Chloe Davies, a seventh-grader at All Saints School in Manassas,
is an aspiring mystery writer and proud patriot. She won this year’s American
Legion state middle school essay competition, “I Like Living in America
Because…” Davies’ essay cites the United States’ many freedoms and her father’s
own experience as an immigrant as reasons why she believes this country is,
“one of the best in the world.”
Davies’ parents met in the United Kingdom when her mother
traveled there to study abroad during college. Her father later moved to the
United States and is now an American citizen. “He often tells me how much
opportunity he has here. He has a brother who he says doesn’t have as much
opportunity,” said Davies. “Also, America has better dental (care).”
In her essay, she noted the wise work of the Founding Fathers,
who protected important liberties in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. “In
other countries, people don’t have the freedom of religion, the freedom of
speech, and the freedom of assembly,” she wrote. “In America, I can choose
the religion I want to practice, I can say what I want to say without being
persecuted, and I can gather together with my friends, and not have soldiers
come in and harm us.”
With the opportunities her country has given her, Davies hopes to
become a writer or an actress when she grows up. She currently is writing a
book, and greatly appreciates all the support and advice her family and her
fellow classmates give her. She thanks her language arts teacher, Melissa
DeBruyne, for “pushing me to edit the essay as much as I could,” she said.
To recognize her achievement, members of the American Legion Post
10 in Manassas presented Davies with a medal at an assembly March 17.
Davies hopes Americans can concentrate less on the nation’s problems
and remember all the gifts the country has given its citizens. “If we would
focus on the positive, we would all be more grateful,” she said.
