What Citizenship Looks Like in My Community: Rights & Obligations

The Cambridge dictionary defines citizenship as the state of being a member of a particular country and having rights because of it. It is also the state of living in a particular area of town and behaving responsibly. To me a good citizen in my community is a person that obeys the laws and pays their taxes. Good citizen will vote regularly in elections to make their voices heard. Voting on public issues is especially important to bring about change on different matters.

A citizen for my community helps to improve the community. There are many things that people can help with like volunteering at schools or helping with church activities that will help the community. At my church, there is a monthly food distribution that is held to help people in the community stretch their earnings to hold them for the month. This distribution allows many to be able to afford their medication and not put it on the back burner.

I worked on food distribution with my grandmother. I was surprised to hear people say thank you so much, I was trying to decide how I was going to afford my medication this month and buy food at the same time. My grandmother replied I am so sorry to hear you had to make such a decision. I am glad that we are able to help in your time of need. Now with the food from today, you will be able to purchase the medication that is important to maintain your health.

Another committee that my grandmother works on is the Transitional Prison Ministry. This program offers counseling, job preparation, and business attire for the men released from prison so they will be prepared to enter the world to begin a new life. Each quarter of the year they go to the transitional center to give the men a real meal, something many have not had since they left home. Some of the meals consist of chicken (fried or baked), Macaroni and cheese, green beans, rolls, and potato salad. Meals vary depending on the approaching holiday. No matter what they serve the men request hot sauce to put on their food. They go through two large bottles in no time.

My Grandmother is what I would call a citizen in my community. She cares about helping those in need so they could feel good about themselves. I know it must be hard on parents when they cannot afford to buy food for their kids. To be able to work with a ministry from the church that believes in helping others is very important to her. Her enjoyment comes when she sees the light in their eyes and they express gratitude for the gift of love they are receiving.

In the news today my citizen of choice is Nancy Pelosi. She is not afraid to stand up to a bully. It is more important to her to get the federal employees back to work. The bully wants to build a border wall that is not needed. She answered with not a dime will go to that project. She also denied the bully his State of The Union Address so he could have a cheering crowd due to security concerns because of his shutdown. This powerful citizen will continue to fight for the people that need her.