I was aware now that I had floated in the Mediterranean and sipped an orange pressée at the Closerie des Lilas and seen the sun set in Montmartre. I was aware, above all, and at long last, that the world was a broad and grand place and that I was equal to and worthy of my surroundings wherever I went. I was also aware that no one, white or black, could take that from me. I cannot overstate the importance of this realization.
