Yo estoy orgullosa.

View of the Charles River from Harvard Bridge looking in the direction of the Longfellow Bridge taken sometime Monday evening before the sun disappeared.



This is me and Pablo, a fellow UAG med student, enjoying Boston's 4th of July festivities. (Note: His Boston Red Sox cap had been given to him about 4 years ago before he even knew where Boston was or what the Red Sox were. Life's circumstances sometimes are just too perfect to be just circumstance.) :)

Monday was indeed a very long day, but Pablo introduced me to his housemates and I made many new friends. They were all international, mostly from Germany and France, so being the only American amongst our group for a very American holiday was quite a unique experience.
It was brought to my attention that our particular holiday celebration was seen as odd because of the fireworks. When I responded that Mexico has fireworks at their independence celebration it was explained. Mexico has 'el grito' as their big celebration and fireworks accompany 'el grito'. But in America we have fireworks and then occasionally a concert (as in Boston's case) or music to accompany the fireworks. Here the celebration IS the fireworks. I understood the point being made and confessed I'd never thought about it before. The discussion kind of ended there. Sometimes I have to think awhile, and after mulling this particular topic over for a day I've come to a more dramatic conclusion than the one I made yesterday. And that is that we celebrate our fireworks because, they aren't just fireworks to an American. Listen to our National Anthem and it will tell you that:
"And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;"
When Sandi Patti's rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner swells at the end of the fireworks display to que the grand finale these crowds of people aren't shouting and cheering for a mere bit of gunpowder and fire, but they are shouting in recognition of a great nation that has fought, and bleed, and by the grace of God exists today yet strong, and in that moment they are free, they are united and they are proud.

God Bless America!