Freedom and Its Three Tenets: Faith, Family, and Community

Slide 1: The very first photo is my family around at a campfire; a representation that my family is the soul of the American creed.

Slide 2: These photos are of my parents, right when they met, and then a photo of their marriage. Without them, my sister nor I would be here.

Slide 3: This slide is faith, family, and freedom all in one to show that these are my aspects of the American creed.

Slide 4: This is a slide that has photos all from when my mom has been deployed. Even though we may not have her with us, we keep her in our hearts, and pray she makes it back to us safely.

Slide 5: The photo of my parents and the formation image are photos implying that my parents are dedicated to their service, and live to protect America and their family.

Slide 6: Community is the place where we explore and celebrate with the ones we care deeply about.

Slide 7: This is my family that is not blood-related but is always there for me and the ones I enjoy spending my time with when I am not with my family of origin.

Slide 8: As a dependent, I live to support my parents in their job. Although I not only do this, but I put in my dedication to serve my contemporaries and have the determination to become a future leader in the Armed Forces.

Slide 9: "But we have this treasure in jars of clay"  illustrates that surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. "We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed" (2 Corinthians 4:7-9). This quote is a quote from the bible and the photo next to this quote is my devotional. These two things are the two most important things to me when I talk about my faith/religion. I use these two to keep close to God as well as being close to myself.

Slide 10: These are three photos that show love (my parents), sacrifice, and a new destination (railroad tracks). My parents have undeniable love for each other, but they have had many rough patches in life and have had to sacrifice many things. Although they have to do this, they believe in the love of God and often end in a better destination than they were planning.

Slide 11: This is a tribute to my dad for always being there to support my education and furthering myself. 

Slide 12: Faith and freedom are presented in this slide together because freedom allows the mind to have thoughts and beliefs of our own.

Slide 13: This is a tribute to my mom for being one of my best friends.

Slide 14: My little sister and I are both wearing Armed Forces gear. I use these photos to give a representation of us supporting my parents in all that they do for us by being a part of the service. Besides, we are given new opportunities to explore other communities as we move from state to state.

Slide 15: The photo on the left has something in it called the stairway to heaven which often reminds me that God is always watching over us. The photo on the right resembles past, present, and future; the infinite possibilities to direct your life in.

Slide 16: In this slide are photos of my parents, my sister, and me. We're all young, and this is to show that life is full of youthfulness, and most of our mistakes are in this domain. We are allowed to learn from them and create a bigger and brighter future for ourselves.

Slide 17: My sister and I are the new generation, and we, as well as many other people, are here to change the future, and the freedom and power we have to do this.

Slide 18: The photo on the right is the image of my mom being involved in Band National Honor's Society. The photo on the left is an image on the one dollar bill with "In God We Trust". My mom trusts in God, and meets him halfway to succeed in that field.

Slide 19: My family and our religion (Christianity) is a big part of our lives.

Slide 20: This is a dedication to my sick grandfather and my old dog. They are both family members that have brightened my day in times that have been very difficult for me. My grandfather has taught me to be strong, even though he may not know that.

Slide 21: This is a tribute to myself for being self-disciplined and getting through even the most difficult of tasks.

Slide 22: This is a tribute to my little sister for being the fun and sharing laughter in my life.

Slide 23: Freedom/diversity.

Slide 24: This slide resembles dedication and hard work because these pillars are the foundation for community. You can't only help yourself, you have to guide others as well.

Slide 25: The last photo is my American creed and who I am and aspire to be all in one.

What is my American creed and how does my family and community connect to it? As Dr. Condoleezza Rice implores: “Faith matters. Family matters. Community matters, that was my family’s tradition” and I hold these tenets to be true to my life as well. Not only do I hold this true, these are the important fundamentals that make up freedom.

The first pillar that Dr. Rice mentions is faith. Faith is what makes you, well, you; all your beliefs and all you present yourself to be, either politically, socially, or individually. Faith for me comes from a greater power called God. As a Christian, I live and aspire to be the best I can in life. My religion allows me to be accountable for my actions and being true to myself in my beliefs. I do have a purpose in life, even though I forget that at the worst of times; but America, as an American citizen, gives me the right to believe what I wish as well as have my own opinions, or outlooks on life. Part of the American identity allows you to do that very thing, and it’s called freedom.

After faith comes the second pillar that Dr. Rice mentions; family. Everyone’s family is unique in every way, shape, or form. My family members are the ones that support and respect each other in their own beliefs. The importance of comfort and the reassurance of people caring for one another is one of the key fundamentals that my family keeps in mind. And the best part is that family is not always blood related. It’s the people we come together with in laughter, fun, sorrow, and pain. We are free to express ourselves in ways that many other places may not allow.

Last but certainly not least, comes the third pillar, community. Community is the rest of the people that we come across to share our attitudes, concerns, interests, and goals with. Even though we present ourselves with our different ideas we have in mind, we find a way to come to together and find common ground. The community I surround myself in would be the community of the military life, and this is for many reasons. For one, the Armed Forces fights for the American right to even come close to the word freedom. Tegan Griffith, a U.S. Marine, in The American Creed says “It’s refreshing to see people paying attention to the government because they bring to light something that other people may have not been paying attention to… “I still appreciate them because that freedom is the fabric of my uniform.” What she said is very true, the Armed Forces is part of the backbone to what America fights for. As a dependent of an enlisted Air Force service member, being moved from state to state is honor. Not only do I support my parents in their job, but I am supporting the right of every American to live as freely as what our country is founded upon; freedom.

Throughout all of these three pillars, I mentioned the word freedom. Freedom is the key to the American creed, no matter what race, religion, political views, community, or family. We have the freedom to express ourselves in any way we want to, and stand up for what we believe in. That’s the true beauty of America.