A lot of citizens don’t quite know how to describe what being American is. Our nationalism is thin, and famously hard to describe. I think that as a daughter of an immigrant it is very true that many immigrants don’t really know what being an ‘American’ means in a way they can put into words. When my mom is with her family and her friends, she is Korean. They are her community. When she is at school or at work, she is an American. She is a citizen who deserves respect and all of the rights she earned when she became a citizen. It is kind of weird to see her shift identities so fluidly, but it also makes sense. America doesn’t have a cultural identity that is as prominent or strong as Korea, and my mom identifies so much more with the Korean culture that she grew up with. At the same time, she’s proud to be an American and chose this country because she loved it. I have always thought it was so interesting how people can move here and still retain so much of their culture and still be American.

When I think of ‘American’, I think of the painting American Gothic by Grant Wood. It has become an Icon that so many things have parodied. I don’t know why I feel that this painting just personifies America. It reminds me of the frontier that a lot of people associate America with, farming, white people, and work ethic and ruggedness.

Grant Wood traveled to Europe and his art was greatly influenced by artists there. This painting is a result of his Iowan farm roots and European influences. The painting is an example of how America is a collection of cultures and identities that form one nation.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lf3ER5Ope_s