I breathe, I bleed but so does the rest of America.
All of us bleeding red, all of us containing the same skeleton within.
Melted into a pot, here for the same purpose
To strive, to succeed, to seek opportunity
So why do we struggle to be accepted?
Why are we discriminated by the tone of our skin?
Why do we continue to be stereotyped and put down?
America is no easy place,
It comes with hardships and lots of sweat,
But eventually we will find what we seek
We will grow to love one another and accept each other,
Because we're all on the same road.
Let me tell you about someone I truly respect,
After a long day my father comes home, exhausted
Working hard for me so that my life isn't like his.
I realize I'm not the only one with a father that fights everyday,
For his wife and daughter.
I couldn't be anymore proud. Anymore grateful.
You see, at my age I observe a lot.
On the streets of New York City, I watch and I see,
All these people with their different stories and how,
someday I will be on my journey with my own story
One day I will be a college graduate and I will chase my dreams.
Sometimes my father and I sit late at night and talk.
He tells me stories, stories about his childhood.
He tells me that my life has to be different. He promises it will.
At the age of 8 he started working to help his family,
He never made it past middle school.
In a month I will be a high school graduate
And so will thousands of seniors all across the United States,
All of us, the same ,eager, almost impatient
To see the faces of our role models on graduation day,
The smiles, the tears of happiness.
To me America is a beautiful place if you take a moment to see.
It's true we do have freedom,
And it's true that living here is very hard,
And when you look back on all the accomplishments,
That America has brought for you,
Then you'll see,
You'll see that you wouldn't have wanted to live anywhere else.
America the great, America the one and only.
I thank you for giving us all a chance.