What comes to mind when I think of Independence Day? Fireworks. Parades. Patriotism. Time spent with friends and family.

But what does this holiday really mean? It’s a celebration of the Declaration of Independence. This document established the United States as a separate entity from Great Britain in the form of a laundry list of grievances addressed to King George III, sandwiched between a few paragraphs discussing why the United States needed to dissolve its allegiance to Great Britain.

The Declaration of Independence. It’s kind of a big deal.

It gave us the concept of “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” And that document is what tells us that “whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”

And just to make sure the American government doesn’t become one of those governments that becomes “destructive of these ends,” we have the Constitution. It’s not foolproof, but it’s a good plan. So what does the Fourth of July mean to me?

It’s a day on which I remind myself that I am an American citizen. That my country was founded on the basis of protecting the life, freedom and happiness of its people. So on July Fourth, I will celebrate like so many Americans, with friends, family, food, parades and fireworks.

But it won’t end there. I will continue to celebrate every day, for the rest of my life, as an American.

– Jessie Opoien is a sophomore in pre-journalism and mass communication from Marinette, Wis.