What important topic would you want to give a speech about to a school-wide audience? by Samantha

What important topic would you want to give a speech about to a school-wide audience? by Samantha - March 2017 Scholarship Essay

If I was given the opportunity to speak to a crowd, I would express the need for every American to be good patriotic citizen. America is important to me for many reasons. I have always understood what being a patriot and a good U.S. citizen means because I am a daughter of a local 8th grade American history teacher. Since I was little girl, I have been on many historical trips to battlefields and historical monuments with my father. When I was younger, these trips meant spending time with the role model I admired. However, I now know that my father purposely planned these trips for my family and me so that we could understand the importance of America and how the hallowed battlefields and grounds served as a reminder that freedom has a cost. These trips also meant that my father could share his love for family genealogy, never letting me forget about the ancestors who fought courageously for a better now. He also wanted my sister and I to understand that we live in the best country in the world, and that the least we could do to make America better is to take ownership in being the best citizen that we could be and to pay respect to the men and women that help fight to keep us free today.
I am a proud granddaughter who has two grandfathers who served in the U.S. Army and the Navy during the Korean War and Vietnam Era. More importantly, I am a great granddaughter of two WWII veterans who served over seas. My family genealogy does not stop there. My ancestors fought to preserve the life I live today since the French and Indian War. I am proud to say my family has paid the price for freedom, so that I can enjoy the patriotic spirit of living free.
The America I live in today gives me the right to vote as a woman in elections, gives me freedom to worship at my church, and allows me to bear arms and target shoot with the rifle of my choice. It allows me to study and prepare to attend and study music at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. I understand clearly that this country is a land of opportunity. I am American born and proud to call myself a U.S. citizen.