Unconsciously, she always knew what it was to be American. Growing up in an immigrant family, a military family taught her that, having been wrapped in its multi-colored blankets of diversity and opportunity since the day she was born. She remembers her mother's scolding words as she taught her the Pledge of Allegiance for her second day of kindergarten. There were freedoms, she reminded him, underlying those words – “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” – that we should never take for granted. However, it wasn't until years later, after a visit to the Philippines, that she realized what her mother really meant, and that something more, deeper, was part of being American. It started with a simple question. “What are you?” » asked his cousins. Their heavily accented words, full of curiosity, hung in the air. “Filipino?” Or American? » “Uh, American?” No sooner had the answer left her lips than her cousins ​​scolded her, emphasizing her disdain for the Filipino blood that flowed in her veins. It had never occurred to him, at nine years old, to take this into account; she had always believed that simply living according to the amendments that granted her the freedom to live her life defined her identity. However, a revelation struck her as their freely expressed opinions loomed before her wavering conviction. For the first time, she realized as she looked at her cousins ​​that other countries also shared these same freedoms. How come they weren't considered Americans? What made an American? That girl was me – Nicole Caiga – when I was nine. If my maternal grandfather – “Tatay” as we called him – had not died five years ago, he could have given me the answer I was desperately seeking. ...... middle of paper ...... one's birth alone does not make one a Korean, Filipino, American, or any other nationality for that matter. If that were the case, my parents would not be the Americans they are today. Rather, it is about the decision to identify with any country and put action behind its hopes, dreams and future. My ethnicity may be Filipino, but like my parents before me, I am American. Works Cited Houston, Jeanne. “A tapestry of hope.” Creating America. 4th ed. New Jersey: Pearson Education, 2005. 146-47. Print.Kang, Younghill. “A Korean discovers New York.” Creating America. 4th ed. New Jersey: Pearson Education, 2005. 60-61. Print. "Maryland – DP-1. General Demographic Profile: 2000." The New York Times. August 24, 2009. The web. October 4. 2010. .