On October 7, 2013 I became an American citizen. It was a fun and special day for me because it's something I've been wanting and looking forward to for a while, and I finally went through and applied May of this year. After a series of appointments in Salt Lake and Dallas, $$, name changes and some knowledge tests I was sworn in as a citizen of the United States of America.
This is the only picture taken from my little ceremony. There were 31 countries represented and 95 new citizens were naturalized during my ceremony. It was special, cheesy and fun. I felt like I was at a Model UN conference because they asked all of the countries to stand up when they were called. "Philippines, present and voting." (kisses if you that made you smile). If you didn't know, I was born in the Philippines and moved to the United States when I was 2 years old. Even though it was a pretty painless process for me because I've grown up in the United States, I felt a lot of admiration for the people who worked really hard and struggled to pass the knowledge and reading/writing tests and become a citizen. It was also surreal to say the Pledge of Allegiance after 12 years of saying it everyday in elementary through high school and then not saying it for 4 years and then saying it as a newly naturalized citizen. The "Proud to Be an American" music video and montages were giggle-worthy, but sweet. So I did it. I surrendered my Philippine citizenship and was sworn in as an American.
And then I did this.
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