The American Flag has seen war, love, death, and peace in these past 245 years. The flag to me stands for perseverance no matter the circumstance.

It has seen people marching in the streets of Montgomery, Alabama fighting for their civil rights. Black people being beaten and killed by white mobs. The flag flying high looking down at the violence being produced. Screaming. Crying. It watches the people it loves fighting each other, it doesn't quite understand. But deep down it knows and has faith that they will persevere against all odds and fight for what they believe in.  

Soldiers crawling in the dark mud. Feeling the beat of their strong heart. Seeing so much red. Hearing bullets whiz past their heads, the deep thundering boom of bombs around them. Recognizing that any wrong move could be death. The thing keeping them going is the knowledge of what they are there for. Their families, the people they love, America: the country they hold dear, and keeping the flag they know and love in its rightful place waving in the air. The flag knows that they will persevere against all odds and fight for what they believe in. 

A high school choir singing the national anthem at their graduation ceremony. The beautiful harmonies ringing throughout the football field for all to hear while they look at the American flag with their hands on their hearts. Every student is thinking with their heart and mind. Looking at the flag. They’re thinking about the soldiers fighting for them, or maybe one in particular close to their hearts. Looking up in appreciation for those men and women, for what the flag stands for. Because of them, those young adults soon going into a new world know that they too can persevere against all odds and fight for what they believe in.