Example of essay on the american dream

The world can be a cold, lonely, dark place. It can be difficult to make one’s way when nothing is promised and nobody is offering help to one another. Many places put more restrictions in place than freedoms, which can make the world seem even more unfriendly. It has been that way for centuries. Finally, at a time when the world seemed at its darkest, a place that promised to be different appeared on the horizon. With the discovery and gradual industrialization of America, people of America saw all of their innermost dreams manifest and take physical shape. There was a place where these dreams could not only take hold, but also survive. The American dream is something that all Americans and immigrants have followed since the country’s conception. But what is the American dream? Is it the promise of wealth? Is it the draw of safety? Perhaps it is the extravagance promised by everything available in America. Whether it was the promise of freedom, wealth, prosperity, or general happiness, people all over the world understood that America was the place to come to achieve their wildest ambitions. Perhaps the most wonderful thing about the American dream is that it is not one thing to all, but many things to many people. In addition, in America, they are all free to follow them at will.
For some, the American dream is about wealth. A large bank account and an unending flow of money would make them the happiest. Many people, even those born in America, are born into poverty. However, unlike many other countries, being born in America grants them some opportunities to make something of themselves. Immigrants are also afforded these opportunities. The American dream promises that individuals can get an education, get a job, climb up the corporate ladder, and become very wealthy. People in other impoverished countries are also aware of America’s wealth. They know they can travel here on student visas or work visas, find jobs, and do the same as any other individual native to America; they, too, can become wealthy individuals, free from the shackles of poverty. With wealth comes the dream of material items, as well. These individuals often dream of having large homes and expensive cars. The expenditures are often exceedingly extravagant, but that is often what the American dream entails. They may want a pool in their backyard, or even in their living room. Lavish vacations and expensive home theaters may also be on their list of desires. While these things may seem too extravagant for some people to think of, those who know what are possible in America, know that dreams are just the making of reality.
While some are busy dreaming of how professionally successful, they can be and the material items they can attain, others dream of what they can make of their minds. Many Americans and immigrants simply dream of a decent education. They want to be good people who go out into the world and do good things for others. These individuals understand that the rights to education are not afforded to citizens of other countries; they wish to take advantage to the superior education offered in the United States. Therefore, part of the American dream is being a part of its education system. Not only that, but also many wish to spread their knowledge after they have attained it. They do not care about money or material possessions, but only how they are shaping their minds. Their primary concern is making themselves something more than they were before. This American dream tends to make these individuals strive for more, be better people because they go out into the world afterward, and attempt to share what they have with others who are less fortunate.
In addition to the two previously mentioned dreams that manifest themselves in America, there are still more that take shape. Some people do not care about money, and while they may be mildly concerned with education, it is not their primary ambition. If anything, some individuals are more concerning with their children’s education than their own, because their dream is more relationship oriented: many people are simply seeking the perfect family. They want a husband or wife, and two or three children. They want love and a world filled with compassion and happiness. They want a home in a safe neighborhood and a family pet. A modest lifestyle is what they dream of for themselves, and for their family. More than anything, they want themselves and their family to be comfortable and safe; this usually requires a modest job with mediocre income. It does not take a high-level job and an expensive car to provide a safe home or a loving atmosphere for a family; therefore, this is not the primary concern for these American dreamers. Homes are normally located in neighborhoods near schools that can give children a relatively decent education. These individual aim for what is known as “ the middle,” but they are happy with this ambition, because their dream is to fill their life with love and family. They would not understand the man or woman who lusts after monetary gain, nor would they understand the scholar. Likewise, the scholar would not understand the individual who forsakes all individual educational gain to raise a family. However, both dreams are equally important and valid in America. What is more, there are other dreams that take shape in the United States.
There are people who dream of money, and people who dream of an education. There are also people who dream of having a family. There are others, though, who dream of having all of these. Part of the American dream wants everything. Some individuals, in and out of America, see each of these groups and realize they want all of it. They do not understand why they should have to pick just one, or why they should have to settle or give up on something they want. Sacrifice is not a part of the American dream for them. They come to America, or grow up in America, wanting a proper education, a good job, and a happy family they can take care of. After gaining a decent education, they use it to get a job and begin earning money. Sometimes they even work so hard they end up rising toward the top of the corporate ladder. Many people even start their own business using their education. Throughout all of this, they meet somebody and start a family. They manage to bring the three primary elements of the American dream together into a beautiful, though sometimes chaotic culmination that works for them, allowing everything and denying nothing.
The possibilities are overwhelming and endless. It may seem that having an education, money, and a family is all anybody could want, but there are still more dreams to that could establish themselves in America. For example, some people come to America with no other dream than to be free. Having lived under nothing but the tyranny and fear of their own country’s government, they hear of the sovereignty offered to each person by America. This offer is almost overpowering to men and women who have known nothing but constraint and oppression. Women are stoned to death for speaking their mind or protesting against being denied an education. Men are given more rights than women, but if they show kindness or softness rather than discipline, they may be shunned or even harmed. Life is not good in these places. Some countries, like China, still enforce policies on how many children a couple can have. Moreover, the work conditions in the country are deplorable. North Korea still has strict rules about the television, internet, and books that the citizens are allowed access to. These citizens, and many others around the world, yearn for a place where they can make decision for themselves without fear of their government punishing them. They want more than one child, or to browse the internet freely. It is not a matter of money, or even family (though children are involved), but a matter of principle: people should be free. In America, they are free and it is a dream that immediately manifests as soon as an individual arrives here.
In sum, the American dream in not just one thing, it is everything. Sometimes it is something big, like the dream of owning a luxury yacht or a fleet of expensive cars. Other times it is something as small as having the freedom to read a certain book that is outlawed in one’s native country. The America dream can be lavish, involving owning a Fortune 500 company, and traveling all over the world making business deals. The American dream can also be modest, consisting of a small house in a safe, quiet neighborhood, with a family that one loves. The wonderful thing about the American dream is that it is not a question, as the introduction implies, but rather it is the answer. One can ask what their problem is: they may be poor, uneducated, or dissatisfied in other areas of their life. The answer to any of the aforementioned problems is the American dream, because through the American dream, all things are possible. A poor person can become rich. An uneducated person can become educated. A lonely person can find another and create a family. Ambitious people who have nothing can build a business from the ground up, or become leaders of already existing corporations. Women can walk the streets without fear of being stoned to death, couples can have more than one child, and OSHA ensures that working conditions will not put an individual’s quality of life at risk without repercussions. The American dream can be literally anything, but empirically it is the answer to whatever problem a person has with their life.