The main character of the Broadway musical Les Miserables, Jean Valjean, was faced with an identity crisis. The 19 years he had spent in prison for stealing a loaf of bread had shaped his view that the world was a dark cruel place. “Take an eye for an eye, turn your heart into stone, this is all I have lived for, this is all I have known” he sings in the song “Who am I?” His identity crisis was incited by the kindness of the Bishop of Digne, who took Jean Valjean into his home, feeds him and showed him kindness. Jean Valjean upon seeing the value of the bishop’s belongings, decided to steal from him. When caught by the police, Valjean says that the silver in his pocket was a gift from the bishop. When the police brought him back to the bishop, Valjean was certain the bishop would deny Valjean’s story, sending him back to the racks of prison. To his amazement, the bishop affirms Valjean’s story, and an extra gift of candlesticks was bestowed. This singular event of generosity was a life changing experience for him, leading him to change his life, become a better man, adopt an orphaned child, and care for the poor of his city.

His song “Who am I?” has been a question I have been attempting to answer for much of my life, and while I don’t have a complete answer to that question, I am closer to understanding who I am than ever before…