Struggles of the Oldest Child

After reading “ Born a Crime” I was heavily inspired by Trevor turning embarrassing or sad memories into humor, and the way he used sarcasm like he was speaking directly to the reader. I loved the way he really opened up and wasn’t afraid to tell so many different parts of his childhood, I wish more people opened up like that in their writing. I think a lot of the deeper stories and the way he really shared his emotions stuck with me. I tried my best to explain my culture as if I was talking to an outsider, but it was so hard to do and made me appreciate Trevor Noah’s writing even more. I also tried to have a deep reflection like Trevor, which also proved difficult, how he wrapped his identity into every small story he told really inspired me too. So I tried to incorporate my chosen culture into as many parts of the story as possible. One of my favorite parts to read were the many chapters where he talked about his school and love life. I could really see him as a social floater, not really in any specific friend group. He was always an outsider and showed how he knew that he was, even in high school and embraced it. He used it to his advantage and even realized that his love life would sadly never work out because of it. “For me, trying to get a girl would upset the natural order of things. Part of my success as the tuck shop guy was that I was welcome everywhere, and I was welcomed everywhere because I was nobody.” page 102. This self reflection was different because it was an at the moment kind of thing, and It inspired me to include how I felt when the events in my vignette actually occurred. Because I really enjoyed this writing style I tried my best to incorporate it into my story, with subtle sarcasm and humor, openness and my real reflections when the event actually happened. While I slightly encapsulated some style, I definitely didn’t pull it off as well as Trevor, I will be sure to incorporate some of the styles I learned from “Born a Crime” into my further writing.