10 Reasons why the 4th of July is my favorite holiday.

Happy 4th Ya'll!!

It may sound rather odd but the 4th of July is my FAVORITE holiday. I live for this day and it's not because I am super patriotic or anything like that. Below I will list 10 reasons why this is my favorite day of the year:

1. The FOOD! Thanksgiving might have turkey but I am truly an All American girl when it comes to my favorite foods. I love grilling burgers and hot dogs, potato salad, banana pudding, ice cream, and the ever important supply of beer.

2. Fireworks! They just make everything better don't they? I mean it's the one and only time when you and an entire group of strangers will sit and audibly freak out over things catching fire in the sky. And they are so pretty...

3. The weather. I personally HATE cold weather which is why Christmas doesn't make my top 3 favorite holidays. I don't like winter and having to stay shut up inside all day. The 4th of July is warm and specifically designed to be celebrated outside in the sunshine.

4. You can spend it with whomever you want. Major holiday's like the aforementioned Christmas holiday and Thanksgiving you will most likely spend with your family and people you never see. On the 4th of July, WHO KNOWS WHO YOU WILL MEET?! It's a great holiday to share with new friends. This year my friends and I met some of the nice families across the street from the apartment complex where we were celebrating and helped set off fireworks with their children. It truly teaches you the meaning of the American Melting Pot when you communicate with complete strangers over nothing but the fact that you live in the same country.

5. The Booze. So I sort of talked about this in #1 but I want to make sure it gets it's own category. There is nothing better than relaxing with a hot dog in one hand and a beer in the other on a beautiful day in July. Two years ago I played flip cup on a floating beer pong table in a pool with red, white, and blue Jello Shooters. You can literally drink as much as you want, this is America and we support that.

6. The Red, White, and Blue. EVERYONE looks good in these colors and it's super easy to decorate and be festive. Whether you really get into it and cover up head to toe in the colors that don't run or you just put on a fun flag themed t-shirt, it's just FUN to wear red, white, and blue!

7. The music. Who doesn't love to sing along to "Born in the USA!" or "God Bless the USA" or "American Pie" ? You can play these songs and just dance around and be silly because it's the 4th of July and you are living in America.

8. This is the one day where people just stop complaining and have a good time. I'm not going to get into a lot of detail here but we live in a country where people express their opinions about the state of the nation constantly. It's just nice to have one day out of the year where we can all just put it behind us and celebrate our Independence!

9. Community Events. Parades, Music Festivals, Fireworks Displays, County Fairs, etc. No matter where you live there is ALWAYS something to do on the 4th of July. Being from a small town, it's the one day a year where all 4,000 people in Dublin, VA are excited to get together. There is just a comradery on this particular day in the USA where we all get excited about the same things. I love it!

10. The USA. People can talk about her all they want but at the end of the day I am an American girl and I love Cheeseburgers, Dollar Stores, Rock and Roll, Coca Cola, my Mama, Barack Obama, musicals, Ford Mustangs, New York City, and Iced Tea.

I hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July and that the day was filled with all of the things listed above. If not, then there is always next year and I'm sure all the 4th of July memorabilia is now on sale at Wal-Mart.

xoxo