For three years I have been constantly pressured by not only the future, but also by the “societal-norms” that society forces upon its youth to decide on how they will contribute to the world after they graduate from high school. Recently I have decided that I would join the United States Army. This choice does not and had not started with me, it started with my great-grandfather. Because of his choice I realize that those decisions have ultimately changed my life.

This story begins when my great-grandfather was a young man around the age that I am now. My great-grandfather was heir to a Japanese Lord. (Flash back)  If he had stayed in Japan then he could have become a powerful Japanese Lord who ruled over peasants, had servants, and had claim to multiple islands in Japan. My great-grandfather decided that he did not want to rule over other people and have a large amount of territory to himself, he wanted to become a businessman and go to the city. Because he told his father of his wishes, he was given a final chance to forget his dreams and join the family and claim the birthright that would make him rich beyond measure. But he did not take it. Because he did not claim the birthright, he was expelled from the family and stripped of his birthright and was told to never show his face again. My great-grandfather had realized that he was now free to go and fulfill his dream of becoming a businessman He decided to go to America. My great-grandfather got on a boat that was headed to America and because he did not have the correct papers, he jumped off when the boat was 1 mile off the shore of Los Angeles and swam to shore so that the police would not catch him as illegal and send him back to Japan. When my great-grandfather got to America he thought back on everything he lost, on everything that he gave up, and everything that could have been his. But all of it did not even add up to the freedom and liberty that he would receive by coming and living in America. My great-grandfather loved America. He loved America for what it stood for; freedom, liberty, hope in a better life, opportunity for his future family, and the choice to do what he wanted with his life. (Long Paragraphs)

The amazing thing about America is that it stands for more than just a country. America is a symbol; of liberty, freedom, hope in a better future, a promise of a new life, and endless opportunities. America is the symbol that rises above all others and my great-grandfather saw and recognized it. My great-grandfather came here to not only make a life for himself but to escape the pressures of his family and also to give a better life and opportunity for his future family. Because of his choice, me and my family can now live and take part in the freedoms and liberty that America provides. (Symbolism)

Eventually people will learn that freedom is not free and that it is not a battle that you can fight alone. It is a fight that calls for family and friends. This fight would be picked up and supported by my grandfather.  By the time he was born, World War I had ended and World War II was starting up by the time he had reached his post college days. Before the war had broke out, many Japanese Americans had come to America so that they could be free and have the liberties that other people had. When the war had broken out, the Americans had taken all the Japanese Americans possessions and had put them all in Prisoner-of-War camps. These camps were made because the Americans did not trust the Japanese who were already in America. They thought that they either were traitors or who become traitors and sell American secrets to the government of Japan. In these POW camps, my grandfather had decided that he was not going to earn people's trust by just sitting around and waiting for the war to be over, but that he was going to go out with some of his buddies and fight for the United States Army so that he could fight for what he believed in and for his country.  My grandfather had joined a battalion called the 442nd which was a battalion made up of Japanese Americans and African Americans.  During the war, the United States saw that the 442nd was made up of “non-Americans” so they charged the 442nd to fight in Italy. At that time in the war, Italy was where the worst and bloodiest fighting was taking place. Eventually the 442nd was part of the troops that held back the Germans from taking over Paris. At the end of the war the 442nd turned out to be one of the most decorated battalions in all of World War II.  He had actually come back from the war with a couple purple hearts and a silver star. He had risked his life so that he could show people that he was dedicated and committed to his country, America.

In the end, all this sacrifice had trickled down to me so it had lit a fire in me that was a passion for America. Because of my family's involvement in supporting America, I have grown up knowing that I should not take my freedom and liberty for granted because it is something that not everyone can get.