Fulfilling the American Dream
It was never brought up to my attention, but there are a lot of different ways that people view the American Dream. Some look at the American Dream as having some type of success, while others see it as having a very nice car along with a nice house. This is what most people around the world would like to have. Or is it? I thought that having nice things were what everyone should want. Yet, after I’ve done this report on this Dream I see that I was misinformed.
Since there has been so many ways to define the American Dream, I tried to find some similar definitions of it. Though I found some similarities I also came up with different approaches of it too. As mentioned before, the most common way of viewing the American Dream is basically having some type of success that includes: having a nice car, nice house, and being able to live comfortably. On the contrary, others saw the American Dream as having a steady job and being able to pay their bills at the end of every month. This perception of the dream is found mostly in those who aren’t citizens of the United States. These people may come from poorer countries, maybe third world countries where they either are in and out of work, or have never been able to get the opportunity to work. On September 17, 1859 Abe Lincoln gave a speech in Dayton, Ohio noting what any individual can do under the United States government. Lincoln mentions, “This progress by which the poor, honest, industrious, and resolute man raises himself, that he may work on his own account, and hire somebody else, is that improvement in condition that human nature is entitled to, is that improvement that is intended to be secured by those institutions under which we live, is the great principle for which this government was formed.”
All though I got some basic definitions of the dream I still wasn’t satisfied with the answers that I received. I find it odd that people see the American Dream differently. Wealth, power, and respect are the three things that I thought everyone wanted in the world. At least I thought that until now. To further enhance my quest for the way people see this dream, I decided to look at a demographic that can be considered the future of our world. This specific group of people can be found in your basic universities and colleges. I’m talking about college students, who you would think are trying to better themselves in life for some particular reason. To succeed in this task I decided to make a survey filled with questions that can pick at these college students brains. Though the survey wasn’t that much entailed, I was able to get some good answers out of these kids.
The class that I specifically wanted to reach out to first was the freshman class. It would be better to see how students, who are in their first year of a new life, view their goals and dreams. Choosing this class was a benefit because I was able to talk to kids that thought that they wanted success; due to the fact that they think it may be a way to live a happy life. As a freshman you haven’t really experienced the world and how it works, so you go off with what you’ve been accustomed to. These customs may consist of seeing how successful your parents are or even how well some of these television stars are living their lives. After all of these factors, I want to see how the college life has changed these student’s minds on how they view the American Dream.
Following the reasons of my research, I went out and began by asking the first questions. The first question in the interview was given to my roommate who’s and English major. I asked him was if making a lot of money was important in his life. He answered, “Well, I don’t think that making money isn’t really that important. I mean I’m planning to leave school with an English degree, which probably means that I’ll be an English teacher.” His answer didn’t really answer my question but I didn’t bother and continued with the interview. Since I didn’t get the answer that I wanted I asked him if he thought that college was necessary to live a good life, economically. Out of nowhere he snapped out of his bed and said that he is probably going to be an English teacher. “Teachers in general don’t get paid that much so why would I care if I make a lot money. Once again, he didn’t answer my question but I’m getting some ideas that college doesn’t always help you end up with large amounts of money.
After asking my roommate the questions I still wasn’t satisfied with the answers. I made more copies of the questions that I had asked my roommate and I handed them out to four more students. This time, instead of an actual interview I constructed a ten question survey. I found this to be much easier and at the same time I can get a more specific yes or no answer.
Out of the four students, two of them said that making a lot of money is important in life. Three students out of the four claimed that they believed being successful was a key aspect in life. In receiving these answers I wasn’t really surprised because most of the students who are in college today are looking for great success. Finally, I asked the infamous question “Do you think that the American Dream consists of being successful with attaining things like a good amount of money and a nice car?” Again, three out of the four students answered yes. Using the survey was a way for me to find a majority of people that see the American Dream as I see it.
Though it was not the end of my journey, I decided to move from such a constricted area. By this I meant that I wanted to look further in depth to see what other demographics see the American Dream as. Usually you here wonderful stories of foreigners who have came from nothing in their countries and some how came to America finding great success. At first, it was hard for me to find someone to interview. I found it hard to find someone because I never really knew a person from another country that had come from nothing to make something. The answer was right under my nose. A person that had come from practically dirt to marble floors is my own mother.
Her name is Maria Batista and she came from the Dominican Republic. The Dominican Republic is found in the Caribbean and where she lived the first sixteen years of her life wasn’t a place to go on vacation. She lived in a house with nine brothers and sisters, and of course both of her parents. I’m not going to sit here and tell you that she was horribly poor, but just being able to eat every night were her family’s main concern. By having some knowledge of all this, I was able to interview her because her background and her present was a perfect match for what I was looking for.
Without further delay, I sat down with Maria and began the interview. The first question that I asked was what she thought the American Dream was. She answered by saying, “The American Dream is to be able to live in this country with freedom to do almost what ever makes you happy. It is to get an education in order to have an excellent career so that one can be able to buy a house and have a beautiful family.” She answered the question very well, while both aiding my view and at the same time having similar opinions of others. Since she agreed with other people about the American Dream I asked her what she thought other people saw the American Dream as. She replied, “Well, I feel that every individual person has a different view on the American Dream. Most feel the same way I do, which is to have many great opportunities in life, become successful in anything that you do, and simply have a good life.” She added that others may think that the American Dream is just about being rich, being able to drive a Mercedes Benz, and living life with no worries. Without a doubt in her mind she believes that life isn’t all about material things such as those just mentioned.
Further into the interview, I began asking her questions of her past. The question that I had for her stated: “When you lived in the Dominican Republic, how did you think the American Dream would change your life?” She loves talking about her native country so she was glad in answering this question. She replied by saying that she truly felt America would have many opportunities for her to live a better life than the one she was living in her country. Knowing that there was a better education system, health, employment, and basically a better life was a reason she was excited to go to America to live the dream. Therefore, she immigrated to the land of opportunity because she needed all of those things in order to live the life she always wanted.
Once again I found a person that shares some of my and other’s views. It’s the best of both worlds, but I still wanted to know how a person thinks that anyone can live the American Dream. In the interview with my mother, I asked her this question and she said that anyone can do whatever they want as long as they put all of their heart into it. After a few minutes of trying to convince her to answer the question she answered by saying that every person can achieve this dream as long as they put all their heart, effort, and sacrifice into it. Many people believe that if a person truly wants something that can definitely get it. It doesn’t matter where you come from, anyone can attain the American Dream. “I do believe that all people all truly equal and have the same potential to get their dream.” (Maria Batista)
Another person that believes in hard work and self determination is Antonio Moulton. Antonio is my father, who today owns his own travel agency and is someone who sees the American Dream as having success. He preaches that the easiest way to be able to live the American Dream is to be positive, persistent, and to be honest with yourself. No matter what a person goes through, you must never quit and never lose determination at any time. During the interview, I asked him if people ever get lucky in achieving the great dream. “I personally do not believe in good luck, but in working hard and being dedicated to that something that you want,” says Antonio. Antonio has always been a hard worker in his life. You can see his hard work by looking at his grades in high school, which were straight A’s throughout his entire high school career. Other than looking for the easiest ways for the American Dream and the luck that goes with it, I wanted to see how he really felt about the dream. I asked him if he was happy that he was living the American Dream. He said, “I am incredibly happy that I am living the American Dream, and I also believe that if you can live the dream you will inevitably be happy too. I feel this way because when you achieve the American Dream, you truly have it all, an education, a career, a family, and a great life too.”
In conclusion, there it all is. Here is what college students and those with steady careers feel about the American Dream. Though I thought that the American Dream was just having tons of money and nice cars, some feel the same way to a certain extent. Many believe that it is a good thing to have a nice car and a nice house, but it isn’t the end of the world if you have a modest car and house. Having a healthy and happy family with a roof over your head are some of the mot important things to people in the world today. Not every person that has some type of success needs all of the material things that is portrayed Hollywood and other places like that.
Now, the American Dream in my eyes is what Thomas Jefferson had mentioned back when he was writing the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson saying that we have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit to happiness is what everyone really wants. The only difference is; what makes a person happy? These things can vary in many ways, but this is why it is called a pursuit to happiness. Before, I thought that the American Dream was being filthy rich and once again this quest of curiosity has changed my view of things. Now the American Dream, to me, is being happy in any way possible. This doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t like to earn a good salary. If I don’t have large amounts I can still find happiness in other places, such as my loving family and my health.
