To Be American

Poem

By Andre from Okemos High School in Michigan

Being American means to be free

After all, they say, it’s the land of the free

Do what you want, be who you wanna be

From sea to shining sea.

Immigrants come to have a better life.

To provide for their family, day and night

Oh, and did I mention that education is free?

From sea to shining sea.

Start poor but you can become rich

Anything is possible, anything you wish

Whether it’s out of the blue, or on your to do list.

That’s the American Dream

This country is very diverse

You can believe what you want to believe

Just strive to be great

And you can succeed

We are:

Fun, Loving, Welcoming, Caring, Hardworking

Independent, Outgoing, Friendly, Competitive

And so much more.

We come in all colours

This is the new wave

There are so many opportunities

The Home of the Brave

Okemos High School

American Literature with Mrs. Reed

Students in American Literature in Mrs. Reed's courses

Our Historical Journey to America

Nick Balesky and I compare and share our grandparents adventures from Europe to Michigan today.

American Teamwork

Our piece talks about teamwork in America, unity, and how it should be more valued in our country

Family History

To make this paper and further my understanding, I decided to interview my Grandpa to complete this task.

Our American Creed

I decided to make my poem about my parents and what it took for them to come here. How they see us (my siblings and I) as Pakistani Americans and their perspective on America and what it holds for us.

The Immigrant Dream

Immigration has been an integral part of american history since its conception. Although immigration has taken many forms immigrants have always had the same goal, to seize opportunities in order to lead a better life and fulfill their american dream.

Dear Grandpa

Years after my grandfather passed away I have written a letter to him explaining how his stories have changed my life.

Education in America

Why education has been and is still a strong aspect of our American culture.

American Education

American education is essential to achieving the American dream and it molds our American values into what they are today. Getting a good education helps get you a better job and better quality of life. American education makes us into who we are.

Inequality in American Education

In this article I discuss inequalities that plague American education.

My Identity Story

This is my identity story on how my ancestors came over to the United States. I'm showing how I ended up where I live today and showing how we all can come from different places and still end up at the same high school.

The Lost Dream

The United States has lost its common luster known as the American Dream. Through my essay, I explain the problems caused by the parts of the American Dream that have been lost and how those parts affects the American people today.

Immigration and the American Dream

Immigration to America changed throughout the decades and this is how.

American Creed

This essay is about politics and media in the United States of America.

What America could use

A few things America could use to make the country a better place overall.

Core American Values

What are the values that we share as Americans?

Becoming a U.S. Citizen

This passage is about the process of becoming a U.S. citizen and a specific perspective of that process from the eyes of my parents.

American Creed: The Significance of Immigration

I had to put the images into chunks so it can show up more clearly. However, there can be words that are still not clear. My poster is basically about immigration. My explanation and reason why this is significant to American Creed is explained below. Please enjoy.

How the American Dream Has Changed

A video on how the American Dream has changed over time.

How do Traditions, Customs, and Holidays Change Through Immigration?

American Creed

Immigration Stories

These immigration stories are supposed to see the point of view of immigrants. It's supposed to help you understand their struggles.

American Creed Video Essay

Thoughts on American Creed as shown by robot.

American Division

We always say we want to be The UNITED States of America. But how true is that?

Our Fiercely Unique Nation

An essay about our individualistic principles.

American Culture and Values

Impoverished Education

How does your community's wealth affect the quality of education?

American Citizenship

We researched the process of naturalization through the lives of our family members and other people with similar stories.

Just world

This piece is about the American dream of equal opportunity. This work is specifically focused on the just world hypothesis and how it leads to the misconception that is the American dream.

Immigration and America

I decided to craft an American Bald Eagle, since it often used to represent America. On it, I put snippets of stories from people who have immigrated to America.

Creed

My grandpa's American dream.

The American Creed and its Environment

Could concern for the environment unify the United States?

Discussion on Midterms and other subjects

7 friends have a discussion around the recent midterm elections and their effects on the US moving forward

Is the Immigration Ban Changing Our American Values?

A letter addressing the immigration ban and how it affects our American values.

American Values

This is a piece by a high school student on the core American Values and what his views are on the subject. And it shows how the values affect people, and what experiences have led to the values.

Privacy in America: How We Have Changed

How has American people's value of privacy been affected by our new technological age?

The Failure of Our Affirmative Action System

In the United States, affirmative action is used to promote diversity in universities. Universities take race into consideration during their admissions process. But how exactly did we get here? What have people done about this? And should we even keep our current system?

The American Dream Fulfilled

The following work talks about the important values of American creed that exist to this day. There is no doubt that the values written in the nation’s documents are still in use today. By reading this piece, you will discover how well America has kept these values throughout these years.

American Creed Interview

Inspired by the American Creed documentary, we decided to make our own version by interviewing people of different ages, races and gender to get the diverse views of students at our high school. We found many commonalities and many differences among Americans.

How is American Creed defined by its members?

A narrative of how my immigrant mother overcame hardships to become American, relating to Gone with the Wind and the Great Gatsby, defining what American Creed is, defined by those whom belong to it.

Dear Grandchild

I created a scrapbook which is composed of pictures and letters. I wrote these letters to myself as if I were my grandmother just after moving to the United States. I composed this because in the film, American Creed, Condoleezza Rice said, “It doesn’t matter where you came from, it matters where...

Immigration Stories

The story of three different immigrants, and the reasons why they came.

The Future of America

What is your dream? How do you plan to achieve your dream? Do you believe your dream aligns with the American dream?

How Does Education Connect to Our American Dream?

A Letter to our Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos.

Gen-Z

What is Gen-Z?

America from an Immigrant's Perspective

For our American Creed project, we decided to interview our parents, who are immigrants, and showcase their ideas around what it is to be American.

Was Every Man "Created Equal" ?

The Declaration of Independence says that "all Men are created equal". Looking at the treatment of minorities during and after of which it was written, that statement says otherwise.

American Creed in Communities

American Creed is found in individuals and in their communities. The values for each group of people is different and unique but all of these values still affect the people around them and create a united country.

My Great Grandparents Journey

My grandparents made a great journey to the U.S. to better their lives.

The Scape Goats of America

We often focus so much on what is the American Creed or dream when in reality this one dream or creed is made up of every citizen's individual dream. This is an in depth look at the Jewish people's view on life in America.

The Vitality of American Entertainment and Sports

Exploring how entertainment is a vital part of the United States of America and her culture.

American Creed Interviews

For my American Creed project I interviewed people of different races and genders about the issues that America is having today. I made sure to ask everyone the same questions, so I could see the difference in answer. I turned these interviews into a scrapbook:

Equality For All

Equality is arguably the most important American Creed, in this piece you will read about events that either represent equality or fail to.

An American Medley (Poetry)

Composed by Mia Colony and Sydney Stephens. Poems Used: "We Leave To-Night" by F. Scott Fitzgerald and "Growing Up" by E.H. "How Would You Describe America?" is an original poem by Mia Colony and Abe Frank.

American Values in the Political Climate of 2018

This is a video conference with teens across the country examining how today's political climate has affected our lives and American Values.

What is the American Dream?

In this project, we interviewed 3 different age groups to see each age groups perception of the American Dream, and how it related to other age groups.

Immigration

A family's Immigration story.

Why Our Values Are Our Values

How we view the values of others.

Who's America Is It?

An interview of a family member and a reflection on who runs the country.

Land of the Free as Symbolic as Can Be

Symbols show up on our lives everyday. America has many objects and items that represent the nation and they all have their own meanings and history.

Perseverance and Our American Creed

This explains how perseverance is a key topic in our American creed.

Roots

This work is a narrative describing the story of my Great Grandpa Lewis J. Minor and how he and his family came to America from Ireland in order to live the American Dream.

Interview with exchange students

I’m an exchange student from Germany and I’m really happy to be here in U.S., but I was wondering was other exchange students think about the U.S. and what they experience are compared to their different background and their different countries.

More responses from Michigan

Surprise Me

Diversity Through Art

Diverse americans use music to express themselves and get points across that otherwise might have been ignored.

Food and the American Creed

How food represents the American Creed and its values and how food is symbolic of something greater than just a basic human need. Food can represent a culture's values and history.

Be a Friend

How my mother shaped my view of how Americans treat each other.

Proud (?) American

How it is to live under the Red, White and Blue

My American Creed

This piece is about how I interpret my American Creed, and how my family and their history has helped me come to my conclusion of it.

Heroes of the American Melting Pot

My piece explores leaders who have fought back against discrimination and created opportunities for future generations of Americans.

What It Means To Be American

What being american means to me and others.

Do Sports Help Shape Your Identity?

Knowing who you are is important to self development and discovery. I believe that anything people are a part of helps to shape their identity one way or another.

My American Creed: Living with the Discussion of a "Dream," but Never Seeing it Realized

The repercussions of a teen who realizes everything she was told about America is far from the truth. Its sounds slightly dramatic, sure, but becoming more aware of the social constructs in this country continues to surprise me.

Freedom to Live

My writing is about the issue of gun violence and how as Americans we can can use our freedom of speech to help create change.

The Land of Opportunity

A comparison of the American Creed throughout my families history.

The Hope of America

My group discussed how immigration is a very important subject that affects America constantly. We have talked about how many of us are descendants of immigrants, and how America itself was basically brought to life by immigration, so it why not add to the melting pot.

More responses about "creed"

Surprise Me

My American Creed

This essay is about what I believe my American Creed is.

What is My Identity and What are My Concerns?

How I address what my identity is and what my concerns are, as well as how they are connected to my American Creed.

American Creed

My video talks about (and visually demonstrates) the false notations and divisions emulated in America specifically through American Creed.

Spangled

I gathered these images of friends, family, students, and acquaintances to try to put a face to our American diversity. I used the flag as my theme, as it is such a unifying symbol for Americans, often regardless of their creed.

American Creed

My project represents how my Hispanic ethnicity from my parents influences myself as an American and my story of who I am.

American Culture and Values

Your American Creed is up to you to determine.

How does your American creed depend on where your going in life? It depends on how you determine your american creed and how you live up to it. Many people through out the United States. The liberty you have in your life a fundamental base for your own creed.

American Creed

An american creed

"Education is the Key to Success"

I see education as the key to having a successful future. Many may say that what our teachers teach us in class may not be worth any of our time when really all they're trying to do is set us on the right path for the future.

The American Creed

My American creed is the idea of freedom, and prosperity, even if it causes conflict.

The Melting Pot- My American Creed

My poem is about what makes me, me. I am a mix of so many things, and I am proud to represent my country through my American Creed.

How my family history connects my american creed

i wrote about service in America

American Expectations Vs. Reality

What the American creed expectations are and how everyone else should see them is way different then what it actually is.

American Creed Video Essay

Thoughts on American Creed as shown by robot.

My Family and the American Creed

This is the story of how my parents immigrated here from Cambodia and Vietnam and how the American Creed has affected their lives and stories.

American Creed; Teens Perspective

Parents must guide their children into their American freedoms so their child is familiar with what the future entails. Children have freedoms just like adults and when they reach certain ages these freedoms should be introduced to them when they are given.

American Dream

This article is about the American dream and how to get there.

What Connection?

The first computer was released in 1981. My mother was born in 1964. 17 years. For 17 years, my parents generation lived day to day life without wifi, but some would argue they had a much better connection

Maljusted States Of America

A short depiction of what America is really like. What people think of America and the truth about America can be totally different. It is not the greatest and sometimes its not united. Its a madjusted system.

American Division

We always say we want to be The UNITED States of America. But how true is that?

My American Creed

This is my "American Creed" and what it means to me.

How the American Creed has Affected my Family.

My grandparents came from Russia in search of a better life for their family. They came to America to achieve freedom and follow the American Dream. Throughout their experience they have developed their own American Creed and now I have started to develop one as well.

Embrace Your Identity

You don't have to fit the American name to be an American. Let your creed show your identity.

American Creed in Communities

American Creed is found in individuals and in their communities. The values for each group of people is different and unique but all of these values still affect the people around them and create a united country.

Writing Our Future: American Creed is part of the National Writing Project’s family of youth publishing projects, all gathered under the Writing Our Future initiative.

Writing Our Future projects are designed by educators for educators and the young people they work with. Intended for use in schools, libraries, and other educational settings. All projects are COPPA compliant and educator-managed. NWP is committed to supporting young people’s writing and civic participation by providing a safe and supportive environment for youth writing, media creation, sharing, and publishing.