Living on the road for 15 months traveling through parts of Europe, Australia, and Asia, I was perpetually a traveler just passing through. Though I stayed in some places for longer than others, it was still over a year of transient lifestyle, in which I never stayed any place long enough to consider myself local, never long enough to call a place home.
There were some places that I went back to a few times. There were some places where I stayed long enough to develop a semi-daily routine with a list of my favorite places to eat, favorite markets to go to for produce versus meat, favorite cafes for coffee versus vibe, and the list goes on.
But it was in this state of perpetual transience that I realized I’d never felt more integrated into the community that is this whole world we share than during my time on the road. I felt the interconnectivity that ties all of us together through all the things we share regardless of race, culture, history, origin, or beliefs. And at the same time, I’d also never felt more American. It’d never been clearer in my mind that no matter where I might be living, home was in the United States, on the West Coast, in Southern California, LA.
What is it to be American? Compared to the histories tying the people of Asian or European heritage, the United States is a toddler nation, emphasis on nation. Rather than the bloodlines and family ties passed through dynasties, lineage going back thousands of years. Rather than the singing of legends and ancient heroes past. Rather than the telling of tales passed from generation to generation. American heritage is that of a state first. Our tightest bond is not in our shared history or cultural traditions of blood or religion; we’re inextricably bound first by shared ideals, shared vision of the future, and the state that protects and upholds our hopes and dreams.
To be American is to celebrate differences. Sometimes these differences make us genius. Sometimes these differences make us fools and just seem to defy common sense. But that is America, a nation that’s product of a collision of differing perspectives and experiences. It is the source of American creativity and innovation. To be American is to believe that freedom is the foundation of society and everything else only comes after it. Our vision is that of a world where the freedom of each individual only ends where the freedom of another begins. Our dream is to see this vision become reality. Our hope is that these beliefs will never be forgotten. We may not all share a common history but we want to share in each others’ futures.
"Here's to where it all began, all began (stand up)
Here's to the land that made me
And made me who I am, who I am (hands up)
Here's to the land that raised me
There's one for the only place that really knows me
For the cracks in the road that drove me
There's no place like home”
-from Like Home written by Marshall Mathers, Holly Hafermann, Alicia Cook