Somebody - Adrie Young

Throughout Born a Crime, Trevor Noah constantly circled back to his mother. Whether he was talking about the letters they wrote to each other in order to avoid flustered arguments (chapter 7), her unwavering faith in Christianity, or how they always pulled through terrifying situations laughing (pages 17 & 282), the underlying theme of family was consistent in this book. When thinking about my culture, the one thing that stands out above all is my own family. Out of everything in my life, I think it’s fair to say that my family has impacted me the most. My parents have always been there to support and encourage me, but they never hesitate to call me out on my mistakes and bad decisions. They’re not afraid of hard conversations. My memoir addresses the question How do our various cultures influence our identities? My family’s culture impacts the way I think and, in situations like the one I wrote about, act. Because I often don’t notice it in my day-to-day actions, it took a more impactful experience for me to realize just how much my family’s values have affected me. We refer to Lily Tomlin’s quote both humorously and in serious situations, and I think it represents a core belief in my family’s culture. My parents have taught me time and time again about the importance of standing up and taking action, and when given the opportunity to prove that I could be somebody, I did. Something I admired about Trevor Noah’s writing was how he managed to make his memoir engaging. He effortlessly combined action and reflection in a way that hooked me in and kept me on my toes. I wanted my writing to be the same; I wanted to pull people in. One of the reasons I chose to tell this narrative in particular was because I thought it would be a compelling story, just like all of Trevor’s.