Waving a small United States flag as Lee Greenwood sings “God Bless the USA” is probably the cheesiest thing that I could ever think of doing; yet there I was, at the United States Citizenship Office, doing exactly that one month into my senior year.

When I found out that I had to attend a naturalization ceremony, I was not pleased. This occasion should be a joyful moment in one’s life; however, for me, I saw this ceremony as unnecessary due to the fact that I was already a citizen. Since I was adopted by American citizens, I had automatically obtained United States citizenship; however, due to paperwork confusion with the adoption agency through which I was adopted, I had to attend the ceremony to receive my Certificate of Citizenship sixteen years after my adoption. My parents were ecstatic about the ceremony because my paperwork was finally going to be correct. I, on the other hand, dreaded missing school to attend a pointless event.

That morning, sitting in uncomfortable chairs that were too close for comfort, between two people who were dressed significantly better than I, was not a great experience. As I impatiently looked at my watch and observed the minute hand tick past 10‒the time the ceremony was supposed to start‒my aggravation only increased as I thought of the calculus test I was missing. The chatter of other people in different languages filled the air as I sat contemplating what else I could be doing. Finally, the director came to the microphone microphone, and I eagerly sat up, hoping the ceremony would start soon.

As the ceremony started, I sat there aimlessly staring off into space, hoping I would make it back to school in time for my Come Lord Jesus session. By the time I focused in on the director’s speech, the director was announcing that we would begin taking the oath of citizenship and invited the parents to come up to video record all of the soon-to-be citizens declaring the oath. To my horror, my dad got up and began to move slowly toward me so he could have a good view of me when I took the pledge. I began furiously making eye motions at him, urging him to sit down; however, my pleas were ignored. I thought that this ceremony was not noteworthy enough to record; however, my dad seemed to think differently. As we began to recite the oath, I became relieved and my shoulders relaxed as I realized that my dad did not have a good enough angle to record me. After the oath, I breathed a sigh of relief as we were now done.

However, that is when the director announced that our group of fourteen- to eighteen-year-olds was going to sing “God Bless the USA” as we waved flags in the air as if we were in a promotional video. All the parents rushed up once again to record this special moment while all the teenagers rolled their eyes and attempted to duck their relentless parents. As I began to sing, I glanced down at my chair, where I had left my flag as a sign of protest of this cheesy situation. However, in a moment of impulse, I grabbed the flag, faced my parents, smiled and waved it. Clearly this action pleased my parents, as they smiled and nodded their heads in approval. They were proud that I had made it to this moment because it meant I now had concrete proof that I was a citizen and that all of their hard work to obtain my Certificate of Citizenship had paid off. The proud look on my parents’ faces made me realize what a privilege it is to be a citizen of the United States.

Citizenship is a fact that many natural-born citizens take for granted because they do not realize all the opportunities one gets from being a United States citizen. Many people work their whole lives attempting to gain citizenship in the United States while natural-born citizens receive it simply from being born in the United States. My parents’ joyful reaction to the ceremony helped me understand the importance of being a citizen of the United States. I also learned not to take this citizenship for granted and to be grateful for all the opportunities I have because of this citizenship.

At the end of the ceremony, I was eager to leave but not before my parents could get a picture of me holding my Certificate of Citizenship in front of the flag. However, I did not mind anymore that they were relishing the event, and I even smiled proudly in that picture because I was proud to be a citizen. I had realized how important being a United States citizen is and all the opportunities that I receive from this citizenship.  

Even though I did not appreciate the ceremony at first because I thought it was unnecessary, when I saw the joy on my parents’ faces, I understood the magnitude of the ceremony. In the end, the ceremony was worth missing my calculus test because I realized that  citizenship is not something to be taken for granted but is a privilege that should be cherished.