American Identity: My American Story Of Making Changes And Good Choices

How is an American identity created? What is your American story? To some, being American means to be free or to have freedom. The founder of our nation believed that you do not judge people because of their race or ethnicity they are. For example, in the “A Quilt of a Country”, it states in paragraph 6, “The U.S. is a unique country that stands for something special in the world.”For me, to be “American” means to make a change and make good changes/choices. It means to treat all ethnicities equally, don’t leave someone out because of their skin color or religion. This is my American story.

My story began with my mom being born in the Bahamas which made her an immigrant when she went to California and my dad being born in Compton which made him an American citizen when he was born… But there is me, Tiana Malani Rios, I was born in raised in Fontana for which I lived there for 4 months after being born. After a while, we moved which my dad’s family stayed. Me, my sister Dacia, my mom Aisha, and my dad Augusto moved to Hawaii when I was barely just 4 months old. I grew up there most of my life with my family. When I first started talking, when I was barely 1, I spoke Hawaiian and that was my first language. Even though I was born in California, I was around my family that spoke Hawaiian and Bahamian. Later on, we had to move back to California because my dad got a job in Moreno Valley. We then moved to a place called Beaumont. I had to get used to not seeing my family a lot from Hawaii. Moving back to California had a major impact on me, me barely speaking/understanding English, me making friends and losing friends, losing family, me not standing to the pledge of allegiance…It was really hard for me to fit in.

Today, my American Identity continues to be created…I started school and I barely understood English. I start to get through/over my obstacles by taking a class after school to learn English and my mom going to my school and helping me speak it. I learning how to be an American citizen and respect California. “You shouldn’t have to change yourself to fit into other people’s comfort zones. You should have a peaceful satisfaction in life and what you want. Appreciate what you have and where you are in life. Be accepted with yourself before you go and change for someone that isn’t worth your time.”Over time I learned how to feel more content with myself.

In the future, I will learn how to speak English really good and understand people better. Eventually, I will know how to act/ treat America good. I made friends that were different colors as I was and learned that everyone is equal, even if you did come from another country/state/learning English really good, me learning how to respect America, and stay responsible and respectful. I envision my “ American identity” looking real good for my future in high school and after high school. I will do good in school and try to get into a good college, then earn my degree and try to become a nurse or a marine biologist. I will overcome my obstacles by learning English and having my mom and friends teach me how to do better in life.

From my life journey, you can see that being American means to make a change and make good changes/choices. A life lesson someone can learn from reading my story is that sometimes you gotta learn stuff by yourself and keep pushing through the difficult times. For example, ̈You should have peaceful satisfaction in life and what you want. Appreciate what you have and where you are in life.̈ ̈What my life journey shows what it means to be American is It means to treat all ethnicities equally, don’t leave someone out because of their skin color or religion.