How Lucky I Am to Be an American

          Before I came to Turkey, I was certainly aware of how lucky I was to be American but I didn't really have any context for that knowledge. But since I came to Turkey, I've come to understand it so much more. 

           For me, and for many other Americans, we didn't choose to be American; we were just born into it. I could have been born in so many other countries, but by some stroke of luck, I was born and got to grow up in America. I got to grow up in what so many consider to be the best country in the world and I got to grow up speaking the language that people struggle for years trying to learn because it's become "the world language". Before I came to Turkey, I knew I was lucky, but now that I have watched my classmates struggle to learn English because they think they have to to go anywhere in life and heard person after person tell me that they wish they could go to America and why would I ever leave such a perfect country, I appreciate what I had so much more. 

          Don't get me wrong; I know how many problems the U.S. has. I come from one of the poorest states in the U.S.  I've seen plenty of bad things happening in the state that I love and I know that it is not limited to New Mexico. Every country has problems, and America is certainly not an exception. But we are working on fixing those things and we have a lot of freedoms to be incredibly thankful for. 

          When it really comes down to it, no matter how many problems the U.S. has, I was really lucky to grow up there. I was given so many incredible opportunities, including the one to come here, because of where I was born. And that's pretty special. 

          This is just my opinion but as I start to think about my return to the U.S. And reflect on the time I've spent here, this idea always pops into my mind. I know not everyone shares the same opinion as I do, but I wanted to share mine. 

          As always, thank you for reading!