This blog was written by my 13 year old daughter, Emaleigh. It was written as an essay for class and she presented it in front of her school. Thank you to all of the veterans.
Joyce Grenfell once said, “There is no such thing as the pursuit of happiness, but there is the discovery of joy. ” America gives us many gifts, and one of them is the pursuit of happiness (or should I say the discovery of joy). Joy can mean many things; a good job, money, family, or even just a nice house. America gives us joy in disguise. To one person, joy can be money and a good paying job. To another person, joy may just be family. We can all pursue happiness and fail because with true happiness you don’t have to pursue it. Or, you can discover joy. Discovering joy could be having your first child, or getting a dog, heck it could even be getting married. America gives many gifts to our generation, but what I think that the most important gift that America could have given us is the discovery of joy.
Another gift that America has given to us is liberty. Liberty, in the dictionary, is defined as “the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one’s way of life, behavior, or political views.” So basically, it is having freedom. Freedom can have different meanings, but to make it short, it is having the right to do or say what you want. I believe that liberty is sort of like this and America has given us the amazing gift of it. In the pledge of Allegiance, we say at the end, “… with liberty and justice for all. ” This shows that we all have liberty and justice.
One of the last gifts I believe that America has given us it the gift of life. We have the right to live however we want. Whether it is pursuing your happiness, or using your liberty to live your best life, you need to get out there because it is life. Life doesn’t last forever, so you need to take care of it while you can. If pursuing your happiness is traveling the world, then go travel the world! If your idea of liberty is running for president, then run for president!
Live the best life you can live; it doesn’t last forever!
mrsmomdragon 
Outstanding! I’m proud of you Emaleigh, and I love you very much.
Auntie Viv