It was true that I had learned U.S. history before, had come to America before and had already completed several interview assignments at Medill. Nevertheless, I stood bewildered in the street decorated with red, white and blue. Apprehension crept into my heart at the thought of reporting on the Fourth of July parade, something I had not the slightest experience with.
Timidly approaching strangers with no clue of a story in mind, I decided to ask them the simplest question I could think of: What does the Fourth of July mean to you?
The answers I received varied from spending time with family to the significance of liberty and freedom. Upon learning that I was an international student, my interviewees began to tell me about America’s social and political events. It was as if the roles of the reporter and the subject had switched, and through their responses, I searched for my own answer to this supposedly “simple” question.
As the parade began, queues of campaigners, dancers and cars seamlessly passed in front of my eyes, echoed with cheers from the sidewalks and the booming sounds of music. As someone who was watching a parade for the first time, I was excited. I found myself blending into the crowd as I applauded and laughed with strangers around me, experiencing a shared moment of joy and pride that I had never felt before.
I knew it would be challenging to integrate myself into a new community as an international student. But as the parade came to an end, I had only begun to understand what the Fourth of July meant to me.
