250 stories. 250 years. One nation, still becoming.
To mark America's 250th anniversary, Story of US is collecting 250 personal stories from individuals across the country. Each one reflects a family's journey, an identity, and what belonging in America has meant. Together they form a living portrait of the nation at its milestone moment.
No nation begins as a certainty.
It begins as a bet.
Two hundred fifty years ago, a small group of people bet that ordinary citizens could govern themselves better than any king. It was not a safe bet. It is still not finished. But the bet held, and word of it traveled: that where you start does not have to determine where you end. That belonging could be built, not just inherited.
31 of 250 collected so far, from 5 states. The portrait is just beginning.
Every dot is a person.
Stories land on the map where their tellers live, city by city, state by state. Follow a dot far enough and it becomes a family, a kitchen, a language, a life.
Not one story told 250 times.
250 different stories that happen to share an address. A few of them, first.
“If there's a single thread running underneath the novels, the research, and the teaching I'm working toward, it's this: cultural identity for diaspora Chinese Americans is rarel...”
Rebecca F. Kuang
“I know this interview offers an unusually unfiltered look at a life that's mostly stayed overshadowed by someone else's celebrity, and I don't say that with any bitterness. If t...”
Lin Huijia
“I don't know if I'll ever fully close the gap between my skill and my mother's. I've made peace with that, mostly, because I've come to understand that what we're passing down i...”
Li Ying
“My goal, at the end of the day, is building a responsible, confident, and genuinely safe gun culture within the Chinese American community — one where people understand the law,...”
Sandy Chen
“In the end, I tell every family the same thing: a student's long-term achievements and character will matter more than which college's name ends up on their diploma. My job isn'...”
Wu Di
Your story belongs here.
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