I am proud to be an American. I love my country. Just wanted to set the record straight, because these days it is easy to misconstrue both the words of my own mouth and the words of the media. People of my generation are often portrayed in mainstream media as the whiners, the self-absorbed, the entitled. Some of the things you have read from me might even appear to back up this claim. Surely you remember all of the talk of leaving the country if our now president was elected into office. If people like me have so much to complain about, why don't we just pack up and leave? Surely we have no power to change anything, so why don't we just ignore it by moving away?

There, my friends, is where you are wrong. I am such a loud mouth with my views, complaints, and opinions because I believe I have the power to change things. If I were to just ignore this country's issues through moving away or just plain tuning out I am not participating in what makes this country so great. What makes this country so great is that at this point and time, I can sit and type out whatever I want without fear of persecution. Sure, I might get debated with or disagreed with, but verbal arguments pose no real threat to my safety. I don't live under a dictator where speaking out could very well mean danger to my well-being. And of course I cannot deny the privilege my skin color has granted me, so I am grateful my voicing of opinion will not cause me physical harm.

Banana.

I was just making sure you were following along and making a point.

All silliness aside, freedom of speech is something I very much appreciate and even enjoy in my America; it allows me outlets for my creativity and stress. So if you regularly read these things I put out, thanks for hearing me and giving me your time. Which brings me to the other reason I'm proud to be an American-- diversity.

Now, I'm sure you've heard of America being referred to as the melting pot country. That statement is a little outdated now, as I've kindly been pointed out (it's now more of a salad, melting implies we want to assimilate everyone, which is not my desire at all), but for the sake of analogy I have referenced it. People come here for all sorts of reasons, stay here for all sorts of reasons, and leave here for all sorts of reasons. If I could just people watch in a busy city square and ask all of the people to tell me their stories, my heart and mind would be filled with ideas and culture and inspiration. How great it is to live in a country where I can tell my story and hear the story of others. If you're reading this and have not yet told your story...I urge you to. I'll listen.