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The Biennial is an exhibit that features new and upcoming artists. This year's exhibit had a strong political theme. It was refreshing to finally see young people getting involved in the political happenings of the time. The current political climate mirrors that of the late 60s. Although there are many differences between the two time periods, I believe that there are parallels, and the artists in this year's biennial seem to reflect that in their art.

Nearly all of my time in New York City has been spent south of 50th street. The weather has not yet been nice enough to justify a trip to Central Park.  Going to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, however, is a trip worth making.

"I always feel so overwhelmed when I'm in New York," one of my New Hampshire friends commented to me this Easter weekend.  "Do you like it?" he asked as I smiled to myself.  I thought back to my first week in New York.  I remembered not sleeping because of the unfamiliar noises rising from the street 27 floors below and getting lost on the subway and ending up in Brooklyn.  I laughed as I pictured myself strolling the streets of Manhattan, map in hand, trying to figure out which way was West and which was East.  "I guess I'm just not a city person," he concluded and I asked myself, "Am I?"

Last week a fellow intern and I discovered that we were being assigned to assist on the final Barbara Walters' piece that will ever air on 20/20.  The anniversary show, which will be an hour long broadcast, is broken down into five segments, ours being the last minutes of the final act in which Barbara Walters will ever take part.  The excitement that swept over me upon hearing this news quickly dissipated as I realized the magnitude of our task. 

With registration Monday morning, I have been forced to sit down and think about next year.  For most of this semester I have been so caught up in what I am doing and enjoying my present experience in New York City that I have hardly stopped to appreciate how this differs from my life at Hamilton to which I will soon return. 

Thursday night I had the chance to see my very first opera, Mourning Becomes Electra, with the rest of our group at Lincoln Center. The night's event included a pre-opera talk, dinner and the magnificent show. 

As I enter the last few weeks of my semester in the city, I do so with mixed feelings.  While I have gained a new perspective, grown up in many ways, and gotten a taste of the real world, I am also ready to return to the comforts of college life for another year (and with a greater appreciation).  Until then, however, I plan on enjoying more of this fantastic city I may someday call my home again.

Thus, I started the semester not loving the city - it was a little cold, a little big, a little dirty for my taste.  As the days and weeks have passed, however, I have grown accustomed to life here, used to the hustle, the garbage, the subway.  Tolerance, however, is different than acceptance and I don't know if until the other night I really felt connected to what is New York.

I won't exactly be humming any of the songs on my way to work, but it was definitely an emotional tour de force in its way. While season tickets probably aren't in my future, the performance was absolutely an experience I won't soon forget.

Vilayanur Ramachandran, professor of psychology and director of the Brain and Perception Laboratory Center for Brain and Cognition at the University of California at San Diego, will deliver The James S. Plant Distinguished Scientist Lecture on Thursday, April 22, at 7:30 p.m., in the Kirner-Johnson Auditorium.  His talk, "What neurology can tell us about human nature and the meaning of art," is free and open to the public.