Journal 2 Response

In David Giffels "Shirt-Worthy" David tells the story of how he never believed that he deserved a Ramones and never got one until he became a parent. The subject of this story is about how during David's childhood and adolescent years to wear a rock and roll shirt you had to deserve it. One could not just wear a shirt because they enjoy the band but because they went to the concert themselves and earned the right to wear the shirt. This story has a lot of relevance because during this generation no one really earns anything as much as they used to and if you really want something like a new t-shirt you can just go to the store and buy it. The audience that David wrote this for is anybody who lived during the same generation as David and is realizing how spoiled this generation is. When i really looked back at this story and analyzed it i liked how David was able to take something in his life as minuscule as his kid ripping a t-shirt and turn it into a personal narrative that really explains an important part of his life. I like how even when he gets older David respects the fact that to wear a Ramones t shirt you have to earn it and he does not wear one his entire life until finally when he becomes a parent and helps his kid out he finally is worthy of the shirt. When writing my own personal memoir i want to use some of the devices that David used. I like how he starts the paper right away with a line that really brings you in "There is only one acceptable way to own a Ramones T-shirt". I also like that he is able to bring some humor into his writing and is able to keep the audience engaged throughout the entire paper. I feel like in my writing i can start out strong but then it tails to trend off and people get bored during my writing but David does the exact opposite. What i also want to learn how to do and incorporate it in my memoir is the fact that he picked an event in his life that really had a purpose to it. This was a big thing that happened in his life because he realized that not only does he really care about his kid but also he is finally deserving of wearing the shirt when he realizes that he is a good parent.