Paris Hilton at the Met?

by Gwen de Backer

First we went through the Egyptian section. The collection of ancient Egyptian art at the Metropolitan Museum is said to rank among the finest outside Egypt. You should come take a look, it's really worth it! Then, we went through the Arms and Armor section, which was also very impressive; I was so absorbed by what I saw that I lost track of the group. I tried to find them, but where did they go? In which part of the museum are they? After a while I gave up looking for them and decided to enjoy the visit on my own—just me, myself, and I. 

I started wandering in the museum, my guide was my gut feeling. There were a couple of temporary exhibitions such as Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty. The line to get in was so huge; people had been waiting for hours to see it! I was sure my classmates were not in this section. Another exhibit was Richard Sera Drawing: A retrospective. I was also sure they hadn't gone to see this one—Not because they wouldn't like it but because, for some of them, it was their first time visiting the Met so they already had so many things to discover. Then I thought if my goal weren't to find them, perhaps I would unexpectedly meet them. Who knows? 

Suddenly, something caught my attention! It was a painting of a woman, a woman with a dog. I got closer. It was an elegant woman with a toy dog. The name of the painting was: A woman with a dog, and was painted by a famous french painter from the 18th century called Fragonard. I had a feeling of “déjà vu”. She had thin facial features and fancy clothes. Both of them, the woman and the dog, looked picky—or more like spoiled—elegant, mannered, and kind of snobbish, too. I finally understood my feeling of “déjà vu”. This woman with her dog and her fancy jewels made me think of Paris Hilton in an earlier “version”. Me, myself, and I were laughing together for a while! Finally, I decided to move on and to enjoy other parts of the museum when I heard someone calling my name. They saw me! My classmates were back.

If I hadn't lost track of the group, I wouldn't have found that "Woman with a dog", which gave my visit to the museum a nice time of fun. Laughter is the best medicine, right?