However, as I grew older and more thoughtful, I became more and more filled with a sense of my wretchedness. I used to compare my life with those of the sweet singing, happy and free blackbirds a saw. It was during those times I used to wish I had never been born. Thoughts like these cause you to reach conclusions that no later experiences can shake. I was as aware of the unjust, unnatural, and murderous character of slavery at that time as I was later in my life.
It was during this low point in my life that I heard that I was to be sent to Baltimore to live with Miss Lucretia's husband's brother, Mr. Thomas Auld. It could not have come at a more welcome time. My own cousin, Tom a cabin boy on a sailboat, who was a few years older than I was, used to fill my head with stories of the big city. I was eager to go! And worked hard with Miss Lucretia who helped me get ready for the trip.