Becoming

Fraser and Michelle’s boyfriend, David, drive her to Princeton, where she is eager to start a new life and get away from Chicago: “In a sense, I was already half-departed—my mind flown off in the direction of Princeton” (68). Michelle realizes that she doesn’t feel a long-lasting, passionate love for David and that they will likely break up soon, though she doesn’t have the courage to say so in the moment. When the rest of the freshman class arrives, Michelle notes most are white, male, wealthy students, making her and the other students of color feel like “poppy seeds in a bowl of rice” (71).

Michelle finds her close group of friends at the Third World Center (TWC), “a poorly named but well-intentioned offshoot of the university with a mission to support students of color” (73). Michelle befriends a girl named Suzanne Alele, a free-spirited girl from Jamaica. Suzanne branches out by trying to socialize with some of the white groups on campus, but Michelle mainly sticks with other students of color. Though the campus encourages everyone to assimilate into “ethnically blended groups,” Michelle feels this burden is often left to the minority students. Michelle is aware of her status as one of the only black people in most rooms at Princeton, and she works extra hard so that no one can think she doesn’t deserve to be there.