My Genogram: My American Dream

The term “American Dream” is defined as an idea which believes that all people have the possibility of prosperity and success. The idea first came from James Adams, a noted American writer and historian. He claimed, “Life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability and achievement.” Therefore, the core concepts of the American Dream were closely linked to hard work and opportunity.

The American dream can be defined as the promise of living in America with opportunities for all, regardless of social class, and according to their ability and effort (Schnell, 2010). Proponents of the American dream believe that there is equal opportunity for all in the American society to achieve success. Success is not pegged on social status, race, or creed, but rather on an individual’s own efforts. The definition of the American dream has unique interpretations to different people. The most common meaning is that of a life of abundance and prosperity, characterized by economic rewards that enable one to live a middle class life of comfort. Here, success is measured by material possessions such as beautiful homes, cars, a high

Success. Family. Home. Happiness. Opportunity. The previous statements are words that one usually thinks of when they hear the American Dream. The American Dream was first described in 1931 by James Truslow Adams. In his book, Epic of America, Adams writes, “The American Dream is that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement" (215). Nowadays, the American Dream is possible for every individual in the U.S. It's their ideal of personal happiness, freedom, and equality. If the American Dream is narrowed down to “personal happiness,” the phrase has multiple meanings. The concept of the American Dream in both Great Gatsby and “DBAR” suggests that personal happiness produces corrupt and self-centered egos.

The American Dream was a well thought idea during the creation of the Declaration of Independence; in fact, the original belief of the American Dream was that all Americans could pursue “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” (McQuade and Atwan). Furthermore, today the American Dream is an ideal thought to the overall strive for success. According to Kimberly Amadeo, a well-known author, she elaborated in her article What is the American Dream Today “… a focus on more of what really matters, such as creating a meaningful life, contributing to community and society, valuing nature, and spending time with friends and family” (Kimberly Amadeo). Creating the American Dream, controlling decisions, and building a life that can carry out success

The American Dream can mean different things depending on who is asked. Some will answer it is the freedom of religion, class or race, others will claim it is about the ability to choose where they want to work, what they want to wear, or what’s for breakfast the next day.

The American Dream is the idea that every United States citizen has equal opportunity to achieve success through hard work and determination. However, ideas of the dream have evolved throughout time from the 18th century up to present day. The general population’s view and my view of the American Dream both have altered throughout time. My idea of the American Dream has developed from not only today’s views on The Dream, but also from the evolutionary process the meaning has been through.

The American Dream is a concept that is essentially older than the United States, dating back to the seventeenth century. It was then when people began to come up with hopes and aspirations for the newly discovered, unexplored continent. The “American Dream” is in essence the idea in that puts forward the notion that all people can succeed through hard work, that all people have the right to the pursuit of happiness, and be successful. The definition of the American Dream has been expanded upon and redefined over time. The concept of the American Dream has always been debated and put under criticism. There are many that believe the structure of American Society belies the idealistic goal of the American Dream. It points out examples of

When the phrase “American Dream” is uttered, it is typically associated with having money or striving to have money. The dream of much of the public is to have money and to be able to purchase anything they desire whenever they want. For some, this dream is not about money, but it is about having the opportunity to better his or herself and his or her loved ones. In either case, there are certain circumstances and obstacles that make this dream increasingly difficult to attain. Some would even be willing to argue, the American dream is unattainable. “American Dream” is defined as the concept of every citizen of the United States having an equal opportunity to achieve success and happiness through hard work, sacrifices, and risk-taking (Fontinelle);

In order to complete my heart's desire I've made sure to do above and beyond. My parents have also pushed and encouraged me to become the best me. I went to some of the best schools and took the best classes in Miami Dade County because my loving parents and I made sure that my grades remained on top. Even though I strived for the best, still I struggled with family issues. In middle school, I had a difficult time because my family was about to lose our home to foreclosure. When you lose someone or something so precious in your life, it can be a draining and learning experience. On the outside to everyone else they thought I looked blissfully happy, and like nothing was going on in my life. I was wearing a perfectly painted mask as my disguise. Little did they know that in reality I was constantly worried and I felt powerless. I had my father who worked as a construction worker and he tried to help out as much as he could, but he had his other kids and bills to pay. My hardworking mother was a Registered Nurse who graduated from the University of Miami for crying out loud and she did whatever she had to do to try and get a job but it was like everywhere she turned there was a roadblock. Finally, she got a

The American Dream is indefinable. There is no one set of words or characteristics that the entire population assigns directly to its definition. With the American population consisting of people of various races, ethnicities, ages, classes, and genders, it seems trivial to even attempt to attribute a single definition to the concept of the American Dream. It is this inability however, to be confined within one single meaning, that allows for the American Dream to govern the desires and goals of the large and diverse American population. And, regardless of all of the heterogeneity within society, the American Dream is generally a goal of all American peoples. In examining this idea, I began to think about the specific meanings attributed to the American Dream for different types of individuals. I broadly outlined the American Dream for myself, to represent the belief in hard work as a pathway to success and raising oneself in society. Consequently, this higher position in society allows for the possession of increased amounts of power. My definition however, neglects to take into account the certain other societal constructs that could possibly have a decisive role in how to both define and achieve the American Dream for the wide variety of people who pursue it.

The American Dream is the result of possibilities and success. The term “American Dream” was been invented by James Truslow Adams in 1931: “That dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for every man, with opportunity for each according to his ability or achievement.” Another reference to the American Dream appears in the Declaration of Independence (1776). The author wrote that people are “endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” The question of the debate was: “Is the American Dream Still Alive and Well?”

The American Dream consists of three main ideas – life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. However, through American history concepts of the American Dream have been altered in order to keep up with the beliefs of an era. When the Puritans settled in the New World, their American Dream focused on practicing religion in the way they saw fit. One century later, during the Revolutionary Era, the dream of the people was to be politically independent. Although the American Dream changed, God and religion remained important to the American people.

By the time I entered the third grade, my parents were divorced and my mom was diagnosed with bipolar, depression and I was diagnosed with ADHD. My mom has always stressed the importance of working for what I wanted. As a kid, I developed a strong passion for technology, which inspired me to come to the University of West Georgia to pursue Computer Science. My first semester here at the University, I found out through Facebook that one of aunts had passed away. I was devastated because I visited her before going off the school and even though she was in the hospital I thought that she was going to be okay. Also, I had already lost two of my other aunts the same year and they had all died three months apart. I didn’t want tell my mom that

Have you ever felt like you’re family is counting on you with something valuable? That’s how I feel every morning as I get up to go to school. I have been told by my parents that they want me to become someone with a better future. Having all the pressure that you don’t want to let your family down is tremendous because it gets you to think that if you let your family down you’ll feel like a total failure. I have decided to myself that I’m going to do anything in my power to make my family happy and proud, but at times, there’s obstacles that bring you down and make you forget about your goal.

I have decided that I want to pursue a career in pharmacy. It is my final decision. I had said these two sentences to my parents on a cold night in December 2016. My parents were stunned. They did not speak at all for about two minutes. I stared into their eyes and could feel my heart racing loudly. I knew that they probably were upset because I did not fulfill their dream, which was to be come a medical doctor. I started to remember all the times that I would tell my parents and sister about the wonderful knowledge I had gained about in biology and chemistry classes in both high school and college. I was determined to increase my knowledge in these classes and was ambitious to keep up my good grades as well. Although, in the past few years, my grades have been dipping. I had transferred from community college to UC Davis and was having a very rough time. It was hard for me to live away from home, since I did not really experience this feeling in my whole life. I started to feel stressed and got quite sick in part of the time that I was in UC Davis. It did take a toll on my grades, but I still was not willing to ruin the rest of my life because of my grades. I wanted to step out of the darkness and come into the light, and try to steer my life into the right direction and become a successful woman in the future. Then, after my reminiscence, my mind suddenly returned back to the present. My mother got up from the couch and came up to me and put her hand on my shoulder. She