Canadian migrant Diane Brennan speaks on what the Fourth of July means to her

Diane Brennan grew up in Alberta, Canada before moving to Arizona in 1997. She decided she wanted to become a U.S. citizen and went through what became a long process of before gaining citizenship. We spoke to Diane Brennan about why it was important that she be able to call herself an American.

Brennan said that the Fourth of July means a lot to her, being when the country was created. She became a citizen in 2008. “It’s a reminder each year of the opportunities that have been allotted to me for moving here and being a citizen,” she said.

Brennan said that she started working in broadcast journalism in Canada, and was always fascinated by the opportunities that the United States posed for her and others. “We don’t have the same opportunities in Canada. Even in broadcast news, they have one ‘news station’ per city, one ‘country station’, etcetera,” Brennan said. Because of this, there simply aren’t as many jobs. She added that the U.S. was always perceived as a higher talent level, and she always wanted to crack the American market.

Brennan also said that, even though she came to the country legally, there were a few bumps in the road along the way.

“My green card actually got lost in the mail, and you had to actually wait an entire year.”

After that, Brennan had to re-apply, pay all of the fees again, and jump through the necessary hoops.

Despite all of the difficulty, though, she found inspiration.

“When you leave Canada you have the going-away party, you know? You’re going off to a new place with new employment and everyone expects you to be back home in a month,” she said. Brennan was determined to prove that wrong.