WINNERS FIRST PLACE PROSE LIAM DUNAGAN ‘20 WHAT IF I DIDN’T TAKE THE TRAIN? SECOND PLACE PROSE PATRICIA VOLPATTI ‘20 GROWING UP SEPARATED FIRST PLACE ART ALEXA TORRES ‘23 WHAT IF YOU EAT SUNFLOWER SEEDS? SECOND PLACE ART ANA VEGA ‘21 LITTLE POTTED PLANT FIRST PLACE PHOTO ISABELA GONZALEZ ‘20 WHAT IS IT LIKE GROWING UP AS A DANCER WITH SCOLIOSIS? SECOND PLACE PHOTO MATIAS GUTIERREZ ‘21 WHAT IF I QUIT?
WHAT IF I DIDN'T TAKE THE TRAIN? LIAM DUNAGAN FIRST PLACE PROSE To understand who I am, beyond just “Liam from school,” I think you should know why I don’t attend many parties, football games, or almost any other afternoon or school events-I live between two homes, each ninety-three miles apart, and have to travel by train between Miami and Jupiter, FL every weekend. My transient lifestyle often gets in the way of spending time with my friends outside of school. Three weeks before the end of my junior year, four of my friends and I planned a weekend at my “north” house. The plan was to have them accompany me on the train. Once in Jupiter, we would hang out, fish, and do some of the things I do to pass the time during my weekends there. We left for the train station on time, but because of unpredictably brutal Miami traffic, we nearly missed the train. Sadly typical. When we boarded the train, I sat near the window I usually gravitate toward to do my homework. Once the train departed, we began discussing our plans for the next day-wake up early and go fishing. That weekend was an excursion for them that ushered in the conclusion of a long, arduous school year. They were so happy; I could see it in their eyes and hear it in their childish jokes-and I had the same giddy look and was telling those same moronic jokes too. But between the commotion of catching the train, the potential for rain during the weekend, and my sense of feeling trapped in that tedious train car, I couldn’t help but feel the burden of travel-even while I was having fun with them. 66
