The Journaling of Hinton 389

The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Patriot's Pen Essay Contest is a youth essay competition, conducted nationwide, which gives students a chance to write 300 to 400-word essays expressing their views on an annual patriotic theme. This year the theme is "What Freedom Means to Me" and Sublimity School had three 7th-grade students at the local awards ceremony held Nov. 10 at the Stayton Fire Hall. Sublimity winners chosen by our local VFW post, are: Rachel Ptacek, 1st place; Mya Joyce, 2nd place; CharlyBeth Woodley, 3rd place. These students' essays will now advance to the district level of competition for further consideration, potentially advancing to regional and national competitions. The definition of freedom is, the condition of being free from restraints, but to me, freedom is more than that, freedom is having the right to be me and express myself. With the freedom our veterans have fought for, we really get to be ourselves. This article has been done by Essay Writers!

Freedom lets us talk how we want and explain about yourself to be how you want yourself. You can protest for what you believe is right and even if it's wrong you are able to express it. You can have a religion to follow what you believe in, not what you are forced to believe in. Not being afraid to say what you believe, because nothing bad will happen to you. If you do, it’s not a secret, is another great freedom we have. I also get to write how I want and about what I want to write about. The freedom of press. I can write fun or serious stories however I want to. Then I can share them and don't have to hide them like in some other countries. Another great freedom here is getting to go to school. In other countries, kids don't get to go to school, let alone girls. I learn a lot at school and it’s where I become myself the most.

Without this freedom we would all be more alike, and not be able to be ourselves. Every morning I wake up, not having fears of whether or not I’ll live that day. I’m confident to act as my normal self. I have no fear of this because our future, present, and past men and women have fought to keep us safe. Not in the middle of wars and not worried for our lives. Allowing us to confidently live our day. It is all of these things that make us who we are, and with the freedom we have fought for, we really can be ourselves. So free dom might just be a word in the dictionary, but to me, freedom is getting to be one-hundred percent me. To me, freedom means to be able to go to school, walk around, and do almost anything without worrying about the safety of yourself and those you love.

Unlike other countries, you don’t have to wonder whether you are going to live through the day. Technically, freedom means ‘the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint,’ but here in the United States of America, it means so much more. To Americans and others living here, freedom is the right to be yourself. We can practice any religion, such as Catholic, Buddhist, Muslim, or any others. We may print or write whatever we want. We can petition, if we feel necessary. Americans can have whatever job we are qualified for. We aren’t forced to have certain professions. Anyone can get a free and formal education through high school. In addition, anyone, at any age, has the right to continue their education. The reason we are able to enjoy these freedoms is because of our military. I thank all former and current military men and women, who gave us this gift of freedom, which we, as Americans, are known for. I know that many other people do as well. America is an amazing place to live, because of our freedom, and our military, who protect us every day.