What Does It Mean To Be An American?

When talking about being an American, people usually think about having good salaries, owning a big house with nice cars, doing everything you like without being corrected or judged by anyone. But many people don’t know that America wasn’t as good as it is today. The country had to experience a lot of wars, ideologies, equality between races,... Being an American is being free, be able to have a good education, and be able to express your ideas, dreams and deliver that to other people.
When talking about being American, freedom is one of the most important elements in building America. But do we know what freedom really means? According to Katharine Gammon, a freelance science writer who has contributed to many works for large corporations:
But freedom wasn’t given to people like handling free meals. Many people fought for freedom and even gave their lives to freedom; they did that to demonstrate how important it is. Based on the report of Scholastic News Online, they asked,”What does it mean to be an American?”. Ashley M., a student in Wisconsin, said,’’To be an American to me means that I am free. That when I grow up I can pick the job I want, what shift to work. And to have a good education. It means that I can say ‘The Pledge of Allegiance’ and that I can vote for the President, my county clerk, and the Mayor. But to me it
Education is not always free. Many countries are still required paying a certain amount of money to have a “normal” education. The “normal” education means that you will receive the amount of knowledge that only help you in some parts along the way. If you wanted to have a good education, you could pay more money to receive extra help from the teachers like: show you how to do things ahead of time, give you some tips about tomorrow tests, pay extra attention to you,... In Vietnam, we usually pay the fees for air-conditioning, water, meals, and many other things. I don’t know how everything works now. But when I was in Vietnam about 2 years ago, my schedule was waking up in the morning around six, brush my teeth, and eat breakfast then go to school. The school day lasted about 10 hours from 7 A.M to 5 P.M. After school, I went to my teacher’s home or workplace to study. I wasn’t the only one, many parents did the same thing to their kids. It lasted about 2 to 3 hours. And I had to repeat that schedule for almost 3 years. Although it sounds horrible, it was actually fun because you are able to make some new friends, study in groups, chatting,... Sometimes, you will receive food from the teachers and share it together. I remember that one time when my teacher’s house was flooded because of heavy rain. We were seating in the house and all of