America

Some 25+ years ago in July, I left my country to be an exchange student in Geneva, Switzerland. This changed my life in a thousand ways - all for the better. I have befriended online the grown daughter of an acquaintance from years ago who is just completing a stint in that same place. She has reminded me of so much of what I love about Europe, and especially Geneva. That said, her words this morning describing "being American" and her love of her country resounded so vividly to me as I read them, because they are the words for the very sentiments I discovered during my time abroad, and which I still have today, so many years later. It's very similar to the way one understands "There's no place like home" when one goes away, or in the way that I discovered, after all my moving around growing up, that I was actually, in truth, "an Easterner" (and New Englander more particularly), after living in California. I couldn't get away from it, and I didn't want to - it was me. Not better, just very much who I am!

The truth is, I love the whole of the United States now in a way I could never have experienced if I had not left her for this year and a half. Eleven days ago on July 4th, I connected to the celebration of my country in a way I've never felt before. In the past, I always enjoyed the fireworks, but that's about it. I didn't have a strong sense of belonging anywhere, so naturally I couldn't connect to this celebration on a deeper level. Spending a year away has granted me the gift of "belonging." Some people leave the country of their birth and find belonging in another country. Much like the spirit of adoption, they are grafted in and a new country becomes their true home. On the other hand, the majority of us will always belong in the country of our birth, whether we're given the gift of appreciating it or not.

I've received the gift. In five weeks I'll be stepping off a plane in the United States, this time to stay. I've always thought it was super silly when people get off a plane and kiss the ground, but now I understand. The asphalt will be hot enough to fry eggs in August, so I think I'll still pass, but I finally understand the sentiment.

I still have no idea to which state I belong. I used to think it was Virginia, but now I'm not so sure. What I do know is that I belong in the United States of America and it's the most wonderful feeling.

America is not better than all the other countries. There are many other countries which deserve equal respect. To say America is the best would be like saying "my family is better than your family." I never want to have that attitude. Nonetheless, America is an amazing country, one to be proud of and worth fighting to protect. Whatever America may experience in the coming years, for better or for worse, I want to be there to experience it with her.