When I was thinking about my identity and who I am as a person, the only thing I could come up with was an American. I’m just a regular white girl, but there’s gotta be more to an American than our gun loving hot dog-eating stereotypes. What is an American? When I look at all my friends and fellow Americans, I see there’s one thing we have in common. A story or experience to share.

For generations, America has been the center of massive migrations, bringing diverse culture and influence to this country, like the Irish, Japanese, and more. All came for different reasons, but all brought new stories and aspects to the American identity. But not only did immigrants bring stories. Even those who didn’t immigrate here but were born and raised have unique stories to tell. With generations of families living different from the last, Americans who’ve been here their whole life also have something unique to tell. I, for one, have lived in America my entire life. But my parents made it a goal to take our family traveling.

Each place I’ve been to, I’ve taken something different from it. Hawaii taught the importance of living life to the fullest. The locals aren’t stressing about their academics, but instead soaking up the beauty their island produces, whether that be with swimming with the shimmering fish or surfing waves painting the sea, the locals valued enjoying life, and that forever changed my perspective on it. Louisiana taught me the importance of culture and kindness. Even though we were complete strangers, they treated us like family everywhere we went, sharing their stories and their culture. They were passionate, music filled the air everywhere we went, and bold southern flavors filled every dish we ate. Texas valued community. Hospitality is a ritual in Texas. Everyone welcomes each other with open arms and when someone’s in need, friends are at the front door with a casserole. They support each other’s businesses, honor those who serve, they make the people in the community feel seen. They keep each other strong like roots grounding a tree. Lastly, Washington, my home, has taught me the importance of change and new beginnings. Washington has the beauty of shifting seasons. Each year, the seasons represent physical change, but there’s also the mental aspect of changing old habits and learning from previous mistakes. There’s days where the sun kisses your cheek, but there’s also days where fog clouds your mind. It’s all about moving to the next thing, not being stuck in one “season”.

These are only my experiences though. Maybe you have something different to share from these places, but that’s the beauty of being an American. Not just having one story to share but countless ones from all walks of life that have left an impact on who you are and what you stand for. Not one American is going to live the same story as the next, we’re all made up of the lessons we’ve learned and the impacts of our history we’ve left behind.

Ultimately, I’ve found that the beauty of being an American is there’s not one answer to it. Instead of trying to find one exact story to share about my life as an American, it dawned on me that if I want to share my experience as an American, It’s going to have more stories than one. My life as an American isn’t singular. I’m made up of the countless lessons I've learned from other people and places in this country. America is a tapestry of perspective and storytelling, and to be an American is to share your part of that tapestry.

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