A young woman originally from Kenya, Africa, writes why she has come to love and cherish America.
author's note: there is actually a town in tennessee called bucksnort! it is located north of nashville, about 20 or so miles, heading towards hurricane mills. karla and i saw the name, and we both just about died laughing! :)
She wrote this with the approaching Fourth of July holiday in mind.
I love America because here I have been given the opportunity to be free, something I did NOT have while I was living in Kenya, Africa, where I was born.
I love America because it was here that I met my future husband while I was in the hospital, recovering from burns, and I love America because it is so vastly different than my former home back in Kenya. Here in America there is so much in the way of variety, be it in her people, her towns or cities, or her areas. For example, in America, one can find anything from mountainous terrain, oceans, sprawling cities or farmland, tiny little communities that are so small they aren't even listed on a map (like for example, tiny Bucksnort, Tennessee, which is north of Nashville, heading towards Hurricane Mills, the town that Loretta Lynn, the country singing legend, owns; I LOVE that name, meaning Bucksnort!), deserts, or even flat, grassless plains. And her people are all faiths, all colors, all ethnic backgrounds, and her people speak so many different languages: Spanish, English, French, Vietnamese, or even Arabic or Swahili (like yours truly; I speak mainly English and Swahili, but I also speak Maa, the language of my people, the Maasai).
In America, one can be whatever they so desire. They can be anything from a teacher or a police officer, or even a doctor or even a factory worker; and there is so much opportunity to better oneself. I came to America to practice my English, plus I wanted to go to university to become a teacher, but I never got to fulfill that dream, thanks to my being injured in that fire several years back; and now I am unable to work and am disabled. But I am married now, and I have three small children, ages 3 years and twins, aged nearly 5 months.
I love America because I have made friends here, and they have been so supportive of me. I had friends back in Africa (still do), but I didn't get to see them as often, not like I do my friends here, and I no longer feel so alone. For one thing, my life is so busy now raising a family and a husband!
In America, I have also learned to vote, and I am very much for the President of the United States. President Bush is a very good Christian man, and he cares for our country and our safety. Ever since September 11, 2001, he has made it a top priority to secure us from further attacks from terrorists, and I feel safer now than I ever have. But I still get teary-eyed whenever I think about September 11, 2001, because that was the day my first friend in America, Stephanie Green, died when the one plane hit the one World Trade Center tower, killing her instantly; and I still find it hard in my heart to forgive those terrorists who struck our nation in such a cruel and heartless and evil way.
I still can't believe that my friend died in the way she did. But I know that I must go on and try to live a normal life, even though our lives now here in America are anything BUT normal. I cannot live in fear because that is what the terrorists want, and I am not going to let the terrorists win. So I try to go on and live my life as normally as I can; but I can never forget that day or what happened to my friend, Stephanie.
I have come to love all the patriotic songs about America and I have grown to love and respect her flag. The flag of America is so pretty, and it makes me cry whenever I see it because it is now MY flag, and America is now MY home. I may have been born in Kenya, Africa, but I am now a naturalized American citizen (it will be 4 years on July 4), and America is now the land that I call my "home".
And this is why I love America and all that it stands for. Here in America I am FREE, and freedom is something I have grown to love and cherish with every fiber of my being.
This is such a great essay. Many americans, who were blessed enough to be born here, would do well to read this for perspective. I am speaking of some who may have lost theirs.
{{{Sweetie}}}}
thanks so much..I neded this to remind me of our holiday coming..You are a sister and a true American...From one all American girl to the other,
Love,
Dove
Christmas - only days away; plastic snowmen and glowing reindeer adorn the lawns of neighborhoods all across America. All is calm, all is bright, and yet there is something tragically wrong about this Christmas night.
With swift passage thr
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I love America because here I have been given the opportunity to be free, something I did NOT have while I was living in Kenya, Africa, where I was born.
