Lights in the future

This poem is about making the choice to not let things get in your way, but instead, trying to make a difference and give hope to the world.

By Briant T. from Project Citizen in Connecticut

I’m an achiever

Never letting go of my strength

Playing basketball filled with laughter and sweat

Growing up pleased with my memory of playing outside, 

running around seems far fetched

My story will keep children heart warm

I would use anything negative as fuel to push through 

the positive like my mom said 

everything goes by fast but 

you can make a difference in this world 

if you try


Inspired by Nikki Giovanni 

Project Citizen

Project Citizen '19

Project Citizen is a youth writing lab that is offered as part of the Connecticut Writing Project at Fairfield University. The mission of Project Citizen is to empower young writers to engage in issues of social and political importance through a variety of genres in order to both find their voice and to become fully realized citizens in our democracy. Project Citizen brings together students from school districts and towns in Fairfield county that represent a variety of economic, racial, ethnic, and religious demographic groups in an effort to break down the "zip code apartheid" that stands in the way of true collaborative learning.

Improving Respect

In America today, respect is not found as commonly as it should be. Watch the video to understand more!

I Believe

This are my beliefs and how I feel about the American Creed.

The Beautiful American Lie

This is about how the American Dream is a lie. I'm not really in any minorities, I just wanted to point all this stuff out.

The Truest Believer

On average, nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in the US. During one year, this equates to more than 10 million women and men. Domestic abuse is a big problem here in America, this spoken word poem strives to give hope to those victims.

My American Creed

It's just my American Creed

A Few Words

The Pledge of Allegiance rewritten

The Allfather effect

My piece is about the ways that pantheons and ideas have been destructed through time. Some of these beliefs have lasted for hundreds of years but there was never really talk about how or why the believers just stopped believing.

The Reamble

My piece is a black out poem with the Preamble of the constitution.

Why to not celebrate the 4th of July

An explanation of why America wasn't really free when we signed the Declaration of Independence.

The Electoral College is Failing America

The Electoral College is why Trump is in Office

Perfect Lies

This is a song about my American Creed.

Let's Talk, America

This is my response to the concept of an American Creed.

We are all Americans

My poem is about what can make us all Americans and even when we all come from different nation.

Let's Fight, America

My poem is about fighting for your human rights, and knowing what belongs to you and how to stop it from being taken away.

Immigration: Poem of American Creed

True Vision

This is some of my thoughts about my American reality and how I feel about the the concept of the freedom in American.

American Creed and The Pledge of Allegiance

How the Pledge of Allegiance is a misrepresentation of the American Creed.

'Murican Creed

The issue of Immigration

A Penny for your Thoughts

This is a poem to get you thinking about how something that seems worthless is actually worth more then you think it is.

Action & Expression

A poem inspired by the American Creed.

Happiness

This is a poem about my cousin, who recently moved.

Mass incarceration

Ray Nasser and Alex Nemec

It's Hard to Keep Talking

I struggled to write about the idea of American Creed because it's a topic that everybody hears of so many times throughout school. To express personal opinions can only happen so many times. This piece conveys how repetitive it is to keep putting a unique spin on the idea.

No One is Illegal

I wrote this poem to express how I feel about immigration, as an immigrant.

More responses from Connecticut

Surprise Me

Expectations of America

This piece is an attempt to explain what it takes to move one's entire life across the world. It shows what makes one want to leave and what makes one choose America. The boy pictured is my father at age 11, on the bottom, where he came from; above, where he wanted to go.

The American Opportunity

This is about how my family shaped my American Creed through their story and beliefs of how they succeeded.

How does your family & community history connect to your American creed?

My piece is about how my family is connects to my American Creed. In this instance I wrote a photo story explaining how it does. I write about the journey my parents took from Afghanistan to Russia to The United States.

Pop's Story

I wrote a story about my Pop, who grew up in poverty, and how he proves that the American Dream is, in fact, attainable to any American through hard work, perseverance despite wealth, social status, and circumstances at birth.

Let's Talk, America

This is my response to the concept of an American Creed.

American Creed - Diversity

My American creed is to be a real American, one needs to live to their full potential and strive to be the greatest they can be. My interview with my parents, about their different cultures, helps me understand how they are the American they are today.

Creed of Rights

My American creed is that anyone and everyone should be able to do what they want, regardless of societal limitations. But, as you'll see, even I'm limiting myself with my current creed. Let's change that.

Your Experience is Everything

Using audio of interviews to discuss how diverse Americans adapt and view the reason they believe means to be American.

How does your family & community history connect to your American creed?

My Paper outlines my families history and how their experiences have impacted me or how I hope they will end up impacting me, And how their different journies have affected me.

True Vision

This is some of my thoughts about my American reality and how I feel about the the concept of the freedom in American.

The American Opportunity

This paper argues that one is able to express their American Creed by taking advantage of the distinct opportunities offered to them as Americans, and proposes that the best way for people to express their American Creed via action is by taking advantage of these opportunities.

Give Back To Freedom

This letter highlights different perspectives and strorie​s about what it means to give back. In my short lifetime, I have learned the incredible value of freedom and the sacrifices made in order to achieve it.

More responses about "dream", "future", "hope", "liberty", and "life"

Surprise Me

Foundations of Liberty and Freedom

The liberty and freedom that people associate with the Statue of Liberty is built on the language in our legislation, so in the image, I made the interior of the statue filled with images of the Constitution to signify where our Freedom comes from.

The American Creed

A poem about the American Creed

American Creed

Millions of people have immigrated here and in the future millions more will try. On October 17, 1933, one man moved to the United States of America. It was just a normal day, and he was just one of hundreds of people to move here on this particular day.

Dreams in America

Callie C., Trinity A. and M. Rodriquez wondered what future generations appreciate about America and what their dreams are for their future. Interviews of students in the kindergarten class at Evergreen Elementary School yielded some interesting answers about America.

It's Simple

My American Creed

American Creed

This Article is about the American Creed and our problems in America.

American Creed

People say they want the American dream but what happens if the dream doesn't turn out to be good?

Symbols, Rituals, and the American Creed

Traditions and the things we do every day show our American beliefs. However, some that are fortunate enough to live in this land do not recognize their liberties. Our symbols and rituals go farther beyond the flag and the pledge of allegiance.

Flashback

This is a picture that describes a large amount of peoples American Creed. This shows a flashback to someone when they were in their home country where they couldn't defend themselves. Then is shows a comparison of their life now that expresses a life they desire and strive for.

My American Dream

This essay is a discription of my American Dream and how the American Dream is broad enough for everyone to chase their own indivisual dream.

My Ideals and Aspirations Regarding the American Creed

This presentation captures my personal definition of the American creed and the pillars I've chosen to represent the creed. Included in the slides are quotes by scholars and other participants from the American Creed documentary and interviews from close family and friends.

Immigration and the American Dream

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

The American's dream

My American Creed is that Americans have had the opportunities to work hard to take advantage of the markets and systems in America so that they can achieve their life goals and dreams and do what they love.

What It Means To Be American

Part of being American is being able to form your own beliefs and opinions, without imposing those beliefs on others.

My Family's Past

My Writing is about the American Dream my family's past and heritage.

The Freedom of Speech

Why the right to protest is the American Creed.

The American Dream Was Worth It

The following story is realistic fiction.

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.

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.

Bad Dreams & Frostbite

The American dream; as long as you keep dreaming.

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.

A Place of Dreams

My "This I Believe" essay on what America is to me

My American Creed

My essay portrays my American Creed, which correlates with the ideas crucial in the founding of America.

Family History

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

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.