First Time Voter Maxine Linehan Writes/Sings About What America Means to Her

By: Nov. 08, 2016
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Today was is the first time that recording artist Maxine Linehan voted as an American citizen, and she took to Medium to write about her experience:

On August 2013, I attended what I expected would be a meaningful but pedantic event. What I didn't expect was the overwhelming emotion I felt at my naturalization ceremony. Sure I was excited, and had a fabulous celebration planned afterwards, but I never thought that I would stand with my hand in the air, looking at the American flag, tears streaming down my face as I was sworn in as a United States Citizen. Well, I was WRONG, I cried, hard.

I'm a self-analyst so I really wanted to figure out why the hell I was crying when this was a joyful, fulfilling moment. I figured it out pretty quickly. In a room with 150 people, we were called by country to stand and pledge allegiance. They called FORTY SEVEN different countries, in alphabetical order. As the tension built with every country name, I waited patiently for the letter "I", I looked around at these people with me, they were all so different, different skin, different clothes, different style but we were all there together for one singular reason, we ALL wanted to be Americans. I thought about the millions of people over the last 240 years who came here for this exact reason. When we got to Ireland, I stood and I wept. I thought of the millions of Irish who fled famine and war for a life in the Free World, people who just wanted to live a good life, work hard, feed their children and worship whomever they wanted. Many of these people and their dreams died in the Atlantic ocean. I suddenly felt so lucky, so grateful and I kept on crying. And now I'm crying again just writing this.

She continued:

Today I vote for the first time, I vote for a WOMAN, a candidate who inspires unity, inclusion and love. A candidate who has spent a lifetime as a public servant. A candidate who we can be proud of as a nation. A candidate who knows we ARE STRONGER TOGETHER.

Click here to read her full blog.

International concert and recording artist Maxine Linehan has been hailed as an incredible talent by the thousands of audiences who have witnessed her performances. Linehan made her Paris debut at Théâtre du Châtelet with the wildly acclaimed What Would Petula Do?, a tribute to Petula Clark. As a concert performer she has enraptured crowds in venues large and small, from New York's Lincoln Center and The Town Hall, to Feinstein's/54 Below and Birdland, to cities across America. Her ability to emotionally engage throughout a stunning vocal performance is unparalleled.


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