Happy 4th of July

What does it mean...

to be an American

So you may think, how can this girl that lives in Brazil, used to live in Venezuela, married to a Peruvian.....know about being American?

I was born and raised in a town whose reputation was for steel. The Steelers are our football team, the mills spewed out ash that covered cars, houses....

but that wasn't my family. We weren't steel workers, but Pittsburgh was a steel town.

That wasn't my time, but I see the pictures and recognize the streets, the mills.

My family is still living in the same house that I grew up in, my sister lives 3 houses away, my brother lives a street away. Yet here I am, the world traveler, the otherworldly resider.

Well, I am American.

I enjoy the adventure of living in foreign lands, and meeting strangers. I enjoy the thrill of finding something new in a different culture.

But I am American.

I try to learn new languages, I try different foods, I spend my time learning new places.

I am American.

I am American, I have the freedom to do whatever I want, practice any religion, say, generally, anything I choose, wear freedom on my sleeve. My country has given me the ability to discover myself, as a complete person, without the restraints of oppression.

I like to travel and explore, learn and see, live and discover new worlds,

but I am an American.

Let us celebrate the freedoms that our country allows us....

because there are many others that do not have this freedom.

Happy Fourth of July, let freedom ring...

I pledge allegiance, to the flag, of the Unites States of America

and to the republic, for which it stands, one nation,

under God

indivisible, with liberty and justice for all