At the Perth Amboy High School Graduation Ceremonies 6/24/16, some of the words spoken by the Valedictorian and Salutatorian stuck with me.

The Salutatorian Rafael Tafur became emotional when he talked about his mother not being here for his graduation. She was in Peru getting documentation on her road to become an American Citizen. He also spoke proudly about his father who has been in this country for 29 years and failed the citizenship test the first time and finally the second time around, he became a naturalized American Citizen.

Tafur spoke with great pride about his parents and achieving this great dream. The point is that it took his parents years.  They waited patiently and followed the rules.

When the Valedictorian, Angela Febres came up to speak, she talked about how human trafficking and other social ills are still prevalent.

When I listened to these two young people speak, I said to myself, If they keep on that same train of thought, they will become great leaders.

We ourselves, have written editorials pertaining to human trafficking, and especially how it pertains to children and young adults. We’ve also written about the importance of assimilating to become an American Citizen and you can still hold on to your cultural heritage.

As we celebrate the Fourth of July, let’s not forget those who fought for our freedom and let’s all celebrate this holiday boldly displaying the American flag. C.M.