Essay On Being American

The soil of the middle-east stained with the blood of our American soldiers just so we can not take advantage of our right to vote. Though sometimes questionable, America's overall image portrayed to other countries is an honorable one. America is known for its democracy and as well as being a land of opportunities and many freedoms. America's assortment of ethnicities and cultures is proof that our country is a desirable one. Wars are being fought at this very moment to defend these freedoms.

What does it mean to be an American? In my eyes to be an American means to have privileges, rights, and freedom. America isn't perfect, but it is one of the only countries that have rights given to people of different diversities and gender. America does not have tremendous poverty. Instead we have choices given to us by the people who fought and died for the American people. Without George Washington and the other patriots who planted the first seed in the ground and help plant the American nation we live in now who knows what America would be like now.

What it means to be American? Everybody you ask this question to will have a completely different response. Some responses might have similarities but none will be exactly the same. In the beginning of the year my response was “To be an American means having a rich history, having opportunities to better ourselves, and having freedoms.” Unfortunately not everyone has had the same opportunities or freedoms. Native Americans, who are indigenous, dealt with having their freedoms taken away, less opportunities even though they had rich history in this land before it was taken away from them. Look at what Zitkala-Sa endured. Not only that, but African Americans have fought long and hard for freedom and equality as well. W.E.B. Du Bois stood for

Many mornings i would wake up to the mouth watering smell of Sancocho, a traditional latin hot stew with chicken, carrots, plantains, corn and potatoes.Loud Bachata would be playing in the kitchen as my mother cooked. The warm,rolled and cascading sounds of the guitar filled the house . “Llora guitarra llora!!” my silly father would say scream off the top of his lungs, enjoying the music as he read the morning paper and family would all laugh at the comment.

Many people dream about being an American. They dream because they envision America as the land of peace and prosperity. But is it? At times it has been, and at times its not. It is hard for the United States to be correct all the time because they have been unwilling designated as the “World Police”. Throughout history there have been examples politically, economically, and socially, where being an American is rewarding and times where it is embarrassing. To be an American means progress. We evolved from a world ruled by white men to a world of equal opportunity.

Americans have not only defined themselves by their religious, ethnic and racial identity, but also by their individual freedom and common values. America has become a nation where its people can fight for what they believe in. Our founding fathers have formed America to be “the land of the free and the home of the brave”. Being apart of the American culture and living on the land founded by our leaders specifies the meaning of the American Identity.

“Everything is just starting for you. Your life hasn’t even begun yet.” – Adisa Trebinčević (221) When citizens in war-torn homelands aspire for better lives, they commonly have to look outward and travel across the world to follow their dream. For Kenan Trebinčević and Amal Abulheja, their dream wasn’t necessarily to depart their country, but with recurring violence and trauma, once opportunities arose, both fled to the United States. Respectively, you can say their lives hadn’t started until they arrived in America. Coming to the United States remarkably changed their lives forever. For the purpose of this essay, I will be sharing the similarities and differences of the initial experience of Kenan and Amal becoming “American.”

My parents instilled me with my Korean identity from a young age, and attending a Korean Church just reinforced everything. There was no problem and my parents ensured me it was all for my benefit, that I would thank them for later. This is America and I grew up in the city, so when I left for school the identity enforced upon me wasn't the real "me." I consider myself lucky because I was never ostracized for being different, but yet felt weird that I could never totally relate with the friends I had around me. I had to learn how to balance my Korean identity with my American one, regulating and situationally repressing as needed. It wasn’t much of a problem.

According to the textbook, Becoming America, industrialization is the “reorganization of an economy and a society as it turns toward large-scale manufacturing, typically involving the specialization, subdivision, and mechanization of traditional production processes” (Henkin, Becoming America, 253). Preceding the Civil War, both the railroads and factories skyrocketed transforming aspects of life such as work, time, nature, and social life. As a result of these changes new classes of the community were formed also creating a new culture (Henkin, 473). The addition of new communication networks and transportation aided in making the move into the growing economy possible. With the new railroads the United States was able to transport goods and materials faster and at a cheaper cost (Henkin, 475). Although the industrialization of the United States improved the income and job opportunities, it also conveyed that the society itself was not ready for such changes. The people and their way of life were deemed unstable causing great destruction and

As America approached the 20th century, it had achieved great prestige in the world for

What it means to live in America is having freedom and plenty of opportunities. America is a land that usually has open arms to anyone and everyone who needs a change. Living in America opens the doors for all people men and women. America is one of the most if not the best country to be discovered because we learn and build from our mistakes. Living in America is a blessing and a grateful chance to do what I choose to do in life.

American- |adjective| of, relating to, or characteristic of the United States or its inhabitants. This is the literal meaning of American, but isn’t there more? Most just look on a shallow level of what the United States were actually founded on. People will say that this country is based only on having rights which may be true, however we have many freedoms here that citizens of other countries cannot even begin to comprehend

Each American has a responsibility to their country and each other. Living in America means that we have been blessed with certain rights that many other places do not also enjoy. Most countries in Europe have similar rights to America, however outside of America and Europe, there are many developing countries in Africa, Asia, the middle east, and central/south america that do not have the rights that we do in America. As Americans, we have a responsibility to learn about, and understand these rights that we have been given. As Americans, we should exercise these rights that we have been given. Living in America means that there are rights and liberties that we have access, we also have the freedom to become what we want to in life, however

“ It’s a small world after all, it’s a small world after all...” The first time I went to Disneyland and went on the It’s a Small World ride was really an eye opener. As you go on the ride, you see the same dolls being dressed in clothing that represented a particular culture. Walt Whitman says” I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear.” When I go on that ride, I feel the same way. The cultures are presented with their unique features but are also the same because they are in the same place. Being American isn’t just a label for people living in American. Writers like Langston Hughes and Julia Alvarez learned what being American is through other writers. Hughes is a mix of ethnicities and he wrote about them in his poems. Some

Before it was all introduced to me, my economy was primarily constructed with our own hands. I am from Western Samoa where things as I would say was a bit slow and a bit dinosaur age. We do not have Walmart or Ross or huge grocery shops that would provide us with the convenience as other. My home had the key to our Economic growth, however, did not have the consideration of the actual word outside.