Becoming: Adapted for Younger Readers

“I could hear the sound of conversation going on between the adults in the kitchen nearby. My parents’ laughter ringing easy and loud over the yard. I watched my brother in the flow of a sweaty game with a group of boys on the street corner. Everyone seemed to fit in except for me. I look back on the discomfort of that moment now and recognize the more universal challenge of figuring out how who you are fits with where you come from and where you want to go. I also realize that I was a long way, still, from finding my voice.”