The American Dream

Today before the end of class Laz asked us to think about what the American Dream meant to us and whether or not it was attainable.

I think it is a common belief that the American Dream is to come to America or to be born in America with no money and to somehow become successful and rich. This is not my idea of the American Dream. I define success as being able to achieve the goals you set for yourself and to be able to support yourself independantly. Not everybody in America can be affluent, and defining the American Dream as strictly monetary makes it too difficult achieve.

I feel that if a person works hard enough, he or she can become his or her own American Dream. I know it is virtually impossible to go from being poor to in the upper class, but with hard work you can move up the social ladder. Slowly my family grew form poor immigrants to what we are today. My grandfather dropped out of high school at the age of 16 to join the navy and later worked on the railroad until retirement. My grandmother was a Catholic elementary school teacher. They had a modest income, but worked hard to help my father get through college. My mother paid for most of her college education waitressing at a diner. It was difficult, but my family moved from a lower social class.