The glorious, green, giant stands opposite huge skyscrapers that mark the end of the vast seas and the beginning of New York City on the other side of the bay. She was put at the entrance of the docks to welcome people, who had traveled miles at sea, to America. The statue of liberty was a gift to America from France in 1886. It was built by Gustave Eiffel who later on was made famous for building the Eiffel Tower in Paris. She symbolizes the friendship between France and America, women’s rights and the end of slavery. She also represents freedom because the broken chains around her feet show the escape from cruelty, in her left hand she has a book of law that has the date of independence written on it and her crown has seven rays that represent burst of sunlight spreading enlightenment and reason throughout the world.

When I stepped of the boat I was amazed by the sea of people from all round the world that had come to see this iconic monument. I walked down the path towards the flag soaring high in the sky with the sea lapping gently against the rocky beach on my right and old, green trees standing as strong and tall as soldiers on my left. At the end of the path I turned right to see the back of her and I felt like an ant looking up to a human because she was so big and I was amazed for what she stood for. One of the things I was shocked by was that she stood for women’s rights but women weren’t allowed to go to the opening ceremony so they got in boats and watched it from the water. I felt proud for these women who were standing against sexism.

I walked further round the monument finding out about how they managed to build such a huge statue. The man who designed it was Frederic Auguste Bartholdi and he made 300 sheets of thin copper, about the thickness of two pennies. All these pieces of copper fitted together to make the statue of liberty. The sheets were made in France and then shipped over to America where they were assembled and attached to a frame built by Gustave Eiffel.

After 5 hours of learning about the Statue of Liberty it was time to leave the island and head back to the madness of New York City. On the boat I looked back to see the glorious green giant for the last time and I imagined what it might have been like arriving in Manhattan and this beautiful statue being the first thing you see. 

Fin