For young Glendale resident Aliyana Johnson, America is a land made up of a diverse network of people, ideas and talents. Having the freedom to receive an education, make choices for herself and pursue any career path she wants is part of why she said she loves her country.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I think of America, I don\u2019t just think of a place on a map \u2014 I think of the stories that built it,\u201d Johnson said in her contest-winning essay. \u201cAmerica is not just a country, but a place of freedom, dreams, diversity, opportunities and struggles that all generations will have to overcome.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The fifth-grade America250 Essay Contest recently concluded, naming Johnson the winner from the Barrel District and the citywide winner. The other winning students were Ava Donnelly from the Cholla District, Atoosa Khairy from the Cactus District, Eli Lewis from the Ocotillo District, Shiloh Perrin from the Sahuaro District and Keziah Ateh from the Yucca District.<\/p>\n
Much of Johnson\u2019s essay celebrates America as a place where diversity thrives, and said she feels it strengthens the nation. The citywide winner explained that she comes from a culturally diverse background \u2014 with one great-grandfather from China and another from Mexico. The former owned and operated a store in Phoenix and the latter, she said, likely picked cotton in Glendale.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI chose to write about my family because I was really inspired by them,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cI also chose to write about the freedom of choice because I feel very grateful to be able to choose who I want to be friends with and what career I want to have.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She added that while she\u2019s not entirely sure what she wants to do when she gets older, she is particularly interested in veterinary medicine and also enjoys writing. The citywide winner\u2019s favorite animal is the fox and she is also very fond of her grandmother\u2019s dog \u2014 \u201cwhich is also my dog, in a way.\u201d Additionally, Johnson said writing as a hobby gives her the freedom to use her imagination and create whichever story she chooses to.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
To commemorate their accomplishments, each bright young person received a certificate from the city and many had the opportunity to take a photo with the city council member who represents their district. Additionally, they were given a $25 Amazon gift card \u2014 which Johnson\u2019s mother, Adela Ogden, said her daughter likely spent on fox-themed merchandise. Ogden expressed that she could not be more proud of her child and was struck by her daughter\u2019s eloquence and intelligence.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m super proud she\u2019s overcome some of her shyness, because you know it\u2019s tough being a fifth-grade girl and she has overcome that,\u201d Ogden said. \u201cI\u2019m so happy that she loves her country and recognizes things that a lot of fifth graders don\u2019t \u2014 I feel like she\u2019s a little adult sometimes.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Aliyana Johnson included family history in her America250 essay, drawing inspiration from ancestors she said helped shape her understanding of America\u2019s diversity and opportunities.\u00a0<\/p>\n
(Adela Ogden\/Submitted)<\/p>\n
Looking toward her future, Johnson said that she\u2019s excited to see the ways in which America will grow. She said that while the country is an amazing place to call home, there are ways we can improve. The America250 essay contest winner said she\u2019s optimistic about each Americans\u2019 ability to contribute to a better tomorrow \u2014 from contributions as small as helping to pick up trash to greater undertakings such as pursuing an education.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis country may not be perfect. We have plenty of ways we can grow, but it is still a wonderful place to grow up and live,\u201d Johnson said in her essay. \u201cWhen I think of America\u2019s last 250 years, I\u2019m thankful for the people that came before me (and) I\u2019m also excited to see how my own future will contribute to America\u2019s next 250 years.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For young Glendale resident Aliyana Johnson, America is a land made up of a diverse network of people,…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":859351,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5131],"tags":[350582,5229,146531,5643,1587,350583,100678,40889,1589,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":["post-859350","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-phoenix","tag-aliyana-johnson","tag-america","tag-america250","tag-arizona","tag-az","tag-barrel-district","tag-essay-contest","tag-glendale","tag-phoenix","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116730251633417085","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/859350","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=859350"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/859350\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/859351"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=859350"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=859350"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=859350"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}