Some specific things that I related to in Trevor Noah’s book, Born a Crime, is that he said he never really fit in; he just bounced around groups that were split racially and I relate to that. At my old school I also thought I never fit in. I had no friends that I could relate to, I just hovered around in my friend group not really understanding them. I also care about Asian-Americans and their experience of getting bullied, the same way I did, and wanted to write this essay to make Asian-Americans not feel alone like the way I did. The way Trevor explored his own Identity was that he went to a new school, looked around to see all of that was split racially and just looked at which group he would fit in the best (Chapter 4, Chameleon, Pages 40-46). I felt like that was me looking around at my old school trying to find friends that I fit in with. Eventually, I found friends but still found I fit in with them.

Trevors’ writing impacted me to write about the time where I felt like I didn’t fit in/got bullied because since the Pandemic happened a lot of things unexpected things happened to my community that are just so shocking to learn about and surprised that people aren’t even going to do or talk about what happened to my community since the Pandemic hit. Also some of Trevor’s comedic moments in the chapter made me want to make my memoir with some moments that are comedic. Some storytelling techniques I used in my vignette is that I was talking to a person about something personal that happened to me in my life and seeing if they can relate to what I said or see what’s been happening in my community.

I did choose humor like Trevor Noah because I am not a very serious person and a person who kind of laughs at their own pain but lowkey hurting inside yet I used humor just to add some comic relief in my vignette instead of trying to bury my thoughts when I got bullied. I wrote my vignette like I was speaking to an outsider (that never had an experience that I had) face to face and showing them the pain that I’ve been through and how horrible it is to go through that experience and wanting them to feel the way I felt in those moments I got bullied, not to make them feel bad for me or hurt them but to open up their eyes what is happening to the other sides of reality then just one side.

This vignette addresses one of the essential questions, How do our various cultures influence our identities?, because being as an Asian-American it’s like being a person that is in the community/system but no one counts you as one. You’re just like a ghost floating around, no one caring, no one seeing you, no one knowing you exist. I hated being an Asian-American I wanted just to hide in a corner and wait there until people started noticing that there are more than two races but I had to face reality on my own and explore, and soon to find out that there is a community that sees the way I see, a group that shares about their experience being an Asian-Americans, the times they got bullied, social media accounts showing love to Asians. I finally felt that I belonged and finally fit in a community/system. Then not feeling like a ghost and wanting to hide until I woke up from my nightmare.

I think the mix of Trevor’s stories about being ugly and his identity crisis with being black, colored, and white at the same time inspired this. Him talking about his step-father’s (Abel) community and their toxic practices also inspired this. In chapter 10 he talks about his bad acne and unruly afro hair which I relate to on a spiritual level. In chapter 18 he speaks of his step father’s toxic culture with men being the workers who can do anything to the women who stay in the house to take care of children and the house. It made me think of my culture’s toxic practices and how have they affected me? This idea came to me quickly because this had a huge impact on how I looked at myself and lived with myself. This was really personal. I think Trevor’s writing style stuck to me in the way that I tried to implement the way I talk while also not trying to completely lose the reader with my speech. I noticed he didn’t talk exactly “proper” in this book. It felt like he was actually speaking to me when reading. I don’t think I put any humor in. I knew it wouldn’t work out considering I can barely tell a funny story and it actually sounds funny. The serious route is the best for me. I gave background information on words regarding my hair in case they didn’t know what to imagine when I talked about it. I gave examples of how the culture was “toxic” and I even gave a personal experience that I know is common among the community I am discussing. I think my memoir shows the effects of not knowing enough about our culture. It shows the effects of my culture being twisted and molded into something that makes us forget our original identity, The stuff we were born with. I think it even showcases a glimpse of the mental effects.

Reading Trevor Noah´s book made me realize I am not the only one that feels/felt torn between multiple cultures at a young age. He was brave enough to talk about everything in his life both good and bad. That’s inspiring. The way he talked about his family and friends and the effects they had on him shows how open and confident he is. It isn’t every day that you have an identity crisis at a young age so seeing Trevor talk about it made me less nervous to talk about it. My memoir explained in detail about a kid stuck between the lifestyles of the biggest influencers in their life. The kid (being me) is stuck and doesn’t know which lifestyle would look good on him from others’ perspectives. I go on to explain the lifestyles of each of the influences in my life and how they have already affected me. Then the story goes into realization on how others opinion arent the most important thing to life, it’s about what I do and if it makes me happy. That gives me the conclusion that life is about making sure what you do makes you happy. If you not happy with what you do then how can you enjoy life? Speaking of enjoyment, please enjoy the story. (Please note that there is another page for the last two chapters you may have to click on the pdf to see it)

In my vignette, I wanted to capture the main ideas and values of my religion and how those values have shaped my identity and who I am today. I have realized from my experience with the salad that some people are willing to learn new things about the world around them, but the resources to do so haven’t always been available to them. Additionally, if the salad taught me one thing, it would have to be to appreciate the little blessings and pockets of peace that make up our everyday lives. Being Muslim is something that I never realized the weight of on my identity and who I am. I have realized though that this little small moment from my busy everyday life has taught me values that I can’t help but share with others. It is always important to look at the bigger picture and not take small things for granted, especially opportunities for more growth and knowledge. I decided to pick a few things from Noah’s memoir and I decided to write about an encounter that I didn’t realize the worth of until after it like he has with his experience with the camera. Noah used a lot of humor in his memoir which I didn’t think was the way I wanted it to go however I did include a lot of my thoughts and reactions at different points as he did when he wrote about his experiences.

Trevor Noah inspired me to tell this specific story just because he mentions a lot of things about how not to mix culture with other cultures. He also talked about different challenges and situations that he went through that gave him a different perspective and also to not commit that again. In chapter 13, Trevor talks about how he became friends with this boy named Teddy. They were great friends and always were there for each other but they did illegal things when they were together but one day the police caught them but Trevor managed to run away and not get caught. I still think what Trevor did wasn’t right, but Teddy wanted Trevor to have a good life so he had his back. I know you might think, “what does this have to do with my vignette?” but it somewhat resonates with my story because Trevor and Teddy trusted each other and always had each other’s back. In my case, I knew and trusted some people from that church but they talked behind peoples’ or even my own back, meaning they aren’t trustworthy and because of the mistakes the people made, it was hard to tell if that is what we learned in church or not but I realized that they taught themselves that and brought it to church thinking it was ok when it wasn’t. I liked Noah’s writing style because although there is humor, you can still see the conversations he had with people in that chapter, and so that’s why I chose to do the same as he did. I decided to add a little humor, and I’m not sure if it sounded funny, but to me, I thought some parts of my story were. I also decided to use dialogue. The way I thought of telling my story to other people was by telling them how I felt in that moment by using a little humor and showing the conversation I had listened to, which I think helps the reader know what is going on and puts them in the moment. My vignette addresses one of the essential questions about identity because this story that occurred in my life gave me a different perspective of things and made me realize that I should never mix my two cultures but separately, they can help teach me things that help shape who I am.

Trevor Noah’s book really inspired me on how to write a good story. Writing this story felt easy, smooth, and I actually liked it. Usually, writing is hard and I always blank on what to say during a writing piece. But now, ever since I read “Born a Crime”, I have a sense that writing just comes a little more natural to me. I have adopted a few of Noah’s writing styles, for example instead of beating around the bush, I just said what I thought and it made the story more interesting. Also, one of the main writing styles of his is foreshadowing, which I made sure to implement into my story. I sort of stated how getting to play guitar was a long shot, and that I had history that would determine if I got one or not, but I did not say until later what that history was. I didn’t really state what my culture was in the story, but I don’t think I really need to. My culture for guitar specifically is virtually none. But, my culture for music is strong in my family, hence the part where my dad wants me to get into it. Another very important part of Trevor Noah’s book is the sense of belonging. He never feels like he really belongs, but finally finds it through experience, and comedy, and a whole bunch of different things. But I never felt as though I belonged in music. As I said in the story, I went through a few instruments without ever really feeling them. It was always boredom that drove me away, which just blossomed into hatred for the thing. So just like in “Born a Crime”, although it took time, I finally found what I had been looking for. My identity is definitely influenced by my culture. Hell, I would’ve never picked up an instrument at all if it weren’t for my music culture. I’d probably find something else to occupy my time with other than music. But, I didn’t, thanks to my culture, and how it is passed down through generations, like my dad to me. I feel like that really resonates with Trevor, because there are so many things that were passed down from his family to him.

One way Noah explored his own sense of identity that resonated with me was community. I thought it was fascinating the stories he told and the detail of those stories and what he went through. Secondly, I think that Noah explored his own sense of identity through just living life and dealing with things the hard way. He had to live through some of those hardships to discover and realize things about himself. I didn’t use humor like Trevor Noah did because although my story has lots of emotion and happiness and there was humor I didn’t know how to exactly articulate that use it in my story. A way I explained the culture to an outsider audience was by being desctive with who I was talking and directly stating that we were all from different countries. My vignette addresses one of our essential questions because I talk a lot about community.

Standing in the shoes of an Asian American is kind of complex. You chose how much of each culture you would like to include into your life. Just like Trevor, he had a hard time figuring out his identity being a mixed child. He acknowledged both sides but chose to immerse himself into black culture.

In a way, I did the same. I acknowledged my American side but chose to be more immersed into Asian culture. Both me and Trevor face the fact that we are surrounded by both cultures but one more than the other. He chooses to surround himself and talk to black people but for me, I live in America so I tend to embrace my American side more as an instinct. But both of us chose what side we prefer to surround us and it helps build our character.

I think the most touching quote was on page 46 when he said “… but I didn’t belong with the white kids. I wasn’t a part of their tribe. But the black kids embraced me.” His situation was definitely the opposite of mine. Instead of having a negative view of one culture, I chose to embrace myself in American culture while immersing myself in my Asian culture. I let the American culture surround me while I spent the small details focusing on my Asian ways of living. A fair balance.

Throughout my memoir, my culture does have a huge influence on the way I think and how I interact with people. There are so many differences between the two countries and I often find it hard to balance myself. Knowing how people think and communicate on both sides, I always have a different perspective on everyone’s opinion. It’s the way Americans have their own plates of food while Asians eat with many bowls shared across the table. It’s how many Americans find makeup and hair styling something a girl should learn while Asians teach kids how to sew. It’s the small details in each culture that builds my character and how I like to look at things.