After 14 years in the United States, I proudly took the Oath of Allegiance and became a United States citizen

TL;DR version: America...fuck yeah!!

It's been a long journey. I arrived here in May 2000 with literally a suitcase full of clothes and some small personal effects. My first job interview was at WorldCom on, of all days, September 11th, 2001 - in fact the first tower fell while I was being interviewed. It was a day that fundamentally changed many people's lives, and it was certainly a turning point in mine. I was offered the job, WorldCom went bankrupt before I could even start, and the recession that followed made it very tough for a high school dropout (family reasons) with self-taught I.T. skills to find any kind of work.

So I made my own job. With a few hundred bucks I started my own web hosting business and pounded the pavements getting as many local clients as I could. To make a long story short, the business thrived, and in 2007 I sold it and I was able to put a good down payment on a house and make a substantial investment in another business. Today I own and operate 4 businesses of my own along with having part-ownership in another. I provide employment for 6 people, I'm blessed with a wonderful girlfriend and her warm, loving family, and I honestly couldn't be happier. Only in America!

That was only part of what changed for me on that fateful day though. Remarks were made while I was at WorldCom by guys wanting to go home, grab a rifle, and start fighting whoever did this to their country. Not "what is the government going to do?". No. This was personal to them. They didn't care WHY it happened so much as they cared WHO did it and WHOSE asses they needed to kick. It awakened something in me. Part knowledge that government couldn't keep me safe, and part desire to be in a position to do it for myself.

I had shot air pistols and rifles as a child, but before I was of an age where ownership of real firearms became an option, the U.K. was hit by the Hungerford Massacre and then Dunblane. Legislation made it difficult enough to get a firearms certificate that I never bothered, and my interest in the shooting sports all but disappeared. After 9/11 I started to look into my options a little more. Trust me when I say that it's a huge culture shock when coming from a very different climate to find out that you can buy firearms with no registration (allegedly hehehe), no home inspections, nothing but a clean background and, in this state at least, passing a basic written safety test then waiting 7 days.

My first gun was a Sig P226ST in 9mm. I joined a local club, practiced a lot, and then eventually found myself interested in rifles and shotguns. The rest, as anyone with BRD knows, is history  Today I'm an NRA Certified Pistol Instructor, have more guns than I care to mention, an 03 FFL, and carry permits in multiple states.

It wasn't just an awakening with regards to guns and my 2nd Amendment rights though, it was an entire shift of viewpoint. Like many legal immigrants, I take all of my constitutional rights VERY seriously, mostly because my rights were never defined and protected this way before. Nor was the scope of government. From an attitude of looking to government for safety, I now consider myself primarily responsible for my own safety and mostly want government to get the hell out of my way and stick to what they're supposed to do. It's hard to describe what a change in mindset it represents to people who were born with those protected rights, but it's a paradigm shift. And it feels wonderful to accept and embrace those freedoms along with all of the responsibilities that come with them.

When I say that today is the proudest day of my life, I am being completely sincere. I had a lump in my throat as I took the Oath of Allegiance and then, with my fellow immigrants, 35 of us from 21 different countries, sang The Star Spangled Banner with more meaning than ever before. I'm already registered to vote and have my passport application submitted. I can't wait to see what the rest of my life brings in this, my new home, and the greatest country in the world, the United States of America.

 to my Arfcom brothers and sisters. I'll be raising a glass to you as I celebrate tonight!

Congrats.
We need more like yourself.

Congrats OP.



God Bless America.

Congratulations!! I took the oath almost 26 years ago.

Congratulations!

You already spell like an American already. None of the metric overuse of vowels.

Congrats..................Great job making something of yourself!!

Congrats!

Congratulations!

Welcome, citizen.  You're already a better American than many who were born here.

Congrats Speedie!!!

Congrats!!

Congrats!

Congratulations on becoming an American.

Gratz!    

Congratulations!

Congrats Bro!  

TLDR: Original country of origin?

ETA2: UK, never mind. Have a nice pint and relax.  

Welcome.

Where were you born?

Congrats!!

 

I will buy you a beer anytime you come to Missouri

Congratulations

Cheers to you Speedie.

Good luck and I mean it.

Outstanding!!!

Congrats OP!

Congratulations!



Though, I'm kind of curious how someone from the UK came over here with only a suitcase full of clothes, never started the job they came here for and yet managed to stay in the country. My (admittedly basic) understanding of US immigration policy is that it was very difficult for someone from the UK or Western Europe to immigrate to the US, especially without a sponsoring company or university.

Welcome to Team America, fuck yeah.

Fuckin awesome! We need more Americans like you!

I had the pleasure of going to one of these ceremonies Denver a couple months ago when my sister's best friend got sworn in as well.

Helluva post. Thanks for sharing that with us. I wish you nothing but the best in your future.

congratulations

I came to the US in 1996 and I became a US Citizen on March 29th 2002.

A day I will never forget as well.

again congratulations

Congrats!

That's literally what America is here for.  Good for you.

+1

Outstanding! Congrats!

Congrats! You obviously worked hard for it, and have earned what you have. We need more like you. Keep up the good fight!

Thanks for sharing what being an American means to you. Thanks for coming to our (your) country legally.

I appreciate your perspective of being born in another country without the rights you have today.

Welcome

Congratulations OP!

Congrats fellow American.

Thank you for doing it the right way and sticking with it. Too bad it's such a PITA for those who jump through the hoops legally.

Congrats.  Unfortunately, you're a little late.

 Congrats sir!  This thread brought a genuine smile to me and made my day.

Thanks and welcome home.

Congrats!

Welcome home!

Thank you sir for enriching this country. We need more people like yourself. This also goes to prove a point, the naturalization process is so important because it teaches you your rights and the way things work in this country. Part of my resistance to amnesty  the way our current potus wants to do it is that they will not go through the same classes you have endured to become a citizen and also cheapens the process you went through. Again congrats and thank you for enriching us.

Congratulations, glad to have you here!



And congrats on dodging the bullet on Worldcom. I have a lot of friends that worked here.

Congrats!  Be proud that you know 87% more about our country than the very people who are born and raised here.

Congratulations!

Congratulations!

Right on, congratulations!

Congratulations and good job!
My father came to this wonderful country in 1953 to make his own life and did well, I wish the same for you.
Jerry