Gentile 2 open the fire hydrants for a quick cool down, running through jwith the other kids on the block. in the summers with av ‘Their apartment being two miles from the beach, she ofen went for a s her friends, Part of the summers were spent visiting her father and other siblings in Westerly. Living in Brooklyn in the 80s was “so different from here” according to Gilda (Restelli). For schoo} she attended a junior high in Brooklyn, the seventh most dangerous in New York. “AE Vv ' o'clock, when the bell rang there were cops waiting at the door’ she exclaimed. In the b Ye bl ¢ hey announcé to poorle: to take off their expensive shoes and jewelry because é Pali yr moming ey wo we A oils get jumped. In high school Gilda attended John Dewey High School in Brooklyn. The founder of the school did not believe in competition, so varsity sports were not an option. When \ chow da hase Conne of asked about her personality in high school she confessed to being “kind of a bully” (Resteli. But iving in Brooklyn in the 80s with her mom and acting the way se dijahaped eae aaune st ‘now. She acquired a great deal of empathy for people as she grew older. Gilda “grew up in a time jvkiens Jou Bad to be a badass or you'd get picked on! Mom was lie if ‘you come home beat © / ye ests obey siatoal Sa © \ it’s not gonna be good” (Restelli). All the fights and bullying Gildy/experienced back then fa nape har aor caused her to be kinder in her adult years, but talsofor her to stand her ground. Although, her fighting in high school happened to come in handy one night when she was wall ied tothe Brooklyn Boardwalk with her mother. At the age of 22a middle-aged Russian man stacked her. noi / Heran rte omer ofa building straight toward her and punched her, “He punched me in vr." vas 2 my chest so “e he stabbed mb" (Restll Fortunately she was able to push him off I her and sd? doning Although now, Gilda is “not very fond of Russians” but she didn’t let that Me sour experience alter her love of the city(Restelli). space Atkte so many ‘would SO