"So Suze! You finished with your America the beautiful speech yet? Hope asked… well hopefully.

"Sorry, but no. I can't go out tonight." We walked home in silence, with just the rhythm of our feet padding on the tan cement sidewalk. We parted our own ways and went home. As soon as I got through the door I plodded down on the desk chair and bore into the paper with my eyes. I had written a total of two words: Suzanna Michaels.

America the Beautiful! America the Beautiful? Really I couldn't think of something so "beautiful" to write about. Yeah, I mean our country itself is beautiful. But the people in it? Not so much! I decided then and there that I was going to write a speech so moving and truthful that it would blow the judges down the Mississippi river and all the way to Brazil.

"In America I look around and see the flowers and landscapes, and I see the beauty in our country. Who doesn't marvel in awe at the pink hues of the sunset or even the oranges and blues? But what you don't think about is the fact that those wonderful colors are caused by pollution.

America the free, some people call it. Yeah right. Of course unless you mean free to kill an innocent baby before it breathes its first breath. Or free to exercise prejudice against people of different culture. We should call ourselves America the Judging. If someone is wearing a certain type of clothing or a lot of black we automatically categorize them. He's goth, she's a hic, he's a scrub. What if that so called goth just wanted to wear black that day? What if that "Scrub" is having a hard time at home and doesn't have any time to care about it?

America the greedy is also appropriate. Let's say you buy a lottery ticket and win 15 million dollars. You spend it on a very nice vacation and retirement. But what about the people who don't have enough money to rent a room or buy food, the starving kids in Africa? What about the single mothers struggling to make a living? I assure you they need it more.

America the choosy. I always see people walking around in pink support breast cancer shirts. But why do you very rarely see purple to support all cancers? Or the color for leukemia?

America the Brave is another name we have been called. Is it really brave to kill thousands of people? It's wrong even when the cause is just. Is it brave to not send food to countries who need it when America has the highest obesity rate of all of them?

The last name I'll give America is America the changing. Though I have seen many things in America that are ugly and wrong I still see hope. America has the ability to change and I see it happening every day all around me. It's the hope that still glistens our eyes. That is why America is America the beautiful. "

I finished the speech with a large breath and lowered my head in a sort of bow. I saw tears shining in some eyes, anger burning in others', but mostly I saw realization and agreement. They knew I was right. Nodding, the judges dismissed me and I left with pleasure. Once outside I looked all around me and saw it. America the beautiful. America the Changing.