1. The Parade!
Seeing the extravagant floats, hearing the marching band (my personal favorite), and catching the candy are classic parade qualities. This year, my town is honoring the Music Department for the 4th of July, so all of the music teachers in the district are leading the parade!
2. All you can eat BBQ food for the whole day
All I can say is YUM!
3. Seeing everyone in your town come together and celebrate as a whole
In my town, there are entire committees who put together the parade, relay races, fireworks celebration. It's nice to see all of their hard work pay off in one spectacular day.
4. Ice cream/Shaved Ice/Popsicles
Literally the best part about summer in general, TBH.
5. Seeing everyone dressed up in red, white, and blue
And then there's me, consequently forgetting to buy a patriotic shirt because I always wear a green band shirt for the parades.
6. The 4th of July parties
Swimming, food, friends, and music is the best summer combo!
7. The Fireworks show!
My town has one of the best Fireworks shows in the area. People come from towns over just to see it, and so many of them show up that every street in a two-block radius is packed with parked cars.
8. Pretending for one day that everything in your country isn't falling to pieces
It's 2017, and still many Americans aren't being respected for who they are as a person, whether it be due to race, sexuality, economic status, etc. But this day should teach us to come together and treat each other equally because that is what the core of this holiday is about. I don't just mean today, I mean every day.