By analyzing his thoughts and emotions and others' feedback, one can also discover where he fits in relation to society when he experiments with different groups of people. McBride felt that his mother's color was hindering him, so he began his "own process of running, emotionally disconnecting [himself] from her" (138). Though he was previously an outstanding student, he dropped out of school and began his search for someone with whom he could identify. He joined a gang made up of black boys and participated in their criminal activities. Although he physically fit in with the gang, he did not fit in mentally. He knew what they were doing was wrong, yet he felt as though he was "getting back at the world for injustices [he had] suffered" (141). When his mother learned of his affiliation with the gang, she sent him to stay with his sister Jack in Kentucky. He regarded staying with Jack as "sweet liberty," and he stayed there for three summers (143). He met a new group of men who accepted him for who he was instead of judging him. "No one knew about [his] past, [his] white mother, [his] dead father," and he felt that he could hide his differences from others (147). .

             McBride's experiences in Kentucky taught him about life. The wise Chicken Man discouraged him from abandoning his education and urged him to do whatever he could to succeed in life. Jack told him that if he "put [himself] in God's hands" he could not "go wrong" (161). Out of trust, he listened to her and turned to God, and slowly he began to find his way in life. Like McBride, I too experimented with different groups of people in order to find out where I fit in relation to society. I was comfortable with a certain group; we had fun and I fit with them. However, my mother disapproved of the group and made me stay away from them. I then became friends with another group that supported my education and my well-being.