UGUR'S CITIZENSHIP CEREMONY

THE SPEECH

I would like to first thank the Raleigh-Durham district office to have given me the honor of giving this speech on this important and meaningful day for me.

Being an American citizen, what it really means to me and what it really should mean to anybody in my opinion. I can probably talk about it for hours because of the depth of its meaning to me.

To go on a path you choose, you first have to know the path you’re coming from. That’s why history is so important to me.

To really know the importance of the things you have today, you should really know how the people of this country fought through struggles from day one on this land what they called The New World, America. More important than that is what they’ve fought for. The VALUES. The values that they’ve had in mind and first and foremost is being a human and believing in the rights that they believed everybody was endowed with by their creator. The life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Dreams are what make us alive. The size of the dream you have does not really matter but what is a dream without having the opportunity to pursue it to find happiness. I can not imagine any other country than this one that gives you the endless and equal opportunity to pursue your dreams no matter who you are and where you come from, you have a right to a shot at your dreams.

The rules of becoming a citizen of this country is not based on who you are, your beliefs or non-beliefs, your nationality, your ethnicity. It is solely based on what you would give to this country simply by working hard and get what you deserve in return.

When you read the preamble to the US Constitution, it does not say “we the christians”, “we the Irish”, “we the British”, “we the German” or anything of that nature. It simply says “WE THE PEOPLE of UNITED STATES”. Being one people and having the rights to the same endless opportunities as long as you are a part of this “WE”.

At the beginning of my speech I said “Being an American Citizen and what it really means to me” It sure is just a legal status on paper. To me its not only holding a passport in your hands, it’s not saying “I’m an American Citizen when you are in a bad circumstance. It sure is believing, respecting and protecting the values of this country. That is why I only do not say today “I am an American Citizen” but say “I am an American”

And that is why today; I do solemnly swear not just to support and defend the  constitution and the laws of the United States but also follow the values set by the founding fathers that made this country the greatest country on the face of the earth today.

Thank you.

I am so proud of Ugur.  This was a happy, happy day for him.  He was the first person to ever be asked to give a speech at this ceremony.  They are even going to put his photo and stuff on their website.  They contacted him about a week later wanting to know if he would be interested in coming back to give the speech at the other citizenship ceremonies. 

On a side note he was, also, asked by a Turkish online paper to write a column ( no pay ) for them.  He has already had two columns published.  GO UGUR!

 These were the red velvet cake balls I made for his celebration. 
Recipe is on my food blog.