A sample of my personal writing: an editorial on the American Experience. While this is not the best writing I have ever done, it was my first attempt at writing an editorial and I am proud of it. Enjoy!

To Protest, or Not to Protest

          Gimmie that! It’s my turn! No, it’s my turn! As a little kid, you believe you should get what you want, when you want it. Whether it is your turn on the swing set or your turn to pick what TV show to watch, people always seem to fight for what they want. This has been seen throughout history, however, on a much larger scale. In America, people have not always had the freedoms they have wanted. To obtain what they wanted, people fought for what they believed in through the implication of protests. In order for people to get what they want, they must protest.

            Protesting has played an important role in the development of the American nation we know today. These protests were well thought out methods used to voice opinions. The misconception people have, however, is the thought of medieval times when people stormed the castle with their pitch forks and torches. This is not the case. Yes this was the way of protesting back then, but it has greatly evolved since then. For instance, the idea of peaceful protesting is now more favorable than violent uprisings. Now yes there are plenty of other means of voicing your opinion, but logically, protesting is the most successful way.

 Protesting has helped us gain rights such as the freedom of speech and the freedom of the press; rights we never even imagined possible. Without protesting, we may not have ever attained the basic rights we have today.

            For a vast amount of time, African Americans were denied the rights whites had were simply based on the color of their skin. They were denied “unalienable rights” such as the right to vote and the right to work for equal pay. This spurred the Civil Rights Movement. People such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. strived towards acquiring the rights that he, and many others had been wrongly denied. In order to attain what he wanted, Martin Luther King Jr. encouraged peaceful protests. He encouraged people to use tactics such as boycotts and sit-ins but always stresses non- violent acts.

            Without the desire to make a better life for themselves, where would African Americans or even anyone else with a dream be without the improvements made as a result of protests?. Without protests, we may have never integrated our schools and allowed our fellow citizens the right to vote. So who knows, without protests, we could still be “separate but equal”. Though the implication of protests, African American stood up for what they believed in, and in doing so, they paved the way for others to do the same.

When I was in elementary school, every January, we would learn about Martin Luther King Jr. in honor of the upcoming holiday. After learning of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and everything he accomplished, decided I wanted use similar ideas.

 As a little girl, I too preformed my fair share of peaceful protests. Growing up in a house of three girls, it was not always easy to get what I wanted. For instance, we only had one “kids” computer that the three of us had to share. We all liked to play computer games but taking turns was not always our strong suit. When one of my sisters was on the computer and I wanted a turn, I would protest. I would stand in front of the computer screen so she could not see the game anymore. I would then refuse to move until she gave up the computer and let me have my turn. Without using violence, I was still able to get my point across. By protesting, and fighting for what I believed was rightfully mine, I got what I wanted.

Protesting has helped our country grow from its beginning as the thirteen colonies to the fifty states that make up our nation today. Without their helping hands along the way, we may have never gotten to experience the results they yield. Protests are an important part of our history, and they should never be forgotten.