When one is asked their favorite amendment, they most likely think of the Bill Of Rights first. These guaranteed amendments outline our rights as the American people. They state exactly what we can and can not do. These amendments were not enforced until December 15, 1791, so before there was partial havoc in the guidelines of the American citizen.

We as American citizens may not fully realize how fortunate we are to have these amendments in our lives. In some countries, citizens are treated as peasants and the lower class just based on the fact they are not the president or king or queen of the country.

I would personally say the first amendment is my favorite amendment because it allows me to have the freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition. I know this may seem like it does not matter to some but it matters to me. Being able to have these rights allow me to use my voice to preach what I believe in whether that is religion, a personal thought, or even myself petitioning a rule or law.

I feel as though it is very important to have the ability to say “no” or “I disagree with that” when a person makes a statement. Additionally, I feel it is important for me to be able to say something without getting punished because of my opinion. Such as in Geography class at school I feel I should be able to say I disagree with these policies and opinions. Or even when I attended the Junior National Young Leaders Conference, the students were able to openly share their opinions on government, schooling, bullying or many other topics.

I personally believe that freedom of speech is important because, without it other people would not be able to share their opinions openly. When opinions are shared, ideas develop and expand. I can relate to this because I go to a sports camp where boys from many different countries such as Italy, Germany, France, Spain and many other countries come for the summer.

I also feel that the right to petition is important. In the past, I collected Pokemon cards along with many of my classmates at school. When I was in the fourth grade everyone loved Pokemon cards. Day after day, people were trading their cards. Eventually, one child felt the trade he made with another person was unfair and he felt the best way to resolve it was to tell the school principal. After that, the principal decided to ban Pokemon cards as a whole. So, a group of kids, including myself, created a petition asking the school to lift the ban on Pokemon cards. Shortly after devising the petition, we had roughly forty signatures in twenty minutes. But, when the principal found out, she took the petition and ripped it up in front of our faces, leaving us with no way to fight.

The first amendment even expands into the people's right to assembly. This right is very undervalued when it comes to the ability to speak freely. When people come to speak out against things, they typically assemble in large groups to show how their opinions are supported by many people and not just one person. This is because people feel there is power in numbers. In American history there have been many instances of assemblies to speak out against the government. One of my favorite examples being when James Otis said, “ No taxation without representation.” This started a large outbreak in the people to fight for representation in parliament.