time inside practicing their cello's and organizing water color portfolios. I never knew what a Pep Rally was until attending school here. But, then again, most State High students have never seen a Drag Queen fashion show. In New York City kids became independen t earlier. I knew what kind of jeopardizing threat could be just beyond the next corner by the time I was eight. I learned how to deal with dangerous situations by the time I was nine. I could take the subway by myself when I was ten. That was when I was granted my liberation. I could go where I wanted to on my own. In State College, the worst crimes seemed to be skateboarding w here you were not supposed to. You couldn't drive until you were sixteen. For many, a car was their only