Independence Day is about more than drinking around a campfire and watching fireworks. It is about celebrating our independence. To me, the biggest advantage to being an independent American citizen is the opportunity that I am given. I didn’t grasp the true meaning of my independence until I visited a small, poor, village in Guatemala. In San Pablo, Guatemala there are few opportunities for higher education and career choice. Some of the young girls that I met had aspirations of being teachers or doctors but will never have the training or education to make their dreams come true.

I had many different aspirations of what I wanted to be when I grew up. They ranged from careers like acting to a lawyer, from a police officer to a chiropractor. In the United States we are told that anything is possible and we can be whatever our heart desires. For the most part, with a lot of hard work, this is true. In many other counties, however, it is not. The people of San Pablo, especially the women, have little say in what they want to spend their lives doing because opportunity is so limited. Most of them do agricultural work or take over a small business that was already in their family. There is absolutely nothing wrong with farm work or working at a family business but the point is that these people have few other options to do anything else.

That is why this Independence Day I am most thankful for the right of opportunity. I am thankful to be able to choose what I want to do with my life. It is empowering to know that as an American woman I am free to become a dentist, or a researcher, or a business exec, or whatever I would like to be. Not only do we have freedom as Americans but we are given the chance to pursue our freedom and create the lives we want to live. After visiting a country where opportunity is limited I don’t want to take my opportunity for granted. This Fourth of July weekend, and every day to come, I will celebrate the many opportunities that I am given in the United States.