Kiki's Notebook - Fun - What the Statue of Liberty Means to Me I wrote this essay for a VFW essay contest in my freshman year of high school. I won first place in the local competition and third place in region. Obviously, the contest was done at about the time the Statue of Liberty was getting redone. The Statue of Liberty means to me the same as it has to others for over one hundred years: the symbol of freedom, hope, and opportunity for people all over the globe. It also stands as a sign of friendship between the United States and France and the rest of the world. Just as we must pull together to save the Lady, so must we pull together to save this nation. The Lady is eroding from the ravages of nature just as the United States is eroding from the ravages of economics. The Lady must, then, also be a symbol of caring and of team-work. I see this by both the Lady being beautified and the nation lowering inflation. The Lady is also a sign of freedom. The shackles at her feet represent releases from the constricting shackles of tyranny that once bound this country. Whenever I think of hope, I think of a light, especially that of the Statue of Liberty. Her light has pierced the darkness and the despair to signal immigrants that they have come to a new home. I also think she is a sign of understanding peace. Nations were at peace when she was erected, so let us hope it is not war that finally takes the Lady away to be a sign of our foolish hostilities. Hard work and patience, too, are ideas that the Statue of Liberty represents. I say this because it took two months after her arrival to get enough money and materials together so she could be erected, and it shall be some time before her new makeover is completed. As you can see, the Statue of Liberty means a lot to me. I am quite proud to be in the same country as her.   [CONTENTS PAGE] Essay copyright 2002 by Nikola Vrtis. Site design and link compilation by Nik Vrtis. Trademarks are the property of their respective owners.