Under the best of circumstances, adolescence can be a challenging time. Navigating shifting friendships. Sorting out relationships with parents. Fantasizing about what the future may hold. For some, adolescence is also a time to sort out one’s identity in much more fundamental ways that seem so essential, so compelling. As Ralph Ellison wrote in his novel Invisible Man, “When I discover who I am, I’ll be free.” And we hear echoes of these sentiments from thirteen-year-old Will Malloy.
Will Malloy is an eighth-grade student at the Moses Brown School in Providence. He lives with his family in Warwick.