Today is the day! What day? The day I became a United States citizen! AND it’s on National Voter Registration Day, too! HOW APPROPRIATE!

The oath was taken, the Pledge of Allegiance was said, the “Star Spangled Banner” was sung, and my certificate was received!!! Wheee!!!!

To be quite frank, I do not know why I did not undertake this endeavor until now. It seems as though I was PRACTICALLY a citizen already…

I moved to the U.S. at age 7, and I entered 2nd grade. I studied in the public school system, all the way through high school! I even went to UC Berkeley, the best public university in the world! I even majored in political science and minored in public policy. I interned for a state assemblymember and volunteered in local government for years! But only now did I become a citizen and I am so proud to be one! I am so happy that I am a citizen for a country in which I will be a public elementary school teacher in the education system!

For reference, here is the timeline of my USCIS application journey, for those of y’all who are interested. I know that I was SUPER frustrated during the application process, because there was NO solid timeline of what to expect, so hopefully this timeline will help someone out!