Letter: More than a flag

Editor's note: Today is Flag Day.

Pete and Liz Hunziker of Naples submit this Flag Day essay by their grandson, Tavin Hunziker, of Rome, N.Y.

He did it this past school year for extra credit in the fifth grade — and won second place in a statewide Daughters of the American Revolution contest.

His theme: "What the flag of the United States of America means to me."

The flag of the United States means freedom to most people. It might also stand for the men and women who fought and died for us to get that freedom. Most people know that the stars on the flag stand for the 50 current states and the stripes stand for the original 13 colonies.

The flag can also mean new hope for people just like me.

I was born in Thailand where there isn't a democracy. The king of Thailand makes all of the rules. My mom and dad adopted me so the first time I saw the American flag was when my mom sent me stickers in the mail. I don't really remember because I was still a baby.

When I was two years old I came into the United States. The first time I actually remember seeing the U.S. flag was on my "special day" — the day I became an American citizen. That day my dad and I went to a big government building in Boston. We had to wait in a long line and finally they told me I was a citizen. They handed me a small American flag. That flag is now in my room next to my flag from Thailand reminding me of my past and my future.

So, as a fifth-grade American, the flag means the freedom to say what I want, the opportunity to go to school, the ability to travel freely, the freedom to have friends no matter what color their skin or religion, the privilege to vote for our government officials and mostly the opportunity to grow up and be anything I want to be.