What is an American?

What is an american? If you were to ask a European this question, they would likely tell you flat out, it is a person who is born in America. If you asked an actual American this question, they would probably tell you it is a person that lives in America,watches football and loves hotdogs and Clint Eastwood movies. But I think that an American is a person that was not necessarily born in America but a person that came to America or was born into America in a time of need. They came to America for refuge and survival and along the way, they learned to love it and call it their home. I think that all of those American stereotypes have nothing to do with being an American and neither does where you were born. If you love America for good reasons than you are an American.