Working with advisor Ryan Bloom, the focus of my project is to craft a long-fiction narrative which examines the ways in which poverty, crime, drug addiction, and class, all influence the way a person develops from child to adult. I’m also interested in blending speculative fiction with contemporary issues, and using fictive elements to communicate real-world dilemmas and true-to-life conflicts. Stylistically, I’m taking inspiration from authors such as Toni Morrison, Stephen King, Cormac McCarthy, William Faulkner, John Steinbeck, and George Orwell, all in the hopes to craft a unique, compelling portrait of the difficulties of growing up in modern America.