By Lee Longhorn

Today, Nov. 16, 2011, the state of Oklahoma celebrates its 104 birthday.

For those that don’t know much about the history of this state, allow me to enlighten you. A long time ago, during removal, many tribes across the country were removed to what was then called “Indian Territory.” Today, there are over 30 tribes that have their headquarters located in the state.

Of my eight affiliations, seven are located within the state. From Okmulgee to Shawnee and Miami (pronounced My-am-uh) to Seminole, this is where I’m from. Many individuals with tribal affiliations within the state may not feel as proud of their state like I do at times.

Not to say that I’m not proud to live in a state directly located within the Bible belt. It is nice to live in a state where the weather changes faster than the Powerball numbers.

I remember in 2007, when it was the year of the Oklahoma Centennial. On Nov. 16, 2007, I was in the OU marching band and that year we got to march in several parades including the centennial celebration in Guthrie, Okla.

During the parade, there was a rally at the capitol against the celebration of the statehood birthday. I remember seeing my friends and colleagues in pictures on Facebook.

I thought about my involvement with the centennial. Was I a traitor for what I did? Was I supporting the idea that it was ok to steal land and then try and enforce assimilation onto different groups of individuals? Was it wrong of me to wear the letters “OU” across my chest and sing the state song “Oklahoma” down the streets of both Guthrie and in New York City? To be quite honest with you, yeah it was.

What I got out of that experience was the ability to progress from the past and know that there is always hope in the future. I’ll never forget visiting New York City (did I mention the only thing I had to pay for was the dozen of “I heart NYC” shirts and my mom’s fake Kashmir scarf). To me, the trip and experience of celebrating the beginning of the second century of statehood meant overcoming adversity and moving toward a brighter future.

A few months after the centennial celebration, I had a life altering moment. Everything in my world was changed and I was at a fork in the road. I could take the easy and cowardly way out and set myself back a few years or I could move toward the harsh reality of life and continue toward my goals and achievements. I took the harder road.

After years of painstaking education (some of the best in the country, in my opinion), living off Chick Fil-A for months, counting pennies for gas and eating oatmeal every night, I reached a mile marker in my life.

While there are those that will sit and wallow in the past, I choose to look ahead to the future.

In 1890, a man named David Ross Boyd arrived in a dusty little boomtown called Norman. The young man stepped out off the train and saw a vast prairie that stretched as far as the eye could see. He met a group of townspeople who were interested in starting a university. When Boyd arrived at Norman, he asked the townspeople, “Where’s the campus?”

A person stretched out his hand and pointed to the middle of town. Boyd responded with “What possibilities. What possibilities.”

Like the history of the state, a person’s own history can be filled with sorrow, chaos and an occasional 5-plus earthquake; it takes the future and possibilities to reach a goal and overcome adversity.

While there may be a few who do not agree with the celebration of the state, I find myself staring at the history and future of the state and my own and thinking “What possibilities.”

Lee Longhorn is a reporter for the Muscogee Nation News.