In 2004, when I was 22 years old, I received my green card and I was finally able to stop looking over my shoulder. Five years later, on one of the happiest days of my life, I became a citizen. I still tear up every time I hear the national anthem, and get super excited to vote. But the moment where I first truly felt like an American was the first time I was called for jury duty. I wasn’t chosen for a jury, probably because I was so visibly excited to be there that the lawyers thought I was crazy, but for me, that was the sign that I truly belonged, and that I could come out of the shadows and be fully embraced by my new home.