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" On August 20, 1990, shortly after graduating high school, I packed a few of my treasured belongings (a futon, my Mac, some books, a Gaultier signature blazer) into the back of my dad&amp;#039;s station wagon and drove from Toronto to New York City with my 70-something-year-old grandmother.   I had already decided that I was going to work at fashion magazine and the only place to do this of course was Manhattan. After driving for hours, we finally began to approach the city and I was overcome with excitement. So much so, I took the wrong exit when I saw a sign for 30th Street and immediately shrieked, &amp;quot;I&amp;#039;m going to 28th Street. We&amp;#039;re here.&amp;quot; It was 30th street all right. Just in the Bronx; I was one borough too early. But despite my detour, we finally made it to the right 28th street. Clutching the latest issues of various fashion magazines under my arm, I told my grandmother this is home! I said this very definitively of course, despite not having a job or working papers.   One of our first stops was FIT, where I enrolled so I could apply for a student visa and work towards a degree in fashion journalism. Glancing around at the chain-link fences, abandoned cars and graffiti, I could tell my grandmother was horrified, but she smiled and gave me the thumbs up. I never forgot that. It was the only sign I needed to know that I could make it here.  Last week, on Friday, May 21, 2010, in a federal courthouse, I finally felt like I had actually made it. I showed up at 9am, placed my right hand to my heart and pledged allegiance to the flag and was sworn in as an American citizen. The moment I left, my inbox was flooded with congratulations from friends, who also dutifully warned me about looming obligations I would be required to fulfill like jury duty and voter registration. Secretly, I can&amp;#039;t wait to experience those rights of passage. I was too young to vote in Canada and after living here through the no-voting-privileges of student visas, free-trade visas, O-1 visas and a greencard, I&amp;#039;ve never had the chance to pull the lever! While I couldn&amp;#039;t participate in 08&amp;#039;s history-making presidential election, I did spend the night of November 3rd cheering in Times Square with fellow Americans who were given that opportunity to cast their votes, thinking about the day I&amp;#039;d be able to fulfill my patriotic duties as an American citizen. In fact, I can&amp;#039;t wait to recieve my first jury summons. When that notice comes, I can only hope some laywer picks me for a huge trial, so that I can be that annoying juror wanting to revisit all the evidence, Law and Order style. My grandmother passed on last year, but I think she would have been proud of me standing in that court house and passing the U.S. Citizenship test for which I studied furiously. Along the way, lots of people told me things would be impossible to accomplish, including working at a fashion magazine. Finding my way out of the Bronx that day without a map seemed impossible, but I still did it. After that, I knew I could accomplish what I set out to do as long as I was determined enough to work for it. After that I knew nothing was impossible. And that&amp;#039;s what this country means to me. I received many well wishes from everyone on Twitter (thank you!) but the one that stayed with me came from @threemohicans who said that I &amp;quot;lived the hell out of the American Dream!!&amp;quot; And you know what? She&amp;#039;s right. Thank you Joan and thank you, America. \u2013Joe Zee "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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