The American Dream by Devon

The American Dream by Devon - September 2019 Scholarship Essay

I have been thinking recently about how I want to spend the rest of my life, and so I find my thoughts coming back to the American Dream, and what it means. I first understood that the American Dream has never been present in my life, despite my parents’ best efforts. Then I realized, the dream has changed quite a bit since I first learned about it.

The people who make up the American Dream are different now. In the past, it meant to have a career that you can retire from and use to educate your children and improve the world for the next generation. To me, this sounds nice, to have a strong community of educated people around me working together to make the world a better place. I notice many people my age don’t share my idea of what the American Dream is; they have higher expectations. They seem to be locked in a competition as to who can achieve the most glamorous lifestyle; I don’t think a life of competition is a good life for me. So, what made me so different from my peers?

I know that my environment made a big difference. I lived far away from my friends and did not have reliable internet access. As a result, I did not pick up on the same trends as they did. One time that I vividly remember this impacting me was in eighth grade. I moved to a different middle school. It was a great time to make new friends; unfortunately for me, many of them already had friends and were stuck in their friend groups. These groups were kept together by social media interactions and still are; whereas, I only recently signed up for a Facebook account, but by then, everyone had moved on. Now my peers use Snapchat and Instagram, but these sites require a smartphone, which my parents were adamantly against me having. Not having the same access to the internet as my peers ensured I would not view the world the same as them.

It makes me wonder, is their dream objectively better? My peers are happy, or at least seem that way; and who am I to say that theirs is objectively worse than mine? The American Dream is just that, whatever brings joy to the person who dreams it. For example, I can’t be happy locked in competition; I like cooperation better, so it’s what I dream about.
In conclusion, the American Dream has changed with the times and people. While some of us aren't necessarily on board with these changes, the reality is, the American Dream is what you make of it. For some of us, it is a simple career we enjoy, for others, a lavish, highly competitive lifestyle; it just depends on how we view the world. No matter who you are, though, it is the one thing that unites us.