by Xypher Pino

This election season reminds me of one of the highlights of my surprisingly eventful summer – being a part of the inaugural Citizen Redefined Camp. The Citizen Redefined Camp was a three-day civic leadership experience hosted by North Carolina Campus Engagement (NCCE) where I, and 17 other students from around the state, explored what it means to be civic leaders on our campuses and in our communities. This camp, as the name suggests, is meant to create civically passionate and responsible citizens by rethinking the idea of citizenship in the hopes of increasing societal faith in our democracy.  

I migrated here from the Philippines approximately six years ago and I recently underwent the naturalization process and officially, on paper at least, became an American. I had quite an interesting experience during my ceremony. Initially, I had thought that the naturalization ceremony was this stepping stone to a new life, a new identity. It was going to be moment for me to be officially welcomed and accepted, no longer considered an alien. This was the time to felt empowered, strong, ready to make a difference in this society. This was the time to finally become something I have been longing for ever since I arrived here – a proud American. 

When I took the naturalization oath, vowing to give up allegiance to my home country and to support and fight for the values on which this country was founded, I felt an intense amount of uncertainty and to an extent, fear. This was the moment that I had been waiting for my entire life. I was finally becoming an American. I was now an advocate of this country and its beliefs. Why was I scared? I was supposed to feel happy, grateful and proud. Why did I feel this way? Was I not proud to be a U.S. citizen?  

The naturalization ceremony was supposed to be a moment of change, the mark of a new start. Instead, it became the moment I realized that I never had a great understanding and strong handle of what it means to be citizen, and that I never truly had any interest in exploring that part of my life. I never even really knew why I should care about being a citizen. I thought that I wanted to become a citizen to mark the start of my civic life, to finally begin educating myself and others about the importance of our democracy and fighting for its values.  

In reality, unfortunately, I just wanted to become a citizen for selfish, personal reasons. It was all about obtaining an official paper document that shows the government that they cannot deport me and that I am theirs to protect. It was never about others, making our country a better place – it was always all about myself. 

I presume some of the people that I was with during that ceremony, and not to mention the countless ceremonies that came before and after mine, have experienced similar feelings. Even those who have not personally experienced the naturalization ceremony and were naturally born U.S. citizens may feel the same uncertainty, nonchalance and individualistic mindset. I am sure that most of us are grateful to be part of this country as we definitely have it better than majority of the world, but many of us are not proud to be U.S. citizens. I believe the biggest driving force regarding these thoughts and feelings is the lack of understanding as to what exactly a U.S. citizen is, which results in a decrease of faith and hope in our country. 

When I received the invitation to participate in the Citizen Redefined Camp and first heard of its purpose, I felt indifferent about the opportunity. The camp seemed like the perfect chance to positively change my perspective on being a U.S. citizen but I had learned my lesson from previous experiences. It took a lot of convincing for me to commit to attending the camp and I grew very pessimistic about this opportunity. This camp would be a waste of time, so why should I bother going? I would not benefit from this experience. There was nothing special about this. If I raised my expectations even a little, I would end up disappointed, just like what had happened during my naturalization ceremony. 

To my surprise, the Citizen Redefined Camp has been a life-changing experience. I went into the camp with so much negativity and extremely low expectations, but now my whole outlook on citizenship has completely changed. I, indeed, have been redefined – I feel like a whole new person. I had always thought that my individuality did not matter in the grand scheme of things, but now I feel so empowered – like I can truly make difference. I feel like a true and proud American citizen.  

Being surrounded by a diverse group of individuals each having unique perspectives with different topics, receiving the chance to have a deeper understanding of myself and having to critically think about the importance of civic responsibility has opened my eyes and lit this new burning passion regarding civic life within me. 

The camp made me realize that as our world progresses it becomes increasingly crucial for citizens to uphold the values that have made our country such a strong democracy. There is a reason why I wanted to come to the U.S. in the first place – this is supposed to be the land of the free, home of the brave, the place that emphasizes justice and equal opportunity above anything else. It may feel as though our country is increasingly straying from these values, that it is losing its sense of direction as each day passes and that we have never been this divided before. Given this, it can be very easy to lose hope. 

It is our duty as U.S. citizens to never lose faith in our democracy and to maintain and strengthen the values on which our country was founded. America is not perfect and it certainly has many flaws, but we must never give up and we must continuously work towards making our country a better place. More importantly, it is our duty to trust one another and always be there for one another. No matter what similarities or differences we each may have, we must all be a part of the process of creating and cultivating what America should be all about. The moment that we abandon one another and lose sight of this common goal is the moment this democracy falls – we, as U.S. citizens, must never let this happen. 

I encourage you all to explore your citizenship further as I have, and I especially encourage you to take direct action in fighting for our democracy. Whether your fight is through voting and participation in protests and demonstrations, or it is through community service and educating others – do whatever it is you think is necessary to make America the America you want it to be.