Happy 235th, dear America.
You know what independence means to me?
It means not cowering in fear.
It means coming out of the shadows.
It means understanding that I am responsible for my own mistakes and my own happiness.
It means embracing the clichés and waving my flag and letting my little light shine.
And most of all, it means that I can spread out my wings as I spread out on my bed.
(At least until the rugrats come to roost.)