Personal Narrative Essay: The American Dream

The American dream is a rhetoric of hope and mobility to reach the heights of economic sustainability that you wish to achieve. The idea is that the amount of effort you put forth will emanate the amount of success you can produce as a byproduct of American society. This concept however couldn’t be further from the truth, as many have tried to work up for years but only got slightly better at best then they say what they were nearly a decade ago. Many researchers have demonstrated that not only has the American Dream often times been influenced by our socioeconomic roots, but that to progress out of it is like a dime in a dozen. Since education provides students the material to move onto the larger job industry, and because the disparity between high school graduates and college graduate has increased so drastically, Americans are clamoring for college now more so than ever before. Student debt has been an issue that has kept many Americans in the lower end of the social class spectrum to miss out on utilizing college resources. Many financial aid programs have been established to attempt to decrease this tendency, particularly the Pell grant having the most success. Unfortunately, despite the initial success of the Pell grant program, it still has its limitations on how much help it can provide to underprivileged students. An incentive based scholarship program such as the Performance-based scholarships where attendance rates, passing classes, and student involvement

Immigrants dreamed of coming to the United States for years. The United States is emerging and becoming more industrialized. Immigrants wanted a this thriving country for their own. They also wanted the government to protect each person’s opportunity to pursue their own idea of happiness. So these families immigrated and came to America to live the American Dream. The American Dream us achieved through sacrifice, risk-taking, and hard work, not by chance. Both sacrifice and risk-taking may have been hard for some families to accomplish in order to come to America, but it was necessary. These families that really had a passion to live in America, and to be happy needed to put in hard work, to get back a good result. The American Dream is something that needs to be worked for, not taken for granted and was not achieved by chance, it was achieved through sacrifice, risk-taking, and hard work.

The beginning of it all 1980, (month and date unknown) 37 years ago. The journey for a better life began. My mom was only 11 when they decided to immigrate to America, when she herself also decided to go to America. She knew in Vietnam there would be no future for her and she wanted a life improvement. She understood all the hardships that they were facing in Vietnam and how in America, it was vastly better. She heard stories from many people in Vietnam about America, and all the joy and hope there was compared to where she was. Although, she was young, she had set her mind onto doing everything she could to support the family in order to get to America. She wanted to live in place that didn’t have horrible health care,

The American dream is something that everyone should believe in, I know I do. Throughout my whole entire life I have wanted to be successful. I believe in myself and know that I can accomplish anything I put my mind to. The American dream says that everyone should be treated equal. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Everyone is judged for their height, weight, race, age, likes, dislikes, etc. In the world today you must conform to the social norm to be considered “cool.” Part of me wants to feel that way and the other part of me just wants to be original and do whatever I want. When I was a little girl I used to perform in musical theater. I loved it so much it made me the happiest I have probably ever been in my entire life. Did everybody

When I was at the very innocent age of three, my parents decided to immigrate to the United States from Bolivia. We moved to Pasadena, TX, in hopes of pursuing the American dream. Growing up, my neighborhood was not the best environment to raise a family, however, this environment shaped me into the person I am today. My parents initially made the decision to move because my father got a job offer that was too good to decline. We were promised a house in a nice neighborhood as well as jobs for both of my parents. When we arrived after a 13-hour flight, all of the promises along with our hopes were shattered. We were taken to lower-income apartments in the middle of a sketchy neighborhood. My father’s promised job was on the night shift as a

I am the American Dream. The President and I, alongside our family members are the chosen ones. I can not tell you how blessed we are by calling the greatest nation on Earth, our home. We can not be a better example for the rest of us living on any part of the God gifted planet of you and I. While Mrs. Clinton was making a few hundred thousand dollars a speech, I can recall Barack and I having a car that was so rusted, we could see the street and the sidewalk from the side of the door. But for as far as I can remember, he never was late on a date night. Although I was once or twice. Our students loan was even more than our mortgage. But living in the Beautiful House for almost a decade now did not change us as who we are, even dating back to

I was born in a small town in Mexico on March 20, 1998. My life over there was rough, my mom had to work two jobs so she can provide for me and my brother. My brother was the one that always took care of me and was like a father figure. Leaving everything behind and having to start again chasing the American dream was hard, but was for the best. I had to learn a new language and interact with different people. In the beginning I didn't like being here I felt alone being in a strange place, going to school was also difficult since I could not communicate with my teachers and with most of my peers. That changed when I learned more English and I did everything I could to adapt to this country. I also saw how much my parents worked and still struggled

Los angles is one of the cities where people try to achieve the “American dream”. Even though the “American Dream” is different from people to people. To me, Los Angeles means a new beginning…my new beginning. I have moved to Los angles in search of success in education and life, to prove to myself that I can be independent.

The across Atlantic, in the northern part of Ethiopia, I was born in a small rural village called Wejo, which is a very small population, with strong social fabric: strict traditional bond, but I still had the memory when the winter is comes. Suddenly the savanna land turn to a tropical garden, the attic change to the rain forest, the river flooded into gorge, the big mountain at back of the house covered with foggy weather, the cattle grazing in the field, the farm giving its reward and everyone in the village delight because of the rain that the winter brings. For me when winter comes one thing always remember is my father graceful eyes. Winter always

My parents came to the United States with a suitcase filled with things from their previous lives. They worked two jobs, seven days a week, while studying as full-time students to complete their education. My dad tells me stories about how he waited tables late into the night, while my mom sold shoes at flea markets on her days off to earn spare cash to buy a car. They built the privilege affirmative action says we have from nothing but hard work.

American dream, the idea that every US citizen should have the same equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity. Many american dreams are either easy, or hard, depending on your main american dream. Although they may be easy, hard, simple, or complexed they all need the same things to keep it going. The main thing I believe keeps it going is determination to do it. Many don’t know they use determination in every stage of life.

When I close my eyes and envision the United States, I see barbeques and baseball games. Children running around in big, green playgrounds and coming home to white picket fences and well kept flowerbeds. As sunny and aesthetically pleasing as this image of our country is, I find it oddly discomforting. Here I am, standing on the precipice on adulthood, about to inherit the very future of this country, and I still see this picture of stereotypical 1950's idealism. And while the greatest generation may retain their title, the world is moving at a faster pace than the sleepy hometowns that were once the American Dream. My vision involves us stepping up to the plate and reaffirming our position as the land of opportunity.

“For everything you have missed, you have gained something else, and for everything you gain, you lose something else.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson

I wake to the sound of harsh car horns and street vendors yelling at tourists to buy their “limited edition” bobble heads of our president Donald Trump VIII. What a way to wake up. Back home I was greeted with the crash of sleepy morning waves and calls of the seagulls letting me know it was morning. Carlsbad was where I grew up for the seventeen years I have been alive and planned to spend the rest of my life. That dream was crushed when Trump decided to start testing his nuclear weapons off the coast of California to show off his power to North Korea. The toxic waste became so great that everyone living on the West Coast had to move inland. My dad John applied to work as a secret service agent to the president when we realized there was a

My last name is Matias, it means nothing in college but once I drive those 45 minutes back to Lawrence, Mass it’s significant to every member of the police force. Lawrence, MA is one of the top 10 most dangerous cities in Massachusetts. I was born and raised in Lawrence, and many times I have witnessed situations where the law did not seem to be on the citizens’ side. In addition there are lawyers that are appointed to defend you but are not invested in the outcome. In Lawrence it seems that it’s always your word against the authorities, but your word has no value. Your only hope to beating the system is becoming a part of it and making a difference. My American Dream is to be a defense lawyer for people who live in urban areas. Knowing