An interpretation of the American Dream - Part 1

As a child when I heard the words “American Dream” spoken, my heart was always filled with pride. I remember having an American flag posted on my porch waving in a perfect rhythm created by the gusts from the lamenting wind. To me the “American Dream” was defined as being able to do anything you wanted to do in this world as long as you set your heart and mind to it and worked hard enough for it. I remember being filled with so much happiness knowing that I honestly could do anything I wanted to do... That no one could tell me otherwise... and that thought alone was the greatest freedom this country could ever give me.

In college things often become different. Sometimes our dreams and everything we worked our entire lives for come crashing down all at once. Our faith is tested... and can often be lost for months and years at a time. In college and in life it is taught that our definition of the “American Dream” is incomplete... We are taught that it was not as simple as it had been in our heads all that time. College professors and other experts throw all kinds of statistics at you. They tell you about the percentage of people that are set up to fail in our capitalistic world. They tell you this and on many occasions it makes you feel sad and guilty.

They say that we are sold the idea of the “American Dream” and we work our entire lives to attain it... while at the same time keeping the wheel of the world turning as it always has... They say we are sucked into these ideas and become powerless when it comes to controlling our own destiny. I remember believing these things for the longest time. I remember believing for the briefest of moments that Republicans were bad and Democrats were good. I remember believing that there was actually a difference between the two. I remember believing for a second that there was something wrong with being a Catholic.

The things that we experience in our lives... the things we are taught by individuals with life experience... these things do not define us... and... the fact that some people spend their entire lives chasing after their idea of the “American Dream” and never attain it does not define the “American Dream” in its entirety. What should always be stated, and taught, and remembered is that WE ARE FREE TO CHASE IT... We are free to win, to lose, to cry, to laugh, to work hard, to believe, and to conquer anything we wish. Every single person cannot be successful at everything they work hard to do. If this was possible than there would be no such word as DREAM...

While most focus on the scandals and conspiracy theories what they should be looking at is what life has taught them. There are undisputable facts all around us just waiting to be discovered... I could go on for days and cite examples of why I feel the way I do on this issue... but my life experience is not what is most important. What is most important are these simple facts...

1. The “American Dream” is what we make it to be. It is not what a professor tells us, or what a newspaper tells us, or what someone running for President tells us.

2. We cannot look for change from an individual who makes sure his advisor's remember to write in his speech the word CHANGE 117 times in ten minutes. It cannot be said and it cannot be promised. It can only be done... and... it is done SIMPLY and by SELF MOTIVATED INDIVIDUALS... by doing something in a different way... by evaluating your life and realizing that sometimes it is alright to admit you are wrong and truly change the way you live each day... It is never too late...

3. Following your heart is never wrong... Embrace any fear of failure as a part of life... and take advantage of the freedom you have been given to pursue your “American Dream”.

Life can be hard quite often... it can make you believe that there is no hope, that it is pointless to have faith in things, and that our society sets us up to fail. It is easy to think this way... It is much harder to have faith... to realize that we put those negative thoughts in our head and that we can free ourselves from them at any time. Find out what your American Dream is... and do not ever stop trying to attain it... because even if you think you failed you have not... It is an impossibility to fail at life... when you live a life that is free...