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.

Action & Expression

A poem inspired by the American Creed.

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.

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 Reamble

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

'Murican Creed

The issue of Immigration

Happiness

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

Improving Respect

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

Why to not celebrate the 4th of July

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

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.

Perfect Lies

This is a song about my American Creed.

I Believe

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

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.

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.

Mass incarceration

Ray Nasser and Alex Nemec

American Creed and The Pledge of Allegiance

How the Pledge of Allegiance is a misrepresentation of the 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.

The Electoral College is Failing America

The Electoral College is why Trump is in Office

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.

A Few Words

The Pledge of Allegiance rewritten

Immigration: Poem of American Creed

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.

My American Creed

It's just my American Creed

More responses from Connecticut

Surprise Me

SEA OF OPPORTUNITY

I decided to showcase my ideas about diverse Americans and their views on American creed through an art piece. My ideas were highly influenced by classic American art and analysis of society and diversity. This connected back to my community and my own American creed.

It Doesn't Matter Where You Came From

I chose this project because I wanted to further my understanding of all perspectives of what people expect from U.S and how diversity impacts the way people see U.S.I was able to relate the interviews back to myself and my own community by thinking about my own American Creed.

The Myth of the American Dream

The illusion of the American Dream has misleadingly lead minorities into a mindless society. In America, we are known as the land of opportunity and success. By us remaining ignorant to the inequalities that still exist, we have allowed thousands of innocent lives to be ruined.

The American Creed Through Action

In my essay I discuss what I believe the American Creed is, and how we can promote it through action. Change doesn't need to mean a big commitment or a large cost, and can be as easy as helping a neighbor.

Past to Present

My piece is a response to the second invitation, "How does your family & community history connect to your American creed?" After research and deep self-reflection, I have determined what my own American Creed is. It revolves around American principles and my family.

American Creed

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

How my Grandfather influenced my view on American Creed

My grandfather worked his way from the bottom to achieve success, and his experiences serve as the basis of my 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.

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.

My American Creed

My American Creed is broken down into three main topics. Keeping a good mindset and focusing on improvement, being adventurous and gaining good experience from those things, and finally how all these things lead to better self-expression so you can be you.

Interview with my Grandmother from Korea

In order to answer the question "how does your family and community history connect to your American creed?" I interviewed my grandmother who immigrated from Korea in 1973 to learn about what drew her to America.

My American Creed

My Creed Is about Patriotism, Citizenship, and hard work. I hope I can love up to these things and be a good American.

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

Surprise Me

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.

American Dream within the American Creed

The American Dream, is implemented by the American Creed, what it means to be American.

No One is Illegal

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

Homelessness In America

My piece is about how important homelessness in America is.

The American Dream

What is the Real American Dream?

What it means to be an American

My Oped is about what my American creed is and what it means to be an American.

American Creed

My essay was about the perspectives of being an American from the eyes of Terrence Davenport. His views on struggle and unity, in my essay I write about how hearing his perspective on what it means to be American, and how it affected my views on struggle, ingenuity, and unity.

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.

Make a stand, Change the world

Don’t settle for less, Work for more We always say we try to do better But never start doing We always say we need to be better But never start to be Nobody ever looks in the mirror Maybe it's time we do that We need change Now How could everyone

Being an American

All these words stand for what I think being an American is.

Bad Dreams & Frostbite

The American dream; as long as you keep dreaming.

How the American Dream Has Changed

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

The American Spirit

The American Spirit, and how we can bounce back and come back stronger than ever.

The American Creed, A dream

A dream from America.

American Creed

This essay talked about the importance of education and proved that claim.

It's Simple

My American Creed

My American Creed

What does being a american means to me..

The Melting Pot

America is a melting pot of people, beliefs, and dreams. Everybody has dreams, and everybody wishes they would come true. I believe that America should be a place where the opportunity to follow your dreams is available to everyone.

America: Religious Freedom is a Right

My American Creed is the importance of religious freedom. It is something America offers that gives individuals a sense of security.

My American Creed

This is what I think being an American is...

America Our World

As an American, I believe we all have the right to freedom. No matter if you're privileged, low class, etc. Freedom belongs to everyone and that's why I wrote this argument to help others see my point of view as a young American.

The American dream

My essay is about how racism affects the American Dream. I talk about a celebrity who deals with racism everyday, I also talk about my relative and his point of view on things.

American Dream

The American Creed is something that people all over the country hold near and dear to their heart, and like the American Dream, each person has a wildly different definition of it. This paper analyzes the connection between the American Creed and the American 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.

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.