The fourth day of the seventh month of the year seems like just a normal day to any person that isn’t American. The day that the Declaration of Independence was signed. A day that is filled with family, friends, fun, food and fireworks to celebrate this freedom. Any typical American comes together to celebrate this day and any other holiday despite their differences.  

The morning has just come and you along with the busy world both are wide awake. You peel your eyes open but can barely see anything because you cannot handle the blinding light of the sun peeking through the shades. You can feel the warmth through the glass barrier between you and the great outdoors. The day has just begun. You stretch out every muscle that had been dormant for the last nine hours.

Today is a day like no other, you go down the twenty steps that led to a room filled with your family members that have traveled near and far. You look around and see so many familiar and friendly faces. It’s just like the warmth of the sun outside. You step into your kitchen and see your mother preparing mounds of delicious food that will be devoured in the upcoming hours. You spend the long day helping her and spending precious time with your family and friends.

No matter where you lived you made the best out of this day. Whether it is on the lake or in the city you play countless games and live for the competition. It’s a day to put aside the many differences you may have and enjoy the company on this beautiful day to celebrate the freedom that this beautiful country has. Everything about this day is so freeing, it all seems weightless.

As the time ticks on, it is finally time to enjoy the food your mother has slaved over for hours. You can smell the aroma of the food and hear the sizzling of the burgers on the grill that your dad is manning. As you bite into your salad you can hear the crunch of the fresh and crisp lettuce that you just got from the farmer’s market a day or two prior. You can hear your little cousins shouting and fighting over who gets to sit next to who. The discussions that are overheard are all so tense and you realize just how much is going on in everyone’s lives. But thankfully today we all get to enjoy the hot sun beating down on us as we enjoy the company of those we love the most.

We pack into our cars as if we were sardines and go out to see the fireworks just like everyone else in the city and surrounding areas. All the cars and people remind you of all the ants in an anthill. Despite all the crazy drama filled lives all these people are living. This day, like any other holiday, we americans put all else aside and live in the moment. You realize this as you peer into the sky as you watch the lights shoot up into the sky and explode. For some reason this sensation takes us all back to when times were more simple and we all got along. The fireworks show is an escape from reality and the hussel and bussel of everyday life. The noise of the boom places you in a trance that allows for a deep meditation after the wild day that just passed.

Suddenly, before you even noticed, it is over. Everyone files back to where they came from and life goes on as usual. But like any typical American holiday differences are forgotten and something takes us out of our cruel reality of the world. But for that one long day that you hope is never ending it’s a serenity of freedom in our nation.