September 8, 2008 In Class Writing Assignment..

What Is An America?
It's hard to put into words just what an American is. When I think to myself, I am an American, I think of the safety and security of my future and independence, I see myself working hard next to all of my fellow Americans. Striving to become something great to better not only my future but the future of others. It's being proud and honorable. What is an American? More like what isn't an American. We are fortunate enough to live in a place where we have the right to chose our own path and speak our minds and think for ourselves. An American is a honor, a duty and most of all a privilege.

When analyzing the articles of Langston Hughes and Walt Whitman you see to different tales about the meaning of what it’s like to be an American. In a sense when reading Walt Whitman you see the pride in diversity and the ability to do what you love and be proud of what you're accomplishing. That everyone has their own story to tell and it's up to you to want to listen to the "song" people are singing.

Yet when reading the Langston Hughes poem you see a sadder side of being an American. You see the struggle of not fitting in to the "normal" standard of being an "American." The meaning of this poem is right in the title. The word too, mean also implies that the author is also an American no matter what the color of your skin. Though many people forget the beauty that we are all created different, the poems share a sense of pride in diversity. Though, Walt Whitman expresses the difference in the working world and between men and women. Langston Hughes brings forth the diversity in every one of us.

The beauty of being an American is that we don’t have to be like each other, that we have the power to think for ourselves and become the best person that we strive to me. Being an American is whatever you want it to be. I want to be.