David Brooks: My Introduction to Writing

Before I analyze the next columnist and editorial, I should probably introduce the writer. David Brooks is an opinion-editorial writer currently writing for The New York Times. He is the author of two books: Bobos in Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There, and, the most recent, On Paradise Drive: How We Live Now (And Always Have) in the Future Tense.

I first read one of his editorials as a junior in high school. I was 16 years old and still a bit undecided about what I wanted to pursue in college. Well, David Brook’s “Pillars of Cultural Capital” piece aroused a current passion of mine. I love to write although I think it’s obvious considering I chose to research editorials and write about them instead of doing something else for my final project.

In my English Language and Composition class, we were required to analyze pieces of writing. One of these assignments was the previously-mentioned article. Until then, I didn’t realize that there could be so much thought and deliberation when writing. That one word could be crucial in a sentence, paragraph, or entire essay. That grammatically incorrect sentences could be used for emphasis and a literary tool. That repetition was not necessarily redundant.

These editorials break the rules of structured writing (and I have always been a fan of breaking the rules). As a writer, I want to continue breaking the rules—as long as they add to the piece as a whole—just in my own way. “Imitation is the greatest form of flattery.”