It is hard to know, at this point in history, what it even means to be American. Are U-High students proud of our country?
“I am proud to be an American. I think to me, what America is centered around is the American dream, pursuing your ambitions and making what you want to make out of your life. I think that’s why I am proud of being American, because if you are in the U.S., you can really make whatever you want possible.”
— Owen Hannan, sophomore
“For me, being American is multiple things, because I am also Chinese, and it is two cultures mixing. Social Justice Week has made me realize and connect the bridges between my Chinese culture and my American culture. I am proud to be a part of both.”
— Lillien Headley, ninth-grader
“I do not feel proud to be an American because I cannot connect. I do not see myself reflected in the choices made by our government, and I see nothing to be proud of. The only connection I feel is with the people I love and my connection to them. I feel like the current administration is doing its best to divide everyone, so I do not feel proud at all to be American.”
— Alex Dearing, junior
“I don’t feel proud to be an American right now because I think that the person who is supposed to represent our nation is an absolute madman.”
— Clara Golley, junior
“I am proud to be an American, because we have a platform to make change in the world and a way that people from other countries don’t. I am very grateful for that opportunity.”
— Yusuf Arain, senior
“I do not think I am necessarily proud to be an American right now, but I am grateful to be an American because I benefit so much from the opportunities that America has given my parents and me. Not to say that it’s easy for everyone to get those opportunities, because in reality, it’s so difficult for some people. But based on what’s going on right now in our world and how our country is responding to that, I think generally I am really disappointed because we’re not valuing humanity.”
— Kylie Carter, junior
“I feel proud to be American. America itself is very diverse and has a bunch of different perspectives, ideas and types of people. So America to me is just being able to express how everyone is different.”
— Hailey Purcell, junior
“I am super proud to be American. First of all, I represent the sovereignty of my country, the freedoms and free speech that come with it. Representing that is a big honor to me.”
— Leon Dhal, senior, who will enroll as a cadet at the U.S. Air Force Academy after graduation
“I am not proud to be an American at this current time in this political climate. I do not think that we are making the right decisions, and I think our government is terrible.”
— Desmond Tarkowski-PopeL, senior
“These days, there is not a lot of patriotism in America. So whenever there is, like when we say the national anthem at a baseball game, there is a big sense of unity with everybody united in this one thing. I think being American is being part of a community that has a strong sense of nationalism.”
— Sam LaBelle, sophomore
