Personal Statement on What Does It Mean to Be an American

What exactly does being an American mean? Well let me tell you what I think, I think being an American means you have pride in where you live. The red, white, blue with stripes and stars country. Being an “American” or American “Citizen” also means that you are willing to follow the laws/rules of this large country. Why so? We will discuss it in what does it mean to be an American essay. 

There are many many definitions of American, because there are many ethnicities and races that live or migrate to this country so in that case, sometimes people may consider themselves as being an American because they have lived here for a couple of years. Being an American doesn't mean that you have to go to the nations army to “serve, protect, and fight” for the United States Of America nobody is forced in the 21st century. But, In the early 1900’s during World War I, The United States Army recruited children and teenagers as young as 8 years old to go and fight these horrific violent wars. Something a child should never have to see or experience during their childhood.

Children till this day still experience cruel and harsh things. For example, In the autobiography of Julia Alvarez, She had grown up in a small Caribbean nation, The Dominican Republic. Julia Alvarez and her family had to flee to New York from the Carribean because her father participated in a movement against the brutal Dominican dictator Ralphael Trujillo. Julia Alvarez who was just 10 years old probably didn't know at the time why her family and herself were fleeing the country. I could imagine that she was probably scared of having to migrate just because it is a drastic change in her life, some of us go through this all the time. Having to change your whole lifestyle is not exactly so easy. You have to adapt to certain things, I think the hardest thing to adapt to is having to learn a new language, and Julia knowing Spanish as her Primary Language, It might have been difficult for her. I know this because I too did experience this at one point in my life. When I was younger my primary language was also Spanish. Up until the first grade did I fully gain the ability to speak the American language, English. I struggled to get through Kinder not because i wasn't smart but because I simply didn't know how to speak the English language.

The only difference here is that I was born in this country, but just because you may not speak the American Language doesn't mean that you're not American although . Another example is, My own mother, She has lived in the country for 19 years now, she was a resident for most of the years that she lived here, but it wasn't until recently in September of 2018 that she accomplished the “American Dream”, she became a citizen of the United States after many years. She didn't really know the American language, but she took most of 2018 going to school to learn English so she could be able to accomplish the American Dream. She eventually did it. To her it The definition of Being an American means being able to speak the language and being a citizen of this country. But, see? This is what i mean, different people have different definitions of being an American.

In 1963, people began to ask themselves once again, “What does It mean to be an American?” and “What has America become?” following the procession of President John F. Kennedy’s funeral. President Kennedy was just 46 years old when he was killed while riding in a motorcade during a dallas campaign visit, he was shot in the head and in the neck, he died almost instantly. According to the History website, A generation of Americans would forever remember where they were when they heard about the president’s assassination, as it would have a profound political and cultural impact on the nation. America was devastated but still kept moving forward after this horrific event, everyone has to move on to begin a new chapter of life. After America experienced the death of John F. Kennedy, America began a new chapter. 

So what does it mean to be an American? Being an American means having Pride and Faith.