Dear America (and my fellow Americans),

Thank you for fighting the oppressors and earning our independence and title as a free country. An example you became (and still are) to be proof that a democratic republic can hold up and succeed. An example where there is such a place to have basic freedoms that other countries deny to their people. How you allow and welcome people from other countries with the open arms of Lady Liberty in New York Harbor.

As we settled in, we began noticing cracks in the foundation on which you stand. It nearly broke the nation in two. With the determination of many people, we were able to come back together as a country and began rebuilding. Of course, this issue is still seen today. It may be hard to believe, but it is most likely true. There's still a long way to go, but I know that when come together as a whole, a united front, there's not much that can hold us back.

Since then, we have seen our country come together time and time again to fight for what we believe in, to fight so that the countless innocent and brave lives did not die in vain, to fight for good to keeping prevailing over the evil in the world, to fight for those who cannot fight, to fight to set an example for those younger generations that we must never give up and to continue to hope and to have the will to keep carrying on even when the going is tough.

I must point out that we have many hurtles in our way: differences to look past, history to move on from. We are not running a sprint; we're running a marathon. Segregation and hatred towards most, or if not all, minority groups, childish fighting in congress and between political parties. This country was built on the principle that this is a place, a refuge even, to those different than us. Accepting others' differences is hard. But it's key to surviving as a country. I still love America. Proud of the progress we've made. It's my hope we can come together as nation. "If a kingdom is divided against itself, it cannot stand. If a house is divided against itself, it cannot stand." -Mark 3:24-25. We must find courage or muster some to combat evil or injustice when we see it. We must stand by one another when we come under fire. We must not let bitterness and hatred infiltrate our hearts and harden them so that no love can be given.

Over the 20 and a half years of my life, I heard many versions of the same phrase or verse. "If you are always looking for or focusing on your faults or failures, how will you know to appreciate the accomplishments you have made?" And while this was meant to inspire me to look and appreciate all that I accomplished and succeed, it also can apply to our great nation. A professor I had in my first year of college taught me that many people tend to focus on our weaknesses and faults instead of realizing our strengths and how those strengths could be used to help. I believe this applies to our country. Many people (Americans and foreign people alike) tend to focus what is wrong with our country and why we are not as great as we are.

In case we forgot what we have accomplished, these achievements are a reminder of much our country did, as a team, as a united front.

We have put man on the moon in 1969. "One small step for man; one giant leap for mankind." -Neil Armstrong

Americans, first by US Government, were responsible for coming up with the concept of the Internet in the 1960s.

Another accomplishment that is credited to the USA is the cell phone by the Motorola company in 1973.

Americans were the first to mass produce a car, specifically the Model T Ford, that normal, everyday people could afford. They sold for as low as $260 and around 15 million were sold.

Most recent accomplishment for the United States is legalizing gay marriage.

And those are just a few of the many accomplishments the United States has made.

Sincerely and thankfully,

A fellow American