At the beginning of the month I flew (one last time) to Utah so I could take my Citizenship Oath. What an awesome experience! It was held in the Rose Wagner Theater in downtown Salt Lake and I did it along with 200 people. A judge presided the ceremony, we said the Pledge of Allegiance, sang the National Anthem and for the first time I put my hand over my heart. It felt so strange, but it also felt good.
It’s been almost 10 years since I came into this country. During the ceremony some people were asked how long the process took, how long have they been living in the country, what were their feelings right then. I thought about the last question. And I felt proud, happy. Here, I always had a job, I met wonderful people, its health care system and the people working in it gave the best care to my son, I met and married an amazing man. Because of these jobs I always had I was able to travel through some states and discovered what a beautiful country this is. It really is a country of opportunities.
In this country you can dream, set goals and if you work hard you can reach them. You are given the chance to voice your opinions, your concerns and your ideas freely. You can live in a safe place and choose any religion or belief you want. I will always be grateful for being able to call myself a U.S. Citizen. I will always love my native country, but unfortunately it’s not the country it once was. I still want to take my husband and son to visit sometime, but I just can’t live there anymore.
Soon I’ll register to vote. And I hope that I can give something in return to the country that has given me so much.
I blog about married life, motherhood, being a CNA, living in San Francisco, trying not to forget Castellano and living after child loss. 
Stefanie
February 3, 2010 at 4:28 pm
Congratulations, Tami! What an awesome accomplishment!