I bought my suitcases the other day! They are MASSIVE. I hope that there's room for them in my host family's little European car (: ! I leave in a little over three weeks now, and everything's starting to become real to me. Sometimes I find myself thinking, "Oh my gosh.. I'm gonna leave for a
y e a r ." The reality of everything is really starting to sink in, and every day I get more and more excited and nervous. I went to a rotary meeting today, and I presented a speech on "What it means to me to be an American". Here it is !
When I first started thinking of what it means to be an American, I immediately thought of freedom. That’s what we hear all the time- in school, at home, in the media- that’s what we are taught. We are taught that America is freedom. But then I began thinking that I am not exactly free. Yes, I can say whatever I want, and I can believe in whatever kind of god I choose, or I can choose my own career, and make my own money. But as I travel more and more, and meet people from very different places, I have come to believe that we as Americans are locked in an image seen around the world as elitists, or obese, or ignorant.
So, what does it mean to be an American? I think every United States resident would have a different answer to that question. They may say freedom. They may say that it means being the “top dog”, or that being an American is all about patriotism. Some might even say that they are embarrassed to be American. But to me, being an American means a few different things. The first is hope. The hope that we can gain a reputation known around the world based on being open-minded and accepting. We can hope and work to create a better tomorrow. I have an exchange student living with us right now, and through him I have come to think that one of the biggest differences between America and most other nations is that we see no limits in what we can accomplish. Most kids his age here in America, when asked about what they want to be when they grow up, would say that they want to be a doctor, or a lawyer, or a pilot. We asked him if he wanted to do any of those jobs and he quickly said that he could never do that, and that he wasn’t smart enough. While other countries may be influenced by various factors, Americans reach for the stars when setting career goals or personal goals of any kind. The second is pride. Even though other people may have very different and not always good perceptions of us, we have to stay proud. We must be proud of our nation as a whole. There is a saying, “Pride goeth before a fall,” because pride is one of the seven deadly sins. But pride can be justified. It does not always have to lead to a downfall, but it can also be the evidence of accomplishment. Americans need to show people that evidence of their accomplishment. The last thing that comes to my mind about being an American is bravery. Normally, when people think about bravery, they think about a super hero, or a war hero. But super heroes are not the only people that can show bravery. I see bravery every single day. I think that when you are American, often times you may encounter some one that insults your nation. You must be brave to stand up for your country!
To other people, being an American could mean a plethora of things. I think America is too big to properly answer such a question. There are way to many different cultures in America to decide what it means for everyone else. To conclude, most Americans would agree that America is awesome. I just believe that we need to work very hard to make non-Americans think that too.
After the speech, my Rotary club gave me a picture book all about Tampa to give to my host family. I cannot think of any better gift that they could have given me! It is perfect, and I can"t wait to show my new family where I'm from!
We are pretty much all done with the process. All I have to do now is get pins to give to other exchange students I meet in Spain, and then just wait !
