Today is a day of significance for me. I became an American Citizen. Saying the oath of allegiance, especially "I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign ... state or sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen.." bought up some mixed feelings/emotions. I felt I was abandoning India.

With this oath and the pledge, I became an American.

As I was walking out of the building, I watched many Vietnamese and Latino rejoice their newly earned status. For me it was the final step in the H1-Green Card-Citizen chase.

For people fleeing persecution or migrating to make a better life, the citizenship is a reward, a statement of achievement. For me, I was not fleeing anything, nor was I chasing money. I just came to this country like many others known to me, for the glamour potrayed by Hollywood, the lure of Hi-Tech etc... and stayed on, not for the glamour but for the orderliness, the clean air, the spaciousness, the ease of living, being able to take so many things for granted, the multiculture and then for the kids.