American Dream 2.

0
Redefining the Journey

Class of 2017

High Tech High International

San Diego, California

Copyright 2015 by Class of 2017

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or
transmitted in any form or by any means, without prior written permission.
Class of 2017/High Tech High International
2855 Farragut Rd.
San Diego, CA 92106
http://www.hightechhigh.org/schools/HTHI/
Publishers Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents
are a product of the authors imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes
used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or
to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.
Book Layout 2014 BookDesignTemplates.com
American Dream 2.0/ Class of 2017. -- 1st ed.
ISBN 978-0-0000000-0-0

Dedication to
Joanne Sith, Mike Handforth, and The New Americans Museum

Wed like to give a special thanks to Joanne and Mike, our wonderful
and supportive teachers and The New Americans Museum who allowed us to exhibit our project while giving us the opportunity to work
alongside them. Additionally we would like to acknowledge those who
willingly shared their journeys with us and for making this book possible. - Class of 2017

MARY OllIE EVA

The 1950s

The 1950s triggered the turning point of American life. As

peace rapidly spread throughout the nation, people were eager to start
achieving their dreams. Society's definition of the American Dream
was simple - a job and a family. After World War II ended, job opportunities began to open up for civilians, and despite all of the struggles
that occurred during the war, people were able to move past them and
work towards pursuing their own American Dream. It was a prosperous time for America. Since the nation suffered through the Great
Depression as well as a major world war, this decade differed tremendously from any other. Although America was undergoing a
transitional period, the American Dream was accessible to anyone if
they worked hard enough and put in the effort to achieve it.
In this era, the post WWII racial discrimination sparked the
will to improve society. After serving for ones country, many expected a warm welcome home reception but instead, still felt the harsh
racist sting of our segregated race environment. This injustice started
the Civil Rights Movement; a period of time where a group of brave
2

African Americans gathered together in search for change. The Civil

Rights movement was a set of non-violent protests, which were set to
change the law and in result lead to the Civil Rights Act. The 1950s
was part of a huge transformation in the lives of black men, women,
and children. The help of heroes such as Martin Luther King, Rosa
Parks, Malcolm X and many more paved the way for equal rights for
the black society. With this movement, blacks were able to diminish
the Jim Crow Laws that took away the rights of citizenship from African Americans in the South.
Life during the 1950s was different than a lot of eras. This
decade was followed by World War II, which had an astronomical
impact on economic life in the 1950s. After America fought and won
the war, the United States had more money than it had in a long time
which made the American Dream accessible to just about anyone. The
1950s is regarded as ...one of the most prosperous economic times in
American History.1 Population size was growing so there was a
higher demand for housing. Houses were made more affordable so
more people could live in their own home. Many changes were happening in the 1950s and the American Dream at that time consisted of
owning a home and starting a family. The dream during that time was
quite simple than those of today. Today, people have all these materialistic dreams such as having the better car and bigger house than
someone else, back then it was all about family and just allowing
yourself to be content where you were. The 1950s is also known as
one of the luckiest generations of all time. 2One of the reasons this
time period is said to be lucky is teenagers/young adults were working
and often times would start working during early teen years.3 Teens
could work at any job they chose because many opportunities were
given.4 People back in the 50s, especially young adults, didnt get
1

Brohl, K. (2001, November 6). The 1950s: Pursuing The American Dream
Cosgrove, B. (2014, November 29). 'The Luckiest Generation': LIFE With Teenagers in 1950s America
3
Cosgrove, B. (2014, November 29). 'The Luckiest Generation': LIFE With
Teenagers in 1950s America
4
Cosgrove, B. (2014, November 29). 'The Luckiest Generation': LIFE With Teenagers in 1950s America
2

things handed over to them, they had to learn everyday what it meant
to work for yourself and to be independent. Back then it was all about
work and becoming independent at a fairly young age, whereas today,
teens often wont work as hard or at all because they know their parents will be there to provide for them.
The Fifties was a time when the man was the head of the
household, and the woman was to return to her traditional duties of a
loyal wife. Her role was to fulfill the wishes of her husband's. A single
mother was outside the norm and contradicted greatly with mainstream standards. Given the fact that it was frowned upon to live
outside these standards, any other American Dream that went in a different direction was difficult to make a reality. The constraints of
society made becoming a wife and a mother a role that each woman
was expected to fill. In fact, the home economics class taught to girls
in an article titled How to be a good wife that women were raised to
be a convenience (cooking, cleaning, and birthing children), rather
than a person who has an option on how they wanted live their lives.
They were deprived of the decision to fulfill the roles that women today give themselves, which would eventually lead to the Feminist
movement of the 1960s. A Home Economical writing piece stated
catering for his comfort will provide you with immense personal satisfaction5 emphasizing the belief that if a woman pleased her
husband, she would, in return, be content with herself. Her own dream
was not available to her for it was already predetermined.
The accessibility of the American Dream differed between
race, gender, social class, and where you were born. Mary Hedderson,
a white female who lived in New York City, was given many job opportunities, unlike other women, due to her education and position in
society. Unlike Ollie Beene, a black male who grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, had a rough time finding a job due to his race, which
made it more difficult to reach his dream. Additionally, Eva Portella, a
5

Edelstein, S. (2013, March 4). Occupation: 1960 Housewife. Retrieved November

30, 2015

Brazilian female who immigrated to New York City, faced trials as a

single mother and as a woman, finding it difficult to support her children and herself in America.
Its not difficult to see that the American Dream in the 50s
was considered by most a small and simple one. However, the personal aspirations and journeys lived by these three outstanding people,
tell otherwise. Opportunities may have differed from person to person,
but each individual had their own desires in life. America was at a
prosperous time when Ollie, Mary, and Eva came of age, and despite
the struggles they faced, they still relish in the life they have lived.

OLLIE MARY EVA

An American dream exists for everyone, but it is up to that

person to push and achieve it on their own. Ollie Beene, a strong
brave man who went through many struggles to get to where he is today; a man full of happiness. With these struggles pulling him in
different directions, he kept his head held high and continued to sway
back and forth with the amazing flow of what he calls, life.

As a young boy growing up in a small town in Milwaukee,

Ollies life mainly consisted of working on a farm for just a couple of
dollars. He remembers a particular moment on a Monday morning
when a smile grew on his face while he felt sweat dripping down his
brown skin, as the sun beamed on his head while he spent time planting, picking, and raising cotton. He patted himself on the back because
he knew he was working hard. The only time Ollie did not have to
work as hard was when it would start to rain. A look of happiness
6

would rapidly appear on his familys face because when the rain grew
heavier, puddles and puddles would surround the field, so it would be
too wet to work for the day. While the rain began to pour down, Ollie
and his family would get on their two knees and sing, Rain rain rain.
Rain more, rain heavy. When the rain would clear up, everyone returned back to their daily routine. Working in the field was a way to
make a living for himself and his family. They were able to make
enough money to support each other. Although he came from a low
class family, he never went a day without food. Whenever he was
craving a taste, he always could rely on his long field filled with yellow corn and tasty greens. He and his family also raised hogs and
cured the meat which lasted all year long, so Ollie rarely had a reason
to starve. However, blisters grew rapidly on the hands of Ollie every
day and night as he milked cows so that he and his family would have
something to drink the next morning. All the hard work that Ollie was
so determined to accomplish, distracted him from what was really important, his education.

Unlike most children, Ollie did not have an opportunity to receive a good education, due to the fact that he was only able to attend
school 2-3 days a week. The remaining days of the week, Ollie dedicated his time to farm work. He looks back on his life and wishes that
he could have learned a lot more and possibly have attended college.
Unable to complete 8th grade, Ollie continued to take in as much information as possible. Ollie was more than excited to attend his math
class; as he stared at his teacher while she taught him about fractions,
time seemed to flash before his eyes. Just as soon as class started, it
soon ended, forcing Ollie to return to the field to work.
It is typical to see that unlike today, the American Dream in
the 50s had a different meaning. For Ollie especially, it was harder to
achieve his American Dream because he was still tackling issues as
big as racial discrimination. Children in 1950s had different lives
compared to young people today. Most left school much earlier, with
many starting work at the age of fourteen and fewer people had the
7

chance to go onto further education.6 It is disappointing to come to

the realization that not everyone in this decade had the opportunity to
obtain a decent education. Whites usually were found to have a better
educational system than African Americans. But, the schools for African American children were usually extremely poor and didn't provide
them with the necessary learning they truly needed.7 Many people during this time wished they would have been able to go to school and
learn something but most of their spare time was spent working.
Housework was not as easy as it seems for a family who comes home
to dinner ready on the table with everything nice and clean. The reality was that during this time, housework was way more difficult.
People did their washing by hand, instead of a machine, and without
fridge-freezers, food had to be bought daily. It was less common for
women to work and many took on the childcare and housework, while
their husbands were working. 8The amount of work you had to do for
one simple house duty was so much more difficult than it seemed to
be.

As Ollie grew older and began to become wiser, he realized

he did not want to spend the rest of his life in pain from working on a
farm. In result, he eagerly joined the Army. His first option was to join
the Navy, but when they inducted him, he was automatically sent to
the army where he began his training. During his training, the second
World War had erupted. He had spent five long years battling for his
country. He was able to travel to England, France and Germany while
fighting in World War II. A vivid moment he could never forget was
the fear of dying as the fire of the German guns burst into the sky. But
for Ollie, all of this fear was put aside. He did everything he could to
remain not only a calm, but a strong soldier as well. He was able to
6

"Family Life in the 1950s." Family Life in the 1950s. N.p., n.d. Web. 30
Nov. 2015.
7
"Family Life in the 1950s." Family Life in the 1950s. N.p., n.d. Web. 30
Nov. 2015.
8
"The 1950s." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 30 Nov.
2015.

encourage those around him to push through the hard times despite
everything they have gone through. One death, two deaths, three
deaths and many more to come, he was eventually numb to the idea
that death was just the cost of war. He realized that it was important to
put his emotions behind him and remain a courageous role model for
the rest of the soldiers. As hard as it was for him to step up and be a
brave soldier and deal with the many tragedies that were occurring, he
had to face the fact that this is how it was and how it always would be.

When Ollie discharged from the army, he felt as if he was sitting on top of the world because he now had what he always wanted,
free time. He was able to take a break from the world and relax for a
few months. In these few months, Ollie thought hard about his transition into civilian life again. What was he to do now that the war was
over?
Many people in the world have dreams, dreams as big as going to the moon or becoming a millionaire. But Ollie? His dreams
were less complicated. All he wanted was just one job to provide for
himself, this was his one and only American Dream. After he got out
of the Army, he had his free time, but he would think to himself, I
need a job. He was happy to be free but was he really free? He had
money that he received from the Army, but it wasnt enough. Also, his
race had an effect on his ability to exceed in life. When asked what
race he was, Ollie described himself as, Some say colored, some say
Negro and some say Black. Im all three of em. With his head down
and tears running down his cheeks, Ollie grew angry because he
strongly felt, with all his heart, that this was the exact reason why it
was so hard for him to get a job. Discriminated each and every day
was a challenge he had to face. He still clearly remembers the day
where he went into town to receive a flu shot where he saw whites at
the front of the line but all of the blacks, including him, were sent to
the back of the line. This hit him hard because he knew that he had a
disadvantage because of his race. He never knew life could be this
unfair.
9

It is disappointing that it was like this, but segregation issues

made it harder for some people to achieve their American Dream.
Blacks were not allowed to marry, use the same bathroom, or even be
near a white person. The average African American male wasn't given
as many job opportunities as others. The ones that were given to them
were jobs that didn't make very much money. But Whites had various
amounts of job opportunities to choose from after WWII. On the other
hand, middle class families had many advantages available for themselves. After high school, many middle class men and women had a
variety of job opportunities to choose from and their own personal
version of the American Dream which was the dream of a big house
with a white picket fence, a hardworking husband and perhaps two
children that are able to receive a good education. Some people just
wanted simple dreams, a house and enough income to make a living.
The 1950s was also an era of great conflict. For example, the nascent civil rights movement.9
During this period of time, segregation was definitely a huge issue. It
is important to understand that segregation did not begin in this decade and it is an issue that has always been around. Although
segregation took a toll on this decade, the 50s was when more opportunities were offered to the people, but just not accessible to everyone.

Through all of his difficult times, Ollie finally found peace

within himself. He was able to come home and surprisingly, lift his
arms into the sky to thank God for all he has done because he was
now blessed with the opportunity to get his first job, washing dishes.
Little did he know that he would later be promoted to a cook. Going to
9

"The 1950s." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 30 Nov.

2015.

10

the army was a gateway for opportunity and a step to achieving his
American Dream. He achieved his dream, but it took a very long time.
This wasn't anything new to him because he understood that Americans will never be treated equally simply because everything dependdepended on how much money you had, your race, and where you
came from. Not having as much money, Ollie would always see people with more than him as the type who could achieve big dreams, and
people with less, would struggle. By saying this, he was specifically
talking about those of color. If everyone was equal, so many innocent
young black males wouldn't get killed. Racism is still alive and always
will be, said Ollie as he gave a look that was slightly discouraging.
While there were many rough moments in Ollies life, one
memory will forever be engraved in his heart. Looking back on all he
has been through, he had a flashback to a special day, the day he was
born. His mother told him that as she was carrying his precious body
in her stomach, the doctor told her that Ollie wouldnt make it. Despite all of the negative outcomes that could have happened, his
mother overlooked them and birthed him anyway, and here he is today, a strong ninety one year old man. This was only one of the few
times someone doubted him. There were times where he doubted himself as well, patiently waiting to escape from his old life. In the end,
he proved not only others wrong but himself also. Yes, he accomplished his main dream of getting a job, but he also achieved an even
more beautiful dream. Ollie is now enjoying life more than ever. He is
having a fantastic time because he is still alive and feels that he has no
reason to complain. Ninety-one years old, Ollie feels blessed with the
opportunity to be able to move around and walk on both feet. He is
still able to communicate, love and appreciate his family. He is proud
to have children and even grandchildren and is thankful for the opportunity to have a chance at life. This was his definition of the perfect
American Dream. It was what he spent his whole life waiting to
achieve, and that is exactly what he did.

11

During this decade, not only were people searching for equality, but many Americans were eager to start a family because the idea
of a life full of peace and prosperity was stuck deep in their minds.
This time was known as the Baby Boom. During the Baby Boom,
rates of unemployment and inflation were low, and wages were high.
Middle class people had more money to spend than ever and because
the variety and availability of consumer goods expanded along with
the economy, they also had more things to buy.10 Ollie Beene shared
in that same experience. As a participant in the Baby Boom era, Ollie
also felt the pressure to start a family of his own. Once he started a
family, he knew he had to step up to the plate and be a man, which
meant becoming independent. He now had to do everything he could
to provide for his loved ones even though money was tight.
Along with having to be an independent person, Ollie knew
that there would be many factors that can differ his path from the
mainstream American Dream version. The men were the ones who
were expected to work outside of the house and provide for the family, while a majority of the women did housework. So Ollie definitely
had a hard life not only as an African American, but also as an African
American man. But he pushed through his struggles and got what he
always wanted from life. It took a while, but he was still able to make
it happen. He looks at how far hes come, and with a huge smile on
his face, can say that he has lived a life with absolutely no regrets.

There are many situations that can distract oneself from

achieving their American Dream. Both Ollie, Mary Henderson and
Eva Portella, despite their differences, had many similarities that allowed them to achieve their American Dream. Both of their dreams
had a specific level of simplicity. In 2015, most people have dreams of
gaining wealth, having a large house, kids, and attending college, but
it was way different for people during the 1950s. The two of them,
10

"The 1950s." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 30

Nov. 2015.

12

Ollie and Mary, wanted one job and wanted a family of their own.
World War II had a negative and major effect on Ollie and Mary. Although World War II scared them with nightmares, on a positive note,
the war was able to teach them to never settle for less. Finding a job
was their main dream and they both were able to pursue it.
The American Dream in the 1950s was simple, but so precious at the
same time. However, many opportunities that were offered depended
on your race and wherever you come from. Anyone can achieve their
American Dream, whether it's simple or complex, but the question is,
how hard are you willing to work for it? With the perseverance and
dedication, Ollie believes that anyone can achieve their own American
Dream.

13

OLLIE MARY EVA

Mary Hedderson, a strong, determined 94 year old woman,

had always dreamed of getting married and raising a family. That was
her personal American Dream. It was the common dream for people to
want to get a job and start a family. For a white female in the 1950s,
that dream seemed very accessible and almost easy to reach. Though,
Mary did have to go through difficult times that came along with the
aftermath of World War II, Mary Hedderson has found herself living
in a state of peace and feeling as though she has accomplished her
biggest dreams.

Born and raised in the busy city streets of New York, Mary
Hedderson started working at the age of 18. She was ecstatic and
could feel the triumph of getting her first job as a secretary. Graduating high school was her turning point; she became independent. She
14

could feel the weight of having to get things done for herself. Long
days and tired eyes were soon to come her way. Mary had earlier taken a business class that well prepared her for working in this type of
environment. Though there were plenty jobs open in New York when
she was 16, Mary was already dealing with huge amounts of stress
while getting through WWII which made it difficult for her to handle
a job at the young age of 16. Mary describes the war as a horrid time
and her most difficult challenge in life. As her friends moved away
and the men were off fighting in war, she felt a wave of sadness take
over. She could feel the emptiness of her closests friends leaving her
and feeling alone. She knew she had to work even harder to achieve
anything that she wanted. Since all the men were gone, job opportunities were flooding through the streets. Women started working during
the war and started providing for themselves. The usual image of the
wife staying home to cook and clean for the children was starting to
change. Women started to gain more respect from working and taking
care of their own families. Mary noticed this change first hand; she
was part of it. She admired the way women were putting forth their
strongest effort to accomplish the jobs that were associated with men.
Women were able to strive for bigger and better because they were
starting to become needed in society with all the men gone. As women started to work, this was when Mary realized her reality; the
American Dream wasnt given to anyone, you had to work for it.
Luckily for Mary, she was eager to start working.
As the days continued to pass, Mary felt the rush of working
and she knew that she was working towards her dream of having her
own family someday. Everything started to feel real and the adult life
was starting to become her reality. Not ever having a job before, this
was a whole new world for Mary. She had to develop her own style of
managing the everlasting stress of the war and the responsibility of
working and going to night school. She did get through it well
enough; pulling through with an associate's degree which could open a
lot more doors for Mary. Even with all these opportunities, she did not
push herself further to try to achieve an even bigger goal of hers; to
become a doctor. She often wishes that she would have strived for
15

more in her life. She was on the right track with having a steady job as
a secretary and attending college, but Mary never quite achieved that
one goal. She knew that she could have became a doctor if she worked
towards it but since women back then had a tendency to settle for less,
Mary found herself falling into the same pattern of most women at
that time. Though the regret doesnt hold Mary back, she still looks at
her past and the regret is still there.
Times were hard living in the middle class at this time and she
believes that women back then didnt develop to their potential. Because jobs were offered left and right during and after the war, women
would just take any job at hand. Though women had the education and
ability to reach almost any goal of theirs, it was the norm for women
to not push themselves as far as they could. But rather than dwelling
on what she could have done, Mary chooses to be content where she is
in life and the things she did well.
After what seemed like a lifetime of endless fighting and warfare, during the year of 1945, World War II was finally over. Things
immediately began to change. The economy was stronger and there
was more money than ever before and plenty of opportunities for both
men and women. Mary described this time as the good times and
the better life. Though many people moved away during the war,
and there was still a level of strain while getting over the war, America was better than it had been in a long time. After the war, Mary
found herself still working hard and continuing to reach her dream of
having a family.
Growing up with friends of mostly the same race and religion
can often feel safe and welcoming. You have a sense of security and
dont have to worry too much about others judging you because you
are typically quite similar. That was Marys experience. All her
friends were mostly white and were all Catholic. They all had the
same hopes and dreams- to raise a big family and feel the joy of
watching their kids grow up, get married to someone they love, and
live a long and happy life. Mary definitely reached her goal of having
a big family. She has 13 grandchildren and 14 great grandchildren that
16

she has loved like her own. Mary says that back then it was very
common for Catholics to have large families and thats exactly what
Mary had.
To 94 year old Mary Hedderson, the American Dream was
and is still along the same lines since the 1950s; if you are willing to
work as hard as you need to reach it, then you can. Mary views the
American Dream as more of a mindset. If you put in the hard work
and have the passion and dedication to your dreams, then anyone can
achieve whatever it is they strive to do in life and that hard work and
determination can make the big difference. So if you are not determined enough to reach a goal but you have all the opportunities given
to you, you wont achieve that goal. Mary also feels that jobs play one
of the biggest roles in your American Dream. She states that jobs
control our lives, because you cant really do anything without a
good job. She also believes that getting the right education to be able
to get a solid job is also one of the most important steps in reaching
any dream.
Starting a family and having a stable job was the same dream
for pretty much everyone no matter what race. Though the journey
towards reaching that dream may have been affected by race, the
American Dream was still there for all and anyone could reach it. Not
only race but many other factors did play into someone achieving their
American Dream, such as where you come from. For Mary
Hedderson, living in New York was a good place to pursue the American Dream. Lots of jobs were available to people in New York
because of the high population, which made it easier to be able to provide for a family. In contrast, Ollie Beene grew up in Milwaukee,
Wisconsin. There werent many opportunities available for him there
which put a heavy strain on trying to reach his American Dream.
Though the American Dream was seen as very simple, there was always going to be different challenges for everyone.
Where you end in life is all dependent on how much effort
and work you put into your goals and aspirations. Getting insight into
17

Mary Heddersons life and all of her achievements and regrets, the
thing that everything came down to was how much work you put in.
Mary reached her most important dream of having a job by working
hard in school and she reached her dream of having a family because
she was able to provide for them with her job. Mary still has regrets of
not pursuing her dream of becoming a doctor, but she knows now that
she would have been able to make that dream a reality if she had
pushed herself a little harder.
Since the war was over and all the stress was released, people
had a sense of peace. Everyone was starting to become more grateful
and happy for the simple things in life. The war shaped the American
Dream for everyone. A job and a family was all that anyone could
have asked. Family was valued more because the war showed that
people can come and go at any given time. There was a sense of unity
during this era because everyone was doing what they could to make
life easier. Though experiences differed from person to person, the
1950s had a big impact on people's work ethics. People started working harder and putting their full effort in everything they did.
Adolescents and young adults back then took on a lot more responsibility than those of today because a lot of things are just handed to
people. Mary still continued to work towards her own dream despite
the many struggles that the war brought on. She had a dream that she
wanted to accomplish and she did just that. Many people started becoming independent at a pretty young age of 18 and even younger.
People looked at family as the most important thing in life rather than
materialistic things. Mary Hedderson had a simple dream and to her, a
family was enough to make her happy.

18

OLLIE MARY EVA

Its not my dream, its my reality. she said with a look of

absolute certainty, wide eyed and brave faced. Eva Portella was born
on April 2nd, 1934 in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. She grew up told what
she was capable of succeeding. She exceeded the expectations tremendously through the woman she grew to be, the impact she had
then, and the influence she is still having now. Eva grew up in a strict
household that lost its foundation when her father met the bottle. She
said that he drank the house, and lost it to gambling, with a melancholy look across her delicate face. In 1954, she had to leave her home
in Brazil to receive a serious skin graft back surgery that could only be
done in the United States. She had swallowed a needle at the dentist
and when she was getting the procedure to remove it, she got an x ray
burn because the x ray was left on her skin for two hours. After healing from her surgery, she met her husband at the Brazilian Consul and
stayed in America. Her American dream was her reality; it was a back
injury and a lover, and now its home.
The dream Eva had was the opportunities she was given, the
decisions she made. I always had a choice. They were enough to
19

make me a very happy and lucky person. she explained, when speaking of her American Lifestyle and ambitions. She was given a say in
what she did, where she went. But that's not how it began. After
growing up in a household that went from picture perfect to a broken
family, she lost a piece of herself. The idea of a perfect life was one
she couldnt find comfort in, because she no longer had hers. Her father loved the bottle more than he did his wife and children. His affair
was with alcoholism. Eva began to take her life into her own hands,
and relied on herself from a young age. Once she finished school, Eva
became a teacher. Up until her accident, she was truly happy with the
life she lived and the person she was growing into. Then, she hurt her
back in a way that Brazilian medics still couldn't fix. So she took all
the money she had, and went to the famous New York City, to receive
the operation. She was wallowing in a hospital where conversation
was a memory, and English was her enemy.
Brazil was so far behind in so many ways compared to America. Therefore, her surgery could only be done in the US, but that
included her staying in a hospital bed for weeks, where she was incapable of truly communicating with anyone besides the white walls that
kept her company. So she travelled all alone, and experienced a loneliness like never before. Eva explained how she was unable to tell day
from night in the city that never slept. The lights never went out, the
sun never went down, and she didn't understand it. Her arms couldn't
move, but the nurses dropped off her meals as if she was fully functioning. She didnt know how to ask for help, so she didnt get any.
She spent weeks lost in a reality that wasn't hers that she didnt ever
want to be hers. When she was finally released from the hospital, she
went to the Brazilian Consul, where she was finally understood.
Where everything was not, for the first time in weeks, a stranger.
Where she met her soon to be husband. She fell for him fast, or for the
city. New York was the lover that never left. He was a familiar face in
an unfamiliar place. He shared a sense of understanding, having been
Brazilian, which brought them together. They were soon married with
three children, and one on the way.
20

Eva adapted to the role of a typical American housewife, as

she was expected to. She did her best to implement the influence of
the US in all that she did every day, and complied with the tasks
meant to better the life of her husband. She dressed the way Americans did and cooked American meals, and did everything that a maid
would do in Brazil. But it wasn't enough for him because that's when
he left. He said that it was business, which it was just a trip, but he
never came back. Eventually after waiting on his return, the house got
evicted and she relied on her friend from church to take her in. Until
she gave birth to her fourth child, she worked around houses as a maid
or nanny, sewed, and took care of children. She knew that there would
be no way she could afford to work and have a sitter for her children,
so she contacted her parents and with their support, moved back to
Brazil. Her children stayed with her parents in their two bedroom
apartment. Their neighbor, a complete stranger, opened up her house
to Eva and allowed her to stay there for a few months. After a series of
job interviews, she climbed her way up the work ladder at IBM, a
popular company back then. They lived in poverty, but happily. Eva
managed to get a scholarship, due to her financial state, for all four of
her children to go to private school where they got the best education
they could. Two of her children went to an American Brazilian school,
and pursued college in the US. After a while, the other two decided to
follow the American dream, and its promising better economy. And
so, with her pride and joy overseas, she decided to go back and call
America home once again, after she retired.
The dream that was, and still is Evas life, is carried out in
America. Despite the fact she may have not planned for her life to follow the road it did, she is full of appreciation for all that she has done
and that all she has. The truth is, her dream was never dreamt. Her
dream is the life she lives every day. She may not have described
America as all that it is seen for, but she has made it her home for
decades. She made it the home for her children and it will continue to
provide dreams for all of her family to come.

21

There were many differences between the Brazilian life Eva

led and the American lifestyle that she became accustomed to. When
she left Brazil in the 50s, she avoided a period of recession that began
in the 60s. The recession occurred because the military dictatorship
that took place caused trouble for around twenty years throughout
Brazil. The role she took when she began her life in the US was the
suburban typical housewife. She was expected to create an environment that was positive for her husband in everything she and he did.
In a reflection of her position as a housewife, one woman described
the ironic expectations she was meant to meet. Life was seemingly
carefree in the easy-does-it-beauty-without- buffing-self- polishingwash- and-wear-fast acting-no-bending-no-stretching- no-scrubbingno-rubbing- magically-carefree- push-button world that was the
American housewifes world, she felt like a Queen.11 The American
housewife in the 1950s was strictly home and family oriented. Women were expected look and act as their husbands and other expected.
Her job was to bare children, mother them, be a good wife, and care
for the house. Most men are hungry when they come home and the
prospect of a good meal is part of the warm welcome needed.12 From
childhood, women were told what they were meant to do and how
they were expected to act. They were a part of a man's world, and they
should behave that way. Evas spoke of her duties as a wife in a way
that all surrounded the happiness of her husband, as well as his well
being. Her idea of a marriage was redefined in her move to America.
Everything that was normal no longer existed. Brazilian households
were much less dependent on the role of the wife and her duties. She
recalled having been surrounded by maids her entire upbringing, and
expected to rely on them when the time came for her to become a
wife. Although the outcome was not as she imagined, Eva was raised
to please a man in Brazil. The things she was told to do in America
may have been different, but she wasn't brought up to believe in herself. She was raised to believe in men, and do what it took to ensure
11

Edelstein, S. (2013, March 4). Occupation: 1960 Housewife. Retrieved November

30, 2015
12
Chang, A. (n.d.). In The 1950s, Women Were Expected To Do THIS For Their
Husbands. This Is Crazy! Retrieved November 30, 2015

22

husband's happiness Her experience was different than she expected it

to be, but she complied to her new life and followed the guidelines
implicated by the American lifestyle.
Brazil, although it was beautiful, was somewhat behind in the
1950s. American influence was everywhere and became a huge contribution the world Eva Portella grew up in. She may not have been
directly in America as a child, but the role it played in Brazilian culture was enough for Eva to understand that Brazil was not as advanced
as America. She lived in wealth, which was completely different than
the wealthy life of an American . As she grew up, she was very privileged to be in the upper class that existed in Brazil. Before her father
lost their house, life was s. When her injury caused her to go to America, she realized just how lucky she was, and gave thanks. It was like
a whole new world... new people, new everything. Although there
was an abundance of wealthy people in Brazil, the wealthy class of
Brazil was not the wealthy class of the Americas. She said that the
Cities of Brazil were like small towns, when compared to the cities of
America. In Brazil, the lights went out when the sun did, and the city
was asleep. In the US, everything was always alive and moving.
Lights spread across the night's sky in a way that was foreign to Eva.
After she was released from the hospital, she was finally able to taste
the new things around her. Wonder filled her eyes as she looked into
the past to explain how foreign the tall buildings and city lights were
to her. It sounded like more of a dream and less a reality. She said that
the whole setting of the United States made her more vulnerable to
romance. New York was her City of love.
Maybe she was in a trance and more in love with the city than
with the man. She had jumped into what seemed an alternative reality,
so she didnt leave. She put up her hair and got to work as the typical
housewife America expected her to be. Making the home fit for the
man, rather than the reality. She became someone she wasnt in a
world that wasn't hers. When explaining her responsibilities, she mentioned keeping the children quiet and feeding the husband, as well as
other roles that she was foreign to filling. Just a few of the responsibil23

ities that she was expected to always follow through with, day in and
day out. Despite the mask she put on, it didnt seem enough. She didn't feel enough. So when her husband left her, she began to prepare to
go back to Brazil, back home. Despite the lens that the American life
is perceived with, she wasnt capable of living under the guidelines
laid out to her by society. The wife she should have been was not the
person she was, and therefore Eva took her four children back to Brazil. What brought her back was not the dream, but rather her children.
She returned to the land of the brave because her children set out to
achieve the dream for themselves, and she was there to support them
along the way. America may not of been her ideal dream, but to this
day, it is her home.
The America that welcomed Eva with open arms is the same
America that she came back to. It has been there for her throughout all
her times of struggle and need, some times more than others. Eva
Portella came here and intended for it to all be temporary. She now
has made America a friend and a home. She never meant to fall in
love with the City lights or the busy streets, but now they are all she
knows. All she wants. America. Her home. Her decision.

24

JACKLYN JUDY JAMES PENELOPE

ROBERT EMMA MARIA LARA
MARCIA JOY ROBERTA

The 1960s

The 1960's was a rainstorm that terrorized our nation and altered our way of life, but through these alarming events an oasis was
formed. The 60s was a time full of conflict. Although these conflicts
were sparked in the 1950s, it was in the 1960s when people truly started taking action. It was a time when people were given the
opportunity to stand up for what they believed in. Many believed they
were standing on a threshold of a Golden Era. This was the first time
people had the chance to change the norms, stand united, and be able
to use the power of their voice to make a statement.
During this time, America strove to make changes that would
benefit everyone. As a result, Americans felt as if it was their responsibility to rise up and speak their mind. This led to many movements
such as the Civil Rights Movement, Women's Liberation Movement,
25

and the Antiwar Movement. This ultimately opened up many more

opportunities for every individual.
Throughout the Civil Rights Movement, women and people of
color struggled to get equal rights. Many Civil Rights leaders during
the 1960s included Martin Luther King Jr and Rosa Parks. Many African American civil rights activism took place in sit downs, which
were methods of defiance against the law. After these sit downs, a lot
of the activists were put in jail and it raised awareness about the oppression against the African American community. A very famous sit
down was when four African American students sat down at a whites
only lunch table in Greensboro, North Carolina. This act helped start
many youth led movements focused on equality for African Americans throughout the south. These acts brought attention to the brutality
and poverty that was the African American way of life. These activists
demanded civil rights protections for black people, help for the poor,
higher minimum wage, and an end to discrimination in employment.
Their voices were heard and the Civil Rights Act was passed in 1964.
It is clear that people were really determined to make progress for
America in the 1960s.
One very famous activist group were the Black Panthers.
They formed when six friends witnessed how unfairly Blacks were
treated by everyone, especially by police. They used the Open Carry
gun laws, which allowed them to carry guns as long as they were
showing. They then used this law to their benefit by standing near and
protecting helpless blacks when they were bullied, wrongfully abused,
and or arrested. Black people believed they were trying to defend others, but whites were offended by their defiance and thought that they
were doing it in a wrong and violent way. Later their organization
changed. They were still based off of protecting blacks, but they did it
differently now. Of all the differences, the one that drew in the most
attention was the child outreach program. They thought that by making sure children were in school and well fed they would grow up to
become successful. So they started giving school children breakfast
and lunch, a tradition that is still continued today.
26

For a very long time women were taught that when they graduated high school the only job they would be useful for was becoming
a wife and mother. It wasnt until the 60s that womens mindsets
changed from a housewife to a feminist. Women started to
acknowledge their potential and fight back against the inferiority society had placed on females. This movement was known as the
American Feminist Movement or the Womens Liberation Movement.
It was said to have started with Betty Friedmans book, The Feminine
Mystique, which made people aware of the injustices of society toward women, and led to the founding of the National Organization of
Women in 1966. John Green says, The 60s-era feminist opened
America to the idea that the personal is political, especially when it
came to equal pay, child care, and abortion13. The expectation of
what and who women should be affected many (if not all) American
women.
The Vietnam War started in 1955 but wouldnt end until 20
long years later. Vietnam began with disagreements between North
Vietnam and South Vietnam about communism. America participated
in the war to prevent Communism from ever reaching the States. The
war was seen as a colonist war. In the 60s the war had a big impact
on society. Families were broken apart; young adults left high school
to get drafted into the war. Families worried and wondered if their
soldiers would return home safely. This war set a tone in the 60s.
Many people began to distrust the government, which sparked the Antiwar Movement. It added to all of the chaos that piled up in the 60s
and was a constant reminder of the change that had to be made.
Coming of age in the 1960s looked different for everyone.
How successful you became ultimately depended on your identity;
race, gender, economic class, and your idea of success. Every individ-

13

Green, J. (2013, December 6). The 1960s in America: Crash Course US History
#40. Retrieved

27

ual's American Dream was different because some people had more
opportunities than others.
Jacklyn Larson grew up in a time when women were pushed
towards the idea that marrying out of college or even high school was
their best bet. So when Jacklyn graduated college at age 22 she knew
what she wanted. She married and moved away from her hometown to
be with him. However, did this lifestyle of following her husband really make her a happy women. Was this the ideal lifestyle that Jacklyn
was looking for. Was Jacklyn following her American Dream?
Judy Forman is a white female Jewish business owner. She
has been an activist for gay rights, feminism, and civil rights for many
years. Her dream is to see our country provide everyone with equal
rights, education, food, healthcare, and housing. She has been a contributing activist and large part of the counterculture of the 1960s.
Judy isnt a typical woman in this society. She doesnt see the American Dream as something that is actually attainable. She thinks that
people have become so concerned with materialistic things and have
been sucked into capitalism.
James Edwards thinks the American Dream still exists but is
under attack. Every time a trade deal is signed more American jobs
are sent overseas, every time the number of H1A and H1B visas are
increased people are invited here to take high tech jobs that Americans
might have. He mentions that our school system is suffering. The
American Dream is still present but it is becoming more difficult to
achieve. James Edwards was an African American male living in the
hateful time of the 1960s. James was able to persevere through all
these setbacks and take all the steps that were necessary to achieve his
American Dream. He finally achieved his American Dream through
hard work and dedication and is now retired living his American
Dream.
Penelope Owen is a white middle class woman who was born
and raised in Vermont. When in her younger days, around her mid
28

twenties, she blindly believed in the fact that material things were all
that mattered in life. As she grew older, she realized the error in her
beliefs and started to appreciate the smaller things in life. She now
believes in a tight community and getting along with the people close
to you and appreciating the things you already own in life.
Robert Spencer Smith is a white young man who had a dream
of becoming a professional tennis player; he worked hard and obtained a scholarship but then he had to make a sudden choice that
would change his life. Robert Smith had been drafted into the Vietnam
war. In the end, Robert went through training but ended up not serving. Robert Spencer Smith currently is a civilian worker who pulls in
the boats for the navy.
Emma Craycroft is a woman was born in Mexico and at a
young age came, and grew up in the United States. She worked at a
pharmacy for a long time keeping track of the medication they got.
She is now retired, and enjoys gardening in her backyard. Doing what
she loves is all she ever wanted in her American dream, and staying
happy is what she plans to do with the rest of her life. While she considers that she achieved her American Dream, but she doesnt believe
anymore that anyone can do the same thing she was able to achieve.
Maria Padilla is a Mexican woman that grew up in Mexico
City who has worked since the age of 14. Unfortunately, she was not
able to continue on to high school and college. Maria moved to United
States when she was 21 in hopes of making her dream come true. Maria now lives in San Diego and feels that she has completed her dream
and what is left is for her to enjoy herself and to continue to live her
life doing what she wants.
Lara Greenberg understands that although she believes no one
achieves the American Dream she believes everyone can achieve their
own American Dream. Everyone has their own dreams that can be
achieved. Lara grew up on Mexico city, Mexico and moved to the US
with her American Dream. She never went through with her original
29

dream however. Instead she chose a steady life with a big family, living in working class America.
Marcia Berman believes that everyday interactions are most
important because they help people learn what it is they want to
achieve, their version of the American dream. She reflects on how at
one point in her life, she believed the American Dream was one thing,
then after a few rough events she figured out that it was in actuality
something else. She experienced many hard times and lots of shortcomings, but in the end has realized that the morals she learned
through her experiences outweigh everything else.
Joy Wasserman-Polun is a white female Jewish teacher. She
believes the American Dream means upward mobility, but it is really
hard for some groups -- especially for black people. As she grew up,
living in Detroit, she realized the American Dream wasnt accessible
for all people. She could hide that she was Jewish because it is not
very apparent, but a black person couldnt and shouldnt hide his or
her race. As a result of this she dedicated herself as teacher to help
others who were oppressed.
Roberta Alexander is a mixed race woman living in San Diego, California. Born just outside of L.A. Her American Dream is to
change what the American Dream stands for. She was apart of so
many things, The Black Panther Party, The Free Speech Movement,
and so much more. She is now a teacher at San Diego City College
paving the way for more people to achieve their American Reality.
Coming of age for a person in the 1960s was full of hardships
and obstacles that ultimately forced individuals to make the decision;
who do I want to be? People ask themselves this question as they start
the next chapter of their life but unfortunately many dont know the
answer. Some may choose to work at home as a housewife, in the
shadow of their husbands. Some want to do better for their family, or
for others. Some decide to follow their passion. Others chose to grasp
their potential, see the world, and make a difference. It is each indi30

vidual's own responsibility to make a life for themselves and determine things on their own. Everyone has the option to do whatever
they want regardless of what it is. Be a housewife. Be a tennis player.
Be one with your community. Be independent. Be an activist. Be
whatever they want to be as long as they are doing it with passion and
fury.

31

JACKLYN JUDY JAMES PENELOPE

ROBERT EMMA MARIA LARA
MARCIA JOY ROBERTA

I just believe everybody has a dream and some achieve it and

some dont and I think if you strive for it and you really want it then
youll achieve the American Dream, Jacklyn Larson 74 years of age
states. Her belief in the American Dream is empowering, and inspiring. Although when you listen to Jacklyns own American dream
story, you will be thrown for a loop. Rewinding back 56 years ago in
the city of Sacramento, the year was 1959 and a young Jacklyn of 22
was setting out into the world to make her mark. Young, independent
and smart, Jacklyn had opportunities some women would kill for. She
is a Caucasian, Catholic woman who lived in a middle class household. Even though she was faced with multiple decisions on who she
could become, Jacklyn had her mindset on one type of lifestyle- a wife
and a mother. Throughout history, from before Jacklyn was born and
to this day, the American Dream continues to differ from person to
person throughout generations.

32

Jacklyn Larson grew up in Sacramento, California, and

straight out of high school went to a junior college for 2 years. Sadly
she says most women in the late 50s early 60s didnt even go to college. They believed it was unnecessary considering they would be in
the house all day taking care of the children. Societys standard for
women was to be a housewife. Jacklyn had a similar mindset however
was smarter than others and knew it would be a good idea to have a
backup in case her marriage didnt work out. It wasnt until she had
been working at the highway patrol for quite a while and then got
married. That was when Jacklyns coming of age arrived. She tells of
this moment. I think it was when I was 22 and married and left home
for the first time and that was 1959, says Jacklyn very confidently.
Jacklyn met her husband Jim while working at the highway patrol.
Right after their wedding, Jacklyn and Jim drove the long distance to
settle in Kansas. Even though Jacklyn was only 22, her family supported her decision and approved of the marriage. She says that this
time was when she truly felt she was independent. She had to make
her own decisions and she didnt have any family close by to fall back
on for support. Jacklyn did not have a dream job that showed her potential. Her dream was to hopefully one day raise a family. This
branched off from almost every women repeatedly emphasizing this
ideal lifestyle of a housewife and having a family. It was followed
by everyone in Jacklyns life and everyone around her. Essentially
Jacklyn would follow this dream as well. By doing so, Jacklyn was
supporting her husband's dreams; to enroll in the Air Force. With that
came traveling wherever the air force took them. Jacklyn had no regrets leaving behind anything because she had nothing to leave
behind, no job or education to fulfill. For Jacklyn this benefited her,
33

but looking back at the bigger picture, she did not have any hopes, any
dream or aspirations. She lived the life her husband chose for them. In
the love struck, desperate mind of young Jacklyn, what more could
she ask for? She had everything in the world but somehow had nothing at all.

Jacklyns husband, Jim, was in the Air Force fighting in the

Vietnam War. This became a blessing and a curse. Waiting hopelessly
at home, she had a pit in her stomach, and a fake smile constantly
plastered on her face. She had to ensure the children that everything
was fine. She prayed every night that he would make it home safely.
With sharing their American Dream, Jacklyn and Jim ended up having
three kids; two girls and a boy. This became a challenge for Jacklyn to
raise three children and then on top of that have to pack up everyone
and everything when her husband was relocated. Jacklyn tells of the
impact on the children not having a father around for months at a time.
She explains, There were a lot of women in the same position so the
childrens friends did not have fathers around either, they all knew
they were fighting in the Vietnam war and they were all supposed to
come back so it was sort of a mutual feeling among the kids. This
was a challenge Jacklyn and her family faced. When asked what other
challenges she faced on her way to achieving the American Dream,
she replied Raising a family pretty much by myself because my husband was gone six months at a time, you have to be mother and
father. Jacklyn had come to the realization that by marrying a man in
the military, he would never be around. She cooked and cleaned for
the children as a mother would. She drove them to school and to after
school activities every time. She disciplined as a father would. She
34

played the role of two people when she was only created to be one.
Her job was the children and her husbands job was bringing in the
paycheck. Did Jacklyn ever wonder if she had more to offer than just
becoming a wife and a mother? When asked this question, before answering she hesitated for a minute. Not really, she states. Raising
the children was the priority at the time. Even on the base, the base
commander didnt want women with small children to go to work because then the men on duty would have to worry about whether the
children were being taken care of. Women were purposefully pushed
to not commit themselves to meet their potential.

Maintain the house, prepare meals, take care of the children,

help them with their homework, be the ideal wife, do the dishes and
the laundry while remaining elegant; that made the day of most American women in the 1950s14. This is what teenage girls were taught in
a Home Economics classroom in the 50s and what most women lived
by. These words are what most women used to pave their future. The
choice was never theirs to decide on, from day one the idea of becoming a so calledperfect housewife was implanted into the young naive
minds of many girls. Men were set on their own path. During the 50s,
60s and 70s, teenage boys were urged to prepare for the Vietnam
war. It was a huge necessity to have as many soldiers as possible
fighting the war. However, both men and women were pushed into
this ideal plan to find your other half. One of the most influenced
ideas of a perfect life came with marriage. Lamb found, Marriage
14

Vansa Martins Lamb. The 1950s and the 1960s and the American Woman : the

transition from the housewife to the feminist. History. 2011 es.

35

was an incredible powerful institution during these years; people

didnt ask themselves if they were going to get married, but when and
to whom? 15. This future defined for an individual was not questioned
or looked down upon because people did not understand how much
more they were, and are currently capable of achieving.
Although Jacklyn faced the challenges of taking the responsibility of dual parenting, with her husbands career in the air force, her
family had the opportunity to see the world and explore what went
about behind her sheltered doors. The sheltered doors that women
were subjected to as a housewife because people thought they only
needed to work in the kitchen. This spiked her interests in traveling
and gave Jacklyn the chance to open her mind to what the outside
world really had to offer. She loved encountering new places and taking in the scenery. Unfortunately, like most women Jacklyn
encountered, she did not feel she could be a thriving, independent
woman. Well, I really needed to rely on a man. She believed that the
American Dream was a partnership and you do your part and your
companion does the other. The wifes part consists of the children,
and the husband's part was the paycheck. She felt she had to rely on
her husband to bring in the income. However, todays society gives
Jacklyn a change of heart. Today she explains what she sees women
trying to achieve. I think women try to strive for careers and they
have a lot to give society, and to them thats the American dream, they
really want to excel in something. Looking back at her life, Jacklyn
still appreciates what she had. She admits that she wishes she would
have gone back to school and earned more qualifications so that one
day she could go back to work. Yes, she was compelled to believe she
had a duty of holding up the household, and yes Jacklyn did not receive the chance to make a life for herself. However when asked if she
would do it all over again, Jacklyn said she would not have changed
any part of it. Her lifestyle may have been controlled by the words
people told her, but what came out of it were the most important peo15

Vanessa Martins Lamb. The 1950s and the 1960s and the American
Woman : the transition from the housewife to the feminist. History. 2011.

36

ple in her life, those of which include her grown children and her
beautiful grandchildren. She also has thousands of memories she
wouldn't trade the world for.

The American way of life in the 50s and 60s was one that
modern day has moved away from because of its stereotypical nature
of a jobs for women and men. Lamb describes the ideal lifestyle in the
50s:
In the United States of the 1950s the image of the ideal
family was that of the successful husband, of the children running in
the garden or watching the brand-new television set and, above all, of
the wife cooking in her highly-equipped kitchen, doing the laundry in
the most modern washing machine and cleaning the house with her
extremely powerful vacuum cleaner while wearing high heels and
pearls and with an intact hairstyle.16
A woman has so much more to offer than doing the house
chores and looking presentable for her spouse. Women were completely misunderstood as too feminine or too girly to do a mans job.
They were looked at as too fragile to do a mans job. They were not
told to get their hands dirty and finish the job just as well as any man
could. Women started to doubt that the typical way of life wasnt as
great as everyone said it to be and something was missing in their life.
The mindset of women slowly started to change in the early 60s when
16

Vanessa Martins Lamb. The 1950s and the 1960s and the American Woman : the

transition from the housewife to the feminist. History. 2011 .

37

four black men sat at a whites-only lunch counter and were denied
service. This act of defiance triggered a wave of sit-ins for civil rights
across the South, Walsh summarizes. With others taking a stand to
better their future, women started to see their potential through a
clearer lens and an opportunity came about for them to come together
to prove themselves as strong and independent individuals.17
It was much different growing up in the 50s than it was in the
60s. Women who grew up in the 50s were taught through the mindset of a housewifes life. During the Womens Rights movement,
women who were starting families had no choice but to continue on
their path and many were okay with that. They knew nothing of this
theory that women could be independent and many felt they needed to
rely on a man. Towards the 60s, younger women who disagreed with
the absurd idea that the men brought in the paycheck, began to stand
up for justice. Sitkoff explains, Younger female activists, many involved in the civil rights and anti-Vietnam War protests, created a
womens liberation movement. It aimed to transform womens perceptions of themselves as merely wives and mothers18. Jacklyn
having already come of age during this time, didnt follow what women were fighting for. She believed her lifestyle was placed perfectly
and she had all she needed. However, younger generations believed
that women were looked at as inferior to men and deserved more than
living a life under a mans rule. These women strove to change the
mindset of others and community after community destroyed the idea
of inferiority over women.
Women had quite a lot in common in this decade. Some of
these similarities they did not even choose themselves. For instance,
their future. Before women even had a chance to explore their skills or
interests they were told where to go and what to do. Lamb does an
17

Kenneth T. Walsh. The 1960s: A Decade of Promise and Heartbreak. U.S. News.
March 9, 2010.
18

Harvard Sitkoff. The Sixties. The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.
2008.

38

excellent job in explaining this by saying, Their future was already

defined: going to university to prepare for marriage or rather to while
away their time, (especially between white middle-class women)
meeting with a boy that would suit their family, get married, have
children and a beautiful house19. This description perfectly lays out
Jacklyns life word for word as a white middle-class female. Wonderfully said, a woman's future was nothing new to conversate about. The
same life was expected from every woman. On top of that, they were
denied the chance to prove the stereotypes wrong. They wanted to
prove they could handle more than what was expected of them. Lamb
says, It was as if society refused to see the changes which women
started to live. As if the whole nation lived in a constant effort to believe that women were still the same ones, always satisfied of
becoming the perfect housewife and mother20. Sadly, Jacklyn fell
in this group of people who refused to meet their potential. These
people, including Jacklyn, were scared of change because it would
lead to uncertain outcomes. However sometimes change is completely
necessary and can lead to an even greater nation.
Jacklyn Larson, now 74, had an American Dream. It was influenced by the stereotype society that taught her that her job was to
take care of the household. The only exploring Jacklyn had was when
her husband was relocated for the war. She was carried through mountains and rivers, moving homes, moving her family and doing what
was necessary to keep her family happy. She was given some opportunities and denied some. She faced challenges she had to overcome.
Today Jacklyn believes she has achieved her American Dream. Her
last statement was, Yes I do believe I have achieved the American
dream because I did what I wanted to do and I enjoyed it, I had a good
life, and she continues to live with that mindset of the American
Dream today. Jacklyn is a respectable woman. She wasnt presented
with a lot of options and her dream may have been stereotypical for
19

Vanessa Martins Lamb. The 1950s and the 1960s and the American Woman : the
transition from the housewife to the feminist. History. 2011.
20
Vanessa Martins Lamb. The 1950s and the 1960s and the American Woman : the
transition from the housewife to the feminist. History. 2011.

39

women in the 60s but Jacklyn Larson knew what she wanted in life
and she went for it. In the end she was happy with what she had
achieved. The dream was so stereotypical but it made Jacklyn a happy
woman. The dream was not created to make women feel inferior to
men. Although some women may have felt this way, Jacklyn chose to
look at it in a positive way. The American Dream is what you take out
of what is given to you and make it something worth working for.

40

JACKLYN JUDY JAMES PENELOPE

ROBERT EMMA MARIA LARA
MARCIA JOY ROBERTA

The American dream doesnt exist; I call it The American

Fantasy. Judy Forman has been a major community activist and supporter of women's rights for decades. Judy was awarded Women of
the year in 2011 and is the owner and operator of the "Big Kitchen
Caf," Judy has opened her home, business, and her heart to making a
great difference in individual's lives. She is a staunch supporter of social justice, supports women's history, and is above all a role model
for people everywhere. Through her caf, Judy has been able to encourage her customers and provide assistance to those who struggle.
Judy is a Jewish woman that grew up in an upper low class
family. Her first job was sorting cucumbers with her dad. As she grew
up, she had many jobs including a retailer in a department store in a
small town of 3000 people in upstate New York. After attending college in Michigan, Judy became a Social Worker in Detroit and was
making 7,000 a year. Judy explains, 7,000 in 1969. Wow! that was a
lot of money Ill tell ya. I was able to pay my own rent. I was able to
buy new car. Judy later left Detroit and moved to San Diego, but she
was unable to find any social work jobs. Even with the successful job
Judy had in Detroit she The American dream doesnt exist; I call it
The American Fantasy. (Judy Forman) Judy Forman has been a major community activist and supporter of women's rights for decades.
Judy was awarded Women of the year in 2011 and is the owner and
operator of the "Big Kitchen Caf," Judy has opened her home, busi41

ness, and her heart to making a great difference in individual's lives.

She is a staunch supporter of social justice, supports women's history,
and is above all a role model for people everywhere. Through her caf, Judy has been able to encourage her customers and provide
assistance to those who struggle.
Judy is a Jewish woman that grew up in an upper low class
family. Her first job was sorting cucumbers with her dad. As she grew
up, she had many jobs including a retailer in a department store in a
small town of 3000 people in upstate New York. After attending college in Michigan, Judy became a Social Worker in Detroit and was
making 7,000 a year. Judy explains, 7,000 in 1969. Wow! that was a
lot of money Ill tell ya. I was able to pay my own rent. I was able to
buy new car. Judy later left Detroit and moved to San Diego, but she
was unable to find any social work jobs. Even with the successful job
Judy had in Detroit she still struggled buying a house, In order to
own a house you have to have a down payment. When I bought a
house it was 20% down, which for a 300,000 dollar house you have to
have 60,000 to put down. In order to put that much money down your
family better be able to help you out. Because there are very few jobs
when youre in your late twenties that will give you enough money to
save 60,000 dollars to put down. If my parents didnt help me with the
down payment I wouldnt have been able to afford the house. Nowadays many houses go 500,000 minimum. So you have to have a
100,000 dollars to put down before you can own a house. Then you
have thirty years to pay it off, but you are gonna pay interest every
month on it. This is a disturbing reality of what our economy has
come to.

42

There is a major flaw in the American Dream that Judy has

pointed out. If you dont have the support from your family financially, you will either rent for the rest of your life or be under a massive
amount debt. Judy explains how some people are born with advantages in this world and some are not. There is a very big
advantage of starting out in life with money, there is no advantage to
start out without it. America doesnt offer a fair chance to the lower
class and minorities. Modern day America has formed into a vicious
circle of wealth inequality. There are many disadvantages in our country that coincide with economic mobility. One of them that has been
very present in Judys life is the problem of gender inequalities.
Women have been oppressed and molded into gender roles for
many years, but Judy doesnt just see her womanhood as a disadvantage in our modern day society, but as an advantage too. Because
I was a Woman. I developed a personality that is humorous and rather
assertive. So it tends to threaten men. I have challenged a lot of males
because of the fact that I own my own business, and I can. Im not
your typical woman in this typical culture. Im 68 years old now so
were talking about back in the 60-70s. In the 60-70s women were
expected to conform to men's expectations.
Judy has proved the misconception that women can not run a
successful business wrong. After she moved to San Diego Judy
opened a breakfast restaurant called The Big Kitchen. Not only did
she become a successful entrepreneur and maintain a restaurant for 35
years, but she has founded a community around her business and has
enlightened many people's lives. Judy is an empowering person. Her
aura gives off a sense of comfort and confidence. She has evolved
from experience and turned her disadvantages of womanhood into
advantages even with the pressure of gender roles from mainstream
America. Judy is unique because of that. Another advantage that Judy
holds dear is her Jewish heritage. She said It was an advantage to her.
Its like you're born into a club that no one else can get into and you
cant get out of. My main focus with the Jewish culture has always
been to educate so that well never be in positions weve been in his43

torically. Where we have been the slaves of many different civilizations. The sense of belonging and family is essential to a successful
America, but if a group is oppressed and singled out it sets them back
from attaining equality in a very corrupt and competitive country.
This is why Judy is an activist. She is an activist because the only
way to keep her safe is if everyone is safe from injustices.
Is the American Dream possible for someone who was born
with no advantages? I call it the American Fantasy. The American
Dream. The one if you work hard every day, you can eventually own a
house and have a family and be able to support them, Im here to testify that basically in this culture that we live in where the banks have all
the advantage and the 1% have all the money, its not a dream. The
American dream is a fantasy and it sucks because it lets people think
that it's possible for everyone to accomplish these things, but in reality
its just educating people to believe that banks are their friends. Judy
has experienced this misconception hands on. She has seen many people in her life struggle with the inequalities of the American system.
This is why she is so generous and supportive of her community. She
knows the stress of running a business from starting a restaurant without prior experience and how much banks and our government can
impact your success.
Judy stands by the fact that the middle class doesnt exist, but
luckily some of us have become more spiritual to know that money is
not the way to evaluate your life. Her ideal American Dream is to see
a country that provides housing, healthcare, food, and education as a
civil right. If you can take care of those four things for your population then everyone will prosper and no one will feel disadvantaged.
Everyone will be proud because they can take care of themselves.
America in the 1960s was a time of change. A political and
cultural upheaval for the United States. It was time for people like Judy to take a stand for civil rights, women's rights, and America's
policies. For many, the 60s was a wake up call from the post WWII
44

baby booming 50s21. In the 50s there was a very clear segregation
line between minorities and the privileged. It wasnt until the 1960s
when many people finally took a stand for their rights in a big way.
Judy was one of the many activists during that time that shaped the
radical ideas and revelations that echo to our modern society.
Judy made many contributions to many of those movements.
Throughout her years Judy has founded many different projects including The Womans History Reclamation Project (now the
Womens Museum of California), The Golden Hill Community Development Corporation, The Brooklyn Culture Club. She also had one
of the first LGBT community centers right in her own restaurant. Judy
has been the owner of The Big Kitchen for 35 years and has been
serving her community by, participating as an activist, and representing a mothering figure for her neighborhood. Even though Judy didnt
accomplish all these achievements in the 60s she is a beautiful example of how one generation can make such an impact on our country.
The radical ideas and spread of love, community, and equality has
made a substantial impact on America. As I look back, at age 68, I
must say I am pleased with the progress we have made on all the issues we have focused on. However, the pendulum swings both ways
and we must be ever vigilant in our struggle for inclusion. Nowadays
you can really see the impact of the 1960s when you focus on the
smaller things like the love and generosity of Judy, one activist in one
city.
The radical Sixties began when John F Kennedy was elected
president, America was about to see one of the most progressive
agendas in the 20th century. The 60s & 70s feminist movement was
born and as a result, More females than ever were entering the paid
workforce, and this increased the dissatisfaction among women regarding huge gender disparities in pay and advancement and sexual

21

Walsh, K. (2010, March 12). The 1960s: A Decade of Change for Women.
Retrieved October 7, 2015.

45

harassment at the workplace22. Unfortunately the typical gender role

for Men and Women were still largely segregated. A woman was expected to follow one path: to marry in her early 20s, start a family
quickly, and devote her life to homemaking. As one woman at the
time put it, "The female doesn't really expect a lot from life. She's here
as someone's keeper her husband's or her children. As such, wives
bore the full load of housekeeping and child care, spending an average
of 55 hours a week on domestic chores. The feminist counterculture
that Judy was and is part of stood directly against the gender roles that
were set up by mainstream America. Judy prides herself in not acting
like the typical women of her time. She didnt tailor to what men expected. Judy left a social work job in Michigan to become an
entrepreneur. She demonstrated the success in her business to men as
a statement that women dont need to conform to housewives, and that
women aren't owned by a husband. This goes to show that the counterculture of the sixties is still represented in our present day by people
like Judy. People who stood up for others rights and only wanted the
best for their neighbors now echo positive messages to new generations which will continue the uphold those movements.
After the sixties it was difficult to get ahead in the economy.
After Nixon became President, he began to dismantle programs that
were the result of the sixties. He abolished as many parts of President
Lyndon Johnsons War on Poverty as he could, and he made a show
of his resistance to mandatory school desegregation plans such as busing23. This is why Judy struggled to find a job when she first moved
to San Diego. America was going through a recession; even with a
qualified resume, Judy couldnt find a job. After the Sixties many
problems that existed before the sixties were now brought to light, but
the country was ruled by the silent majority; those who still believed
in a conservative society. This made it difficult for minorities to pursue The American Dream and the struggle for these groups
continued. That is why its important that there are people like Judy in
22

Walsh, K. (2010, March 12). The 1960s: A Decade of Change for Women.
Retrieved October 7, 2015.
23
The 1960s. (n.d.). Retrieved October 7, 2015.

46

this world to bring light to an unjust system; to bring communities

together and to be a strong activist and leader for the people.
Judys American Dream is to see our country make housing, healthcare, food, and education a civil right. How would our
modern day society be shaped if the ideals of the 1960s were still implicated throughout the remainder of the twentieth century. What if
MLK, and JFK were not assassinated at the end of the 60s? Would
the 60s actually be the dawn of the golden age? Would we be closer
to a racist free society and equal gender roles in the workplace?
Would real estate be at an all time high?
The American Dream is a contradiction. It is the idea that
everybody has a fair chance to obtain financial success, provide for
their family, and own a house. The American Dream has defined the
same for generations and the fact of the matter is that not everyone has
a fair chance to thrive. Its because of the aftershock from the end of
the 60s that continues to limit the social ladder. Its like America took
a step forward while taking a step backward. The 60s had the potential to make The American Dream a reality but because of the
events that ended the radical 1960s, The American Dream goals
have been postponed and are no longer realistic. According to Judy, in
order to develop a balanced society we must solve problems like economic segregation and reduce the rich to poor gap. Like Judy said
There is a very big advantage of starting out in life with money, there
is no advantage to start out without it. America needs to focus on the
ideas of the 1960s and re spark that passion for change. As of now
the rich own our country and the only way out of that is to protest and
drive for change like many did in the sixties.
The phrase American Dream should be redefined to fit the
majority of our country. Since the beginning, our country has been so
competitive and just like any form of government greed can consume
your soul and cause you to think only for yourself. Its sad to see our
country owned by banks and rich snobs. This all brings it back to
the same question. If the mindset of the sixties was still present would
47

large corporations have all the economical power as they do now?

How long will it take for our modern society to achieve what the sixties had in store for us? And are we moving in the right direction?
America is inconsistent. The majority of Americans are upset
with how the upper class is defining our lives. However at the same
time we aren't making any progress towards taking our freedoms back.
Our society is so distracted by corporate corporations. Americans are
trapped in a cycle of consumerism, and its never enough we always
want more. That is why The American Dream needs to be redefined.
Overall the ideas of the 1960s have sharpen the liberal counterculture that is still present today. However the true American
Dream where everyone has a fair chance to prosper is hidden by the
giant shadow that American consumerism and the greed of capitalism
casts. To overcome this, Americans need to stand up for others rights
so people can step out of any institutionalized oppression like Judy
has done. Americans need to demonstrate what is wrong with our
government like the activist did in the 1960s so we can make productive progress. People need to become more involved locally like Judy
has done. Judy left her well paying job in Michigan to do something
she has grown to love. We can all learn from Judy and become less
attached to the idea of achieving happiness through money and become more in touch with passion for change, and compassion for
others.

48

JACKLYN JUDY JAMES PENELOPE

ROBERT EMMA MARIA LARA
MARCIA JOY ROBERTA

Does the past affect the future of my American Dream? Has

the past affected the outcome of all American dreams? James Edwards
moved to San Diego, California from Hope, Arkansas in 1964 when
he was around 18 years old. James moved to San Diego because his
family could not afford to send him to college. The reason for this was
that he was living in the poverty like most African Americans during
that time. Since James has moved he has been taking care of himself.
James is an atheist who went to college and earned two junior college
degrees. With these degrees he believes that he was able to achieve his
goal of becoming a member of the middle class. He achieved this by
getting a good education and getting a well paying job, this was his
American Dream. James defines the American Dream as a way to alter your life for the better.

49

As an African American there were no racial advantages for

James. Segregation in the 1960s evidently affected his life in many
ways. For example he lived in poverty, surrounded by the false stereotypes held by others, just because he was a minority. He was not
given the same opportunities as the average white man. Even within
the workplace he had to face the challenges as an African American.
He explains, One of my first jobs was at a sawmill and my job was
working with this saw that turned one piece of wood into three smaller
pieces of wood. As a black man, they had me work the saw that dispensed two pieces of wood and guide it until it was completely cut.
My co-worker was a white man and they had him guiding the one
piece of wood that was dispensed from the other saw.James had just
started this job, but already had a more physically draining job than
the past employees. He knew the affect this job would have on his
working experience, but that did not stop him.
James took great strides to get where he is today. He originally did not believe that he was a member of the middle class when he
moved to California, this helped encourage him to get a college education, because he wanted to achieve middle class. He eventually
achieved middle class status through hard work and a good education.
The education was definitely an advantage because a college education in society could lift you out of the poverty. With this education he
was able to get a job in computer programing. He feels that he broke
through all of the stereotypes because he had a dream and did not let
anyone get in the way of achieving it. As an African American there
were definitely disadvantages. Mainly because of the long held stereotypes that people have about you without ever knowing you. Even
with all this discrimination he was able to push through. You just
keep on going forward you have your dream you don't let anyone
stand in your way, James mentioned.

50

When he turned 18, he did not believe that he had a definition

of the American dream. James had to go out and be a witness to life's
many pleasures so that he could understand what his dream was.
James said his American Dream was something that came as I grew
and matured. He arrived at the definition that is similar to what most
people would want, to be able to take care of yourself and those that
depend upon you, to have a home in a decent area, and to be able to
retire comfortably. His dream has not changed.
From the time that he decided what he should have as an
American and what he should be able to achieve, he did not have a
different dream. James explained, Good job being able to take care
of yourself, offer a better life for your children than you had, and to be
able to retire comfortably. James had a good job in computer programming for twenty five years that paid well, untilled he retired.
After excelling in this job he was able to purchase a modest home in
the suburbs and pay it off. He mentioned, his kids are not doing as
well as he would like them to be doing, and he was able to retire comfortably therefore accomplishing a majority of his American dream.
When he was in high school, he had administrators who
stressed How education could lift you out of the poverty that most
blacks in this small town lived in. James did the best he could, so he
does not blame anybody for the opportunities that he did not seize.
The opportunities were there it was just up to us to pursue them and
see them through.. James always wanted to have a family that could
afford to send him to college, instead he had to go off on his own and
do the best he could himself. He said the opportunities were there, all
51

you had to do was pursue them, work hard, and blame nobody but
yourself for what you did not achieve. The challenge that most African Americans have are the long held stereotypes of their co-workers
and their perspectives that they have about you. I pledged to keep going, get as much education as I could, work hard on the job, keep my
nose clean, and let the chips fall where they may. And despite all the
setbacks he still persevere to accomplish his American dream, still
with struggles.
The American dream of this time can not be defined because
every single person's idea of the American dream is different and can
change at any moment. The most common American dream was To
be able to take care of yourself and those that depend upon you, to
have a home in a decent area, and to be able to retire comfortably.
During this time the idea of the white picket fence surrounding the
nice house in the suburbs was still carried on from the 1950s. The
American dream still exists, but is under attack every time a trade deal
is signed more American jobs are sent overseas, every time the number of H1A and H1B visas are increased people are invited here to
take high tech jobs that people might have, that Americans might
have. Our school system is suffering so the American dream is still
there but it is becoming more difficult to actually achieve it. Even
with all this, James thinks, many still can achieve their American
Dream
Through this decade it seemed to be that the American dream was
generalized around the idea of equality amongst the African American
community and other minorities. Many of the social norms that they
fought against could alter someone's dream, but through his time
James never stopped if it meant accomplishing his American Dream.
The problem with discrimination amongst the black community never
affected James or his American Dream. James was one of the few
people of his community to achieve his American Dream. James
thinks that the American dream can be achieved, but to get the dream
one must go to great depths to get it.
52

JACKLYN JUDY JAMES PENELOPE

ROBERT EMMA MARIA LARA

MARCIA JOY ROBERTA

Growing up in a small town in Vermont was a unique experience that could never be replaced. Living with just her mom in a
household was nice and simple. A calm feeling, with a tight community all around. An environment where you actually knew over half of
the peoples names throughout the town. Life growing up was simple,
get good grades in school, listen to your mother, and be kind to others.
This is Penelope Owens way of living her life as a young woman in
the 1960s. Growing up and coming of age in Vermont allowed her to
grow accustomed to the community there, and really get a feel for her
entire town. It was this place and feeling that allowed her to eventually realize her American Dream.

53

Around the late 60s, when she was in her mid twenties, Penny decided it was time to move out and start her own chapter in life.
For the very first time, Penny considered herself an independent
woman. She was a white, middle class woman, and because of her
gender finding a job was described as a time when A lot of times
women are not favorably looked upon as men. In the generation I
came from employment was especially an issue. But I decided it
shouldnt be a hindrance then continued to do things on my own.
Time went by for what seemed to be ages. Penny was able to find a
job in her new area, and the attempt of working at her own real job at
an inspection office was not an easy task. Along with the multiple
bills and education, other responsibilities came with it. Penny, at a
young age, struggled with trying to juggle her job, obtaining a masters level of education, and moving out for the first time all on her
own. With all of these responsibilities on her mind, the thought of an
American Dream never really came across her mind, especially at a
young age. The idea of, The American Dream was already defined
for you. Not so much her passion but more so the material things in
life. All of the expensive cars, the large homes, the highest paying
jobs. These material things are what the people of America have always perceived as the American Dream.
Although these material things arent innately bad, Penny described this as not an important aspect. Younger people might be able
to see it now, but slowly with age, all of our possessions will start to
lose value to us. Sooner were going to want and appreciate the little
things in life a lot more.
According to Penny, obtaining the mindset of treasuring material things happens often, because it sure happened to her. She was
like your average young adult when she was in her mid twenties, and
had the same common mindset of, I need all the material things I can
hold to be happy. But with age she realized the true value in the material things in life and realized her new dream of going back to
Vermont. She wanted to re-experience the joy of the area she grew up
54

in when she had when she first lived there. But the catch to this dream
was that the material things in her life would be left behind.
First moving back to Vermont, Penny had nothing but two
acres of land and barely enough money to purchase the tent she lived
in. Thats all she needed to start her off living in Vermont again. The
income amount was there, but very minimal. It took months just to
buy an item a little over 500 dollars so Penny was forced to be patient
due to the little amount of income. However she used this time to enjoy the life she was living in a simple manner. Everyday she went
outside to experience the snow. She just had her little tent and her
heater, but that was all she needed when her entire day was filled with
wandering in the wild and enjoying life. Taking in the scent of the
cold air, poking her head outside her tent to find a friendly deer looking at her in the distance, simple life was pure bliss. Little by little she
acquired items, whether it was buying it herself, or a donation from
her neighbors or old friend, allowing her to settle in more and more.

One day, there was a news reporter stopped by the tent. The
news reporter had asked Penny if they could do a news article on how
she came back to Vermont with what nothing to her name. They asked
why she decided to live out in a tent until she could afford to build her
own home. Seeing no harm, Penny accepted the interview. Next thing
she knew, the paper came out in the news and there she was on the
front cover. She didnt think much of it at first but when the papers
55

came she realized that the publicity from the news article drew in a lot
of support and help from other folks in the town. The people were
such a big help, if it wasnt for them I wouldnt be able to be here
Skyping you guys right now. People did so many generous things for
her because of the respect they had for her when they read her story.
Her story revealed that she was hardworking and would do whatever it
took to make her happy, regardless of what that meant to her. People
donated various things from common household objects to straight
cash, but what helped the most were the labor services. One day Penny had gone to the butcher to buy some meat for her dinner and struck
a conversation with someone. After talking about what she was doing
in the wilderness, this stranger she had just met offered to dig an entire
water pipeline for her. He did it for no charge, just because he admired
her for deciding to move back to Vermont. Through many encounters,
offers, and donations, Penny was able to achieve her American Dream
of living the simple life and appreciating life.
The 1960s was a time of deep loss in the idea of an American
Dream. The 60s could also be considered a Decade of Promise and
Heartbreak. People in their younger years went through the ending of
World War II, and now a new war was starting in Vietnam. Assassinations on both Martin Luther King Jr and John F. Kennedy happened
during this decade as well. For those who grew up during this time,
these were huge issues. They made life seem like the racial issues
would never be solved. These were tragic times as the people who
seemed to be big pro civil rights figures and people to admire were
assassinated. Other things were happening in America as well, such as
the war that was going on. We needed people to fight in this war but
because of a lack of people signing up willingly, methods of recruiting
people by force were taken during large drafts. Many protests against
these drafts occurred during this time. Men were just coming back to
start their families from the generation post WWII and yet the same
thing ended up happening to their own kids when they got older. The
young men were sent to war to fight for their country whether they
liked it or not.
56

Because of these rough times many people gave up on their

American Dream or settled for a smaller, or simpler dream instead.
For example, Pennys dream of living the highlights in her teen days
vanished. Through her experience she no longer cared for the material
objects that everyone wants and loves. She may have been an inexperienced woman in her late teens and early 20s when all these events
occurred but, no matter the situation, the bad events always outweighed the good. This had slowly started to convince Penny that she
no longer cared for the material things; she didnt care about her fancy
dream car, or dream home, or dream job. She realized that family was
of true importance, and that the place she loved growing up in, Vermont, was the place for her. So she would leave to California for a
short time with her family, only to come back and re-experience the
joy she had for Vermont. This goes with the fact that many people
decided to give up on their big dreams and ideals. They would not
necessarily settle for less, but settle for more reasonable things in life.
Finding happiness in the situations they already had rather than going
out there to try and find it was their goal. The simple life was perhaps
the best route for most people at this time, as they could stay at home
and still manage and achieve a newfound American Dream.
The biggest similarity that is seen in most peoples dreams
during this time is one of two options. Most people had to either given
up on their current dream, ideals, and settler for a simple life, or to
keep the dream alive and work even harder to reach it. An example of
letting nothing stop her is how Penny had gone to her new home of
two acres of land but she only had the bare minimum. She had a tent
for some shelter, a sleeping bag to keep warm in, and a heater so she
wouldn't freeze to death in winter. Although her dream was a lot of
work to pull off, the idea of accomplishing it and the lengths she had
to take towards the things that were actually within her reach was inspiring. All she needed to complete her American Dream were
persistence, patience, and faith. With those three things she could have
the willpower to persevere through anything.

57

The main idea we can take away from the 1960's in general is
how everywhere people seemed to look the messages they saw were
along the lines of material objects. How they were the only things that
matter. The media portrayed life and happiness as money and cars,
and that was what our generations were raised to believe in. To believe that we can only be happy if we are rich. But people need to
learn that this isnt true, this isnt how life should be. If we learn to
focus on our current lives, learn to love the everyday activities we do
and do them to the best of our abilities regardless of what it is we are
doing, then we can truly be happy and feel better about ourselves. This
is what Penny was trying to say, and this is how many people of the
1960s believed they had to live their life, to either pursue their current dreams with even more passion, or to just sit still and be at ease
with the things they already have.

58

JACKLYN JUDY JAMES PENELOPE

ROBERT EMMA MARIA LARA
MARCIA JOY ROBERTA

Is the American Dream really attainable for anyone or is it for

those who have a path already made for them? According to Robert
Spencer Smith, also known as Smitty, as a Christian, he still believes
in the American Dream. Even though he didnt reach his dream because he was fighting in the Vietnam War, Smitty believes,People
should strive to accomplish their dreams to show those who are less
fortunate that they will have to work harder, but they can do it if they
believe in themselves. Many may believe that the American Dream is
not obtainable as it was at one point because those who have more
money tend to have more opportunities. Those few people who think
that the American Dream is lost may feel like those who dont have a
set path may need to start pushing themselves to become a leader. The
less fortunate would benefit from this and leaders would come out of
it.

59

Smitty was 21 when he realized his American Dream was to

become a professional tennis player. Tennis wasnt that big of a sport
as it is today but I started to play when I was in 10th grade, which
back then was when high school started, he says. Smitty was born in
1942 in San Diego, California. He is the oldest out of his four siblings.
He has two sister and one brother. Smitty started to play tennis at
Clairemont High School; he was on varsity but also the top tennis
player at his high school. Colleges began to look at him for recruitments and he ended up getting a scholarship at Western Kentucky. He
was very happy to see all the sweat and pain he put into getting a
scholarship allowed him a good chance of accomplishing his American Dream. Smitty grew up with a mother and father in the same
household together, they helped Robert think of his American Dream
and he knew they were behind him the whole way cheering him on.
Whenever you feel like quitting, remember why you started, -A
wise man once told Smitty. Everyone has goals and whenever a person gets knocked down they need to keep pushing themselves so that
they can reach the destination they would like to be at. Smitty kept
believing and never took his eye away from the target.
Smitty began his American Dream by practicing and putting
many hours into bettering himself in tennis but also maintaining B
grades throughout his high school career. Smitty attended Western
Kentucky for three semesters but soon returned back to his hometown,
San Diego, to attend San Diego City College. He wanted to earn a better tennis scholarship to a different college. He stated that Western
Kentucky was okay but he wanted to take the risk of obtaining a more
promising scholarship. At the time Smitty lived with his parents while
attending City College, but shortly after he received a scholarship to
Reno College located in Nevada. Smitty would be on a tennis scholarship for the three years he attended Reno. While attending Reno
College he worked at a restaurant called the lacer as a busboy. At
Reno College Smitty felt that he wasnt on the same money status
compared with the majority of rich white kids that came from San
Francisco. Smitty once again would come back to his hometown and
60

attend The University of San Diego on a tennis scholarship. At age 22

Smittys American Dream was put on hold so that he could serve his
country. Smitty was drafted on December 1,1969, the first draft lottery
that fell on his birthday month. Smitty still remembers that day, when
he walked into one of his classes at USD and the teacher had the
channel turned on where the names of the recruiters appeared. Smitty
and other classmates stared at the television very intensely looking to
see if their name were listed, as if it was a very intense battle between
the two greatest tennis player of all time. Smitty reflected, I was
looking for my name on the tv and the third time the list came by I
saw it. As I read the screen and saw my number 163, my heart started
to pound harder and harder. I wasnt sure if I would be on the list and
started to think if I really should stop playing tennis Should he really
put his dream on hold even though he had been working so hard to
reach it? He always dreamed about going into the pros when he was
younger.
During the Vietnam war, USD would refer students who were
going to get drafted to the counselors. When a recruiter tried to do his
job they would pull out the counselors excuse which meant they didnt
have to go and fight in the war. Smitty tried this and got the excuse;
however Smitty says, When I went home it didnt feel right to make
an excuse to not go fight for my country I could've followed my
American Dream but it didn't feel right within my gut. So Smitty decided to go to a local recruiting place and sign himself up, which he
would later find out was an advantage for him because when drill sergeants came and looked at his profile it listed him as regular army
instead of drafted. Smitty went through basic training and then he
went to advanced basic training. Smitty stated, It was hell back then
yeah, I was one of the older guys so those extra years were an advantage compared to a 17 or 18 year old. In some of the training
Smitty had to watch movies about the enemy and in the field would
aim at enemy targets that wore straw hats who represented procommunists. There was one Senior Drill Sergeant and four others who
had served in Vietnam and were suffering from post traumatic stress
disorder also known as PTSD. Some drill Sergeants opened up while
61

at the dining hall and they said that, We were not trained enough for
Vietnam. Smitty had one drill sergeant who had a limp because he
was shot in the leg and ran up from the enemy while serving in Vietnam. There were challenges for all who were in the army. They
would have to get on a stool and do pull ups and then climb across
monkey bars in order to go in the dining hall. Even though it was a
pain having to jump on the stool then jump even higher to reach the
monkey bars to enter the cafeteria after having trained in the hot sun
throughout the day, I was hungry so you better hurry up and do it because there was a whole line behind that wanted to eat just as much as
you. Since Smitty had signed up to be in the army he stood in the
front of the line with those who had also signed up. According to
Smitty, this is where my VIP access kicked in.
After months of cooking in the hot sun dealing with training,
one of Smittys command sergeants let him know that he needed to go
back to school and get a degree. This meant that the command sergeant saw Smitty's educational background and felt that he should
continue his education in order to return to the army as an officer.
Smitty no longer had to serve in Vietnam. To this day, Smitty feels
like the command sergeant did him a great service by not sending him
to the front lines.
Smitty's opinion on the American Dream has changed over
the years but he currently feels that, It is much harder for anyone to
accomplish their American Dream but if anyone puts their mind to it
no matter what social status or where you fall on the income class
scale, you can accomplish it. He says, As I look back on my American Dream I wouldnt change a thing because yeah I didnt
accomplish my American Dream but I still had a chance to do something good such as serving my country. I could have used the USD
counselors excuse but I didnt because it didnt feel right. The American Dream is still alive to Smitty to this day. Smitty has had great
memories serving for his country. He currently works for the U.S army as a citizen and he has a family who loves and supports him to this
day. Smitty is a hard working man and still is involved in watching
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tennis grow. Even one of his sons teaches tennis to young men who
have a dream to become professional tennis players or to have it as a
hobby . Smitty believes that if any individual puts their mind to their
dream they can accomplish the American Dream. They can accomplish their American Dream if they believe and work hard, says
Robert Spencer Smith.
Robert Spencer Smith is a true meaning of a man providing
for his family, he is a father to his children but always took the extra
step to help those he can within his reach. Also taking any challenge
on that may be bigger than what he can handle because he is up for a
challenge. For example he was able to decide if he wanted to give up
on his dream of becoming a professional tennis player, even though it
was difficult. He obviously had the talent as you can tell from the colleges who scouted him; Western Kentucky and Reno Nevada college.
He decided he should help try to win the war. From the beginning, he
had the chance to say no to going through all the tough training and
risking his life to go serve for his country, but he still went. This 22
year old man had his dream knocked down as if he was climbing a
tree and someone decided to chop down that tree. People can dwell on
the past or use the past as a resource to push themselves to become a
better person and set an example for those who dont have a path set.
Smitty didnt use any excuses to avoid going into the U.S army. Not
many men would have done what Smitty did.
Smitty was very passionate on the topic of his American
Dream. He knew what his dream was coming out of high school and
knowing what step had to be taken in order for him to even try to accomplish his dream was uplifting. He stated It doesnt matter your
race, gender or what social class you fall in; set a dream and believe in
yourself and make sure you are very passionate about your dream because you dont want to do something for the rest of your life that you
dont love doing. Overall Smitty wanted to make sure to help as
much as he could. Smitty is a brave, courageous person who didnt
know he would be giving up his dream as a child just so that he could
go fight in the war. He could've been killed in Vietnam war along with
63

many other brave soldiers who decided to lay their lives on the line to
defend their country, to make this place a better place.

64

JACKLYN JUDY JAMES PENELOPE

ROBERT EMMA MARIA LARA
MARCIA JOY ROBERTA

Do you believe that the American dream has any meaning today?
No, because I think that everyone is able to achieve what I was able
to achieve when I was young. There are no jobs, and there is no education for everyone. I was able to work right out of high school, but
you just cant do that anymore.

Emma Craycroft was born in Mexico and was raised Catholic.

While she loved Mexico, she didnt live there for very long. Her
mother obtained citizenship by taking a naturalization test, which is a
required exam that allows you to live in the United States. She studied
hard and was able to pass the test, and therefore was able to live inside
65

the US for the rest of her life, along with the rest of her family. Once
she came to California, she taught herself to speak English so that she
could attend school, and get a job after she finished her education.
When she graduated high school at the age of 16, she decided to attend college so that she could have access to better jobs. However, she
wasnt able to complete college, due to unforeseen circumstances such
as lack of money that prevented her from attending. She doesnt mind
that she wasnt able to finish college, as the experience she was able to
gather was useful to her. She was able to work as a dental assistant
and made enough money to get by. Emmas dream was already on its
way.
Her American dream did not include having a big mansion or
having a ton of money. The only thing she needed to be satisfied, was
happiness. This, Emma thought, would have been difficult to achieve
if she had stayed in Mexico. She considers the moment when she
came of age to be when she turned 18, during the 1960s. During this
time, there were plenty of jobs and opportunities for everyone, which
allowed Emma to start working during the middle of high school. She
started working at her local pharmacy, where she sorted the customer's
medication, and made sure that they got the right one. She was a very
hard worker, and believes that everyone must put in the full effort to
be successful. She tried her hardest to push people to put in 100 percent effort into the things they do. The reason Emma does this is all of
her friends put their full effort into working, and as a result they were
able to enjoy the moments of life.

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Emmas only regret, is that she wasnt able to finish her full
college education because she couldnt pay for the whole experience.
While she is satisfied with the way her life turned out, if she were able
to finish her education, it would have allowed for a much broader selection of experiences that might have been unique and possibly life
changing. However, she never considered not having a full college
education a hinder on her attainment. She was able to take care of two
kids, named Michael and Raymond, and was able to travel the world
after they came of age. Shes gone to places like Denmark and Mexico, to see her son Raymond and understand the culture that she grew
up with, but didnt get to fully experience. To this day she still loves
to travel and have adventures. She loves to meet up with her close
friends from high school to go do things like whale watching or just
see famous historical monuments, but most of all she enjoys seeing
her grandchildren.
Emma came of age in the 1960s, a time famous for many civil rights movements involving equality for minorities and rights for
women. Emma conveyed that she didnt have a noticeable experience
of discrimination, and was never directly involved in those events.
However the world around her was heavily affected by events such as
the civil rights movement and the Vietnam War. Beginning in 1955,
the Vietnam War lasted around 20 years. Around 2 and a half million
soldiers were sent to Vietnam in order to stop the spread of Communism, which is a way of life that originated in Russia, where every
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person is treated equally, and works together towards a functioning

society. It was a way of life that most of the world did not agree with,
and they took drastic measures to make sure it would never spread to
other countries, like America.

People in America were against soldiers forcibly sent to Vietnam just so that they could be killed. It was said that 1 in every 10
soldiers was wounded fighting, and over 500,000 soldiers were killed,
while another thousand could not be accounted for. Many protests
were held because of this, as many people did not agree with the drafting system. Drafting was one of the most common ways that the army
would get soldiers that would be able to fight, in order to make up for
the soldiers they needed. If citizens didnt volunteer for the war, they
were either drafted, or they were able to avoid the trauma of becoming
a soldier.
Many families were separated because of the drafting process,
as soldiers had no say in whether or not they could go to war. If you
were eligible to be drafted, there was a large chance that you would be
sent to Vietnam. Families could not do anything, and simply had to
put up with the chance that they might lose a loved one. The best thing
they could do, was support their soldiers and hope that they would
come back safely.
It was evident, sending people to Vietnam and seeing soldiers
get killed was not healthy for anyone. Then, people realized that we
were actually not suppressing the spread of communism in Vietnam.
As a result, people got together and protested, begging for the Presi68

dent to send all the troops back home. Later, in 1973, President Richard Nixon called for all the troops to be sent back home. What
followed was communism spread throughout Vietnam because the
war had officially ended.
While this was a major accomplishment that changed how we
viewed the world, Emma wasnt really affected. While living in San
Diego, California, she had never been discriminated against. She is
lucky that she currently lives in a world where racism isnt promoted.
In a way, racism still affects many people today, but its not as severe
as the early 1960s. Another thing that Emma would have benefited
from was women's rights, which were also obtained during this time.
Previously, women were not treated equally as men, and could not do
normal things like vote for the President. They were mostly loyal to
whoever their husband were, and were limited to jobs that werent fit
for a male; such as a teacher or a nurse. Emma might have been limited to these jobs, but the fact that they were available to her meant
that she could make a life for herself in America. The only reason she
was able to stay in the United States and live with her family is because there were jobs available to anyone who wanted to work. Now,
the situation has entirely changed. She thinks that the jobs available to
someone without a college degree dont pay enough to make having a
home possible. What she was able to accomplish isnt possible anymore in her eyes. While she may have gotten her dream, not many
people today can.

69

JACKLYN JUDY JAMES PENELOPE

ROBERT EMMA MARIA LARA
MARCIA JOY ROBERTA

What is the American dream? The meaning of the American

dream might be the nice house, white picket fence, and a happy family, but in reality it isnt. The American dream is different for
everyone, and is always changing. For most people the American
dream may seem impossible or really difficult to achieve, and most of
the time, people are not happy even when they achieve their dream.
Well this was not the case for Maria Padilla. Maria has felt like she
has already accomplished her dream with more than what she had
wanted. Her dream was to help her parents, live in America near the
border, bring her parents to America, own a house, own a car, design
clothes, and be able to spend time with her kids and grandkids. She
was born on January 26, 1951 in Mexico City, Mexico. Maria was
born into a Mexican Catholic working middle class family. Just by
looking at some of these facts one might think that she has the odds
stacked against her. One might also think how she can have an American dream when she lives in Mexico. What is the American dream?
Well Maria believes that the American dream isnt really American, it is just a dream that could be applied anywhere but the reason
it becomes American is there are better opportunities there.

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Growing up in Mexico, Maria Padilla was only able to get up

to an 8th grade level of education. This was normal for most kids living in Mexico because it cost more money to go to high school that
was further away. Maria had not thought much of this because right
away she went to work at a tortilleria, where they make tortillas in
Mexico. There she was paid 30 pesos (2 U.S dollars) which she used
to help her family. Some people might see this as wrong or bad to be
working at such a young age but Maria compared it to how most people in America go to high school then to work. She did not see
working at a young age as a bad thing because the majority of the kids
did the same. While Maria had been working since age 14, she saw it
as an advantage because not only did it teach her the true value of hard
work but she also earned her money and from that she had felt like she
had accomplished something. However Maria felt that it was also a
disadvantage because she wasn't able to prolong her education. If she
had gone to school she would have wanted to go to high school and
college to learn how to become nurse. Maria felt the biggest disadvantage was when she moved to America at the age of 21 with her two
sisters because they couldnt speak English. This frustrated her because it was hard to communicate to other people and get a job and do
anything else when you don't speak the language. At first, they viewed
her differently and she couldnt understand anything. Maria eventually
overcame her language barrier by using her resources in her community where they would have English classes for free.
Throughout Maria's journey, her dream seemed more like a
duty than tradition. Her main goal was to help her parents and to bring
them to the United States with her. After that, the rest were necessities
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with guidelines such as, owning a house close to the border so that she
could have the opportunity to go back to Mexico when she wanted,
have a car, and design/make clothes as her job. In Mexico, family is
really important because not only are they the closest to you but they
are the people who took care of you, so it is only right to give back to
them by doing what you can. In this way, her dream was similar to
some of her peers, but what they wanted to do after helping their family is different because everyone had their own dreams and interests.
Unlike other people, Marias dream has not changed much over the
years, and for this Maria feels as if she has achieved her dream. Yes I
have my house, I have my car, they may not be the best or new, but
they are mine. Maria felt by owning her own things she had achieved
her dream and she was happy with that.
Maria left Mexico and crossed the border to San Diego in
1972 when she was fully independent at the age of 21. She took advantage of having the opportunity to take English and driving classes
which she felt helped her out while she was living in San Diego. She
had 4 kids and got married in 1980 to Angelo Padilla. In 1985 Maria
and Angelo won 10,000 dollars from the scratch lottery. With the
money from the lottery, they put some in the bank and they used the
rest to help them buy their first house. Maria became a citizen of the
United States in 2001. Even though she had these opportunities Maria
does admit that if she had the opportunity she would have wished to
prolong her studying and education, by going to high school and college, and to use her love of helping and nurturing to become a nurse.
Maria had come across multiple challenges living in the U.S.
For starters, she was trying to live in America while not able to communicate or understand the people around her. Not only that but her
hard earned money was worth less in America. This frustrated her because she felt as if she was almost useless. In Maria's mind she
thought that moving to America would be easier. Maria overcame this
by doing what any other immigrant or foreigner did which was assimilating to the American way of life by learning and practicing English.
Maria had overcame her money issue by working many jobs and
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working hard. She worked by cleaning peoples houses, working at a

Laundromat, sewing clothes and selling the clothes she made at the
swap meet. Although Maria has already achieved her dream and is
happy and content, she would have liked to own a better 4 bedroom
house with a pool and big yard for a garden. Although Maria talks
about her dream some people might argue against her dream and accomplishments and say they aren't what the American dream is all
about.
What is the American dream? Can you achieve the American
dream? To answer this question you must create your own dream and
once you've done that you will realize that the dream is whatever you
want it to be and it is what you make of it. Maria Padilla believes that
the American dream will always be present because everyone wants to
have a feeling of home and safety. Everyone wants to succeed or
turn their life around from living poor. The American dream can be
changed and achieved but the most important thing is for you to be
happy with what you have and how you got to where you are.
In the late 1960s and early 70s, when Maria Became independent and moved to America, there were many inspirational events
and leaders. During the 1960s in America, there was the Civil Rights
Movement where people fought for the rights of colored people. The
civil rights movement was at its peak in the 60s because that is when
Martin Luther King Jr made his famous I have a dream speech. He
gave a lot of the people the inspiration to stand up for themselves and
be different. Yet it also struck fear into people when their role models
got assassinated such as Martin Luther king Jr, Malcolm X, and especially John F Kennedy because he was the president that promoted
change. By having the civil rights movement in America before Maria
came to America, she had more opportunity and it set the way people
would look at women of color. Some people looked at her negatively
and looked down on her because they did not like the new amendment. They could have looked at her positively as a person that is
equal. The end the Civil rights movement only made the rule that people of color were equal but it did not end discrimination, racism, or the
73

way people naturally separated themselves creating neighborhoods

and ghettos. This affected Maria because she lived in a predominantly
Black/Hispanic neighborhood that was considered the ghetto, but it
also did not affect her in a way because she took advantage of what
was happening in her neighborhood and she used her resources to
learn English. This was made possible by first living in neighborhoods
with many Hispanics like her, and by the Chicano art movement that
went on throughout the 1960s and 1970s. The Chicano movement
brought the community together and it empowered the people by creating various forms of art that expressed the Chicano culture and
history. The biggest place that held this empowering art movement
was Chicano park. Chicano park was a little piece of land that the
people in the Latino communities used until the city of San Diego decided to build a bridge on that land to connect downtown San Diego to
Coronado Island. The art movement had used the bridges pillars as
canvases for their art work. This was a symbol of strength and how
someone can try to oppress the community yet the community will
grow stronger. They ended up turning the land into a park with a playground, outdoors stage, and community center. This was important to
Maria because it benefited her by going to the community center
where they offered English classes. Another major event during the
60s and 70s was the Vietnam War, where we had mandatory drafts
to fight in the war and to help Vietnam not become a communist
country. With the war in Vietnam, going on there were more job opportunities available because of the people who left to the military.
This lead to the Cesar Chavez and the farm worker movement. The
Vietnam War and Cesar Chavez movement affected Maria because
her husband had fought in the war, not only that but it also affected
her by having another Chicano role model to look up to in California.
What was different from Maria and her dream in the 60s/70s
was the things that detracted her. The biggest factor that detracted Maria from achieving her dream was her inability to speak English, this
was her biggest detractor because by not speaking English in America
you are looked at differently and it would be difficult to achieve this
American dream without speaking American. Not only that, but
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getting to know how things work and communicating with people was
extremely difficult. Also people, could take advantage of her because
she didn't know anything. Another big detractor is that Maria was born
in Mexico, so her view of the American dream was different because
it's an outside perspective of the dream vs. someone who was born and
raised in America. In Mexico, there was not much of a dream at the
time. Their economy was struggling, their technology was not advanced, and they were not as progressive as the United States, so if
you were to make your dream come true it would be best to make it in
America. This detracted her dream because she wasn't an official
American citizen until 2001 and without American citizenship she
was deprived from benefits. Another detractor in Marias life was her
education. Maria had an 8th grade Mexican education, putting her at a
lower standard of education than the average american. Maria, who
was a woman during this time, was looked at differently because this
was the time of the equal rights movement and the women rights
movement. This detracted her because she didn't have any rights then
and women were looked at differently for working and getting higher
education to take jobs from men. The factors that can change someones American dream are their location, financial status, gender,
education and race. These determine how a person is viewed, what
type of job they'll get and sometimes it determined how far one could
go and their capability to succeed.
The biggest difference in Maria's American dream and others
is that Maria feels as if she has already achieved her dream. Maria's
dream was very family oriented because that's how she was raised; she
thought that family was most important because her house, job, car,
and money could change but family was forever. Her dream was to
help her parents out and to bring them to the United States to live with
them, and she achieved that. Maria also says she has done her job and
put in her work and she finally feels accomplished enough to stop. She
has her house, her car and her family and that is all she needs. In the
end the American dream is your dream of growing to become better.

75

JACKLYN JUDY JAMES PENELOPE

ROBERT EMMA MARIA LARA
MARCIA JOY ROBERTA

The dictionary definition of the American Dream is the ideals

of freedom, equality, and opportunity traditionally held to be available
to every American. Lara Greenberg, an influential Mexican-American
women, said, "Nobody ever does achieve the American Dream." The
American Dream is something most immigrants look forward to when
coming to America. For Lara Greenberg it was the only reason she
came to America. Lara is a Mexican-American citizen. She was born
and raised in Mexico City till she was 18. She moved to America on
her own trying to achieve what she had seen on television. Her goal
was to marry a rich man. She has changed her view and reality of the
American Dream. Although she believes no one achieves the American Dream, she currently believes everyone can achieve their own
version of the American Dream.
Lara Greenberg was born 1948. She grew up in Mexico City,
Mexico and was raised extremely Catholic, and watched lots of television. Lara was not like her peers. "I've always been from a different
planet I guess." The main reason for this was she wanted to marry a
man who was rich, so she wouldnt have to work, but instead be taken
care of. She got this idea from becoming brainwashed by all the nonsense on television. She knew, her dream would not be attainable because of her financial position, which was lower middle class. To get
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to where she needed, she had to work harder than her peers to save
money for her trip.

After 20 years of hard work and a make it or break it attitude, she finally saved up enough to come to America. She was able to
buy a small one bedroom apartment in San Bernardino, California. At
this point she believed that she had reached the point of financial stability. She was overjoyed. Lara wanted to be like all the adults around
her, and have the titles and responsibilities of someone of age, so any
celebrations of her achievements had to wait till she had succeeded at
her American Dream. 4 years later she would be married to her husband and life partner, Hank Greenberg. Hank was not rich like she
originally wanted her husband to be. Because of this Lara made some
adjustments to her American Dream.

Her dream became much different. She explained that she

wanted to travel the world and experience everything she could before
77

it was too late, and thats exactly what she did. She and Hank traveled
all across Europe and the U.S. and explored the world. Their next
adventure was faced two years after their marriage, when Lara had her
first child, Melissa Greenberg. Melissa was the only child for three
years, until Laras second child came along, Ezarra Greenberg. Lara
explains that her beautiful family was set up and stable during this
time. She believed she was still living up to her American Dream but,
modified it a little so she could enjoy it with her whole family. In
1997 Lara bought a new house. She said it was the stereotypical house
every family dreams of in their American Dream. This house was
where Lara's final chapter of her American Dream was to exist. All of
her family and grandchildren are her current American Dream.
Lara is an avid believer in having an American Dream, however she does not think everyone has one. She even says, I work with
a lot of young kids who don't think there's such thing as an American
Dream, on the other hand I work for a man who thinks he's the American Dream definition." The American Dream doesn't have to be held
by all. She's not a very judgmental person and she likes to go with the
flow. So when people don't have similar ideas she doesn't try and
change them she loves them the way they are. This also plays in with
her religion. She's agnostic, meaning she believes in a higher power
and an afterlife but doesn't believe in the Bible or any other religious
artifact or book. Many of her beliefs dont always work well with others, and could be used as reasons for not employing her. Lara did not
seem to be affected by this bias; one could say, it was easier for her
because she just worked hard for what she wanted.
Throughout Lara's entire life she didn't feel like there have
been many setbacks or challenges. She's an avid go getter type of
person. "I always make my own way," she says. No matter what gets
thrown at her, just do it attitude, she always gets around it with ease.
However one thing she does have a challenge with is her accent. She
has no problem with it, however other people do. Many people have a
hard time understanding her because her accent is so strong. Aside
from this challenge she does wish she could have changed up her past
78

a bit. For starters, she wished she would have finished college. She
has had a little bit of college experience but because she wanted to
grow up so fast she never finished. She was never able to get as far as
she could have.
Lara wanted to do more with her life. She wanted to travel,
and not have to worry about work, and make sure she could attend to
her grandchildren. A lot of her wishes are all related to money. Lara
had to work hard to get where she is now, which she considers middle
class. She's still working at the age of 67 even after she retired. Money
has always been an issue for her because all her wants and needs all
went back to money. Everything she had done was affected some way
somehow by money. This she thought, seems to be the root of the
American Dream, leading all the way back to her thought that nobody
can achieve the American Dream, no one can ever accumulate enough
money, however we can obtain the money we need for our dream.
Lara believes she has achieved her American Dream but still
wishes for more. She worked hard as a young immigrant from Mexico
earning all of her possessions she has now. She has a husband and two
kids which have too of their own as well. She lives in a large house
with beautiful neighbors and scenery. The only thing she wishes for is
money. Money seems to be somewhere deep inside everyone's dream.
That's why we can't achieve the American Dream, but we can always
achieve our own American Dream.

79

JACKLYN JUDY JAMES PENELOPE

ROBERT EMMA MARIA LARA
MARCIA JOY ROBERTA

Marcia Bermans journey began when she was born on February 9, 1941. Marcia Berman is a white, Jewish, Ukrainian,
American woman. Her small family consisted of her mother, her father, and her sister. She lived and grew up in Brooklyn, New York, in
a Kosher household, which is a way of preparing and eating food satisfying the requirements of Jewish Law. Although she was born in
America, her father was from Ukraine and successfully immigrated to
America. While her mother and father were originally healthy individuals, her sister suffered from a disease called Cerebral Palsy, a
condition in which one can not fully control their muscles due to a
form of brain damage at birth, or while in the womb. This tragedy hit
their family very hard physically, mentally, and as well as financially.
Not only did her sister suffer from Cerebral Palsy, but her mother also
became very sick when Marcia was young. She had aspirations of going to college, but unfortunately those hopes were shut down when her
mother died while Marcia was 16 years old. This forced Marcia to
quickly mature and skip a crucial time in every kid's life when they
cross the bridge of adolescence. She had to learn how to care for both
herself and her younger sister because her father had to work and she
was the only one around to take on the responsibilities.
She explained, she had to mature in a different way than most
kids who went to college. She learned how to be a mother and a caretaker, instead of acquiring the traits young adults receive in
80

universities. She got married at the age of 18. As custom, she explained, You either graduated high school then immediately got marmarried or graduated college and then got married. She said that this
was the tradition of the time; it was done and it was expected by others.
Other customs didnt affect her as much. She conveyed, I
didn't see any of [my identifiers] as disadvantages or advantages. She
reflected, A definite advantage for me was being born in the United
States. The topic of segregation and racism were also very prominent
and delicate during the 1950s. All races lived segregated lives. The
Jews with the Jews, the Christians with the Christians, the Mexicans
with the Mexicans, so on and so forth. Not much communication between races or even with religions, and I first saw it when I went to
work, at 17 right out of high school. I saw how Black people were
treated. It bothered me, I remember working with this man who happened to be black and we went out to lunch and everyone looked at
me as if I had 3 heads, how could a black man go out to lunch with a
white woman? She realized the wrongness of racism, in a time where
desegregation was just beginning. No doubt almost all of her peers did
not feel the same way as her.
She feels very passionately about letting people be themselves. Live and let live, no one has the right to judge, homosexuals
want to do their thing, let them, Im not against any of that. Its all
your choice; it just makes their life harder in this world... me included.
Perfectly honest if Im walking down street and I see three black boys,
I dont cross the street but I do tense up, and it's not because Im racist
but it's just about what you're used to... Im not saying it's right but it's
just what you're used to. She admits that she feels institutionalized
racism and believes it is because of the way her neighborhood was
segregated when she was a child. She also explains how her views
have changed, because the LGBT community has only been respected
for around 10 years.
A woman, any time, before the 21st century was always second to a male. Getting a job was a competition. You had five or six
81

choices as a woman... If you were to graduate college, you would become a dental hygienist, nurse or a teacher... and if you did not then
you were to become a bookkeeper or a secretary... I became a secretary. Although she didn't attend college, she reflects on how getting
married gives people life experiences, such as love, kindness, and
communication. She felt though, she wasn't a truly an individual, An
independent problem solver...a different kind of maturity as she described it.
Marcia Berman has no mixed thoughts when it comes down to
her evaluating herself. She deeply believes that her American dream,
as of now, has been earned and achieved. Well, the American dream
has changed. My priorities have changed. The world has changed.
Now there are two income families, where the mother's work... At this
stage of the game, I am retired I am a senior citizen and I have my
own house, and I am financially independent. As long as my health is
pretty good and my mental faculties are there, I can live a very independent life. She believes that as a child, she would only think of
what's happening in the future, and that she regretted it. She thinks
that she should've thought more about what was going on around her,
and she fears that kids nowadays will not be able to live in the now.
Lots of kids nowadays are so focused on their social status and concerned with how others see them, that they often lose their childhood
days that can define them in the future. Now there are student loans,
you take out a car payment, you take loans for a house, it's neverending. In reality, people are stripped of their innocence too young.
Before, people didn't have an option in the matter, they were forced.
But now it's by choice. She didn't have the option; she had to be able
to mature for both herself and her family.

82

In the early 1940s, America was still involved in World War

II and American patriotism was at an all time high. This was a big factor of people's American dream because citizens had the mindset of
...for the troops, which meant people would justify the things they
did or wanted to do because of the army. People would do whatever
they could so that they would be able to support Americans in the army who were fighting for their protection, such as war bonds,
donations, and praying. During this time, all of the men were sent out
to fight in the army, and they needed people in the factories so that
they could still have production and keep America running. This began the era of woman having an increasing role in the workforce. The
mindset of many women changed from wanting to find a man and
family with work, to finding some place in the workforce and also
finding a family as equals. Unfortunately, Marcia was unable to take
part in becoming part of the work force because she had to stay and
care for her children. At the time, she never thought about it like she
was missing out, it was just something that happened.
When the war was over, people's mindsets changed. This
change of mindset happened gradually throughout the 1950s/60s. It
was around this time that a version of the American dream was simple
- Perfection. They wanted a spouse, a big two-story house in suburbia,
a white picket fence surrounding the front yard, two cars in the garage,
the whole lot. They wanted bigger and better. Things were also changing with the film and music business. There was much more
83

opportunity for people who wanted to become known in the entertainment business and people felt like nothing could go wrong because
the war had just ended. This affected the American Dream because of
a Calm after the storm mentality. America's patriotism was boosted
due to this idea of futurism. The U.S and U.S.S.R began competing
to see who could build the best rockets, weapons. This fueled Americas nationalism spirit, promoting it whenever and wherever it was
possible.
To receive the American dream is something that is and has
never been easily achieved. In the 1960s, Marcia Berman felt that
everyone wanted the same exact American dream. Perfect house, perfect family, lots of money, lots of cars, and lots of everything. In this,
and every time period, there is no straight shot to success. There will
be twists and turns at every corner. For instance, when Marcia was
only 16 her mother died. She took time out of her own life to care for
her sister, which affected her American dream greatly. She was unable
to put forth her undivided attention into education and moving up in
the world because of her love for her sisters well being.
She realizes that it really doesn't matter what's going on in
other people's lives. Live and let live. This holds much value because many people have a hard time accepting change, but she has
found a way to go with change by appreciating what she has. Now,
present day, she thinks about the bigger picture of things. She may not
have the biggest car, the biggest house with the most rooms, and the
most or best technology, but she has a few things that she knows are
all that matters. I can say I have lived the American dream, 5 wonderful grandchildren, I can pay bills, I have good health, and Im very
content with my life. It wasn't easy, but it came true.

84

JACKLYN JUDY JAMES PENELOPE

ROBERT EMMA MARIA LARA
MARCIA JOY ROBERTA

We are not makers of history. We are made by history, said

by Martin Luther King, Jr. Every aspect of Joy Wasserman-Poluns
idea of the American Dream is shaped by her surroundings and history.

As a Jew in Detroit during the 1940s and 1950s it, was a

matter of facing anti-Semitism, according to Joy, as she recalls a
memory of a cross-burning on the lawn of a Jewish friend in her
neighborhood. Joy sadly remembered that the derogatory word kike
was often heard. When Joys family moved from Detroit to the suburbs; she was the only Jewish girl in her class. Ill never forget we
had a three-day caroling period, where we had to walk from the class85

room down the hall in this big procession and go into the auditorium.
They sang Christmas carols and they had the nativity scene. I was in
the audience. My heart was beating, my little-kid mind racing with the
idea that if I said the word Jesus I was going to be struck dead. During this event Joy reflected that she became aware of feeling really
different. Not only did she feel different with her religion Joy also
conveyed that she looked different. The other kids were more blondehaired and blue-eyed, and she was considered dark, even though she
had white skin, because of her brown hair and brown eyes.

Later in her life, at the age of 24 she taught in juvenile court

and community schools, she never talked about her Jewish heritage.
Joy was always very open to learning about others religions, holidays, customs, languages, and foods, but not until the last five years of
teaching at juvenile court and community schools did she finally open
up to students and colleagues about her Jewish identity. Joy was aware
of her difference throughout her life, and utilized that understanding to
help others who also felt oppressed. She believed in the theory that
the American Dream promises upward mobility for every citizen. But
as an empathetic and aware person, she soon came to realize that it
wasnt accessible for all people. Joy believes she benefited from the
American Dream. She used her privilege to dedicate herself as a
teacher to help the less fortunate succeed.

86

When Joy was in school the definition of the American Dream

was taught as the melting pot concept. She explained, The image of
all these people coming from Europe to Ellis Island, and the big statue
there that said, Give me your tired, your poor. The whole idea was
all these people are coming and theyre going to melt into Americans.
Everybody's going to leave behind the old country and come to this
new country. In reality, people were still clinging to their own ethnicities. Joy noticed that people melted differently. For instance,
Irish and German immigrants fit in more easily because they were the
dominant group, but the other ethnic groups clung on to their ethnic
identities. Now they call [the melting pot] a tossed salad, meaning
that everybody is unique and different, but we are all mixed together.
She thinks todays American Dream doesnt ask immigrants to melt
into one specific mold. People retain their ethnicities, and are proud to
be defined by their ethnicity because it makes them unique.
Growing up during segregation, Joy didnt hear about how
the American Dream was supposed to be for black people. Joy became aware of the struggle of black people while she was very young
in Detroit. The only black people that Joy knew personally as a kid
87

were the maids that used to take the bus up to her neighborhood. Her
family hired black maids, paying them $8 per day plus bus fare. Joy
remembered: One of my favorite people in my life was Mary Henry,
a black maid. She was a big woman; very, very dark. At the age of 4
or 5 years old, Mary invited Joy to come to her house, and Joys parents said yes. Mary lived in a black neighborhood. It was Joys first
experience as the only white person. All the little black kids came
over to see the little white girl. They were friendly, but they were curious. Ive always taken that with me, that in that situation I got a little
glimpse of what it felt like to be the other in terms of white and
black. From a very young age Joy was aware of the differences between the way people were treated. Although she couldnt understand
segregation and racism, she understood that it caused pain and was
unfair. It shaped the way she looked at the American Dream and made
her want to help oppressed minorities use it as a benefit.
By the time Joy was in high school she was outspoken about
this issue. To help Joys class guide their thinking on racism, her
teacher did an activity with them where she had a photograph that was
on the bulletin board. On the photo there were two groups of people
confronting each other, a white and black group. She had the class
look at the photo and write down a scenario of what they thought was
happening. Her neighborhood high school was 100% white because in
her neighborhood nobody would rent or sell to a black person, so the
students obviously had a skewed perspective. Most people thought
that the blacks were aggressive towards the whites but is was actually
the other way around. She taught Joys class to think more fairly and
understand how stereotypes impact people. Joy said she was very impressed by this. Later in the school year, she did a speech on
integration verses segregation for her class project. To prepare for her
speech she wrote to a newspaper editor in the South asking him about
segregation in the South. The big thing in the South at the time was
miscegenation. Miscegenation is the mixing of the races. Joy explained: The people in the South were afraid that black people and
white people were going to have children, and that was going to
dirty the white race. She was shocked at this viewpoint and felt
88

passionately that it was wrong. The intro to her speech was the preamble to the constitution. She chose to start off her speech with this
because it promises equal rights to everyone and does not discriminate
race. Joys teacher influenced her and because of her, Joy dedicated
herself to helping others that dont have a voice.

Joy carried her intentions of everyone having upward mobility

through her young adult life, by teaching in the inner-city Detroit.
There were a hundred teachers in her building, and only ten were
white. She said she had an easy time getting the job because so few
whites were willing to teach the poor, black population in the inner
city. She taught during the time when there were race riots in Detroit,
when Martin Luther King, Jr., John F. Kennedy, and Malcolm X were
assassinated. Joy conveyed, I taught Malcolm Xs book to my students. I was really trying to introduce what was available at that time
written by black writers. I did it because I was Jewish. I believe Jewish people have sensitivity towards others because we are also a
minority that has suffered, but also been able to make it. We want to
help others succeed. It had to do with giving them something that they
would feel honored about, so they could appreciate their own race,
because they were pretty much on the bottom of the barrel.
89

Joys family did not understand her passion for helping poor,
black people achieve the American Dream. She remembers that at one
point when she was teaching French, her father said, Why are you
teaching black kids how to speak French, for they dont even know
how to speak English. Joy said that her father and others were -- and
still are -- ignorant. For example, she recalled on the plan to settle
10,000 Syrian refugees in Michigan. Instead of patting ourselves on
the back for acting as such good people, Joy thought we should be
asking: What about the black people that are suffering in Detroit?
Why arent we putting that kind of effort to giving them a foothold in
the American Dream? Im just really pissed. Without the slightest hesitation the black people get shifted to the back of the bus, still. People
say look at the Vietnamese -- theyve made it. Look at the Cubans -theyve made it. But what about the blacks that are already here? Every time theres a wave of new immigrants the blacks are still at the
back of the bus. She once asked her students from the inner city of
Detroit: What percentage of the United States do you think is black?
She recalls: They thought it was like 90%, because in their neighbor90

hood thats all they knew of. All the white people that they saw in
their all black neighborhood were the authority figures (like the police, social workers, teachers), prostitutes, or the bottom feeders;
meaning that they would come into poor neighborhoods to take care
of themselves financially. So they didnt have a very good perspective
on white people. They did not believe her when she told them blacks
were a minority in the United States. She taught them this because
they were very confused by the reason the whites had so much power
over them. The activity was to give them a different perspective and to
try and help them understand that in order to get to the front of the bus
they needed to learn where they were forced to start. Joy reflected that
at a certain point, hopefully my students are empowered enough to
say We dont need you anymore, so they can use their voice to inspire others, as Joy has done for them.
Joy voiced the idea that the American Dream means upward
mobility, but it is really hard for some groups -- especially for black
people. As she grew up she realized the American Dream that was
taught wasnt accessible for all people. She could hide that she was
Jewish because it is not very apparent, but a black person couldnt and
shouldnt have to hide their race.
She said, The American Dream is for white people or for
Asians. I wish the American Dream had more meaning for everybody.
I think a lot of people give lip service to it. If you listen to the politicians they all sound like they believe in the American Dream, but
when they get down to actually passing laws and its all corrupt at this
point. Who can you trust? Theoretically, I believe in the American
Dream, but there are so many obstacles that certain pockets of people
are facing, that make them stay down.
Currently, Joy said, certain cities use police officers that put
out bait cars to see if people steal them and when they do they get
arrested. Joy believes this is entrapment. The people who are arrested
are the poor and uneducated. A lot of them already have criminal records. It makes me sick, said Joy, because what hope do they have?
91

What chance do they have? Joys American Dream is really tied to

others people's success. She can see that she is fortunate and has opportunity and with that opportunity she can help others who are
pushed to the bottom of the barrel. She can see a dream for them.
Joys beliefs on the American Dream were evidently affected
by the social justice movements during the 1960s. Although the Civil
Rights Movement began in the 1950s, it was in the 1960s when people
truly started taking action and change occurred. In the government,
according to Eric Foner, President John F. Kennedy, The United
States could not declare itself the champion of freedom throughout the
world while maintaining a system of racial inequality at home24. Of
course a big leader in these efforts were Martin Luther King, Jr. who
was a Baptist minister and social activist who played a key role in the
American civil rights movement from the mid-1950s until his assassination in 196825 Kings famous speech that begins I have a dream,
spoke about his version of the American Dream, which was equality
and dignity for everyone regardless of race class or religion. He and
other activists demanded civil rights protections for black people, help
for the poor, raise minimum wage, and an end to discrimination in
employment. Their voices were heard and the Civil Rights Act was
passed in 1964. John Green says, The law prohibited discrimination
in employment, schools, hospitals, and privately owned public places26. Although this bill was a step in the right direction, it didnt
magically transport America to the finish line. Blacks were still at the
bottom of the barrel. Persistence poverty, discrimination in the workplace, housing, education, and criminal justice system might explain
the shift from integration and towards black power, a celebration of
African American culture and a criticism of white's oppression27.
24

Green, J. (2013, December 6). The 1960s in America: Crash Course US

History #40. Retrieved November 18, 2015
25
Martin Luther King Jr. (2009). Retrieved November 18, 2015
26
Green, J. (2013, December 6). The 1960s in America: Crash Course US
History #40. Retrieved November 18, 2015
27
Green, J. (2013, December 6). The 1960s in America: Crash Course US
History #40. Retrieved November 18, 2015

92

This led to many riots and police brutality toward African Americans.
Todays Black Lives Matter movement is a continuation of this struggle.
By the end of the 1960s, a lot of Americans attention moved
to the Anti-War Movement sparked by the Vietnam War. The Vietnam War lasted 20 years and began with disagreements between
North Vietnam and South Vietnam about communism. America participated in the war to prevent Communism from ever reaching the
States. This war in particular had a big impact on society. Families
were broken apart, young adults left high school to get drafted into the
war. Joy recalled that, Up until the Vietnam War, I -- with the vast
majority of people --believed that the government was telling the
truth, the government was good, the government wanted the best for
the people. On TV, we could see all these images of people killed and
it was a huge disillusionment of what our foreign policy was. Joy
mentions that there was a lot of lying from the government which led
her to not trusting them fully.
Not only were the Civil Rights and Antiwar Movements a big
factor in peoples lives, but the American Feminist Movement also
brought great change. It started with Betty Friedmans book, The Feminine Mystique, which made people aware of the injustices of society
toward women, and led to the founding of the National Organization
of Women in 1966. John Green says, The 60s-era feminist opened
America to the idea that the personal is political, especially when it
came to equal pay, child care, and abortion28. The expectation of
what and who women should be affected many (if not all) American
women. Joy recalled: At a certain point because I was a girl I felt
kind of pigeonholed into either becoming a teacher or a nurse. I used
to say if I had been born five years later I would have become a lawyer and not a teacher. At the time she may have thought that by
becoming a lawyer she could help more people, but she says now
when she sees what lawyers do she is glad she became a teacher. This
28

Green, J. (2013, December 6). The 1960s in America: Crash Course

US History #40. Retrieved November 18, 2015
93

pigeonholed idea was not universal, there were some women who
were unique in the fact that they said, Im going to go for it. But in
Joys family and social circles it was not done.
For Joy, the fact that she was Jewish had a huge impact on her
life. She felt she could empathize with minorities during the Civil
Rights Movement. The Holocaust ended in 1945, and Joy remembered that people were still very Anti-Semitic, meaning they were
hostile or prejudice against Jews. Joy mentions, It was very common
for people to say somebody jewed them down, meaning that they got
them to lower the price on something that was for sale. Jews played
a key role in the Civil Rights Movement. Clay Risen states, As the
issue moved into mainstream Americas field of vision and many
Jews, with the horrors of Nazism fresh in their minds, grasped viscerally the moral necessity of racial justice29.For example, Kevin
MacDonald stated that Jews contributed from two thirds to three quarters of the money for civil rights groups during the 1960s. All of these
movements didnt just happen because one group of people helped,
they were created because different groups of people supported each
other and stood for what they believed in. Kenneth Walsh reflects
that, it was a decade of extremes, of transformational change and bizarre contrasts30.
During the extremes of this decade, Joy took with her a sense
of optimism. She disclosed: I was raise to be very patriotic and love
our country. My grandparents were immigrants and I always felt very
lucky to be here. So for me being an American is part of the whole
picture. It is staying hopeful that whatever problems that we have that
we can solve them. And Joy did help solve some of Americas
problem. She realized that she was more privileged than most, and
dedicated herself to helping others that were less fortunate.

29

Risen, C. (2014, March 28). These Jewish Activists Turned the Civil
Rights Act From Dream Into Reality. Retrieved November 18, 2015
30
Walsh, K. (2010, March 12). The 1960s: A Decade of Change for Women.
Retrieved November 18, 2015

94

JACKLYN JUDY JAMES PENELOPE

ROBERT EMMA MARIA LARA
MARCIA JOY ROBERTA

Everyone dreams of playing an important role in society. Well

this is a story of someone who actually did. Roberta Alexander is a 68
year old woman that was apart of so much of our American history,
from the free speech movement to the Black Panthers. She is a successful teacher at San Diego City College with an amazing set of
views on the so called American Dream. Her American Dream consists of changing how people view it. She currently believes that the
American Dream isnt treating everyone fairly and that there is a better solution to our problems.
Roberta's early life had a huge factor on her American Dream. She
was the child to a mother born in the U.S. but with Lithuanian and
Jewish roots, and a father who was Black and Scott-Irish. Her father
was born and grew up on a Native American reservation in Walthill,
Nebraska. When asked about her parent's views on the American
Dream, she replied, "Because of my parents experiences with life, especially my dad, they became very radical, politically, and felt that
there needed to be major changes in how the United States was organized so that poor people and working people had a better opportunity
in life, and maybe, just maybe, reach that so called American Dream."
She goes on to say how her parents were very critical of the government and big businesses because of the danger of a rich poor gap,
95

"especially with people of color." She remembers that a person's color

was a big issue in society.
She recalls when she was 8 or 9, her dad sat her down to talk
about the murder of Emmett Till published in Jet magazine. Till was a
14 year old African American child that lived in Money, Mississippi.
He was brutally murdered by a lynch mob after he supposedly flirted
with a married white woman. Roberta couldnt fully comprehend what
her father was explaining, and how scary the story was. She said that,
He wanted me to understand what segregation and prejudice really
was, and that even though it happened in Mississippi it could still
happen in L.A., where they lived. Her father often told her stories like
this. Events like this really shaped her activist views, by seeing the
injustices in society.
Roberta moved out and went to college around the age of 17 or 18 in
1964, and her activism followed her there. She was one of the very
few students of color at UC Berkeley and while there she continued
her father's work. During her freshman year, she was part of the free
speech movement. She was drawn in almost immediately and, having
lived around this type of political activism her whole life, it almost felt
like home away from home. There was one rally she remembers well.
They had just been told that four of their leaders were charged for an
earlier rally they had held. They were told to meet at and occupy the
administration building to fight the charges. It was here she was arrested. She talked about how the cops came in and arrested almost
everyone, "...and I think that every single one of us was arrested just
because we occupied the building, just because we wanted our demands met." Although that was a big setback, her activism didnt stop
there. A couple of years later, in 1966, she went to Spain as a part of
her study abroad program.
During 1966 the truth came out about the Vietnam War. During this year, her activism stretched outside the U.S. While in Spain
she created "The American Students Against the War in Vietnam" and
gave speeches to promote her cause. Because of her speech and her
96

organization she said, "At the end of all that I ended up getting deported from Spain, actually... not deported, I ended up being kidkidnapped and taken to the border." When she finally got back to the
U.S. she spent time in prison with some of the other students from the
movement. She was one of the few that decided to spend time in jail
instead of paying the fine. The unjustness of the situation pushed her
political activism to a new height. She wanted people to understand
the problems with society. Even though school was an eventful time
for her, she decided to continue on to bigger things.
When she left school her plan was to become a teacher, but
after she found out about how the Black Panther movement had been
changed she altered her original plans.

She initially hated how the Black Panther movement started,

with using guns as an excuse for protection. When they switched from
a violent approach to more of a child outreach program there was no
way to argue back. So, in the beginning of 1969 she started to volunteer for their breakfast for school children program and eventually
joined the Black Panther party. Once she spent her time in the black
panther party she went back to her original plan of becoming a teacher. When asked why she made the change to teaching, she said, "Well
that's a very interesting question because in many ways becoming a
teacher is actually following a similar if not the same path. I may not
97

be marching all the time but I feel like what I'm interested in doing is
helping people have a good shot and a good education to have a good
life and in turn, return something to their communities as well." This
is important because right now, she believes that the American Dream
isn't a reality. This is what she strives to change. She wants people to
see that we need to change the way we look at it.
To fix the American Dream Roberta believes that we have to start locally. "I think what we have to do is look at our communities in a local
way, and improve things as much as we can there," she goes on to say,
"The main thing is that we can make the world better in a local context. Where we are, where we work, amongst the people we know and
the communities we live in." She also talks about how all the little
communities will grow and soon make a better world community over
all. Roberta realizes that the fix won't be fast, but she hopes for it any
way.

"I think the American reality is much more complicated. Right

now people in this country, we don't start on an even playing field,
and that makes it much more difficult for many groups, especially
poor people, the uneducated, and people of color to progress. And I
think it's all structural, it's inside the institutions, it's inside the laws
and the history of the laws and it's inside the practice of those laws.
Even if the law is right the people that enact them sometimes aren't.
And there is this institutionalised disfunction that works against peo-

98

ple that keeps them from acquiring the so called American Dream. We
need to fix this, and I think the best way to do that is to start local."
Robertas American Dream was undoubtedly affected by her
surroundings. She came of age during the 60s, which was a time full
of conflict. From the civil rights movement to the Vietnam War, there
was no shortage of suffering. Even though it was a rough time, Roberta was still able to prove herself. She became independent in a
bustling year, 1964 held the height of the civil rights movement. It
was in that year that President Johnson pushed congress to pass the
Civil Rights Act, which was an act that prohibited public discrimination 31.
The Vietnam War was a looming threat during this time. Roberta was safe as far as the draft went, because she was a female.
During this time, she was away in Spain, but this didnt stop her, she
still fought this war in her own way. To fight it she made a club, The
American Students Against the War in Vietnam, which was not well
known but it was one of thousands of organizations that fought to protest the war. Most thought it was an unfair draft, and wouldn't settle
for the injustice.
It is also the year in which the free speech movement took off.
Roberta got wrapped up in the movement her first year at Berkeley.
Freeman 32talks about how it originated when a couple different political groups were told that they could no longer use the main plaza to
advertise their clubs. Not willing to be defeated they came back the
next day and set up in front of the administration building. When the
cops came around, Jack Weinberg was singled out and arrested for
refusing to tell his name, but before they could take him away, the
people in the plaza blocked the cop car and slashed the tires preventing them to leave. This was the beginning of the free speech
movement, but they continued to do these types of protests, and Rob31

"Article Title." The 60s. History.com, 2011. Web. 11/19/15.

Freeman, Jo. "Berkeley Free Speech Movement." JoFreeman.com. Jo
Freeman, 2005. Web.
32

99

erta participated in them. The protest that Roberta took part in happened on December 2nd, 1964. She said, ...about 2000 people once
again occupied the Administration building. In the middle of the night
Governor Brown told the police to clear the building. Arrests started at
3:00 a.m, and took 12 hours. Although the newspapers reported that
801 student protesters had been arrested, the process was so muddled
that no one knew for weeks that it was only 773, including 735 students. They were collectively known to as The 80033. Roberta had
the honor and misfortune to be a part of the 800. That was not the
only thing she was a part of though.
There were three main factors that played into a person's
American Dream during this time. The biggest factor in a persons
American Dream during this time period was color. Segregation was
at its peak and so was the Civil Rights Movement. Color defined everything, from people you hung out with, to the education you got, to
where you lived, and even how much money you made. The second
biggest factor was gender. Not only did women get paid less, it was
also harder for them to get a college education because most big
schools where male only or female on a case to case basis. Males had
a whole different problem, the draft. The Vietnam War needed soldiers and females werent allowed. These factors all played into the
last, education.
The third biggest factor was education. It was a combination
of the previous two, it was hard to move up in the world if you didnt
have an education, and as a woman of color made it a stroke of luck
that she got into a school like Berkeley. Through hard work and dedication she finally made it in.
All that said, Roberta was still able to be a very successful
woman despite all her struggles. And she isnt the only one. Just be-

33

Freeman, Jo. "Berkeley Free Speech Movement." JoFreeman.com. Jo

Freeman, 2005. Web.

100

cause they struggled through life doesnt mean that they couldn't succeed later.
It is so inspiring to hear about these struggles and see that
people can overcome them. there is some type of importance in learning and teaching these stories and life lessons. People like Roberta are
the history makers, the people that can stand up and speak what's on
their minds, and not only that, but were able to back up speech with
action. It makes society stop and think about how every ordinary
citizen can make great change. When you hear stories like this it
makes you understand that the American Dream might not be what we
should be shooting for. It shows that you don't have to be a Steve Jobs
to make a change in the world.

101

STEVEN MARIA WALTER RONNIE

LINDA MYRNA LUAN

The 1970s

The 1970s was a decade of social movements and advancements in human progress, as well as its share of economic crisis and
the rise of pop culture. Movements included women's rights, equality,
as well as other political issues. Because of this, the 70s culture was a
significant change from the 60s. There became new slang words, music, and way of life as well as many advancements including the first
computer. It was a groovy time to be alive. During this time period,
the idea of The American Dream was evolving. Everyone had their
own individual American dream and thus this time period was presented with a new generation of diverse ideas.
The seventies was an era of protests by distressed citizens.
The idea of peace was also a main topic for the decade. In the start of
the decade, the Vietnam war was still taking place, affecting millions
of Americans. Additionally during this time the hippies thrived, carrying their ideas of peace with them. Along with their demonstration,
there was a large spike in the consumption of LSD and marijuana that
had occurred during this time period. With these movements, it became an asset to our advancement in human progress. The disco
102

culture was booming, bringing fashion up in popularity. People wore

bell bottom jeans and anything else that was flashy enough (The
1970s). The American Dream was also in a time of change. For 150
years, wages rose at a steady pace, from 1947 to 1973, average real
wages rose an astounding 75 percent. But that shared prosperity came
to a halt in the mid '70s. In the next 25 years, from 1979 to 2005, wages and benefits rose less than 4 percent(DuRand). These events have
shaped the seventies affecting the people within that time period and
changing their lives.
The idea of equality in the workplace during the 1970s
spawned during WWII. Since men were the only ones able to enlist,
the vast majority of the workforce that produced the materials for war
was made up of women. However, once the war was over, the men
came back and women were forced to go back to staying at home.
These ideals pushed back against the idea of women in the workplace
because of stubborn sexist ideals that women were inferior to men,
and that they were simply not capable of doing certain jobs. This was
one of the disadvantages for some females coming of age in the 70s,
they were unable to have access to some jobs because of their sex.
1975 marked the end of the most crucial war in American history. Before this time, there were many anti-war protests on the rise.
Americans felt the need to get out of the war due to the radical numbers of American deaths on Vietnamese soil. The Antiwar Act was a
huge movement with the participation of many different people from
many different backgrounds. Since the war in Vietnam was such a
crucial conflict, it was not very one-sided. There was the side of people who saw all the damage that the war caused when it came to the
lives of the citizens as well as the country. Then, there was the patriotic side of it. People were choosing to fight for America and its
capitalistic society. The war took place in South Vietnam. We claimed
to have won the war but over 150,000 soldiers had faced injuries. This
was not including the soldiers that died or the ones that had been immobilized. Those numbers were found at the end of the war, after ten
years.
Our interviewees had many different experiences experiences
in the 1970s and from those experiences shaped who they are today.
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Whether it was the events of the Vietnam war to the fight for equal
rights. Steven, Maria, Walter, Ronnie, Myrna, Linda, and Luan all
share the idea of standing for what they believe in their own unique
way.
Overall, by looking deeper into the American Dream, and
how its clear to see how much it has to teach you and how difficult it
is to accomplish. There were many advantages and disadvantages in
the seventies, challenges that people in that time period faced when
trying to pursue what they first thought the American Dream was.
Each challenge that our interviewees faced made them see the American Dream in a new light. With that, it helped them come up with a
definition of their own that represented themselves

104

STEVEN MARIA WALTER RONNIE

LINDA MYRNA LUAN

You got to realize my coming of age was late 60s early

70s, psychedelic, hippies, drugs. Whole different movement. Growing up in the sunny city of San Diego was not the easiest for all,
particularly for Steven Davis. Steve grew up in some of the most challenging yet moving decades in America. He had the ability to not only
overcome those difficult times but also to live a happy and healthy
lifestyle often known as the American Dream.

Steve was born on the East Coast in Jacksonville, Florida with

his mother and two older sisters. In 1951, when he was two years old,
he moved across the country to San Diego, California with his mother.
There he grew up in a white neighborhood, which was very common
at the time. The norm was to be segregated by race within neighborhoods and even social circles. Steve went to an elementary school
with predominantly white children, not a single colored child attended
the school. As he grew older, he started to notice that people would
105

only talk to a person of their own skin color. Junior high was very
similar to elementary school. As he noticed the similarities, he started
to explore out of the norms set for everyone.
As Steve moved into high school he wanted to live life to its
fullest. This was a very similar mindset for most teenagers around
him. He wanted to surf, hang out with his friends and play football.
Football was another hobby he picked up as an athletic 6 foot guy,
which gave him a chance to build relationships with many different
people. One of them was with his coach, He was my backbone, is
what he described his football coach as. Before every high school
game, Steve would get very bad stomach aches. His stomach would
feel as if it were pushing on his throat aching to come out. But as he
would head into locker room, his football coach would be there with
him. He would be there to try to talk him out of it, trying to convince
him and his stomach that he did not need to feel sick and throw up.
Football also gave him one of his best friends in high school. His
name was Ronald Hayes, who was not like all the other students at
Mission Bay High. In fact, he was probably the one that stood out the
most because he was the only African American in the school. Steve
was sure that people would make judgments about him behind closed
doors because he was friends with Ronald, but decided to ignore them
because Ronald was his friend. He did not care about the color of his
skin; he just enjoyed hanging out with him. Overall high school was
not such a bad experience for Steve, but it got harder as it came to an
end.
In 1963, America joined the war in Vietnam. This war was
one of the most brutal wars America had fought. So horrible that the
U.S. government started to draft young men right out of high school
into the army. When men graduated from high school, they would
give them a number, and that told them how close they were to getting
drafted into the war. Not only that, they would do the most humiliating physical, Steve said, They would literally line guys up against
the wall and tell them to drop your pants. Then they would scream in
106

your ear asking if you could hear them, you obviously couldn't say no
because they were so loud.
Steve had received the number 88 the day he graduated from
high school. His heart sank down to his stomach. He thought that it
was the end. His last day on earth would be fighting for something he
didnt believe in. Steve went to great lengths to avoid the draft, at one
point he fought the government by staying up all night and drinking
caffeine to keep his blood pressure up so they would see he was not
able to handle the fight. Before he knew it, he was fleeing to Canada
to escape the war. Luckily there was a doctor that would help him get
out of it. Since Steve was the only male in his family, the Government
was not allowed to send him to war because if he were to die, his family name would not be able to continue. Therefore he remained in the
states and went back home. Some of his friends who had gotten drafted into the war or joined to fight patriotically had either died while in
battle, came back with post traumatic stress disorder, returned with
neurological damages caused by agent orange, or committed suicide
because of what they experienced in Vietnam.
As Steve became an adult all he wanted to do was survive. He
wanted to stay alive for as long as he could. He noticed life was short,
so he wanted to do what he could, I cared about music, free love,
traveling and going places. Making a dollar when I needed it. I just
wanted to drive up and down the coast in my VolksWagen van with
my dog. That was my dream. He did not adopt the mainstream
American Dream version of going to college to make money and
have a house with a nice car. Caring about material things was just not
his mindset; at one point he was able to own classic expensive cars,
but watched the cars get repossessed because he could not make the
payments. Having the experience was enough for him. He just wanted
to be happy and content with the life he was living. The American
dream to him was to be able to vote for who you wanted to be next up
as president, be able to have the freedom of speech, the right to believe in what you want and just be who you want to be.
107

It was not until about twenty years later, when he was about
thirty-five that he realized he needed to find a steady and good job for
himself. At the time, he was working for a roofing company that
helped get him what he needed. Until, on a regular day of work with
his normal routine of lifting materials to do his job, he strained his
back. As he was lifting to pull it up a sharp pain had stabbed him in
his lower back. It weakened him from doing everything. The pain was
so terrible that it often left him crawling to get to where he needed to
go. He could not even stand up straight on his own two feet. But there
was not much the doctors could do because he did not have enough
money to pay for his medical bills. So he began to look for another
steady job that would help him put his life together.
As he started to search for a job, he noticed that some were
not easy to land. But one that stood out to him was through one of the
local school districts. It was to drive a big yellow school bus around to
different schools picking up and dropping off students around the
county. Little did he know that it was actually pretty hard work controlling grade school children on a bus after school when their energy
was at its highest peak. But that did not affect his choice. In fact he
enjoyed the children and their curious minds.
With this steady job and the many benefits it gave him, he decided to settle down. At the age of thirty, he decided to look into
purchasing a house and a new car for himself. He started to pull his
life together and realized the opportunity he had to be able to own
things he would never have thought hed be able to own.
Becoming a man in the 1970s was not an easy task. Society
and the government had already planned out the lives for most men in
the U.S. They would graduate high school and then with a snap of the
finger be placed into the war. If they were capable of shooting and
holding a gun, they were ready for war. And there was no positive
possibility of exiting the treacherous war. You go to college or you
go to war; you get your degree or you resign yourself to a life of low
108

paying jobs34. That was the reality of trying to survive during this
decade. Many men were put into a war that they did not want to fight,
but had to because they had received a low number to be drafted into
it unanimously. But also many wanted to fight in the war. Some people were lucky and had a chance to go to college to receive a degree to
live a successful and ideal life.
Steve was not one of those people. He was never told to go to
college, own a house with a white picket fence and have a perfect
family. The only instinct he had as he graduated high school was to
survive. This was similar to many other men in his decade. They
wanted to push through and get past the hurt of the world. Along with
wanting to survive, he noticed that life was short. Going through an
experience of almost having an expiration date became a realization
never knowing when his time would come. With gaining this type of
knowledge, he wanted to live his life to his best ability. Many others
realized what they were walking into and decided the same thing.
Avoiding the war was a popular move in this decade because it was
sometimes known as suicide. The only route was to rule against it.
This time period started progress in our world. People were
very passionate, driven and believed in the cause that they were
fighting for. Overall, becoming an independent person in the 1970s
seemed to be very difficult. The only goal that many males had set for
themselves was to survive. To be drafted into the military and try to
avoid any on foot battle in Southeast Asia to be able to survive. Or
lucky enough by not getting drafted into the war and trying to survive
on your own without college even with the option. Trying to trust your
government, but not actually able to because of all these different protests and movements that are suggesting to say otherwise. Not only
that, but actually having the ability to find yourself, to find what you
as a person actually believe in and what side to take is what the American Dream is all about.

34

SCHULMAN, B. (2001). The Seventies. Retrieved October 7, 2015

109

The 1970s should be known as the start of the new America.

The many different movements that had been born during this time are
still evolving in today's society to try and make it. This decade should
not be remembered for it rough times, but for its ability to show
people that it was perfectly normal to be who they wanted to be.
Likewise, for Steve he was able to avoid the Vietnam war and live his
life the way he wanted to. He may not have lived the ideal American
Dream, but he was able to achieve his own version of the American

110

STEVEN MARIA WALTER RONNIE

LINDA MYRNA LUAN

The day Maria Schlauch couldnt forget was the sound of the
engine starting as she adjusted her mirrors; turning her head seeing her
parents with the light glimmering on her mothers tears and her fathers chest puffed out in pride of his daughter. At the age of 20 it had
been the moment of her coming of age as she was becoming an independent woman. Before that moment, confusion had been on the three
year old version of herself with her eyebrows furrowed unsure at the
experiences she was facing around her. Born in Japan, she hadnt experienced anything or known about the American culture until she
moved to America with her parents leaving her culture in those few
short years. As she moved to America unsure expressions grew on her
face as she was growing up not knowing if she would fit in with the
culture as she was half-Japanese, a quarter Italian and a quarter English. She had been feeling, that everyone would treat her differently
because of her race. Growing up with a mindset, of Being Japanese
meant I couldnt fit into America. was something she felt aware of
through out her teenage years. She wanted to be proud of her race and
take what she learned from her culture for that working hard and helping others out will help you live a positive life. A split second of
thought never crossed Marias mind about her own race as a disadvantage in life, but simply a challenge she could overcome. As she
moved from Japan to America she tried to adapt to the American cul111

ture, learning the ways of an American she was able to fit in. Determination was in her blood to make the most of her now American life;
nothing was going to stop her, and she continued from there.

The definition of the American Dream could not be defined for

Maria, but as she grew from a child into an adult, she managed to figure out what her goal was. As someone that loved children and taking
care of them, she wanted to have kids, and be independent to show she
could handle things on her own. She felt a strong connection to the
same American dream that her mother wanted; influenced to follow in
the footsteps of her mother. However, from a young age it was a blurry vision for her as she was unsure of what route she wanted to go, but
having been influenced easily, she grew from wanting to be a flight
attendant to a teacher. She felt saddened realizing her American dream
had been diminished, but the simple life seemed best for her. Maria
had achieved her American dream when she was an adult, getting
married at a young age, owning a home, having three children, and
soon wanting to be able to retire. Her education had helped her
achieve her goal; being able to take classes that many students were
not able to take. Doing this she was lucky enough to obtain a scholarship. Managing to get into a college she felt proud of herself smiling
from ear to ear as if nothing better had come before that, but due to
her father not believing in the important of college it backfired on her
much to her dismay.

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Because of her father the importance of college went from

something that was grand to something that wasnt needed . Her father
was an immigrant from Italy, his relatives were as well and it was
shocking to her to hear from his mouth that college wasnt something
needed for him or anyone in their family. She remembered sitting
down listening to him as he talked for a while about how he grew up
in a place where there wasnt a need for college and you could get a
job. He didnt know that she had learned that with a better education,
later would come better opportunities. She began to feel uneasy in her
stomach as she stared up at her father wondering if college was what
she needed for the future or not. Questioning that she did go to college, but didnt end up getting a degree. However, she wished that her
father would have been more supportive and willing to help her. She
felt that he would have been proud of her in the end for going to college despite not getting a degree. Maria could not had gotten a higher
paying raise in her careers from then on because of not able to show
that she had a high education besides high school classes. She wanted
to be able to pay off her loans, where she lived, and able to pay for
simple things that are now expensive such as food. Each day she felt
more tired, sweat dripping down her forehead, but still had the determination to be able to try and get the work done. Maria was in debt,
without the money she tried to make and along with that came the
credit card debt that she used up. The unsure expression on her face
when she realized she would not be able to pay for those things made
her unsure of what to do next, but she knew she wasnt going to give
up. Exhaustion is what she felt everyday working from her jobs trying
to be able to get a raise. She went back to her Japanese roots of everything hard and that could help her overcome the challenges she faced.
Despite those disadvantages she managed to have her own
American Dream come true. To get married at a young age of nineteen, which lead to a divorce. However, after the divorce she began to
know what love was supposed to be like and how to be able to cherish
one another, years after she got married again and had three children.
The excitement in her voice when mentioning the three children she
had, how glad she was to have raised them well and watch them be113

come adults and have children of their own. Soon she had became a
teacher for a while; teaching kids and feeling proud of achieving her
goals. Maria would always remember the day she sat down explaining
to her kids what life was like for her back in the old days. Having to
move from Japan when she was only just a child, to moving out of
parents home and she was able to say that she achieved her American
dream. For most, that would have been impossible, but she felt the
determination inside her to keep going and pursuing it until it came
true.
Marias American dream has come true, but most peoples
hadnt happened yet and the expression on her face of sadness and
wondering if anyones American dream could come true was put into
question. She believes that everyone can achieve him/hers American
dream, it just takes drive and a certain essence to make it come true.
An essence where if you believe you can do it then you can make it as
long as you're willing to put forth the effort. She thinks that everyone
has their own American dream, but as the time changes and the technology gets more advanced; along with the places their dreams form
into something else. Something else that could only be explained as
life changing. That what they want to achieve changes; despite them
achieving their American dream there can always be something better
or more out there that could make their life better. She pondered that
for a while thinking what the American dream definition would be for
other people. She came to the conclusion with a slight unsure expression spread across her face, Life changes along with the peoples
American dream. Maria came to that conclusion at the age she is
now. During her lifetime she continued to have that mindset of being
determined and working hard for what she wanted. Despite often
wondering what life would be like if she had stayed in Japan she decided to look forward and to keep going and with all the hardships that
were there and ones that will be near the future. Her American dream
could come true, and it did.
Living in the 70s was a tough time, there were many challenges Maria had to face. Maria Schlauch, a now independent woman
lived in the 70s, a time of where she was unsure of how she would be
114

able to make a living and wondering what jobs she could get despite
not having a college degree. She didnt follow the mainstream way of
achieving her American Dream; she didnt get a degree making it
harder for herself in the future when she wanted to get a higher paying
job, She was a different race and didnt speak any English making it
frustrating to understand the people that lived in America and she had
to work harder when she went into debt. The economic system in the
70s that had gone down for middle class had made it harder for Maria
to get paid and pay off her credit debt and loans. It was a disadvantage
because part of her overall American Dream was to be able to own a
house and have a little money saved left over, but with the low paying
jobs she had to take up, it didnt work out as she would had hoped.
Her original language is Japanese and when she moved to America
she had to adapt to the English language, but that was difficult for her,
and with that, not many people could understand her. By not understanding her they treated her like an outsider and she got judged for
that making it to where it was hard for her to try and make friends and
try to get better opportunities. Working hard was something that was
in Marias blood, she wanted to achieve her American Dream, but the
things that she didnt follow from what was originally set held her
back. Having it done the correct way; getting a degree, paying off the
loans easily, Having a high paying job at the start then working it up
to a raise. It wasnt like that for her because the disadvantages she
faced and distracted her from achieving her American dream.
The similarities that developed to define the peoples reality
of the American Dream was that Maria had an education. An education from high-school and somewhat college has helped her be able to
show her strengths when people doubted her. In the 70s it was a time
where if you didnt have good education, it would be a valid difference of being able to get the job you wanted or not. Something that
they passed down to Maria, that even though they didnt have enough
at the start and that it was a long shot with not owning their very own
business and such. To still managed and be determined would help
them out in the long run. Marias father had never supported her education and her mother never spoke English until she had to learn it on
115

her own. That it was a difficulty that they had overcome it. They believed that Maria could overcome it too.
For other people, the 70s was a time of working hard, but
they wanted to build more businesses to grow the economic standards.
The American Dream for others point of view was somewhat selfish
in a way, that they would want to get more money as they felt that was
the way of being successful easier and instead of having to go through
the hard route. They didnt see however, the drawbacks to that. The
drawbacks were that a simpler life was much more meaningful than
overworking themselves to get more money. However, for them in the
70s it was all about business; business that would create more jobs
for people and let the economic structure grow more. It would continue to grow until this day in age where there arent enough jobs for
people. The 70s was a financial crisis, but a the efforts of wanting the
70s people their American Dream to have a job and a simple life,
made it to where when they worked hard enough, it payed off.
Learning a lot about this decade through Marias life and the
history about the 70s; getting the idea that not everything was as easy
when it came to the American Dream. From Marias experience,
learning that determination is a big factor that plays into her version of
the American Dream. Her version was simple: getting married, having
kids, and having a dream job with a dream house, but she never would
have imagined what she went through to get that far. She couldnt experience life like a normal young adult learning in the new world. She
had to go through job after job trying to pay off things that she went
over and didnt have enough money for; wanting to be a flight attendant only to realize that dream would slowly diminish. It didnt
stop her, she continued to try. Took from that as work hard because
despite all odds, good came easily after the hard work and dedication;
having to go through challenges isnt the best thing in life, but its
what needed to make the most of life and to realize that theres more
than what your current situation is. That her American Dream wasnt
impossible, it hadnt been possible at the time and believe that in Marias eyes the decade in the 70s was difficult, challenging and made it
116

seem like her simple dream was much more complicated. But, in the
end it was simply an obstacle that she had to overcame.
The version of the peoples in the 70s was self-seeking, but
their motives werent as greedy as it seems. Taking their American
Dream was wanting to be helpful, but didnt do it in the best possible
way. Their American Dream was about growing and being able to be
successful by growing the economic standards to make it where everyone or almost everyone has a job and is able to pay off whatever
they needed. For a while, it seemed to have worked, but later on there
werent enough jobs for people so the economic status grew low from
percentages from 70% to 30%. From the version of the American
Dream in the 70s was that there is a way to be able to have a simple
life and make money enough to take care of yourself and others.
By looking deeper into the American Dream, and how its clear to
see how much it has to teach you and how difficult it is. There were
many advantages and disadvantages to their versions, but the main
thing of both versions is that both had achieved their goal. No matter
what challenges they faced, they all worked passed it. Maria had
moved to America not knowing a thing. She had to figure it out just
like the people in the 70s. Both taught the lesson to work hard for
achieving the American Dream. The American Dream is something in
the 70s that wasnt impossible, butane had to pass challenges to make
it possible

117

STEVEN MARIA WALTER RONNIE

LINDA MYRNA LUAN

From the moment Walter Crumpler was born, the world was
battling him and he was on the losing side. He began life in a lower
middle class family, born half white and half Colombian; even just
living in North Carolina felt as if bricks were weighing him down and
holding him back. Walter began his life as a young arrogant child but
grew into a man with exquisite strength and independence. The faces
of his challenges would show themselves throughout his journey but
time and time again he would not be held down. It is how he overcame these challenges that make him a unique individual. It also
molded his idea of the American dream. Is achieving the American
dream still realistic or even relevant in this modern, ever changing,
America? Walters fascinating story and his experience with the
American dream came from his first hand experience of what the real
and dark America is like. America is not an easy place to make it
big and that's why the American dream is really just a dream.
Walter came into the world during the prosperous year of
1956 as a young glowing child. A time when the economy was doing
great and America was thriving. The vast majority of people truly believed in America as the land of great potential. In the middle of all
this is young, innocent Walter, a life unknowing of discrimination in
awe of the world he lives in. Beautiful North Carolina is where he
grew up. He began Preschool in North Carolina but as the years went
on he was constantly changing location. His family left their home in
119

North Carolina to move to Barstow, CA, from there they moved to

Chula Vista, then to San Ysidro, and finally a few miles away in sunny San Diego. All this movement really hindered Walters education,
he needed support in school but how would he get that if he was constantly moving. He sat outside of cliques but never got accepted
because hed be gone before they knew he was there and it didnt
seem fair to him. It was as though he was hopelessly floating down a
river, but every time he tried to grab a limb or rock he would just slip
away.

Throughout all this moving, his father, a Baptist Minister was

injecting his ideas of religion into Walters mind. He knew of nothing
better so he accepted what his father taught him. He didnt have a
chance to seek on his own what he believed but this would eventually
change. His dad taught him valuable lessons and morals that to this
day he keeps very close to him, morals that have made Walter a humble man. He is one who always puts others before himself in any
situation possible. He does not see himself as better than anyone and
is always there to help. His Father is a huge reason for why he is the
way he is today. Sadly his father passed away when Walter was at the
early age of ten years old. A feeling as heavy as the earth itself rolled
over him, crushing his heart and bringing everything to a crawl. Progressing without a father was like swimming through molasses while
everyone around him was cruising through water. Falling behind in
school and losing a social life was what resulted from this devastating
time. He still had a mother and an older brother who supported him
120

through the emptiness he felt inside. Time took its toll on the situation
pushing it further and further away from view. It still hasn't fully escaped from sight and never will. At times Walter thought that losing
his father brought him up in a way. Not only making him a stronger,
more humble person, but also allowing to practice what his father
taught him. It was a motivator for him as well, he would now, do
things in respect for his father. Out of this situation he learned to always follow his dreams and do what he loves to do.
When he was in elementary school, he was often labeled as,
whiter than most of his classmates but he never saw that as a disadvantage. He looked upon this label as something to be proud of.
Walter describes America as, A white mans world so he accepted
getting called whiter than most of the other kids. Almost wearing the
label with pride knowing hed have more opportunity than the rest of
the kids who were predominantly Mexican. He believes that the whiter you are, the easier it is to be successful in America because white
supremacy is still very real. He attended Southwest high school and
later went to Lutheran High School. Constantly moving schools so put
a lot of weight on his shoulders. Other kids would look at him as the
new kid. Getting accepted was a real struggle for him. He began to
feel abandoned from social groups and guilt from leaving his friends
at past schools. He never had that one person at school he could talk
to, which in ways made him feel different. Thats a scary feeling for
any teen to experience but with Walter it was almost constant.
From high school, Walter set forth to pursue his passion of
becoming a pilot. Soaring through the sky seemed so enticing to him
so thats what he strived for. Not having enough money to attend San
Jose college, he had to settle for San Diego State University. Getting
rejected because of the lack of money angered him because normally
he wouldnt settle for less but in this case he was forced to. After four
long and exhausting years, he finally was awarded an associate degree
in Aeronautics. At the age of 26, he decided to join the Military where
he would hope to be enlisted into the Air Force. Devastatingly, after
four years of hard work in college he was bombarded with the infor121

mation that he couldnt join the Air Force because he was just a few
inches too short. Having spent all that time in college to be told he
couldnt do it because of his height killed him in the inside. He would
not be down for long because Walter is not one to dwell on the negatives. At his lowest, he nearly decided to give up on everything and
just get a basic low income job, but Walter decided to not completely
give up. He joined the Navy where at least hed still be serving his
country. This time he was successful in getting the position which
brought so much joy to him. Most of his life up to this point had not
been filled with success but rather with loss and rejection. Having lost
a father and not always doing well in school it seemed as though he
was doing well for the first time in his life. He could finally say he
was pleased with the way his life was. By moving up in the ranks, he
eventually became a lieutenant aboard one of the ships he served on.
After many years of hard work in the Navy, he decided to retire. He
now works as a pool cleaner for people in San Diego county. Income
for him now is not as stable as it used to be. He still receives benefits
from the Navy and uses his pool cleaning business as a little extra
source of income. Sadly, exactly like his parents, he is just getting by
and trying to survive.
Walter is a strong believer that the American dream is Dependant on where your family stands financially. For Walter, his
American dream is simply to survive. He doesnt strive for the white
picket fence, big house, and material things. He believes that the
American dream is different for everyone. Mainstream America has
become disillusioned to the reality of the American dream, we dont
fully understand what it even means anymore. For those in the lower
financial range the opportunities are extremely thin. For Walter, he
believes that one of the only ways to make big money coming from a
low income family is to go into sports because the huge amount of
money involved with them. Of course there are other ways like becoming the CEO of a startup company, but it is nearly impossible to
start a company without financial support. Walter is a clear example
that hard work doesnt always necessarily pay big, which is what the
original American dream was all about. In modern day America if you
122

are born into a lower or even middle class family, chances are you will
not be much more successful than your parents. As Walter said, If
you arent born with that ace in your pocket your chances of becoming
successful are extremely slim. Walters story teaches us that we must
give put forth our best effort to simply survive nowadays. America is
no longer a place based off the ideas of meritocracy but rather based
off of luck and wealth.
Walter came of age in the seventies. The seventies was a decade full of protest and violence. It was a period where people fought
for equality not only between races but between genders. The idea of
peace was also a main topic for the decade. Throughout the first half
of the decade the Vietnam War was still taking place, affecting millions of Americans. The end of the war in 1975 calmed much of the
anti-war protest going on, but it didnt end.35 During this time the
hippies thrived, carrying their ideas of peace along with them and doing more LSD and marijuana than ever. The disco culture was
booming, bringing fashion up in popularity. People wore bell bottom
jeans and anything else that was flashy enough. 36 The American
dream was also in a time of change. For 150 years wages rose at a
steady pace, from 1947 to 1973, average real wages rose an astounding 75 percent. Sadly, that shared prosperity came to a halt in the mid
'70s. In the next 25 years, from 1979 to 2005, wages and benefits rose
less than 4 percent.37 Up until the mid 70s, the American Dream was
if you work hard you would be rewarded with success. The harder you
worked, the more successful youd be, it was really simple. Due to the
drop of increase in wages, the American dream seemed a little more
distant. You needed a bit more luck than before to accomplish the
American dream. Within just a few quick years the American Dream
changed from something that could be accomplished by the majority
of people to something quite a bit more faint. Ideas of the American
dream continued to fade further and further away to this day.
35

Schulman, B. (2001). The Seventies. Retrieved October 7, 2015.

36

The 1970s. (2015). Retrieved October 7, 2015

37
DuRand, C. (2013, May 10). The American Dream Is Dead; Long Live the New
Dream. Retrieved October 7, 2015.

123

It was in the 70s that Walter had just begun college at the
very beginning of the 70s, and by the late 70s, he was in the Navy.
In his High school years, Walter wasnt thinking about the American
dream at all. He said, I was honestly more focused on living as a kid,
I wasnt thinking about the bigger picture at that point. It was in college that he really began to take a look into the bigger picture of life.
At this point he realized what the modern mainstream American
dream was like. It was to own things and to be successful, while Walters view on the American dream was simply to get by in life.
Throughout his whole life, his parents nor himself ever had lots of
money, which is where his definition developed from. Walter believes
very strongly that if someone is born into a middle class or lower class
family that there is a very small chance that this child will ever be
more successful than their parents. This is exactly what is represented
in Walter's life. His Parents were lower middle class Americans and
now so is Walter.
Why is it that you will most likely stay in the class you were
born into? Does it have anything to do with race? Would a white male
have greater opportunity than a black female? Sadly this is true in
many ways. The 70s was a time when males, females, whites, black,
Mexicans, and any other race were not seen as equals. Whites were
still the dominant race in society. After Martin Luther King Jrs death
in 1968, people were still fighting for equality between races. Women
were also still fighting for more equal rights to males. Living as a Colombian American in this time meant that he would be seen differently
from other people. He was not heavily affected as he said, I was always seen as whiter than most of the other Hispanic students Id
associate with. I definitely saw this as an advantage, because white
supremacy is still very apparent in the US. They run the government
and are the main figure in politics, which was not only true back in
the 70s, but is also very apparent in today's government. So does this
mean everyone is still not equal?

124

Anyone who is not white, stereotypically has been seen as unsuccessful in accomplishing the modern mainstream American Dream.
The one with the white picket fence, big house in a nice neighborhood, and a happy family. Is this version of the American Dream the
one developed by the white male? Someone coming into America or
just someone of a different race would most likely have a much different understanding of the American Dream. It would be something like
getting by and having the ability to take care of a family. This is very
true specifically in Walters case. Hes never strove for that white
picket fence and a huge house in a good neighborhood because he sees
material things as unnecessary. He believed and still believes more in
the value of family than material things. This correlates to what people
thought in the 70s, it was all about family. This is one of the many
reason why the American dream is fading out of importance, because
material things are becoming more and more important. More people
are fighting to get those things by wanting more money. These people
only become greedier, pushing countless others down to get what they
want, more wealth. This demolishes the American Dream for those
who are brought down by these peoples wealth. Making the gap between accomplishing the modern mainstream American Dream and
those lower down wider. The vast majority of people are the ones who
are getting held down by the rich. This makes the modern mainstream
American Dream seem less possible.
It is not only ones social class and race that can affect if they
accomplish their American Dream. It is often what their American
Dream is and how motivated they are to achieve that dream. If they
shoot for something that is very unrealistic, but are extremely motivated, maybe with a little bit of luck their dream will come true. If
they have no motivation to achieve their dreams they will not accomplish their goal. Things are not just given to someone in America
unless their parents pay for their whole life, but that rarely happens.
The amount of competition to be financially independent makes it difficult for everyone to be successful. This is one thing that has changed
from the beginning of the American Dream. Back in the day, the
amount of competition was so much less than the competition in mod125

ern day America. This is a reason why the American dream is becoming less significant.
Over the decades, people's perception of the American dream
has gone from something that is possible, to something that you need
to already have a head start on to accomplish. Consisting of things like
living as a white male, getting born into a wealthy family, and having
motivation to accomplish the dream. Its only going to get harder to
become wealthy in America because of the amount of competition and
the huge financial gap from rich to poor. As a nation we have not yet
considered all humans as equal, but still discriminate against certain
races and genders making it more difficult for those to be successful in
accomplishing what they want. This is the struggle that Walter has
been fighting his whole life. Throughout his life hes experienced oppression but mainly hes experienced how severe the wealth gap in
America is. It has become a place where if youre born in a certain
class, chances are you will grow up to be in that same class. People
have become disillusioned to the reality of the American dream, because in reality, how often do dreams come true?

126

STEVEN MARIA WALTER RONNIE

LINDA MYRNA LUAN

Although life may have roughened me up, I am proud of

where I have come today. It wasnt going to be easy for Linda
Ridgeway. Born in Guam during 1953, Linda was the oldest of fourteen children in her family. She had to work hard for everything if she
wanted to be successful and accomplish her dreams. Often times many
of her younger siblings looked up to her as not only a sister but, also
as a mother like figure. She took care of them and was always there to
lend a helping hand to her siblings, which resulted in Linda to devalue
her own education, which she valued deeply. Linda, a citizen of
Guam, travelled over 6,000 miles to America in hopes of achieving
her dream, which was to be successful and one day go to college. She
saw America as the land of opportunity.
Linda realized that she had to be the change if she wanted a
better life. Growing up in a poor neighborhood and a tiny shack for a
home with no running water was not how she wanted to spend the rest
of her life. She was tired of the way she was living her life, tired of the
poverty and the unsuitable living conditions had inspired her to get a
job at a local hardware store at the age of fifteen. The job wasnt just
for her to have money to spend but to help support her family as well.
Due to the fact that she was the oldest of fourteen she felt she had
127

more responsibilities and had to look out for her younger siblings.
Since there was an enormous age gap between her and her siblings she
had to watch them because her mom and dad had to go to work. Even
though she sacrificed school to watch her family she enjoyed it. She
loved seeing the smiles on her little brothers and sisters faces. It
warmed her heart knowing that she was caring for them. She had big
dreams of someday going to college but because she cared for her siblings she felt that goal was out of her reach. Although her chances of
going to college were slim she did not give up. At age sixteen was
when Linda realized what her dream was; she wanted to go to college,
get a good job, and be able to provide for her family. Linda didnt
want to be filthy rich, but she wanted to have stability. She was tired
of the way she was living her life.

She was able to finish high school and soon after she got married at nineteen. The man she married was not from Guam. His name
was Donald Ridgeway an American man of the U.S. navy who was
stationed in Guam for a short period of time. It was love at first sight
and they were inseparable. He was to return to the states soon and
wanted Linda to come with him. She realized that if she went with
him to America she could have more opportunity for her family and
future family. To her she thought nothing of the fact that she was marrying an American. His race did not matter to her.
Sometimes my family was supportive; they didn't want me to
leave to America. The ones that understood my position did want me
to go because they felt I could accomplish more in America.
128

Her family was very uneasy about her leaving to America.

She would be the first ever in her family to go to America and they
did not know what to expect. They were worried that she may not like
the change of a new country but more importantly they felt they would
never see her again. Thats when she reminded her family that her intentions were to be successful and become financially able to support
her loved ones. In order to be successful to Linda meant having some
wiggle room and never feeling like she couldnt pay for something.
Some of her family understood why Linda was going to leave and realized that she was right. She would have more opportunity and it
would be best for her family.
Growing up in a poor neighborhood, I think that I did not have as
much opportunity.
There was almost no chance of opportunity to arise. In school
they learned the history of America and learned about the American
Dream. They learned that it was possible for everyone to go from rags
to riches. Their definition of the American dream was that it meant
opportunity. Eventually she decided it was right to move.
Linda said her goodbyes to her family and began her journey
to a successful life in America. Just like in Guam, Linda had many
hobbies in America as well. In Guam, she was a very active woman
and enjoyed the outdoors, playing baseball and running through the
jungle with her siblings. She had a deep passion for baseball and
bragged of how good she was. Linda always said how when it came to
picking teams, they would fight and get into big arguments on whose
team she was on. While they bickered, she stood back with a grin on
her face. When not playing baseball, she could be found in the jungle
with her siblings. Playing tag and hide n seek was their favorite
game to play in the jungle. Memories like those got her teary eyed;
sometimes she wished she could stay young forever and have no worries in her life.
In America I picked up more hobbies like bowling and softball. I
won many trophies from bowling. She remained very active and still
loved the presence of the outdoors even though they did not have jun129

gles like the ones in Guam. She even kept her competitive edge as she
tried out for the navy softball league. Sometimes her competitiveness
got the best of her while playing softball; one time during a game she
yelled at another woman for not catching her throw from shortstop. In
her defense, the ball had nicked the other womans glove so she
thought that she shouldve caught it. She got really heated and the
funny thing was, Lindas husband was the coach for the team and he
pulled her from the game. Donald knew how competitive she was and
knew that she did not want to be removed from the game. He figured
she just needed to cool down. Overall it was pretty easy for her to
transition. She was a likable person and had similar interests with
many people.
In America, Linda never attended college but she did get a job
that would always bring a smile to her face. She was employed by San
Diego Unified School District as an aid to help children and watch
over them during recess and lunch.
I had a successful career because I worked with kids at
school, I supported those kids. I just enjoy working with kids, I enjoy
them and hanging around people.
Although she did not earn a six figure salary, which was not
her American Dream, she still felt successful. Linda felt she made a
difference in the lives of the kids she worked with. Not only did that
make her feel successful, but working with kids was a joy of hers. It
reminded her of home but more importantly her own brothers and sisters. She worked for San Diego Unified District until the day she
retired. She achieved some honorable rewards. In 2007 she won runner-up woman of the year and in 2009 she received the award for
woman of the year. It was a special moment that she shared with her
grandsons. With those achievements, she felt she could retire happily
and successfully. Winning that award is not easy considering all the
schools in San Diego that she had to compete with. Because Linda
was passionate and stayed dedicated she would often times go out of
her way to help anyone. She told me that everyone hated working at
the copy room so she did all the photocopying for all the teachers be130

cause no one liked it but she didnt mind the work. She said that hard
work is fun because it challenges me and I feel accomplished when I
am done.
It was not easy getting to where I am today; I had to work hard for it.
If you work hard you're able to be a successful person.
Linda never felt that her race was ever a disadvantage to her. No matter who she ran into everyone loved her and valued her as a friend.
One thing she did think was a disadvantage was not attending college.
She thought if she went to college she couldve been where she is
sooner and it wouldve given her even more opportunities. She values
a good education and pushed her children and grandchildren to go to
college. To this day she says what happened, happened and continues
to casually work in her yard to stay connected to her roots and spoil
her grandchildren. She lives a happily retired life with her husband
and can finally slow down in order to live her life.
Linda experienced America in a time of cultural transition. The 1970s
was a decade of social movements and advancements in human progress, as well as its share of economic crisis and rise of pop culture.
Movements included women's rights, equality, and other political issues. Because of this 1970s culture was a significant change from the
60s. New slang words, music, and way of life as well as many advancements including the first computer. It was a groovy time to be
alive. The 70's were also the time of economic crisis with gas becoming scarce, an essential item to everyday life for the gas guzzling cars
of the time. Due to the OPEC embargoed oil, gas became harder to
find and prices increased. 38 Some gas stations were completely
tapped out of gas. Imagine pulling up to a gas station and it just wasnt
available. Not only was gas a problem, so was unemployment. It was
on the rise and many were losing their jobs. As for the lucky ones
wages doubled and as a result prices tripled. 39
38

History.com Staff. The 1970's. History.com. (2010). Retrieved 17 November,

2015
39
History.com Staff. The 1970's. History.com. (2010). Retrieved 17 November,
2015

131

Womens rights and the fight for equality was on the rise. As
the 60s became the 70's, women were making their way out of the
kitchen and into the workplace. 40 Women were taking a stand for
what they stood for and now they were finally accepted by males in
the work environment. They were no longer housewives, but another
way to provide for their family. Due to the increasing family size at
the time, also increased the cost of living. Linda was not afraid to step
into workforce in America because she had been practically working
her whole life.
During mid 70s there were also many inventions that shaped
our progress. We invented things that changed the world: video cassettes and video games. Imagine replaying something over and over
for the first time and watch what you had recorded. It was a revolutionary break through. If you had video games during that time, you
were considered a cool kid, nowadays almost everyone has video
games. Economy was the reason most people at the time did not have
these luxuries.
Despite all the hardships, there indeed was some fun, pop culture taking over which meant new music, fashion, and meaning to life
as they knew it. Music consisted of pop, funk, punk, hip hop and the
beginning of metal. This new culture questioned the government and
demanded their voices to be heard. The people of this time became
free thinkers. 41 Citizens began to exercise free speech and protested
on what they believed in whether right or wrong. A whole new fashion emerged called punk rock. Originally it came from pot smoking
hippie looks to glamorous and very flamboyant. An invention very
critical to the time was disposable pocket lighters because smoking
marijuana was part of the 70's culture and increased rapidly from the

40

N.A. The 70s. 70's Culture. (2009, November 13).Retrieved 17 November, 2015
41
N.A. The 70s. 70's Culture. (2009, November 13).Retrieved 17 November, 2015

132

70's. 42 Another popular part of the 70's was the slang. Sayings like
groovy and far out began to be commonly used among younger
people. Throughout all of these changes everyone wanted to live a
happy life.
Some similarities in the 70s include her idea of the American
dream, free speech, some fashion trends, and other cultural trends of
the time. Linda was a very outspoken person. She rarely kept to herself and often times started arguments with others even if she was
wrong. No matter what she always stood by her opinion. Because she
was such a direct person, Linda always questioned authorities but not
directly. She would ask her husband questions to understand the government and politics of America, whenever her husband explained
something that didnt sit with her she always had her two cents to
chime in. For example, whenever there was an election she would
have no censor and speak her mind with no shame or judgment. Linda
also got involved in some fashion trends she joined in on was the big
fluffy hair that everyone had. I found it hard to believe Linda having
blown out fluffy hair because now her hair is well cared for and fits
the times of today. Although smoking marijuana was relevant in the
70's Linda picked up smoking cigarettes and became addicted to this
part of the culture because smoking was a big thing back in the 70's.
Lots of people smoked and to this day she never told me why but fortunately she quit smoking. She quit not only for her own health but
because she wanted to live to see her children and grandchildren grow
up. Going back to her American dream, she wanted to live a happy
life just like many others during the hazy 1970s.
Linda however was not affected by some of the history happening during this time. For example, even though unemployment was
on the rise, she was able to get a job with the San Diego Unified
School District. This was her very first job in America and she beat
the odds when they were against her. As a woman, she was accepted
42

History.com Staff. The 1970's. History.com. (2010). Retrieved 17 November, 2015 http://www.history.com/topics/1970's

133

into the working community, unknowingly that this was recently acceptable by society. In her country, everyone was allowed to work and
she never felt she was unequal to anyone. She also believed that her
race was never a factor to her success. Knowing the 70's was a time of
social movements and equality battle, Linda didnt quite experience
the situation the same as someone else. She also didnt use the technological advancements because, in Guam, technology was just not there
because of the poverty in her neighborhood. In America she was introduced to all these new things, but never cared to learn any of them
until just recently. She never kept to the times with all this technology
until it became relevant to her everyday life because all her friends
began to use technology and she decided that it would benefit her to
learn some modern things.
Even though she wasnt from America she was open and willing to try the culture around her but kept her moral values that she
grew up with. One reason she was able to keep a single job for so long
was because people recognized the kind of person she was, a hard
worker dedicated to her profession and wanting to affect the ones
around her. If equality was not what it was when she came to America
she would have been alongside the protesters for women's rights demanding that she deserves every opportunity everyone else has.
Coming from across the Pacific, life for her wasnt different. It was
exactly what she needed, a gateway to success and a happy life that
she could raise a family and support them, doing what she wanted living life her way.

134

STEVEN MARIA WALTER RONNIE

LINDA MYRNA LUAN

Although life may have roughened me up, I am proud of where I have

come today. It wasnt going to be easy for Linda Ridgeway. Born in
Guam during 1953, Linda was the oldest of fourteen children in her
family. She had to work hard for everything if she wanted to be successful and accomplish her dreams. Often times many of her younger siblings
looked up to her as not only a sister but, also as a mother like figure. She
took care of them and was always there to lend a helping hand to her siblings, which resulted in Linda to devalue her own education, which she
valued deeply. Linda, a citizen of Guam, travelled over 6,000 miles to
America in hopes of achieving her dream, which was to be successful
and one day go to college. She saw America as the land of opportunity.
Linda realized that she had to be the change if she wanted a better life. Growing up in a poor neighborhood and a tiny shack for a home
with no running water was not how she wanted to spend the rest of her
life. She was tired of the way she was living her life, tired of the poverty
and the unsuitable living conditions had inspired her to get a job at a local hardware store at the age of fifteen. The job wasnt just for her to
have money to spend but to help support her family as well. Due to the
fact that she was the oldest of fourteen she felt she had more responsibilities and had to look out for her younger siblings. Since there was an
enormous age gap between her and her siblings she had to watch them
because her mom and dad had to go to work. Even though she sacrificed
135

school to watch her family she enjoyed it. She loved seeing the smiles on
her little brothers and sisters faces. It warmed her heart knowing that
she was caring for them. She had big dreams of someday going to college but because she cared for her siblings she felt that goal was out of
her reach. Although her chances of going to college were slim she did
not give up. At age sixteen was when Linda realized what her dream
was; she wanted to go to college, get a good job, and be able to provide
for her family. Linda didnt want to be filthy rich, but she wanted to have
stability. She was tired of the way she was living her life.

She was able to finish high school and soon after she got married
at nineteen. The man she married was not from Guam. His name was
Donald Ridgeway an American man of the U.S. navy who was stationed
in Guam for a short period of time. It was love at first sight and they
were inseparable. He was to return to the states soon and wanted Linda to
come with him. She realized that if she went with him to America she
could have more opportunity for her family and future family. To her she
thought nothing of the fact that she was marrying an American. His race
did not matter to her.
Sometimes my family was supportive; they didn't want me to
leave to America. The ones that understood my position did want me to
go because they felt I could accomplish more in America.
Her family was very uneasy about her leaving to America. She
would be the first ever in her family to go to America and they did not
136

know what to expect. They were worried that she may not like the
change of a new country but more importantly they felt they would never
see her again. Thats when she reminded her family that her intentions
were to be successful and become financially able to support her loved
ones. In order to be successful to Linda meant having some wiggle room
and never feeling like she couldnt pay for something. Some of her family understood why Linda was going to leave and realized that she was
right. She would have more opportunity and it would be best for her family.
Growing up in a poor neighborhood, I think that I did not have as much
opportunity.
There was almost no chance of opportunity to arise. In school
they learned the history of America and learned about the American
Dream. They learned that it was possible for everyone to go from rags to
riches. Their definition of the American dream was that it meant opportunity. Eventually she decided it was right to move.
Linda said her goodbyes to her family and began her journey to a
successful life in America. Just like in Guam, Linda had many hobbies in
America as well. In Guam, she was a very active woman and enjoyed the
outdoors, playing baseball and running through the jungle with her siblings. She had a deep passion for baseball and bragged of how good she
was. Linda always said how when it came to picking teams, they would
fight and get into big arguments on whose team she was on. While they
bickered, she stood back with a grin on her face. When not playing baseball, she could be found in the jungle with her siblings. Playing tag and
hide n seek was their favorite game to play in the jungle. Memories like
those got her teary eyed; sometimes she wished she could stay young
forever and have no worries in her life.
In America I picked up more hobbies like bowling and softball. I won
many trophies from bowling. She remained very active and still loved
the presence of the outdoors even though they did not have jungles like
the ones in Guam. She even kept her competitive edge as she tried out
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for the navy softball league. Sometimes her competitiveness got the best
of her while playing softball; one time during a game she yelled at another woman for not catching her throw from shortstop. In her defense,
the ball had nicked the other womans glove so she thought that she
shouldve caught it. She got really heated and the funny thing was, Lindas husband was the coach for the team and he pulled her from the
game. Donald knew how competitive she was and knew that she did not
want to be removed from the game. He figured she just needed to cool
down. Overall it was pretty easy for her to transition. She was a likable
person and had similar interests with many people.
In America, Linda never attended college but she did get a job
that would always bring a smile to her face. She was employed by San
Diego Unified School District as an aid to help children and watch over
them during recess and lunch.
I had a successful career because I worked with kids at school, I
supported those kids. I just enjoy working with kids, I enjoy them and
hanging around people.
Although she did not earn a six figure salary, which was not her
American Dream, she still felt successful. Linda felt she made a difference in the lives of the kids she worked with. Not only did that make her
feel successful, but working with kids was a joy of hers. It reminded her
of home but more importantly her own brothers and sisters. She worked
for San Diego Unified District until the day she retired. She achieved
some honorable rewards. In 2007 she won runner-up woman of the year
and in 2009 she received the award for woman of the year. It was a special moment that she shared with her grandsons. With those
achievements, she felt she could retire happily and successfully. Winning
that award is not easy considering all the schools in San Diego that she
had to compete with. Because Linda was passionate and stayed dedicated
she would often times go out of her way to help anyone. She told me that
everyone hated working at the copy room so she did all the photocopying
for all the teachers because no one liked it but she didnt mind the work.
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She said that hard work is fun because it challenges me and I feel accomplished when I am done.
It was not easy getting to where I am today; I had to work hard for it. If
you work hard you're able to be a successful person.
Linda never felt that her race was ever a disadvantage to her. No matter
who she ran into everyone loved her and valued her as a friend. One
thing she did think was a disadvantage was not attending college. She
thought if she went to college she couldve been where she is sooner and
it wouldve given her even more opportunities. She values a good education and pushed her children and grandchildren to go to college. To this
day she says what happened, happened and continues to casually work in
her yard to stay connected to her roots and spoil her grandchildren. She
lives a happily retired life with her husband and can finally slow down in
order to live her life.
Linda experienced America in a time of cultural transition. The 1970s
was a decade of social movements and advancements in human progress,
as well as its share of economic crisis and rise of pop culture. Movements included women's rights, equality, and other political issues.
Because of this 1970s culture was a significant change from the 60s.
New slang words, music, and way of life as well as many advancements
including the first computer. It was a groovy time to be alive. The 70's
were also the time of economic crisis with gas becoming scarce, an essential item to everyday life for the gas guzzling cars of the time. Due to
the OPEC embargoed oil, gas became harder to find and prices increased. 43 Some gas stations were completely tapped out of gas.
Imagine pulling up to a gas station and it just wasnt available. Not only
was gas a problem, so was unemployment. It was on the rise and many
were losing their jobs. As for the lucky ones wages doubled and as a result prices tripled. 44

43

History.com Staff. The 1970's. History.com. (2010). Retrieved 17 November, 2015

History.com Staff. The 1970's. History.com. (2010). Retrieved 17 November, 2015

44

139

Womens rights and the fight for equality was on the rise. As
the 60s became the 70's, women were making their way out of the kitchen and into the workplace. 45 Women were taking a stand for what they
stood for and now they were finally accepted by males in the work environment. They were no longer housewives, but another way to provide
for their family. Due to the increasing family size at the time, also increased the cost of living. Linda was not afraid to step into workforce in
America because she had been practically working her whole life.
During mid 70s there were also many inventions that shaped our
progress. We invented things that changed the world: video cassettes
and video games. Imagine replaying something over and over for the
first time and watch what you had recorded. It was a revolutionary break
through. If you had video games during that time, you were considered a
cool kid, nowadays almost everyone has video games. Economy was the
reason most people at the time did not have these luxuries.
Despite all the hardships, there indeed was some fun, pop culture
taking over which meant new music, fashion, and meaning to life as they
knew it. Music consisted of pop, funk, punk, hip hop and the beginning
of metal. This new culture questioned the government and demanded
their voices to be heard. The people of this time became free thinkers. 46
Citizens began to exercise free speech and protested on what they believed in whether right or wrong. A whole new fashion emerged called
punk rock. Originally it came from pot smoking hippie looks to glamorous and very flamboyant. An invention very critical to the time was
disposable pocket lighters because smoking marijuana was part of the
70's culture and increased rapidly from the 70's. 47 Another popular part
of the 70's was the slang. Sayings like groovy and far out began to
45

N.A. The 70s. 70's Culture. (2009, November 13).Retrieved 17 November,

2015
46
N.A. The 70s. 70's Culture. (2009, November 13).Retrieved 17 November,
2015
47
History.com Staff. The 1970's. History.com. (2010). Retrieved 17 November, 2015 http://www.history.com/topics/1970's

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be commonly used among younger people. Throughout all of these

changes everyone wanted to live a happy life.
Some similarities in the 70s include her idea of the American
dream, free speech, some fashion trends, and other cultural trends of the
time. Linda was a very outspoken person. She rarely kept to herself and
often times started arguments with others even if she was wrong. No
matter what she always stood by her opinion. Because she was such a
direct person, Linda always questioned authorities but not directly. She
would ask her husband questions to understand the government and politics of America, whenever her husband explained something that didnt
sit with her she always had her two cents to chime in. For example,
whenever there was an election she would have no censor and speak her
mind with no shame or judgment. Linda also got involved in some fashion trends she joined in on was the big fluffy hair that everyone had. I
found it hard to believe Linda having blown out fluffy hair because now
her hair is well cared for and fits the times of today. Although smoking
marijuana was relevant in the 70's Linda picked up smoking cigarettes
and became addicted to this part of the culture because smoking was a
big thing back in the 70's. Lots of people smoked and to this day she
never told me why but fortunately she quit smoking. She quit not only
for her own health but because she wanted to live to see her children and
grandchildren grow up. Going back to her American dream, she wanted
to live a happy life just like many others during the hazy 1970s.
Linda however was not affected by some of the history happening during this time. For example, even though unemployment was on
the rise, she was able to get a job with the San Diego Unified School District. This was her very first job in America and she beat the odds when
they were against her. As a woman, she was accepted into the working
community, unknowingly that this was recently acceptable by society. In
her country, everyone was allowed to work and she never felt she was
unequal to anyone. She also believed that her race was never a factor to
her success. Knowing the 70's was a time of social movements and
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equality battle, Linda didnt quite experience the situation the same as
someone else. She also didnt use the technological advancements because, in Guam, technology was just not there because of the poverty in
her neighborhood. In America she was introduced to all these new
things, but never cared to learn any of them until just recently. She never
kept to the times with all this technology until it became relevant to her
everyday life because all her friends began to use technology and she
decided that it would benefit her to learn some modern things.
Even though she wasnt from America she was open and willing
to try the culture around her but kept her moral values that she grew up
with. One reason she was able to keep a single job for so long was because people recognized the kind of person she was, a hard worker
dedicated to her profession and wanting to affect the ones around her. If
equality was not what it was when she came to America she would have
been alongside the protesters for women's rights demanding that she deserves every opportunity everyone else has. Coming from across the
Pacific, life for her wasnt different. It was exactly what she needed, a
gateway to success and a happy life that she could raise a family and
support them, doing what she wanted living life her way.

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STEVEN MARIA WALTER RONNIE

LINDA MYRNA LUAN

The American dream. The ideal that every U.S. citizen

should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity
through hard work, determination, and initiative. An indigent Hispanic
female by the name of Myrna Davis didnt believe she had an equal opportunity to achieve her aspirations due to her lack of support and
money. She believes everyone has a different idea of the American
dream and not everyone has the resources in order to become successful.
Myrna kept her childhood American dream with her throughout
her life. What she noticed was how her American dream was not similar
to her peers. My dream was to have a roof over my family, food to feed
them and transportation. I noticed amongst my friends that they always
wanted the nice fancy house where I just wanted a house. They wanted
the nice new car, fancy make, where I just wanted something that
worked. Most of her friends were born in America. She was born in
Mexico and moved to the United States when she was ten years old. She
felt alone and left out from everyone, because she didnt speak English.
Furthermore, Myrna did not live in a stable home with her mother, stepfather and siblings. A stable home to Myrna was a environment that was
healthy financially and physically. Her family never had money, so that
is why Myrna dreamt of things she needed because she wanted better for
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herself and her children. My American dream as a child was basic necessities for a stable life into adulthood and get out of the situation I lived
in. Myrna felt like she was prevented from achieving her American
dream because of her living situation and because of all the racism that
was going on around the 1970s. I was working against racism. Myrna
wanted to be a dancer when she was little but was told by her peers in
elementary school that she was too chubby and poor and that they had
never seen a Hispanic dancer before. Myrna let those words crush her
hopes and dreams but from that moment on she never let anyone do it
again.

Furthermore, if Myrna had more opportunities when she was

younger she feels she would have been more successful. Myrna did not
speak English when she arrived in this country. Thus, making school rather difficult. She couldnt do her homework or study because she had no
help at home or at school. She felt as if a brick wall was between her and
her teacher. There was no communication going on or extra support. She
was also not supported by her mother. People who had more opportunities than me simply had a normal family, a mom and dad. Not a drunk
stepfather. Myrna had four younger siblings and her mother always
needed help to take care of them and the household. Myrna had to do
chores, for everybody. You kids are lucky. I had to mop and scrub the
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tile floors every day after school. My mom didnt care that I had homework or other things to do. We had wax Fridays where I had to wax the
floors every Friday. Then after that I had babies to feed, bathe and put to
bed. My mom did the cooking and still had to be at the beck and call of
my stepfather. I had to help my mom with the laundry and sometimes
the ironing. My mom did everything my stepfather told her to do, whether she liked it or not. So most times she would take out her frustrations
on us kids. I knew that when I grew up, I would not live like that. Although Myrna faced many disadvantages, those obstacles helped her
become stronger and wiser.
Looking back on her life, Myrna felt like she had little to no advantages. She worked for everything she got. One strength she did
possess was becoming a hard worker. I worked hard my whole life. I
started working when I was fourteen. Myrna had one outfit to go to
school and one dress to go to church. She knew they had no money to
buy her more so she got a job at a daycare making very little money. She
worked as soon as she let out of school until closing hours. I got a job to
pay for my bus fare, lunch, clothes and toys for my little brothers. Myrnas mother had small temporary jobs here and there such as a maid,
sewing clothes, embroidering. On paydays I had to give my mom half
of my check. Myrna worked very hard for her money and felt proud of
knowing she could help her mother with extra money. When she left
home at eighteen, she stayed with her older sister at first and then with
her uncle. Later she found an apartment and worked two jobs to make
ends meet. During the day she worked at an insurance company and during the night she worked at a Dennys as a cashier. She was not like the
other women at her age, partying and having fun, she worked hard to
support herself. She enjoyed the freedom to live on her own and not having to depend on anybody else. Despite her coming home exhausted, she
felt proud of herself because she was able to take care of herself. Because
of her working two jobs, her dream of a college education was put on
hold.

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Soon after she was put on hold Myrna joined the army when she
was twenty two. She was the only female in her class of 45. She joined
the army because she felt she had nowhere to go. She couldnt go back
home and wanted a chance to travel and go to school. She studied hard
and was proud when she scored higher than her male classmates on exams, which was not expected for females back then. She went to military
school to become a tank radio repairman, but when she was sent to her
actual job they put her to work as a company clerk because that was
what females did. However, Myrna was not discouraged by this. She
completed whatever task they needed her to.
When I was growing up, females did not have as many rights as
they do now. When I joined the army there was this unspoken belief that
if a woman joined the army she was either a lesbian or a whore. Myrna
had to fight that stereotype. Because true enough, Myrna joined the army
because she wanted to further her education and she could not afford college. She knew that if she joined the military, she could go to school
under the G.I. bill. G.I. stands for government issued. The G.I. bill is
when the military pays for schooling after you leave the military. I had
no home, no family. I wanted to travel and run away from home and
study and become educated while having fun. Myrna knew education
was the key to success. Myrna did not only face stereotypes in the army
and in school, she also fought against them in her own family. She grew
up with the idea engraved in her mind of how Hispanics need to live. I
was supposed to marry early, start a family and be obedient to my husband. Right away Myrna knew that is not what she wanted. Myrna was
independent, tired of kids and saw the way her abusive stepfather treated
her mother and did not want that for herself. I thought they were wrong
so I joined the army instead. Hispanics looked down upon her, shaming
her for her lack of tradition. It was a surprise to her sisters, mom, aunt
and grandmother. They were not disappointed in her, they were in awe of
her mindset to want to break free. Myrna wanted to break this stereotype
and show other women like her that they can make it without the help of
a man.
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Throughout her life, Myrna fought obstacles that were not in her
control. Her life was already written for her. I felt like I couldnt go anywhere and I couldnt make any decisions. She tells her children to
create their own life and have their own unique, personalized American
dream. Dont listen to anyone, try things out for yourselves. Dont let
anyone tell you how the right way to live is or the ideal American
dream you should follow; find out what you want and go after it. Myrna
concludes that that there will be racism and stereotypes everywhere, and
people need to correct them so we can progress. What really matters to
Myrna is how her children take in those disadvantages. Do we take them
to heart and let that affect our American dream or do what she did and
challenge them.
Myrna actually met her future husband in the military. Although
she enjoyed marriage and staying home, eventually her marriage ended
in a divorce. Alone again, she practically raised three children on her
own and after those children grew, she adopted three more and is raising
them as a single parent.
It is called the American dream as if it is shared but I think everyone has their own idea of it. Myrna believes regardless of where
youre from, social class, or ethnicity everyone has their own idea of the
American dream. If you want to live the same as you did when you were
growing up or you want a better life, those are your goals and what
makes you happy.
The 1970s were famous for womens liberation movement. On March
22, 1972, the senate passed the equal rights amendment to the United
States constitution, which proposed banning discrimination based on
sex.48 Before this movement, women were expected to obey their husbands and stay home, cook dinner and take care of the children, just like
48

Michaels, Jim. In the 1970s the US Military Struggled with Morale. USA Today.
Gannett, 04 July 2013. Web. 05 Oct 2015.

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Myrna was expected to do. Women could not occupy certain jobs that
were made only available to men. Women also did not get paid the same
as men. In the 1970s on average a women earned 6 cents for every $1.00
a man made. It has progressed over time but the United States still faces
a gender wage gap today especially in the military.
In the military, there were very few women, most were nurses.
Since there was such a small number of a woman joining the army, it
was unusual to see any in the military at all. This is why stereotypes upon women arose. There were many cases of sexual assaults during this
time. Women did not have protection. Most women would be ashamed
and scared to speak up about the incident so it was not corrected until
much later. Myrna was never raped or sexually assaulted, but she knew
women who had been and it was an eye opener for her
In the 1970s, after the womens liberation movement there were
more opportunities for women to have jobs that men would usually obtain. The first women in the history of the armed forces, the Chief of the
Army Nurse Corps and the Women's Army Corps Director are promoted
to brigadier general. The first Air Force woman is promoted to brigadier
general. A staff sergeant becomes the first female technician in the Air
Force Reserve. These are just a few women who were the first to be
promoted to these jobs.
Due to the fact she was one of few women in the army is a disadvantage because you are alone. You are discriminated against for
joining the military and questioned as to why. Sometimes joining the
military was the only option for some women. Women who served and
did not receive housing or benefits were forced to work extra to earn
money to pay for the expenses. This was not fair because a nurse to the
men who fought in the war should have benefits. Anything women did
seemed less than what a man could do. Even the women who fought in
the war did not qualify for benefits even though they did the exact same
job as the men. The gender equality movement was women showing everyone that they could obtain these positions and earn equal pay. This
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movement also has showed as an example to other women what is possible and beyond if you just challenge what people expect of you.
Everyone has their own disadvantages and advantages for
achieving their American dream in the 1970s. Myrna had little to no
advantages so it was harder for her to achieve her dream. But she overcame them and got to where she is now. The American dream is evolving
every decade. The American dream gets richer and worth more every
year. New opportunities come along every year. As we learned from
Myrnas experience, not all people are aware and have access to these
opportunities that could get them one step closer to their own individual
American dream. Because everyone is different, not everyone has an
equal opportunity to achieve their American dream. After listening to
Myrna and researching about others like her, the idea that we all have
equal opportunity cease to exist .She worked so hard, and yet she was
barely able to make her American dream come true. She made it and
thats all that matters. Myrna had great perseverance to go through the
1970s and has children proud to call her their mother.

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STEVEN MARIA WALTER RONNIE

LINDA MYRNA LUAN

Struggle is constant, but it can be solved with grit for it

opens the doors of opportunity for solutions to be created. Luan Andrews
was born into a lower middle class Christian family in Washington State
during the 1960s. Her parents did not have very much money. This, in
turn would cause her to develop the idea of working for herself. They
gave her the calluses that would stay with her forever. Thus, her American Dream centers around this idea as well as many others. These ideals
have propelled her throughout her life up until today.
Taking a few moments, Luan summarized the definition of her
American dream as, Working for yourself, and being your own boss and
being able to control how much you worked and what days and what
times. Having a choice, a say, in what you do and networking for anyone
else but yourself. This has been her idea of what the American Dream
is. It did however; take several experiences to come up with this idea.
Throughout the early parts of her life, Luan did not have a lot of
breathing room in terms of wealth. Her parents did not have the most
rewarding income and thus, there was not a lot of extra money. Luan felt
like this was holding her back. She felt her familys economic status was
weighing her down like a ship whose anchor is stuck on the bottom of
the sea floor. Eventually, she decided to go out into the world on her own
and when she was old enough, she got herself a job and began to pay her
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way through high school, and eventually on through college. It was like
she was the first person to summit Mt. Everest, life put up the challenge
of her economic status, but she still continued to climb and achieve her
goals. She stated the moment that defined her coming of age was when
she put herself through graduate school with a masters in psychology in
1983. The feeling was like the end of a long run, she felt accomplished at
the fact that she was finally able to have the opportunity to work in a
field that she could enjoy. Even so, this achievement had not been obtained without some struggle. Before this, she had gone through college
with a degree in education. However, she did not approve of what the
schools were focused on. She disapproved of how they seemed to be focused more on administration and profit, versus on how to properly
educate students and ensure their overall health. Unlike how some
schools and colleges operate today. In addition, over the course of her
career teaching first through eighth graders, she found herself getting
repeatedly involved with things that did not directly occur in the classroom. She was forced to deal with issues outside the classroom or things
that involved a certain degree of counseling, as they mostly involved
mental issues instead of materialistic issues. I felt that I was always putting so much energy into that area that I wanted to work in psychology.
Eventually, she left the education sector in order to pursue psychology.
However, this idea was fairly new around this time period and as such,
many people viewed it as a paradox. Up to this point in her life, Luan
had felt that the fact she is Caucasian had most definitely played into her
favor, but she would soon face a bigger instance where the color of her
skin was not the deciding factor, but rather the fact that she was a woman.

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While in college she was told by a college counselor, Youre a

woman. You cannot go into psychology. Luan found it quite bewildering that her college counselor was the one telling her this. During the
eighties, this sort of sexist thinking towards women was not uncommon,
he informed her that women did not have a place in psychology because
they simply could not handle some of the things they may encounter,
where as men could. For example, it was thought women did not possess
the mental capacity and durability in order to be able to properly assess
and treat a patient. Now, she could have just stopped there and just gone
back to teaching. A lot of her female friends had not seized the opportunity to go to graduate school and ended up getting stuck with their
degrees, stuck in a loop created by society. Instead Luan paid her way
through graduate school and got her degree, sticking to her ideals of what
she thinks the American Dream is. During this time, she met a fellow
psychology graduate student and the two became friends and supported
each other through school. Eventually they made a pact that when they
graduated with their degrees, they would work together in the counseling
business. And low and behold, they did. Since then, the center of what
Luan believes is the American Dream has not changed much. She still
believes that it is working for herself, but she acknowledges the fact that
since she completed grad school, a lot of things in society and America
have evolved.
I still think its about working for yourself and being your own
boss, but its also evolved and been reshaped by society. In a way, what
she describes is not unlike her description of the schools when she was
still a teacher. She made the connection between how insurance companies are affecting what peoples American Dreams are because they
mainly go after profit. Of course, Luan does admit that there are many
economic difference between her time and the present, but she still
agreed with the observation that people's financial situation can sometimes hold people's ambitions and dreams hostage.

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Its a sacrifice of practicality over happiness. She cites money

and how money is managed in todays world causes people to think
twice about where they want to go in life. It is similar to what happened
with a lot of her friends. They stayed with what society offered them,
similar to how you might find that people often cannot pursue the careers
they want today because they simply cannot afford housing or the tuition.
And you have people trying to work as much as possible in order to pay
off their college debt for the majority of their life and focusing on work
instead of what makes them happy. Luan said she does not think this is a
way to live out the so called American Dream because its impossible
to do so if you are constantly thinking about money. You should be able
to do what makes you happy and to take pride in what you do. The
American dream has evolved with the changes in societys views, and
judgments. In some ways, a lot of things that have changed in the world
are for the better, but there are also some things that have not changed or
have changed so that it now has a negative effect.
In the end, Luan has used her ideals and perspective of the
American Dream to propel herself to where she is today. Still staying
true to the deal she made with her friend from graduate school, she now
works for herself and has been successful in her career and considers
herself to be in the upper middle class, a big step forward from where she
began. An example of a dream that came to fruition with a combination
of grit and stubbornness. This way of thinking also occurs in all cultures,
and countries.
Whether or not Luans experience correlates with the events, big
and small, that occurred up until, or around the time of her coming of age
moment is debatable. The steady progress of development in the realm of
technology, and the always changing ideals and morals make for influences that can both possibly be argued as both good or bad, progressive
or not. Luans experience mainly focused around the idea of self motivation while ignoring the general ideals of society of that time. The
possibility of whether or not her story can be considered a parallel to, or
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have a connection to events that occurred during that time period, or another persons story is significant. These events and variables can
include, but are not limited to race/ethnicity, gender, social class, religion
and origin.
Taking a look back to Luans American Dream, the idea of
women working the same jobs as men was not a new one, but was at the
same time a bit of a taboo. Coming out of World War II, many women
wanted to keep their jobs, or keep working in similar ones, as they had
made up the vast majority of the workforce that produced the tools of
war such as planes, tanks, jeeps, and other machines to fuel the war effort. This factor can mainly be attributed to the fact that women were not
able to enlist and were not included in mandatory drafts. The only time
they were near the battlefield were nurses, or on posters, or painted on
the sides of fighter planes and bombers. When the men came back, the
majority of the women were laid off, and subsequently went, or were
forced to go back to the lifestyle they had before the war. Moving onto
the 1960s and 1970s, women were still fighting for equal chances at
jobs, fairness in the workplace, and more overall respect in society.
Therefore, it is safe to say that there is a connection between Luans ideas of the American Dream and the developing trend of new ideas for
women at the time. Luans dream can still be considered original since
she came up with it on her own instead of directly following a trend.
There are a few other things however, that could have also
played a part in the idea of working for ones self. In 1960, a new house
cost around $20,700, and in 1969 that price was up to approximately
$15,500. 49 This steady trend of inflation and the cost of products rising
would slowly continue as Luan grew up. Wages did rise as well, but
again, so did the price of things such as food and gas. It is indeed possible that inflation caused the need to work more, and therefore helped to
49

The Peoples History. Money and Inflation. thepeopleshistory.com. 2004. Retrieved

6 October, 2015.

154

start the domino effect of everyone wanting to have equal opportunities

to be able to earn a living, and to be able to accomplish their goals of
obtaining what they did not yet have.
One thing that is noticeable is that each generation has a different idea(s) of what their dream is. For Luans generation in the United
States, it was more of making progress both in the moral and materialistic realms. For example, technology took a huge step in the 1980s with
the internet going global, and Sally Ride was the first American woman
to ever go into space. Whereas if you were to ask a lot of people who are
younger, you might hear them talking more of stability (house, family,
and a good job), as well as progress, or maybe just wanting to live in the
moment. This correlates with the fact that other generations will and
have experienced things Luans will not. For example, her generation
saw the launch of the USSR's Sputnik, the first moon landing by astronaut Neil Armstrong, the end of the war in Vietnam, and an explosion of
revolutionary musical culture. The fact is that depending on events, and
other things that happened within a generation, dreams will develop differently. Experiences influence perspectives, therefore dreams are always
changing, but that also means that there can never be a singular, American Dream.
It is possible to put forward the idea that an American Dream
is not as American as its made out to be. Luans story proves that the
similar ideals, goals, morals, and grit can span across races, and country
of origin. Therefore, it can be argued that the American Dream may
technically not exist. Something of this magnitude cannot be labeled if it
is inconsistent, which it should be, because there are too many variations
in order to put a universal label on it that describes them all. They are all
individual dreams adapted to anybody's way of living, and their story.
For better or for worse, they will propel us into the future, but they will
also continue to change as new generations experience new things they
will develop their own interpretation of what their dreams are.

155

MARIANA MARIA MARY NOMI

JENNECK JAVIER ED SUSAN LORI
JOSE CYNTHIA VICTORIA

The 1980s

The 1980s was a time of self-discovery, risk taking, and perseverance for many people. They were transitioning from a child to an
adult with possible ambitions. A motivation to go beyond their limitations was ingrained into each individual. People believed that they were
able to make the best of their lives if they persevered through hardships.
During the 1980s in America, the ideology that all dreams
would come true was popular. Many people around the world viewed
America as the Land of Opportunity where they could be rewarded for
their hard work and dedication. Success was sought through the amount
of money a person made. In contrast to other decades, the 80s heavily
revolved around the advancement of technology that shaped the mindsets
of many Americans who believed that education was the way to achieve
their dream.
Though many Americans were working towards achieving this
dream, there was disadvantages based on race, gender and religion. The
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Immigration Reformation Act law included a section that gave amnesty

to immigrants who were living in the U.S in 1982. Amnesty is an official
pardon for people who have been convicted for political offenses. Businesses knowingly employed illegal immigrants just to save income. That
was not the only Historical event in the era.
Ronald Reagan was elected president at the beginning of the
1980s. He was the first ever conservative president and his economic
plan had enormous effects on both financial growth and the consumer
culture of Americans. His strategy of using large tax breaks for the
wealthy was to encourage spending, which was caused Americans to
make reckless decisions.
It wasnt just events, but there were also common mindsets that
shaped America such as the yuppie up rise. A yuppie is a baby boomer with a college education, a well-paying job and expensive taste. Many
people derided yuppies for self-centered and materialistic, and surveys of
young urban professionals across the country proved that they were, indeed, more concerned with making money and buying consumer goods
than their parents and grandparents had been. 50. The yuppies are one of
the most historical mindsets in the 80s. and the people in this decade
have lived through these events.
For example, Mariana Gonzalezs story about how education
was the key to life. Maria-Victoria wished to immigrate to America because she believed that it would fulfill her dreams if she worked hard
enough. Mary Wigginss story is about persevering until your goals are
achieved, and making a positive impact on the world. Nomi Albano
wanted to take advantage of Americas opportunities but money was the
deciding factor. Jenneck Beltrans story is about surviving struggles of
America. Javier Gonzalez came to the U.S. to complete his last year of
high school. He chose this because of the freedom that is given in America. Ed Seriva works for his kids and he served his country. Susan
Kimes story is about hard work, staying positive, and independence.
Lori Hollands story was about having control of your own life. Jose Enriquezs life was about hard work and advantages that life gave you.
Cynthia Garcias story is about her mother following her love to America
50

The 1980s." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web

157

and finding her dream there. Victoria Ross story is about making a positive impact on the world. All of these people all had something very
similar in common with their pursuits. They all believed that America
had everything they needed to achieve their dreams.
The 1980s allowed for many opportunities to be acted upon by
individuals who were finally seeing the world through the eyes of an
adult. All of these people had different motives, some wanting better for
themselves, their children, and to take a step further into the American
Dream. Risks were taken and choices were made. The circumstances
they contributed to are the leading cause of where they are today. Some
situations worked to their advantage, whilst others had to fight twice as
hard to make it through, which made them stronger.

158

MARIANA MARIA MARY NOMI

JENNECK JAVIER ED SUSAN LORI
JOSE CYNTHIA VICTORIA

According to Merriam-Webster, an immigrant is a person who

comes to a country to take up permanent residence.51 Contrary to Merriam-Webster, Mariana Gonzalez who emigrated from Mexico in 1986,
has a different definition, an immigrant is a person who migrates from
one place to another to find opportunities for a better life. The difference between both definitions is that one is looking at the surface and the
other is digging deeper, Mariana Gonzalez explains why she and others
chose to emigrate when she shares her challenges in trying to obtain an
education in Mexico.
At the age of 7, Mariana would hang strings of garlic around her
arms and go to street markets and butcher shops to try and sell as many
as she could. Her older sister kept a close eye on her while she also hung
large strings of garlic around her shoulders. By the time she was 14,
Mariana was waking herself up early every morning to set up a stand at
the local street market. She and her brother, by themselves, would pack
the cart and bike to the market and would assemble their stand. They
spent the first half of the day selling grains and herbs to customers and
trying to coax others to buy. She would occasionally be reading out of
her school books during dead hours to insure she could finish her homework. By 1 pm, they knew to start packing up the stand if they wanted to
51

Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2015

159

make it to afternoon school on time. There were days Mariana had to

convince her mother to let her go to school because it meant less time
working. Mariana's mother had a different perspective on education; she
believed it was important but it was sadly only for those who were stable
and could afford it . She wanted her daughter to be happy but at the same
time she needed her to work and help provide for the family; making
ends meet was the priority over education. Mariana understood her
mom's worries but was able to convince her mother to let her go to afternoon classes. Redundantly she agreed. As a result, she registered herself
and her three younger siblings for school up until ninth grade. Due to her
experiences, Mariana emphasizes the value of education and learning
above all else.

Mariana argues that there is no true American dream, instead she

believes education is the gateway to a better life .This is why she disagrees with Merriam-Websters definition of an immigrant, because it
doesnt include the reason why people choose to emigrate. According to
the dictionary, immigrants are considered invaders without justification.
This idea supports anti-immigration laws and policies like SB 1070. This
policy was first introduced in Arizona and became controversial because
it allowed police to stop and check ordinary people on the street for their
documentation. This law was a problem because it unjustly targeted nonviolent, hard working families. Mariana does not ignore the causes for
why people chose to migrate and she relates firsthand the sacrifice of
leaving ones whole life behind.

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After years of wanting to move to the United States and going

back and forth over the pros and cons of leaving, she made her decision.
Mariana migrated to the United States to search for better opportunities
and a better education for herself and her future children. When she first
came, she didnt know the language, she didnt know how to search for
jobs, or how to get an apartment. The odds were stacked against her. On
one occasion, she remembers going out to eat with her husband one night
as a special date but they struggled to read the strange and foreign menu
and order their food. In another instance, her husbands boss invited
them to a work party, she remembers struggling to understand a lot of
words and unable to carry conversation with the other wives. However,
when she was 22 she started going to classes and receiving help from
other supportive people in her life. One of her first bosses, an older white
woman named Tomi, gave her a Spanish to English dictionary and began
sitting down with her and teaching her pronunciation. She also began
volunteering at her childrens classes, reading books to the kids and exercising her English. Through the school, she got involved in Parents
Institute where she learned about community college and university opportunities for her children, but took away a newfound goal to attend
school again. She spent any spare moment she had researching what different community colleges had to offer. After learning about the Child
Development Center at Southwestern Community College, she set her
sights on getting her CDC certificate. Once in college, her long-standing
dream of completing her education became a possibility again.
Mariana knew she loved to work with children so as soon as she
could, she registered for a child development course. On the first day of
class, Mariana arrived 15 minutes early with a brand new set of sharpened pencils and a fresh crisp notebook. She walked with her head held
high and a wider smile. She picked a seat at the very front of the class so
she could hear clearly and loudly, not wanting to miss anything. Sure,
she knew things were going to be difficult, but she didnt let that fear
intimidate her, even when she faced challenges. For example, when Mariana went to school she had to make sure not to forget her Spanish to
161

English dictionary. On one occasion, she happened to forget it and spent

double the time working on the material that would usually take half of
the time. There were also times when she would have to leave class early
to attend to her family. Despite struggling to understand the material,
struggling to ask for help, and having to learn and repeat everything in
English, she preservered. This was her American Dream, getting an education and gaining knowledge for herself, and nothing could discourage
her.
Unlike most people, Marianas version of the American dream is
not materialistic or based on accumulating money, instead its based on
accumulating knowledge. The popular version of the American dream
consists of owning your own house, having a lot of money and a perfect
family. Stories about people who start from nothing and become successful emphasize how hard work can turn rags into riches. This is not
reachable for everyone, only a select group of people get to experience it.
For instance , people with an education, people with wealth, and people
with citizenship.
After years of juggling work, family and school, hunting down
the cheapest books online, spending late nights working on school projects, and spending long days at the library, Mariana graduated with her
Associate Certificate in Child Development in 2010. With the support of
her friends and family, she was able to accomplish her dream of obtaining higher education. She learned that she was capable of more, even
during times of stress and doubt she would not give up. Despite the days
when all her energy was drained and her motivation was gone, her family
was there to keep her going. After graduating, she felt proud of what she
earned but even prouder of having finished.
Now, Mariana continues supporting her family and learning
more skills. Her English has improved giving her more confidence to
communicate with others including doctors, teachers, and coworkers.
She feels satisfied by all her achievements, especially graduating from
162

Southwestern Community College. She says, I feel happy for what I

have achieved, especially being a migrant woman and obtaining citizenship, and being the only one in my family to finish school. Although she
is still building her career, she continues to apply the skills she obtained
in school to everyday life. One of the most important things to her is that
her children also get an education, Thats what I tell my children that
education is very important because that will help you have a better future and be prepared for life. Education helps you become a wellrounded person to know how to interact with others, another very important skill. After fulfilling her own American Dream, a new one had
developed, for her children go to college so that they will have better
opportunities in life.
Although no group of people can come to terms over what the
American Dream is, we can all agree on it having to do with providing
material things whether it be a house, car, sending kids to college, or to
be able to retire. Originally the American Dream was an idea that
emerged near the end of the Great Depression and emphasized achieving
your dreams if you worked hard enough for them. Over the decades, our
understanding of the American Dream has changed. One decade that
would be significant is the late 1980s. In 1987, Ms. Gonzalez first came
to the United States in search of better opportunities. Despite popular
beliefs about the American Dream, she found a lot of opportunities were
inaccessible to her. For example, without a social security number she
was limited to working only manual labor jobs and getting paid under the
table. Without credit history she could not take out a home loan or purchase a house. Even getting her license was impossible without
citizenship.
At this time, the US had recently been through a recession. As a
result, wages lowered and hours increased, Between 1979 and 1987 the
average worker worked 95 hours more each year. That is more than three

163

and a half weeks a year.52 Wages weren't covering expenses which

meant people had to work longer hours. The increase in hours also came
from the rise in consumerism. All of this contributed to the American
Dream.
One of the factors that hindered Mariana Gonzalez was her foreign and undocumented status. However, in the 1980s a law passed titled
The Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA). This law included
one section that offered amnesty to undocumented people who had
been living in the United States since 1982.53 This section of the law allowed Mariana to become naturalized as well as opened up opportunities
only citizens could get. Particularly, not having to worry about getting
deported, needing a social security number for work, etc. Another factor
that made it harder to achieve the American dream was the fact that she
was a minority. During the 1980s there weren't as many immigrants living in the United States (although California had the most immigrants
compared to other states) and it was difficult to find someone who you
could speak Spanish to. As a result, learning English was crucial to living
in America.
Stories about El Norte and the land of opportunities that existed over the border are common in Mexico. These stories developed and
defined immigrants understanding of the American dream. Mariana, An
immigrant woman, also faced struggles such as working at an early age
to help support her family and moving to the United States for the better
sake of her children. But once here, she realized that the American dream
was not as she thought. It was an illusion that nobody ever talked about
in the immigrant community. This realization helped shape her American
Dream by giving them a new point of view and focusing on dreams beyond the American dream.

52

"The End of the American Dream." Socialist Alternative. N.p., n.d. Web. 17
Nov. 2015.
53
Immigration Issues. (n.d.). Retrieved December 2, 2015

164

Another struggle she faced was that she felt the parental duty of
giving her children better opportunities and sacrificing whatever time,
energy or sleep it took to prioritize her family. If that wasn't enough, living as a woman period meant you werent treated the same as men and
not given the same amount of respect. Systemically the odds are already
against you in job opportunities, salary opportunities, promotion opportunities, etc.
The people from this decade faced many disadvantages. As an
immigrant women, Mariana had to navigate a lot of obstacles in her
journey to achieve her dream. Although she struggled with the language
and culture, she found a lot of support in her family and friends. Through
hard work and enormous sacrifice, Mariana achieved her dream of earning a certificate from college and helping her children follow in her
footsteps. She is extremely proud of herself, and continues to believe in
education as the ultimate key.

165

MARIANA MARIA MARY NOMI

JENNECK JAVIER ED SUSAN LORI
JOSE CYNTHIA VICTORIA

I saw images of slaves with chains on their necks coming off of

the boats. I wondered why it was like that. I thought the United States
was green and had a lot of money. A place where all dreams come true.
This was one of Marias first real impressions of America. Coming from
an impoverished area in the Philippines, Maria-Victoria Bagaoisan, age
43, was one of many who were under the impression that the United
States of America was full of lush greenery and blooming with opportunity. Dreams of owning her very own house flooded her imagination, a
house where each element is finely kept and polished. The lawn is always full of life and trimmed without a piece misplaced, as if it were
turf. Neighbors waving with a smile as you drive through the neighborhood because they are glad that you are a part of the community. As the
moon's pale light starts to illuminate the sky you can return to a home to
166

your family full of love. The utopian society was snapshotted and put
into flyers so others around the world could see its beauty as well, so
content and romanticized, this is where people pictured themselves if
they chased the American Dream. Maria was shown this beauty
through her fathers words that created a fantasy along with the posters
that shuffled throughout her town as a young girl. Growing up, America
was the destination where anything could be achieved through hard work
and determination, but she soon realized that the perfect interpretations
of what America was made out to be was not even close to her imagination. It was not what would make her happy at all. Maria realized that
what gave her happiness is something that is taken for granted much too
often: family. Early on in her childhood, Maria learned the importance of
family through an event that happened while she was growing up in the
Philippines. This event created memories that would be engraved in her
mind forever.

She felt a stinging sensation in her nose and her throat started to
tighten. She gasped for air, only letting in small breaths as tears started to
well up in her eyes. With all her might she had to clench her eyelids as
hard as she could to stop the tears from falling; she could not resist and
tears ensued following with the wailing of her and all her siblings. As she
hugged her mother, it seemed as if they melted into one another and all
the noise in the room stopped because nothing else in the world mattered.
It could not have been a more perfect hug because she could not get
enough. As she released her clenched fists holding the back of her mothers shirt, it was the last time she would be able to feel the compassion of
her mothers hug again for many years to come. Marias mom was deported back to Hawaii. She was left to grow up in a world without
guidance along, with her siblings, who were not old enough to be considered teenagers. Without guidance, it was a rough start for her and her
siblings. Sometimes, Maria would have to resort to asking for food from
neighbors. This was a routine that happened often for Maria growing up.
The lack of daily things that people in America take for granted bred a
167

feeling of necessity and desire inside Maria as she browsed through images and magazines coming from America. With all these experiences
that an American had daily, it became a life goal that one day she would
have the opportunity to live in America and live her American Dream.
This dream would soon start with her mother raising enough money for
her children to come to the U.S. While it was slow and gradual, they
eventually came in..
Maria came to America with long jet black hair and bronzed colored skin from the sun. A young woman with less than a dollar and a
dream that one day she could become a nurse and make her stereotypical
American dream come true; however, there were many obstacles that she
faced because of her appearance in order to get to this point. Her first job
was to take care of old folk in a convalescent home. Often the old people
would say disgusting remarks, which she couldnt understand because
she did not know fluent English. She recalls them saying things such as
I do not want her to take care of me, shes a nigger. Even old ladies in
wheelchairs would shout at the top of their lungs GET HER AWAY
FROM ME, SHES A NIGGER! From their contorted facial expressions and rigid body language surrounding her every single day, she
pondered if this was the United States she had been yearning for her
whole life. With a positive attitude, she stuck with her job until she saved
enough money and went to school to achieve her dream of becoming a
nurse. She knew that if she wanted to achieve her goals, it would take
more than just a rude comment to stop her.
Becoming a nurse was a dream that would soon fade away just
like the thoughts of a diluted American dream. Before leaving the Philippines, she made a promise to a man that she she would come back. After
a year, she fulfilled that promise and returned to the Philippines and married the love of her life. But what she didnt know was that after
returning to America, she was pregnant with her first son. As soon as she
figured out she was pregnant, Maria soon realized that if her first son was
to live a life with more opportunities, she would have to change her pri168

orities from her own wishes to making sure that her child is fully cared
for. The most notable change was that her dream was no longer to become a nurse, but to care for her child. This did not stop her from
attempting to become a nurse, but it would soon prove to be too much on
her plate. I worked two jobs while attempting to go to school for nursing and to support my son without my husband. I cant do everything at
once. Even though she didnt get to do as much as she wanted or get her
dream job, she was able to achieve her new dream. I loved my job even
though it was hard. It allowed me to support my kids, so yes, I did
achieve my dream. Her family is her most prized possession. Knowing
all too well what hardships came without having parents to look over
you, Maria strived to support her family as best she could. You never
work a day in your life if you are doing what you love.
Your body is here, but your spirit is somewhere else longing to
love or be loved. Maria believes people in America are too infatuated
with earning money and buying materialistic things that distract them
from whats really important. For example, people may not take the time
to make time for the people who care about them and go to huge extents
just to make money. Growing up in a less common background than
most, the people she was raised around took their time and cared for their
neighbors. In America, it is as if everyone is rushed; they live fast and
put their happiness in a place where it doesnt belong. Constantly worrying about getting new things, people dont take the time to love the
people around them. They are missing compassion and they are not taking the time to spend time with family. What is family to you if you
would rather be on your phone at the dinner table? The happiness painted in her mind of what America was made out to be was the complete
opposite of what she experienced firsthand. The taste of soda was not as
sweet and refreshing as she thought it was. The clothes, the cars, down to
the deep red lipstick on gorgeous women did not make her feel any more
beautiful than she already was. What makes her happy is what most people already have but take for granted. People who you wish to make
happy without a gift in return and who would do the same for you. Fami169

ly is already there to do this for you since they love you right from the
moment you are born.
Maria-Victoria Bagaoisans American dream was heavily influenced by a violent event that was occurring in the Philippines. During the
1970s- 80s a man named Ferdinand Marcos was elected president for
his second term. Many Filipinos were enraged with this decision and
thus caused the most violent public protests in Filipino history. As time
passed the protests grew, and eventually Ferdinand Marcos resorted to
declaring Martial Law because suppressing the people was becoming out
of his control. Martial Law is the suspension of all normal laws and direct imposition of military control of civil society by the government
itself. Even though people are allowed to serve two years as president,
Ferdinand Marcos served a full twenty years. The reason Ferdinand Marcos was able to achieve this was he suspended the constitution and wrote
another one so that it strongly favored him and his future desires.
With the Martial Law in place, Ferdinand Marcos continued to
strengthen his military power to keep his position in government. While
declaring Martial Law, he gathered many wealthy businessmen and provided them with the right to own monopolies within the economy. With
his businessmen partners now in the right place for him, Ferdinand Marcos began to let all of the resources coming from these business to come
directly to him.54 Ferdinand Marcos had the Philippines in the palms of
his hands. The incoming resources allowed for him and his wife to become one of the richest couples in the world. He ran the Philippines like
it was his private country club, controlling the military, the parliament,
the courts, the bureaucracy, the press and several business monopolies.
He and his "cronies" got richer while the country got poorer.55

54

Ferdinand Marcos Biography. notablebiographies.com. Retrieved November 17,

2015
55
Ferdinand Marcos Biography. notablebiographies.com. Retrieved November 17,
2015

170

Even after Ferdinand Marcos was out of rule, his corruption and
its impact was evident in the Philippines. Since resources in the Philippines were not distributed fairly, this crippled the economy for the
Philippines which is an ongoing issue to this day. This had a huge effect
for the people who lived there. For Maria-Victoria this caused her to live
through many hardships that could have been avoided if Ferdinand Marcos was not so selfish. Since money was always tight during her
childhood, Maria-Victoria yearned for the latest technology because she
did not own it before. Many things that came from the United States,
such as flyers, had always portrayed people drinking soda like it was water. For Maria, this led to just more than just the want for a sip of soda. In
her eyes, it always led to comparing herself to others around her who
have lived in America their whole lives and were born into a much easier
lifestyle. Since she compared herself to others at at a young age, she
worked herself harder and harder as if it were a competition to see who
had the nicer house at the end of the day, who had the nicest furniture
and who had the fastest car. Other people who went through a similar
upbringing also seemed to have the same ambitions as Maria. They
wanted to get an education, go to college, and be able to live their American dream because that is what they viewed as successful. It seemed as
if the everyday luxuries that people in America had, kept a fire ignited
within the individuals who were still working to achieve the American
Dream.
Humans are naturally a curious race and that can often lead to
their demise. In this case, it was realizing that the materialistic dreams
that seemed to exuberate happiness were not true at all. It was all about
the people she loved the most.
Another strong influence in the 1980s that had a huge influence
on people in or outside of the United States were the yuppies. A yuppie
is a baby boomer with a college education, a well-paying job and expensive taste. Many people derided yuppies for being self-centered and
materialistic, and surveys of young urban professionals across the coun171

try showed that they were, indeed, more concerned with making money
and buying consumer goods than their parents and grandparents had
been56. During the 80s, yuppies were everywhere and was considered
the standard lifestyle if you wanted to live the American dream. In other
words, a stereotypical way to live the American dream was to get a well
paying job through the use of education and use this job to buy all of the
things a materialistic mindset could ask for. Even though Maria was not
able to achieve a college education, her mind still wanted to follow what
those around her were working towards as well. Your body is here, but
your spirit is somewhere else longing to love or be loved. These words
could never be more true in this era. People worked to get what was
pleasing to the eye because they thought they could have never dreamed
they could have possibly own it. However, when they saw it was possible
to have it through hard work and determination, they became blinded to
what was really important. There is more to life and a person that what
meets the eye.
Through the 80s, it seemed as if the American dream was more
focused around the idea of competing against others. The way they valued life was based on what they owned because it was a clear visual
example of how hard the person worked to achieve what they had. A
hard worker has always been considered a virtue in anyone's life, but
during this era it was an especially valued quality.
America has always been advertised as a place where you are
rewarded accordingly to your contribution to society. Coming from nothing and having an ambition to own everything created a drive like no
other for people who grew up with a similar background such as Marias.
It did not help that everywhere you looked, people flaunted what they
had. If people feel they are part of the minority in society, they will do
whatever it takes to feel like they are accepted. People will go to great
lengths to be accepted by the people around them. That is why the people

56

The 1980s." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web.

172

around you affect who you will be in the future. Right down to what
makes them an individual.

173

MARIANA MARIA MARY NOMI

JENNECK JAVIER ED SUSAN LORI
JOSE CYNTHIA VICTORIA

The American dream is different for everyone and so is the journey towards achieving it, but its possible. Some people work their whole
lives to obtain their American dream and don't achieve it. When Mary
Wiggins was 17 years old, she was on her own paying for rent and
paying for her expenses. Her father had passed away when she was 15
and her mother remarried and moved away. Marys American dream was
to own a home. Mary achieved her American dream, but there were a lot
of bumps in the road to get to it.
Mary Wiggins grew up in a suburban family. She had a mother,
a father, and two older siblings. She lived in San Diego, California. Her
father was a retired war veteran and her mother was a waitress. At age 12
her father became really sick. His heart and other organs were failing
because of his smoking habits. Every day Mary would come home from
school, get her father's medicine ready, and make him dinner. Her mother
had met another man and ran away with him. Mary wanted her to stay
with her dad and she was very angry and confused why her mother
would leave them. After that, her life was changed dramatically. They
were not able to eat lunch because they didnt have much food and her
fathers health was getting worse. Eventually, Marys mother asked
Mary, her brother, and sister to come live with her while Marys father
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stayed at a friends house. Even though Mary had her mother back, her
mother cared more about her new relationship than her kids. Years later
her father had passed away during surgery. Mary was in denial. She didn't want to believe he was dead. Her mother had to force her to go up and
say something at the funeral because she didn't want to see her father
lying in the casket. She kept all of her sadness bottled up inside. In her
health class, she learned about all of the chemicals and health issues that
come with smoking she finally let it all out. The sudden burst of tears
streamed from her eyes while she watched a documentary. Her health
class teacher with confusion on his face saw her crying and had to call
her mother to pick her up from school.
When her mother moved away, Mary finished high school early.
She worked two jobs and went to SouthWest college in San Diego. She
worked for the San Diego Union Tribune Newspaper. Her boss E.R Cota
hired minors to go door to door selling newspaper subscriptions. She
worked in the office doing the payroll. After 2 years, she was able to accomplish her duties in less time than 40 hours per week, so they cut her
hours down to 3 days a week. Mary had to pay rent and expenses, so she
had to get a second job. The second job was for an insurance company
answering the phones and filing. Attending SouthWest college, She
Studied to be an accountant, but the expenses of rent and food were too
much. At the age of 20 she found a job working for the civil division in
downtown. However, she would have to become a full-time worker and
drop out of college. So she went to work for the civil division and moved
up the chain a little. Her new goal and American Dream was to own a
home and have a family.
She married in her 30s to a man named Richard. She had known
him since she was 7 years old. He asked her out when they were in high
school but at the time Richard was really good friends with her brother
and Richard reminded her of her brother. After high school, Richard
moved away to Austin Texas and then later moved back to San Diego.
Mary and Richard then got together at a family party. They started dating
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and within a week she knew he was the love of her life. Richard proposed to Mary on Christmas Eve. They got married and bought a house
together. Three weeks after she got married her mother passed away. Her
first thought was that she was never going to have the chance to see or
talk to her again. She felt that she lost a part of herself because even
though her mother had her faults, she still loved her.
Mary Wiggins is proof that the American Dream is possible. She
went through a lot of struggles and life changing moments, but she lived
it out. She achieved her American Dream and she lives it every day.
Some people have the easy path to achieving the American Dream and
some have the harder path and not everyone achieves it, but its possible.
In the 1980s there wasnt a common American dream. The 80s
was a time of technology advancement, economical drop, new discoveries, and as Mary Wiggins says, they had the best music. Mary had
come of age in the 80s and she says these historical moments effected
her American Dream and many others. The three events are the introduction of the IBM Personal Computer, the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill, and the
first DNA criminal conviction. The IBM PC and the DNA criminal convictions were two important advancements for America, but as for the
Oil Spill it was a critical hit on the people of America.
In 1981, Personal Computers or PCs were introduced by IBM.
At first IBM thought they would only sell one a day little, did they know
that it would become more of a demand. In 1982, they found that they
were selling a PC every minute. They were expensive so mostly businesses could afford them. Businesses used them for telecommunications
and creating and storing documents. This helped businesses production
go along smoothly and the pace increased. Mary Wiggins says, It made
things a lot easier for me. It replaced the typewriters we were using before which was a big adjustment however it made things simpler. We
didn't have to start over every time we typed the wrong letter which also
saved us some paper. Personal computers changed Marys life for the
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better and by increasing the amount of work she could get done in one
day. Computers brought us a couple steps forward, but 8 years later we
took a wrong turn.
In 1987, Mary Wiggins was hired to work for a civil division in
San Diego California. During the same year DNA was used to convict
criminals for the first time, however, it made its way to courts in 1986 to
prove a man's innocence. Marys employer believes that this new way to
find evidence for court cases was the reason why he hired more people to
work on court cases. This effected Mary because her job involves making contracts for all sorts of specialists that work on court cases. She also
has to make sure the contracts were approved by personnel. This historical moment created more jobs which was a step up from the Recession in
1982. It also helped prove the people who are innocent and the people
who were guilty.
In the American Dream, there can be obstacles in the way towards achieving it but its up to you to get past them and you can, but
only if you work hard enough. Mary Wiggins is a good example of that
statement and is why she achieved her American Dream.

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MARIANAMARIAMARYNOMI
JENNECKJAVIEREDSUSANLORIJOSE
CYNTHIAVICTORIA

There's diamonds in the sidewalk, the gutters lined in song

dear, I hear that beer flows through the faucets all night long there's
treasure for the taking, for any hard working man- Bruce Springsteen.
Nomi Albanos favorite artist is Bruce Springsteen because he puts the
truth about America into his music and doesnt sing about a sugar coated
America; he sings about reality. America is full of treasure if you give it
something in return, but it is also capable of taking away your treasure,
so dont take advantage of it.
Nomi Goodman is a strong believer of how nothing good can
come out of something if it is easy. She believes you should suck it up
put some effort in it and dont complain about it. Her life growing up
was definitely not easy; she worked two jobs to help pay rent and save up
enough to live a life without having to worry about money, or taking care
of her sister all the time. She was just asking for a little peace when she
grew up in a life of chaos. At the age of 17 she had already worked her
way up to the position of manager at the clothing store she was working
at. This shows just how hard she was willing to work. I think there is a
lot of support if you know where to find it , but if you dont know where
to find it, it can feel like you dont have any. Her peers made it hard on
her because of how easy their lives were not having to worry about feed178

ing a family, paying for rent, and having to worry about paying for college.
Nomi did not complete college, but growing up in the 80s it was
normal not to even graduate high school. She believes that what you
think is your American Dream at that moment is just out of your reach.
Her American Dream was just out of her reach, but once you acquire
things and become more successful, the American Dream that you want
is more likely to move in the direction that you want it to go. In Nomis
case obtaining an education, going to medical school, and becoming a
doctor was her American Dream. But sometimes, life gets in the way and
changes that, money was the big deciding factor of this decision. Growing up she worked really hard, and maintained above average grades all
throughout high school. She did all of this while needing to raise her sister at the same time because her mom was never around because she was
working full time, she was a single mother and going to law school at
night. However it was really hard for her to accept the fact that even
though she comes from such an educated family, she would not be able
to complete college because of the lack of money.
Nomi is a very selfless person who is not known to complain;
she is one that lets things go very fast. She accepted that her American
Dream had to be rethought because of money and her family situation.
The only thing that she wanted as a free American citizen was an education to help make her dreams become a reality. The first time she
understood that college was not an option was heartbreaking. How would
you feel if you worked hard seemingly endless days for a chance at an
opportunity, a chance to follow your heart, just to be turned down?
Growing up she thought that her adoptive mother would be there for her,
support her when she was feeling down, instead it was the other way
around. She was forced to learn at a very young age how to make the
grown up decisions, and focus on her sister growing up making sure she
knew she could be what she wanted to be.

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When Nomi was growing up there was a huge difference in

searching for a job compared to today. In other words, a high school diploma in the 80s was equal to a college degree now. This is an effect of
technology taking a huge role in our everyday lives. The 80s was the
beginning of big technology outbreaks such as the Walkman, electric
razor and even a Mr. Frosty slush maker, because of the decisions she
made her American Dream would change how it plays out. She was lost
in a forest of other people who didnt know how to escape the life of
struggle for a chance at opportunity.
Growing up there wasnt always a lot support around, but Nomi
didnt let that stop her from excelling all through high school. When she
graduated, she had to begin to make adult decisions that kids these days
are finding harder and harder to make. To put it into perspective Nomi
graduated high school at the age of 16 and had to immediately find a job
and an apartment. She was already young for her age and was asked to
skip 6th grade. The fictional dream is big giant houses and big giant
money, but in the end they just want to know that their family is healthy
and happy, and can take care of paying the electric bill and buying food.
The overall American Dream is what an American wants, working hard,
and a job or career that they enjoy waking up to, and most importantly
knowing they are contributing members of society. There were times
when I couldnt pay for gas to get to work, but if I didnt get to work
then I couldnt pay for gas. Nowadays in the working world, it is all
about experience when you are applying for a job, but how are you supposed to get experience when there is no way to get a job without
experience. In the end, its just the human dream, people want to know
that their children have a good life and have a place to live and arent
going to be killed when they go to school. What all parents want is for
their kids to do well in life and be able to have an American life with its
struggles mixed in with its positive perks.
Nomi Albanos American Dream is more focused on the happiness of others instead of her own. The only thing she wanted in life was
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to go to medical school, she accepted that, put it behind her and put all of
her effort into making sure the people around her become everything
they could be. She is constantly informing people about what is going on
in the world and wonder if other people really wish they were in this
free country I often wonder what the news from America looks like to
people in other countries and wonder what they think of the way we live
the American Dream. In a safe society where those in authority like police and military can largely be trusted- we shoot each other at greater
rates than any other advanced country. Is that living the American
Dream? We take away each others life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. It is easy to live in America and be a citizen and appreciate all of
the rights that we have, but sometimes we need to think about what people in other countries are suffering with. When you really think about it,
all they want is a safe place to live where they dont have to worry about
victimization.
Nomi Goodman is a very stubborn person, and is someone who
will not give up a fight. She is a very persuasive woman and really
knows how to get what she wants, especially for something she strongly
believes in. She is a strong individual, but sometimes the stress of practically carrying the whole family got to her and she needed a way to let
that out. Counseling helped to ease her young mind that she wasnt the
crazy one in the family. There was a lot of anger between the family
members but she didnt understand why and often wondered if it was
something she did. It was nice for her to go to someone who only had her
interests at heart. It was nice knowing that someone cared about me but
they also gave you the opportunity to figure life out yourself, just with a
little guidance and support in the right direction, helping you stay on the
right path headed towards the dreams that you want to accomplish...Got
to move on so it doesnt eat you from the inside out.
Its easy to sit in America and be a citizen here and be afforded
all of our rights and privileges and think that the American Dream is a
thing of the past but, if you look at the number of people around the
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world that are struggling to get to a better place and you listen to them
and all they really want is a safe place where they are not going to be
victimized or bombed or murdered or forced into a different religion, or
go hungry or not have medical care. Think about a little spark of hope
and how much opportunity it means to people that come here from all
around just for a slim chance at a better life. America is not perfect. The
laws are not in any way perfect but if you compare them to another place
almost guarantee that life would be a lot harder to achieve at the level
you would want to achieve it at. Maybe we need to get back what the
founding fathers had in mind: allow all who would risk everything to
pursue life, liberty and happiness the opportunity to do so. Maybe then
the rest of us will appreciate those founding principles. She brings up
many points about how good the world was until we decided technology
would be invented because of how much accessibility is created for those
who have the opportunity. No more equity, which means goodbye to the
original America, which was doing perfectly fine before we decided to
incorporate and upgrade but was it a good upgrade? Did it really move
the world in the right way? We think technology today is saving the
world as we know it, but really it is just slowing the degradation of it.
Nomi Goodman at this point in her life moved on from trying to make
her American Dream become a reality, and focused her energy into helping people believe in theirs, she is a very selfless person in this way. she
stated that, They died building the railroads, they worked to bones and
skin, they died in the fields and factories, names scattered in the wind,
they died to get here a hundred years ago, theyre still dying now, their
hands that built the country were always trying to keep out.- Bruce
Springsteen. America is like a troubled teen with commitment issues,
America wants to be in a constant change but doesnt understand that its
people might not want that.
The 80s was full of bright neon colors on everyones clothing a
lot of peace signs, this is what you probably think about the 80s. It was
an iconic music decade, U2 and Bruce Springsteen, MTV, and Video
killing the radio star. The 80s is always a positive thought, music had
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positive vibes just like the people. For example Bruce Springsteen, Madonna, way before Nirvana, there was U2 and Blondie, and music still on
MTV, her two kids in high school, they tell her that shes uncool, cause
she's still preoccupied, with 19, 19, 198557 This song shows that the
80s was an uplifting decade to live in, there are no complaints about
anyone breaking up with anyone, it talks about good music, good people,
and good times. What happened to music that didnt have demeaning,
heart wrenching words in it? Why makes it different to say it in a sing
than to say it to someones face? These words came from a very oppressive time where these words were not used as just a way to say hello to
friends. It is as if they are trying to erase the past, but the past is written
in pen, so it can fade away, but it wont be gone. Music is always changing, but is it changing for the better? For the 60s when the Beatles were
popular, the 80s punk stage would be intense, but that only makes me
think of what the 80s think of this decades music, throwing oppressive
words like a pitcher to the batter and when the batter hits it the crowd
screams for more.
This is not only the decade of positive music but it is also when
MTV started up and when TV did not revolve around the everyday lives
of peoples strange addictions or relationship problems. As Nomi says it
The time when TV had a purpose. Growing up in the 80s as a teenager life revolved around movies and music. That was all a teenager
needed, well plus the leopard print spanks. Movies were good back then,
they had a purpose, they werent just trying to take every penny from
you, entertainment was a big thing back then the only difference from,
then to now is that they cared if their viewers enjoy it or not. This decade
had meaningful quotes in the movies that are still impacting people today
such as The Breakfast Club, E.T., Indiana Jones, Star Wars, Back to the
Future and so many more. These movies may seem outdated, which they
are, but they also have a plot, a plot that is not about a heist or blowing
everyone up, or seeing dead people. The 80s were a time of great enter57

"1985" lyrics (BOWLING FOR SOUP LYRICS)

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tainment success that is still carried on today. Movies have changed a lot
but are they changing in a good way that future generations will talk
about? Will movie quotes from our decade be carried on?
In the 80s people cared about the people they loved, they didnt
care about phones electronics, video games, and had a real conversation
not just over facetime. It was the little things that made a big impact on
each other, getting together listening to a new record, eating. Nothing
had to be extravagant, people appreciated others company, until this
thing called a phone was invented, after this step in technological advancement the world shifted. Everything became more accessible took
that extra step out of peoples day, these little struggles are what kept
America's hardships balanced between the world, instead of how it now,
the rich and poor gap. In the 80s Ronald Reagan was elected, he reduced
tax margins, which encouraged people to work harder for a longer period
of time, which in the long run improved the economy for the better. We
then went through a deep recession which caused businesses to be hit
hard, a lot went bankrupt especially those in the agricultural field, goods
were declined to be exported so interest rates rose.
Every rose has its thorns, it was perfect, but people worked harder than ever to be successful in the growing world. By 1983, the
economy had rebounded and the United States entered into one of the
longest periods of sustained economic growth since World War II.58 At
this point in time people did not give up as easily on themselves and society. I get knocked down, but I get up again, youre never gonna keep
me down.59 These lyrics describe this part in time very well, yeah we
had struggles and they are going to be hard to get through, but things in
life that end up having a big impact shouldnt be easy, they come to people willing to put forth the effort to be a sustaining member of society. "I
gotta take a stand. I gotta take a stand against him. I am not gonna sit on
my ass as the events that affect me unfold to determine the course of my
58
59

The Economy in the 1980s and 1990s. (n.d.). Retrieved November 18, 2015
Chumbawamba (- I Get Knocked Down Lyrics)

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life. Im gonna take a stand. Im gonna defend it. Right or wrong, Im

gonna defend it"-Ferris Bueller's Day Off .60 Even in funny movies such
as this one, people are always wanting to better the world they are part
of. Thanks to judgment, people care more about what others think about
them than to just be themselves, and are feeling more scared to be a leader in the world. They are scared to be who they really are, because they
care more about what people are judging about them. There will always
be those bullies that feel better about themselves by making other people
feel bad about themselves. Dont let their words sink into you let them
float right on because you are better than the words trying to impact you
in a negative way. Stick with the people who will be by your side, people
that wont judge you for who you are, return the favor by letting people
be who they are.

One thing that has been a part of American morning routines is

this thing called the newspaper. When there was no Google to look up
what is going on in the world, the weather for the week, or even movie
times there is this thing made of paper that has all of this information in
it. This is an example of an American tradition that is fading away. Nomi
is always telling people how reading a newspaper makes comprehending
big words and peoples opinions first of all more enjoyable and secondly
makes you use your brain. Nomis grandfather used to work as a newspaper writer for world war II and he would mark up my mothers papers
with red pen to get the point across, even though Nomi Goodman never
60

Great Film Quotes - 1980s (Great Film Quotes - 1980s)

185

went to college, just because of taking papas advice and reading the
newspaper, reading comprehension is still one of her best skills. A lot of
people think by going digitally we are saving trees, ok maybe we are but
we are now wasting energy to run that device, secondly newspapers have
been around a lot longer than your magazines made to lower your self
esteem have been. Magazines nowadays have evolved from again entertainment to sex tips, low calorie diets, unreachable body goals, and
peoples lives that we shouldnt care about. What was Miley Cyrus wearing at last nights music awards, oh thats right nothing, who is Taylor
Swift dating for this week and when will her new song be out about the
breakup. What happened to wanting to be educated about whats going
on in the world and not how to be a size two or grow a bigger butt?
When will America realize what its priorities should be? Musical influence changed the world in positive and negative ways, such as during the
punk era a lot of music was based around drugs and alcohol, kids felt
more inclined to experiment with these things. This led to kids rebelling
against prominent adult figures in their lives.

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MARIANAMARIAMARYNOMI
JENNECKJAVIEREDSUSANLORIJOSE
CYNTHIAVICTORIA

Im tired of being poor. A young pinay girl, by the

name of Jenneck Beltran, was born and raised in Manila, Philippines on
August 14th, 1964. She lived in a Catholic home where her and the rest
of her family studied and practiced the Good Book, also known as the
Bible. She grew up in the middle-class until she reached the age of 7.
When she hit 7 years old, her life was flipped upside down and she felt
like her world was going coming to an end. Her father, the provider for
their family, her hero, and her number one supporter passed away leaving her mother a widow and their 9 children without a father figure. Once
her father died, her and her family were devastated and lost. It was as if
her heart stopped beating and the air she was breathing got heavier and
heavier. She was now poor and in the lower-class. It was now her mothers responsibility to step up to the plate and work for the family and
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thats exactly what her mother did. Day and night, her mom was determined and strived to provide for herself and her kids.
Jennecks mother not only had to fulfill the mother role, but also
the fathers role, and sadly it still wasnt enough. Jenneck was first employed at the age of 13. Jenneck was the youngest out of her 8 older
siblings and still had to work in order for her family to have the simple
things that they needed such as food, water, clothes, etc. Her first job as a
seamstress helped put food on the table. Jenneck worked hard each and
everyday. She was mentally and physically drained from the cluttered
life that surrounded. Children shouldnt have to go through what I went
through, Jenneck said to herself. She yearned for a bigger and better
life, a life where it wasnt so hard to live, where there wasnt so much
poverty, somewhere she could be happy without stress and worries.

As a 17 year old living in the Philippines, she attended college

and worked as a cashier at her mothers cousins restaurant. Jenneck had
to adjust to the fact that shed have to work and go to school so that she
can obtain a career. She studied to be a nurse's assistant and spent most
of her time studying for school. Jennecks schedule was all booked up;
when she wasnt studying for school, she spent her long nights at the restaurant surrounded by only her mothers cousin, Sally Bagay. They soon
became very close. Sally Bagay was married to a young American man.
Because the American dollar was worth more in the Philippines, Sally
became wealthy with her marriage. As Jenneck said, I witnessed that
after my moms cousin married an American, she became very wealthy.
Seeing my mothers cousin be so successful and happy encouraged me
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and deepened my wanting to surround myself with the American culture

and to be just like her. Soon after that, thats exactly what she did.
Jenneck fell in love with Luis Nazareno-Beltran, a handsome PuertoRican-American older man that was in the army, and months later started
a family with him. They had 2 children and adopted another child. My
dream was to come to the United States and become wealthy just like the
American citizens that live in the States and I couldnt wait for my dream
to become my reality. She wanted to move to America because the
United States was known for having more opportunities offered to the
people. Jenneck knew exactly what she had to work towards in order to
achieve her American Dream.

When I moved to the States everything changed. Instead of only

wanting better for myself, it was about me making and having enough
money to provide for my kids. I thought packing our bags, moving, and
living in the United States of America would be easy but it was not at all.
I was completely wrong. You need to work hard and do everything you
need to yourself. You need to be independent. Right before Jenneck had
the chance to make it to the United States of America, her husband died
of a heart attack, leaving her a widow. She was left heartbroken and it
brought her back to the moment when she lost her father and her mother
was left as a widow as well. She cried hoping that she can wake up from
the hideous nightmare that was unfortunately her reality. Jenneck barely
knew the slightest bit of English and struggled living in the States and
doing this all on her own. She laid on her pillow, thinking to herself
about how strong she needed to be. As tears ran down her soft yellow
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toned skin, she weeped hoping that God would answer her prayers and
be with her through her hard times. If it was up to me, I wouldve
stayed back in the Philippines with all of my family, friends, and my
support, but I had children so my priority was to be there for them as
someone who they could look up to and someone who made sure their
lives were on track in the present and the future. During her transition in
adjusting to the American lifestyle, she began to feel tired. She was exhausted about thinking of the fact that this was only the beginning. The
money that she was putting on the table just wasnt enough for her and
her kids. She knew that she was going through a lot and even with all of
the stress she decided to go back to school. Going to school with children
was harder than she even imagined. She struggled trying to juggle her
school and be a parent to her kids. She managed to overcome the stress
and learn to balance the two. She labeled it as the worst times, but if
her life was at the lowest point then that could only mean its going to
get better and thankfully, things started to slowly fall right into place.
Jenneck Beltran is now fifty-four years old living in San Diego,
California. She now has four children and three grandchildren. Shes
been working as a nursing assistant and is still debating whether she
wants to go back to school to further her education. Im satisfied with
what I have now. I raised my four wonderful children here and they now
have families of their own. Theyve had the opportunity to be successful
in life and they didnt have to go through such a rough childhood like I
had to. All I wanted was the best for them, I never wanted them to face
the problems I had to go through but Im happy with my current living
situation and Im happy to say that my proudest part is that I did it all by
myself. Throughout her journey there were so many moments where
she lost her hopes and ambitions. The thought of giving up ran through
her mind because she assumed it would be easier. She heard a little voice
whispering in her mind, as she day dreamed on multiple occasions, telling her that she couldn't do it, that she wouldnt succeed, and that she
would never be able to give her children the life that she dreamt for
them; the life with opportunities and windows to go out to the world and
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explore- to become someone in life. Thinking about her children was the
only reminder that pushed her through rough times. The one and only
quote that seemed to help her, was a saying that her deceased husband
would say to motivate her when she thought that she would never
amount to something just because she reached a rocky point in life, You
fall, you get back up. You shake it off and strive for better, you can do it
mi amor. Without the American Dream, Jenneck and her family
wouldnt be here with us today. Although it changed throughout time,
her dream was only there to push her. It was a set goal that in the end,
only had pushed her to succeed and strive for better. Jenneck believes
that not everyone can reach the plain old regular version of the American
Dream but a personalized American Dream or goal is always possible
with the right surroundings, the right drive, and the right attitude on life.
Food, shelter, and my children; this is all I need in life, these are my
only reasons to smile.
In the year 1980, the social views on the American Dream
were much different than todays picture of the American Dream. Americas economy changed in numerous ways from the 50s, 60s, and also
the 70s. The 1980s was the beginning of what some people called the
Yuppies (Young Urban Professionals), a baby boomer with a college
education, a well-paying job and expensive taste.61 Yuppies were
known to take the spot of the 60/70s hippies position. They were more
of the middle-class section and most were known to be self-centered because of all the effort they put into college. Yuppies sought executive
track jobs in large corporations and spent their money on upscale consumer products like Ray-Ban sunglasses, Polo apparel, and Mercedes
and BMW automobiles. 62 They strived to have nice cars, live in nice
houses, and have jobs in the stock business department all for the social
look. They wanted to show off their valuables so that they look more
money appealing. Many people in Americas population were striving to
be yuppies because it was the trend that was going around; however,
61
62

History.com Staff. History.com. The 1980s. 2011.

Ushistory.org. U.S History Online Textbook. Life in The 1980s. 2015

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many others did not have the same opportunities such as minorities and
immigrants.
Minorities were still having a difficult time fitting in. It was
tough in many ways for the minorities that lived in America. It was harder for them to graduate college (let alone attend college), maintain a well
paid job, and drive a nice car like the yuppies. MTV was a major part of
the opposing side of the yuppie movement and they, along with some
of the popular minority rappers/singers, did not agree with the ways and
greed of the yuppies. As the decade wore on, MTV also became a forum for those who went against the grain or were left out of the yuppie
ideal. Rap artists such as Public Enemy channeled the frustration of urban African Americans into their powerful album It Takes a Nation of
Millions to Hold Us Back. Heavy metal acts such as Metallica and Guns
N Roses also captured the sense of malaise among young people, particularly young men. Even as Reagan maintained his popularity, popular
culture continued to be an arena for dissatisfaction and debate throughout
the 1980s.63 They showed their passion and frustration towards the yuppies in their art which became very popular after their work was released.
Their emotions in music and other modern ways were very effective
since such a wide variety of people listened to music on a daily basis.
1980 was also the year of the middle-class crisis. The middle
class crisis happened in the early 1980s but continued on for many years
after the 80s. From 1973 to 1992 while productivity has gone up 25%,
wages have gone down 19%. Many people were working more than they
were getting paid for and it affected their lives in a lot of ways. Loss of
homes and jobs are signs of a stagnant or fading middle class. 64 A numerous amount of people lost their homes but continued to keep working
for less because that was the only way to keep food on their plates and
continuously try to keep a roof over their heads.

63
64

History.com Staff. History.com. The 1980s. 2011.

Jeanna Bryner. Livescience. American Dream and Middle Class in Jeopardy. 2008.

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In addition, the article explained that, Between 1979 and 1987

the average worker worked 95 hours more each year. That is more than
three and a half weeks a year. Also vacation time has fallen by one third.
Between 1979 and 1989, 44% of the population saw a real fall in their
income, and only 25% saw an increase. This means that 75% of the population saw their living standards decline or stagnate.Between 1973 and
1987 the income of families headed by someone under 30 years of age
fell 30%. The income of families headed by someone who didnt graduate from high school fell 5.2%! All of this information and data played a
major role in how minorities and other people lived and how life was like
in the 1980s. The 1980s was a very rough time for many people and it
was disappointing for people of every race.
Jenneck Beltran lived as a minority in America in the 1980s. she
struggled with trying to achieve her ideal way of life. For instance, it was
harder for Jenneck to go to school, find a job, raise a family as a single
mother, and more. She was denied by more than a few jobs because they
said that she could not speak English well enough but just as a lot of other strong individuals, that did not stop her. Growing up in a America
during a very greedy and self-seeking time and era did not affect the
way Jenneck grew up or even how she raised her children. She remained
to be as humble as possible because she always remembered and never
forgot where she first came from and the point of her life when she was
young, lonely, and poor. Since Jenneck is Filipino, she was not able to be
apart of the yuppie movement and was not given the opportunities that
the whites had. Instead of going to college, and taking the path that the
yuppies did, Jenneck went to school later on and worked not for herself,
but for her children and only them. She dedicated everything she did, all
the money she made, and all the time and energy she put forth was for
her children and their future. She wanted to set a good example and have
her children look back on her actions today and be proud of how their
mother overcame such a difficult time in her life.

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In the 1980s decade, many outlooks relating to the views on the

American Dream regarding race changed in positive and very negative
ways. Its depressing realizing that issues today still haven't improved. It
shouldnt be harder for minorities to attend college, buy houses, and get
jobs than it is for whites, but it is and this hasnt changed yet. Although it
has gotten a lot easier for minorities, we can make a positive change in
our history. And as for the American Dream, it is not only for whites to
reach and conquer. Not only Jenneck, but many others achieved their
American Dream in a time where it was not very common for a minority.
Whether they were African-American, Latino, Asian, or an immigrant,
she struggled, cried, and fought hard in a way that should be remembered. The only key people need to become successful is the drive and
passion. Jenneck is a role model that many people look up to. She shows
that overcoming your struggles is a huge step and it is only preparing you
for what the future holds. If everyone had this mindset, it would be very
possible for all people to succeed and attain their own American Dream
in time.

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MARIANAMARIAMARYNOMI
JENNECKJAVIEREDSUSANLORI
JOSECYNTHIAVICTORIA

It wasnt about a dream, it was about a reality. These were the

first words Javier Gonzalez stated about his American Dream. He was
born in 1969, and grew up during the tail end of the Spanish dictatorship
of Francisco Franco. He always said how here in the US there is a special
feeling of freedom, having the opportunity to do almost anything you
want, and have the freedom of speech without fear. He was given an opportunity to come to San Diego because he had an aunt who lived here
and in 1984 he made the trip. He had anxiety of living in a completely
new country without his parents and starting from scratch.
When he was asked about the American Dream he simply puts
it as, The American Dream is the same dream people have in their own
countries, its just more doable here. Every generation will have different
challenges and dreams, nowadays life is much more competitive, and
theres more opportunities now. Its all up for grabs. The struggle of the
coming generations may or may not be as difficult as the generations
before us. Competition for success is only going to get larger and larger,
but opportunities for education will also grow. As much as people wish
for life to be easy, it would take away all the fun of the struggle for success.

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His reasoning to come here was to simply finish high school and
take advantage of the opportunities given. The biggest thing in his way
was the language barrier; the only english he knew was in his little dictionary he brought. After graduating high school in San Diego, his plan
was to return to Spain, but he decided to stay and attend college here and
continue learning English. He only had a student visa, so he could only
get a job on campus, so he went over to the placements office. He stood
there trying to translate whatever words he knew; yet nothing seemed to
make sense. One job that stood out was titled Custodian. He wasnt sure
at all what it meant, so he looked it up in his English to Spanish dictionary. It basically described it as someone who looks after something or is
responsible for that. So he took the job, not really knowing what it really entailed. Soon he realized that Custodian meant cleaning the
bathrooms. He worked for a year as a janitor, then one a day he had to fix
a plumbing problem, and with little knowledge he somehow fixed it.
When the manager found out, he encouraged Javier to take some civil
engineering classes. He then began to realize how actions can have a big
outcome.
He then made friends with a boy who played on the college
baseball team, and convinced Javier to join. Again, not knowing any
English and not understanding the game or what the coaches were talking about, he would just hear these new words and slang thrown around,
but they never seemed to grab any meaning in his mind. He explained
how they put him up to bat, and he had no idea what exactly to do, and
all he saw was the ball pitched so he swung as hard as he could and ended up with a homerun on his first swing of a bat. He was amazed by how
many opportunities can pop up out of little actions.
Javier never finished college, but he knew exactly what his goals
were, and that was to open his own business. To him a restaurant was a
symbol of freedom, of making his own dreams into a reality. When he
was young he would work at a farmers market in Spain with his grandparents; he loved the interaction with the public and the organization
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aspect of even such a small little fruit stand. He began his journey by
working in restaurants and bars all around San Diego, and at each establishment he would be remembered as the prodigy of the business. He
took note of everything he wanted to apply in his own management philosophy, learning from place to place. He wanted to create an atmosphere
of comfort everywhere he worked, to learn what true hospitality is.
He then got his own apartment outside of San Diego State University and befriended the manager Cecilia. One day she made dinner
and introduced her sister, Teresa whom Javier took an immediate liking
too. Some days after the dinner, he called her and invited her to have a
drink with him and some friends, so they went to Caf Sevilla in downtown where he worked. They began to hangout more often, but then she
had to return home because of her Visa. Javier refused to let her go, so he
went with her in hopes of convincing her to return to San Diego with
him.
Now Teresa's father at that time was a very old fashioned man in
which he hated the thought of men with long hair, or earrings. Now
Javier, at the time had hair past his shoulders, an earring in each ear, so
not only did he have to convince Teresa to come back, but he also had to
convince her dad to let her be with the man of his nightmares. Javier began hanging out with Teresas family and befriended her brothers and
sisters, and eventually got her father's blessing. Finally, she herself fell to
his charm, and they worked it out for her to come back to San Diego with
him.
When they returned, Javier continued with the dream of his
business, and working at different restaurants. He soon was known as the
king of businesses in Pacific Beach. To him, business was a representation of who he is, and he would never let any employee make a bad
image of him. Any task that he was confronted with, he could complete.
He was the type of person who wouldnt care about the work load, he

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only cared about the final product; if he was going to do it, he was going
to do it right, and all the places he worked at really showed that.

Five years after marrying Teresa, they had their first

born son, he was then on the final steps of completing his dream. He
found a building for rent on Garnet Avenue in Pacific Beach, and he
knew it was the one. He wanted to provide for his family and the restaurant was his way to do it. When he was given the key to the location, he
went to work on the interior, with a group of 5 friends and with all their
skills they restructured the whole building. There was a day when Javier
contracted a plumber to assist them with some kitchen problems, and the
plumber stated, This is gonna take a while, I mean like, Rome wasnt
built in two days. Then one of Javier's friends responded with a simple,
Thats because Javier wasnt in charge of it. That is the perfect representation of Javier, anything he put his mind to he was going to finish,
and completed perfectly. Because of Javiers work ethic, Costa Brava
Restaurante is only growing in popularity in San Diego and back home in
Spain even.
Living in Spain at a young age, and growing up in a dictatortrashed country, Javier believes the American Dream idea is simpler than
those born elsewhere. Having the sense of freedom and the capability to
say whats on your mind may seem like a normal thing here in the U.S.,
but it wasnt for me. A main trademark of the dictatorship was the
amount of police and authority around in the country. The feeling of
intimidation or fear of authority was the opposite of what they are supposed to stand for. Here in the U.S even with the amount of authority

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problems, it still doesnt amount to the conscious pressure of other countries.

The different obstacles for each generation reaching their American Dream, is constantly changing with laws getting tighter. When Javier
came to the U.S. it was easier because the legality of him working did
not require as many papers compared to other immigrants. Back then, the
normal obstacle was the language, many people came from war torn
countries, or poverty, and had little to no exposure to other cultures.
Now, the legal papers and laws of work permits have become much
stricter making the dream even less accessible for immigrants in modern
day.
The dream of past generation immigrants was usually for
a better life, something they maybe couldnt have achieved in their home
country. They wanted to live with better quality. Somehow this changed
into material interest. Majorities of todays American Dreams are to have
money, which isnt necessarily bad. This is because nowadays money is
what people stress over; they believe it to be the most important. People
want a nicer car, a bigger house, a fatter bank account, although they
supplement this desire with their quality of life. The average income in
1960 was $5,300 and the home price was about $12,700, thats 2.4 times
the salary. Now the average wage is $45,000, although now the home
price is about $200,000, thats 4.5 times the wage.65 This increase in
prices is most likely the main reason for the attraction to a more material
lifestyle, but its only because of the supply-demand system. If the population wants this life, then its what is going to be offered, and those who
maybe dont want that life are going to have to persevere.
In a study done in 2007, the U.S. Small Business Administration
found that, 10.5 percent of the immigrant workforce owns a business
compared with 9.3 percent of the non-immigrant (i.e. U.S.-born) work-

65

What does the American Dream mean to different generations? (2015, June 22).

199

force.66 Seeing here how the majority of business owners in San Diego
are immigrant, Javier may have been more encouraged or motivated to
pursue his wish of opening his own restaurant. Immigrant-owned businesses are slightly more likely to hire employees than are non-immigrant
owned businesses, however, they tend to hire fewer employees on average. From personal experiences immigrant businesses tend to be more
family owned, and not as expanded. Whereas, non-immigrant business
owners focus on wanting to expand and commercialize.
One of the biggest lessons people can learn about this decade is
how much has changed over the course of about 10 years. The influences
that most affected the way of life and the philosophy is the people; we
came up with the movements and then put them into action. We wanted
the change, and changed what we wanted. The American Dream shifted
from wanting a better quality of life for yourself, to wanting to have the
money you think you need. The American Dream for Javier rewarded
him for all his hard work he persevered through in the past.

66

Falrlle, R. (n.d.). Immigrant Entrepreneurs and Small Business Owners and their Access to Financial Capital | The U.S. Small Business Administration | SBA.gov. Retrieved
November 17, 2015

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MARIANAMARIAMARYNOMI
JENNECKJAVIEREDSUSANLORIJOSE
CYNTHIAVICTORIA

Ed Seriva came of age in the 1980s, but he was born on May 26,
1966 in Portland, Oregon, a magical place full of wonders and mystery.
He was in the Navy branch of the military. Ed's American Dream of a
house and a family of his own came true, but it was not easy. This is the
story of Ed Serivas American Dream.
Ed Serivas American Dream story starts in the 80s. He got a
nice car from his pops pal, a 1971 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, a cool
sporty car at the mere age of 16. He was happy to acquire such a fine
vehicle. The car allowed him to be more independent, as he could drive
wherever he pleased. After this occurred, he got his first job at the age of
16, making rubber mats for horse trailers. Ed mentions It was very hard
and dirty work.
After high school, college was an option for Ed, but he decided
not to go and instead joined the military. He went into the military and
joined the Navy. During his time in the Navy, he worked on a submarine.
He enjoyed working on said nautical vessel, and he also enjoyed the opportunity to travel to new places. He visited over ten countries. Ed shares
I was in the Navy for 10 years, 1 month, and 2 days, but who was
counting? In addition, he even received education during his time in the
Navy.

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Unfortunately, he left the Navy before he completed their own

education system. Ed realized that he should have gone to college or at
least finished his education in the Navy because he was struggling to find
a job. He eventually found his very first job post Navy where he taught
adult learners about electronics at the United Education Institute in
downtown San Diego.
After his family of four was created, he worked at Sony and was
subsequently laid off when the company had big lay-offs in the early
2000s. After he was laid off, he was not able to find a job that suited him
for a long time. It was difficult for him and the whole family, as his wife
was a stay-at-home mom taking care of their two children. His family
went from a single income to no income at all. It was difficult for his
young family to survive.
Since he did not take advantage of the opportunities to
attend college and get a good job, but wishes he did, he emphasizes the
importance of higher education for his children. He believes that his
children should have the same opportunities that he had, but that his
children should actually take advantage of the opportunities. He wants
his children to be able to support themselves by having a steady income.
Ed supports his childrens education by driving his kids
to school everyday, making sure they are there on time. He picks his kids
up after school and is flexible with what time that is so they have the
chance to go to after school tutoring. Ed and his wife support their childrens education by attending exhibition nights. His children are happy
to show them what they been working on in class. Last year they attended their sons exhibition on diets he studied in Chemistry class. It was a
chance for Ed and his family to all bond about a common love of theirs,
food.
Ed hopes that his children learn from his mistake of not attending college. He hopes that they learn from his example, that a college
education will give them more opportunities in the workforce to achieve
the American Dream of opportunity.
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MARIANAMARIAMARYNOMI
JENNECKJAVIEREDSUSANLORIJOSE
CYNTHIAVICTORIA

What is the American dream? The answer is different for everyone. It depends on how and where you were raised, struggled, and
succeeded. Your life experiences are the variables to a complicated math
equations, and the answer to them is your American Dream. When interviewing Susan E. Ebersole Kime, a mother of three, currently living in
San Diego, she talks about her hike up the American Dream mountain
that started in the late 1980s. Everyone has opportunities if they are
willing to put the hard work into it, Susan says. Whether you see the
American Dream as a fantasy or something nonexistent, others may see it
as something tangible. Some view the American Dream as, if you work
hard you can have that American Dream you want. The American Dream
is whatever you want it to be.
Susan E. Kime was born in Venezuela, in 1963. She quickly
moved to Mexico City, then by 1970 to Elkhart, Indiana then finally
Brownsville, Texas. Her parents wanted to move back to America to give
their kids more opportunities. Susan was born into a large unwealthy
family. She had five older brothers and one younger sister; a family of
eight. Susan grew up with smart brothers, who earned great grades and
did very well. Susan says, I knew I was different. Knowing she was
academically different from her brothers, it didn't stop her from achieving academic success. While growing up, English wasnt Susan's first
203

language. As a young girl first learning to speak, she learned Spanish, as

did her brothers. When Susan went to preschool in Elkhart Indiana, she
would speak Spanish. She would often get teased for speaking Spanish.
One day it was too much, as a preschooler Susan swore she would never
speak Spanish again as if she was on trial under oath. Once her family
moved and set up a permanent camp in Brownsville, which rests right on
the boarder of Texas and Mexico, speaking Spanish for the first time in
years came back to her like riding a bike. When speaking Spanish again
came another challenge. She went from being scared to speak Spanish
because not everyone spoke it, to being nervous to speak it because she
might not pronounce everything correctly. Her family were, minorities
from the type of people that lived in that area. Throughout living in
Brownsville, she learned a lot from living around different social, economical Hispanic people. Speaking Spanish has benefited Susan in her
career because she is able to speak and communicate with patients. Realizing her academic levels and curiosities, Susans mother told her, really
consider a job where you can stand on your own two feet. which meant
for her to be independent, strive for greatness. To be like a tree with roots
deep enough to keep it standing on its own.

Susans American Dream wasnt to become a celebrity or president but, Knowing that hard work and positive attitude can be the
stepping stones to a good work ethic that could lead me to financial independence. The stepping-stones to reach her dream werent close
together; some were leaps, and some were hops away. Susans original
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plan was to get a Bachelor's from TCU and a Masters at a Physical Therapy school. Unfortunately that didnt take place. In the beginning of
Susans college career, her younger sister was diagnosed with a rare
cancer that inspired my family live life to the fullest for the moment.
The devastating news that a family member has cancer can crush the
hearts of other relatives. While Susan was transferring colleges, her sister
Laura passed away. The feeling of sadness flooded in like a flash flood in
the desert, unexpected, but powerful. I had lost my only sister, and now
my parents had one daughter left and my four brothers had one sister
left. The aftermath was like a tsunami, everything scattered, nothing
looking quite the same, something missing. Susan was able to postpone
her transfer start date from January to September. For those nine months
Susan mourned with her parents and brothers, trying to put back together
a puzzle, knowing that one piece would always be missing. Her parents
valued education as a top priority, so through this tough event Susan
transferred from Texas Christian University to Texas Woman's University and got her Bachelor in Science. What helped her push through the
difficult times was who she surrounded herself with. Even in high
school, people that were driven to be successful and that transferred into
college surrounded her. Having people who wanted to be successful
around her helped a lot, by keeping her motivated to do well.

After graduating college, Susan's career of Physical

Therapy gave her many opportunities, specifically in where she could
work, but with leaving came another challenge. This was three years af205

ter her sister passed, leaving was a difficult choice, in the sense of the
family losing another daughter. Susan was adventurous; she knew that
she wanted to become a traveling Physical Therapist. She chose California as a stepping-stone. This was the time for her to fulfill the need of
Wanting to find my own roots, self. And so Susan did, she moved out
to San Diego thinking it would be short lived because, my parents were
still in Texas, as well as three out of four brothers. So I thought I would
eventually return to be near family. She reunited with Chris, her soon to
be husband. Susan still had her dream in mind through all of this, she
was still finding a way to be independent. She was able to do that. Susan was able to continue living in sunny San Diego, all the way to
current day ,with her husband. One of the biggest parts of her independent dream coming true was getting her first paycheck that would pay her
bills, It was exhilarating!, Susan says. To finally have the opportunity
pay for her own things, with money she independently earned.
Throughout Susan, she struggled, had successes, and had
a dream. When asking Susan E. Kime, What have you learned since
coming of age? She said, Life is full of twists and turns, bumps and flat
spots, but no matter what happens it is important to have a positive attitude, smile as often as you can, be real/authentic without hurting others,
have passion for something other than yourself, listen as best you can,
give hugs whenever you can. When thinking of the American dream,
its not always seen as some cookie cutter, white picket fence dream.
Susans dream is far from that. With one last question, What is the
American Dream mean? Susan said, Live within your own
means...ability to feel that you can make your own living.Susan believes
that the American Dream is to be able to be independent, live how you
want to live, and be able to financially take care of yourself. That doesn't
mean finding this American dream would be a breeze, but its worth the
try. As Susan says, Everyone has opportunities if they are willing to put
the hard work into it. So as long as one works hard, their own dreams
can be successful, because the opportunities are there on a bookshelf in a
library as big as the world, its just up to yourself to grab it, and check it
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out, and if its not for you, return it. Everyone has the same opportunity;
you just have to brave enough to take it.
For many people, the symbol of the decade was the
yuppie: a baby boomer with a college education, a well-paying job and
expensive taste. 67To be a yuppie, you were to live in a city, make a ton
of money and live a luxurious lifestyle. In the 1980s, entertainment, and
technology was at a boom. Perhaps the product that introduced the
greatest change in American lifestyles of the 1980s was the personal
computer Introduced by Apple in 1977, the personal computer allowed
management of personal finances, quick word-processing, and desktop
publishing from the home. Businesses could manage payroll, mailing
lists, and inventories from one small machine. 68Having a computer
gave people access, to connect, work, and do things they couldnt do on a
typewriter. Not just with technology, but with entertainment too, I want
my MTV. MTV, was a 24 hour music station, giving youth a voice.
With all this growth it makes you wonder, is this the start of people
glamming up others to make them a more appealing, unrealistic vision of
each other? Was this the start of people seeing only fit people on magazines and on TV wanting to be like them? Maybe. MTV had an effect on
Susan by exposing and expanding her view on the music world. Before
MTV we would get music one - two years later from original release
date. The 1980s was also struck with an AIDS and drugs. As reports
of celebrities entering rehabilitation centers and the horrors of drugridden inner cities became widely known, first lady Nancy Reagans
message to "JUST SAY NO" to drugs became more powerful. Regardless, newer and more dangerous substances like crack cocaine
exacerbated the nation's drug problem. 69 Its unique seeing how drugs
became a topic in the 80s because it's not like this was the decade where
drugs were around. And having a lot of people die from drugs didnt stop
people from achieving success in life, so it didn't affect everyone. AIDS
67

The 1980s." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web.

"Life in the 1980s." Ushistory.org. Independence Hall Association, n.d. Web.
69
"Life in the 1980s." Ushistory.org. Independence Hall Association, n.d. Web.
68

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hit the 80s hard.With the risks of promiscuous behavior rising to a

mortal level, monogamy and "safe sex" with condoms were practiced
more regularly.70 AIDS caused a panic when everyone realized that they
were able to get the disease. While greed may have been rewarded in
the '80s, lust, be it for drugs or sex, proved fatal for thousands.71 During
this time Susan developed friendship, through work, with a man who had
AIDS It was shocking for Susan to find out that a friend had this disease and in such a short period of time this co-worker had passed away.
When comparing the mainstream American Dream of
the 80s and Susans American Dream, there are similarities and differences. When looking back while the yuppie was the thing, there were
still people having regular jobs, like Susan having a career as a physical
therapist. When looking at the cookie cutter American Dream of the
80s, it was all about greed is good. Spending money for you was a necessity and that worrying about the effects would come later. Susan took
a different approach, by not spending money and buying things without
knowing what would happen if you didnt have the money. Many people derided yuppies for being self-centered and materialistic, and surveys
of young urban professionals across the country showed that they were,
indeed, more concerned with making money and buying consumer goods
than their parents and grandparents had been. 72 Susan wasnt a Yuppie. A yuppie is defined as someone who lives in a city, with a wellpaying, and lives a luxurious life style. Susan at the time did not make a
lot of money, and didnt live a luxurious lifestyle, she was a renter during
the time. When it came to the recession in the early 80s it didnt really
have a great effect on Susan, because when it hit, she was still in college
so it didnt have a big impact on her career or lifestyle at the time.
When reflecting on the 1980s, it was a time you wanted
to be alive. Thinking about the things that had happened its understand70

"Life in the 1980s." Ushistory.org. Independence Hall Association, n.d. Web.

"Life in the 1980s." Ushistory.org. Independence Hall Association, n.d. Web.
72
The 1980s." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web.
71

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able why everyone was a little more selfish with their lives. A new disease break out, and drugs were rising, so when reflecting on it if youre
seeing people die, it makes you want to live life and for people that
meant lets be greedy. When thinking of the American Dream now vs.
the American Dream in the 80's, they aren't very different. Nowadays we
still want a high paying job and lavish things, but what makes the current
American Dream different from the 80s American Dream, is that people
will have to work harder. Even the recession, didn't affect everyone, people still had jobs and getting a job for the college graduate wasn't too
hard. As of now our dreams are to have a job any job of that matter, so
that we can have the bare necessities to live. Now we can all learn from
the 80s and how greed can be good, only when used in the right way.
We can use the idea of greed is good and use it in a positive way for our
American dreams of today. We dont need to use greed as how its defined which is seen as a negative thing; today we can use money for
example to not just ourselves but use it for others. Having the money we
earn be used for pushing others American Dreams to come true. We all
can have an American Dream and put purpose back to what the American Dream is and can be.

209

MARIANAMARIAMARYNOMI
JENNECKJAVIEREDSUSANLORIJOSE
CYNTHIAVICTORIA

Setting goals is the first step to turning the invisible to visible.

A quote said by motivational speaker, Tony Robbins. This quote represents the way Lori Ann Holland planned out her American Dream.
When people think of the American Dream they usually image a nice
house, car, family oriented, and no problems. This idea does have meaning and the meaning is different for everyone depending on their
situation and interests. Doing stuff that suits one's personality could be
one's dream. It is special because it's personal and everyone has a different view on it. Part of someones American Dream could be achieving
their goals and achieving a point where they want to be at in their life
and future self. When people grow up they obtain certain responsibilities
and have things to take care of. Think of your life as a book, you have
more writing to put down as
you go on.

You are the author of your life, Lori Holland would occasionally say here and there as a reminder that your choices are projected
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through your actions. She is a great independent person born in San Diego and grew up in the 80s in National City. Lori has 3 children in total,
one 26, 19, and 16 years of age. She works at Higgs Fletcher & Mack
Law Firm in Downtown, and currently lives in Eastlake, Chula Vista.
Some achievements for her dream she knew she wanted to have, were
owning a home, sending her kids to college, and retirement. These
thoughts can be considered some basic goals that can be apart of her life.
Going to school, for Lori, she attended in total six different elementary
schools: Franklin Elementary, Paul Revere Elementary, Las Palmas Elementary, Stead Elementary, Olivewood Elementary, and Robert E. Lee
Elementary. When she reached high school it was somewhat the same
situation.
Her family moved often and it was not because they were in the
military. They moved because there were financial reasons present, and
they tried to go wherever they saw a better opportunity for employment.
At one point, they stayed in Reno, Nevada because her parents found
jobs at JC Penney Catalogue Warehouse. Almost every year she was the
new student. Sometimes even having to come into class mid-year, Because of that, it was more of a challenge for her to make friends in
school. She would always feel like the odd one out. She knew that when
she had her own children, she would not want them to feel the same way
by transferring schools so many times and having them start as the new
student. She had some friends but it wasn't the same as the others students who have been going to school with each other for long. Lori knew
that she wanted them to stay in the same elementary school, growing up
with the same friends, and in the same neighborhood. Because of her
experience, it became a motive to one of her goals, and that was to possibly purchase and own a home. She felt that it would provide her children
a certain kind of stability that she did not have during her elementary
school years. Home ownership was a milestone in her American Dream.
In 2003, she made a decision she'd been thinking about come to
reality. That was purchasing a home, and from then to now she has been
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living there ever since. Her children started at the new elementary school
that was just down the street. They would use the community pool and
play outside, it was the perfect neighborhood. Without a college degree, in order to make that goal of hers become visible, she had to work
and climb up the ladder to get through the ranks, to earn enough money
to qualify for homeownership so that she could start fresh with her and
her kids. She made the invisible appear; what she didn't have, through
time became visible to her with personal work efforts. As a young adult,
beginning with a receptionist job at a law firm, she worked her way up to
become a legal secretary. She created a path in her life, paved a way for
herself, and was hardworking at what she did. She always provided the
opportunity for her kids to be happy, taking them places, enrolling them
in sports or putting her efforts into any interest they'd like. She wanted
them to grow up in contrast as she did. One thing that wasn't present for
her was having the college experience, academics and opportunities.
Since she did not have that at the moment, she did her best to shine a
light through her children, that if you work now, it can most definitely
help you in the long run. She told her kids that from her experiences
there are more opportunities out there for them. A student will say it is
their goal to go to college, but as a parent it was her goal to send them to
college, because she lived through the other side of the light. When her
daughter started 9th grade at Eastlake High, and her son completed 5th
grade, she found out about High Tech. One of her co-workers mentioned
it to her, and she really wanted her children to attend High Tech High.
Lori was aware that her children were on the more creative and social
side and knew that this school would be the perfect fit for them. It has
been the right fit, and she is relieved that one of her children made it to
college, just one more to go.
Each and every person has different things they would like to
achieve; goals, happiness, or health. Does this mean that these things are
our desires for this American Dream? The quote she would always say,
as said earlier is; You are the author of your life. This quote is passed
on through her children because it represented her motive through her
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life. If you heard this quote it would make you and others think. Everyone creates paths in their lives, and every action we take has an impact
on the next thing coming. Which means you are deciding the choices you
make in your life, and those choices define your future actions. Life a
natural process that everyone goes through, but it's different for every
book out there in the library. Lori saw a path and kept on working to follow it, even if there were some major things that could have held her
back. Changes were still made and corrected with her story, and her hard
work payed off. She did not realize until having to reflect for this interview, that by pursuing these seemingly simple things she is and was
actually achieving her American Dream.
She most definitely enjoys her work right now, as a secretary at a
Law Firm in Downtown. She likes her building because there's a top balcony, with a beautiful view off of the top floor. While gazing into the
city and coastline, one can think about how this American Dream for
some, can be different in some good ways and some bad ways, and how
the actions you obtain can result to the relaxing view. It was a natural
thing for her to have her children not follow the same experiences as she
did. As of right now she does not plan on or won't be moving until a
while, when more of the story unfolds then, see what the book has in
store. The world is the library, and the big library has many different stories to be told by all different point of views from different authors all
over. Everyone has different views because the things they experienced
took an impact on their future self. We are the authors, and are aware that
every action counts when trying to do something. Why not make it the
best book you can make it, because everyone only has one story.
A ten year period of time that involves changes to human nature
that shapes this world is and its ways called a decade, and all different
decades have affected the world in some of way. People are exposed to
different things because people are growing up in different generations.
A well known decade the 80s, For many people in the United States,

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the late 1970s were a troubled and troubling time.73 It was a start of a lot
of new trends from dressing up, the creation of music genres, and the
generations who showed themselves through it plus a lot of governmental controversy with the Reaganomics issue.
Someone born and living through the 80s were most familiar
and would recognize the yuppie term, which is a baby boomer with a
college education and style in taste, someone being born into a wealthy
type of household.74 In contrary that wasn't the situation for Lori Holland at the time. Back then, it was a common thing, or so have been said
for parents to be together, have kids and never divorce. Unfortunately,
her parents weren't that way. When explaining about her home life, she
says her parents weren't in a stable situation. The family picture was unfocused. There was always a financial problem that caused them to
move, or there was a bad night with her father. It could've been a setback
for her by possibly having dysfunctional figures to look up to could lead
to following that same way or not having much of a motive, or guidance
to having a way up the latter. With also having to take care of three siblings, she found a way out. She made a life for herself and her children.
Lori shows that by working hard, she accomplished owning a home, car,
and trying her best to provide for her kids to this day. If thought about,
the quote You are the author of your life is relatable to her because She
made some mistakes but was also wise to realize that if she had to wish
for a opportunity It would come because she was going to try to do the
action in between to fulfill it. She made made decisions that would help
her in the long run.

73
74

The 1980s. (2015). Retrieved December 1, 2015,

National Geographic | The '80s. (n.d.). Retrieved December 1, 2015

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MARIANAMARIAMARYNOMI
JENNECKJAVIEREDSUSANLORIJOSE
CYNTHIAVICTORIA

A dream that shines bright is usually the one that comes true.
The Land of the Free and the Land of Opportunity. Jose Jesus Enriquez
is the perfect example of the name opportunity. He portrays American's
wish to grow out of their socioeconomic class. His dream was always to
show the world that he can do anything with hard work, effort and sacrifices. He came of age in the 1980s. The world was different and America
was brighter than ever. The economy was increasing, houses were more
valuable and jobs were on the rise. This is the adventure to the dream
that would become not only the journey to success, but the prime example of a legacy.
The year was 1964. Jose's journey began when he was born in
Mexicali, Mexico, later moving to Calexico. Jose was better known as
Pepe. He was born into a very low income family. He was the youngest
sibling out of 6 and shared a small house with them and his parents, Jose
grew up with opportunities like education and working, and as a boy, he
was into athletics and working in a paper route. He loved the feeling of
success as a young man. Resources were very low where he grew up and
the weather was always hot. The sun was constantly close to your face
and there was no outdoor play ground because of all the accidents that
would happen because of the first degree burns. Jose was always outside
though, and he never really liked to just stay home and be lazy, probably
because in the 80s there was nothing to do inside before the populariza215

tion of electronics. He had to rely on outdoor actives. He loved the feeling of the natural breeze of the outside because he liked to prove that he
was able to go through anything even if it was extremely challenging.
Jose started working at 9 years old. He used to be in the local
paper route and was always a very proud worker even though they only
paid him about $5 dollars a day. The job was exhausting because of the
heat, his tight helmet, his shirt soaked in sweat, and his legs tight as the
sun laid on top of him. He would come home with a smile and more excitement and energy to fill up his own working jar, the jar of money Jose
used to collect his earnings. His work ethics were born when he lived
next to the owner of the paper route who saw potential in Jose. Growing
into a young man, Jose still kept working and started to join school sports
such as baseball and wrestling.
Years passed and Jose still followed the same path of working
and athletics. At the young age of 16 year old, Jose felt like he came of
age when he was offered a job as a mechanic. This motivated Jose to finish school immediately. He learned that his efforts in school did not
matter to him the only thing that would make him happy would be to
have successful career as a mechanic. He loved the sound of a roaring car
engine that he fixed by covering himself in car oils and slippery grease.
He finally felt the taste of the good life, well his definition of the good
life which was just to have stability. He felt like he was ready to take
matters into his own hands and just live his life independently. His dream
was finally starting to shine right in front of his eyes. Since he wanted to
make money and grow into a successful life of cars and money, Jose felt
the experience of a laborer, even though he did not know he would be
working for the rest of his life.
Around this time, low class families in small neighborhoods
were very common. Living in a small community comes with many situations, the town of Calexico carried no activities. Mainly because they
did not have many entertainment inventions. A guarantee for people with
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low class stability was that they could not have entertainment. The lower
class just depended on school and more extracurricular activities; Jose
had different plans. With all the money he saved up, he bought his first
car at 16. Jose was one of the first teenager to buy a car in his town.
Which was incredibly rare. Jose was never the teenager to party too
much. He was too busy working all the time. Jose worked every day after
school or sometimes he wouldnt go to school just to work, but for the
main reason for self support. He knew that working was his only opportunity for success and stability.
Emotions. The only human characteristic that can ruin anyone's
career or life. Jose was ready to take a step forward and find his partner
in life. Feeling trapped and shut out of all the dreams that used to shine
so bright Jose was in complete darkness all because of an action that cost
him a new life. Responsibility is hard to learn as a child, especially for a
child who has to teach another child. At 17, Joses world changed, he
was going to be a father. Feeling confused and weak, Jose turned to the
people he never depended on; his parents. Their eyes widened as Jose
announced his future. His mother's stomach getting heavier to carry and
his father fist closing shut trying to hold back the whys?. His life that
seemed like a success story would soon come across challenges in his
own mature brain in the body of a child.
Having a difficult life is the cause of previous mistakes. Jose
learned the hard way that becoming a father of a newborn daughter at 17
years old was going to be the most challenging event in his life. After
announcing his news, his parents decided that if Jose wanted to feel like
a grownup he must act like one; Jose was forced to live by himself. He
was all alone with 3 mouths to feed and had to provide a roof over their
heads. Although feeling trapped and lost, Jose did not give up. He decided to take matters into his own hands and work harder than he ever had
before in his life to support his child. His inspiration for working was his
source of life: his daughter and wife were both homeless and he did not
want that lifestyle for them. He worked endless hours. When he came
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into the building the sun came out and when he left the sun that shined so
bright was already gone and you could only see the brightness of the
moon. He always felt exhausted, he would sleep for only 4 hours a day.
After endless amounts of hard work, he decided to move out of Calexico
and move to the city life of San Diego. He saved up enough money to
buy and support his own apartment.

Around 3 years into his work, Jose came into America. Jose's
chances of finding a job were vast for many job opportunities were available by his past work experience. Jose started out working in a factory
with forklifts and storage. He was very determined by the influences
around him such as his daughter. He knew that he was the only hope to
support his family. Having children around this time was more common
than ever. Around this time, teen pregnancy increased 14% in the last
10 years according to CDC.75 Condom use during this the 1980s grew
from 13 percent to 41 percent among Hispanics,the study found. Jose
mentioned around this time sexual education was not common and was
not shared to the youth community. In result, there wasnt many answers
to the questions adolescents were asking.
Five years had passed and the dream Jose saw was just simply to
support his daughter and make the most of his current situation.
Throughout his struggle of a journey, he noticed his biggest window of
opportunity. He realized he had gained a lot of experience from the years
of labor that he knew he could use to be a leader. He lived the dream
75

(n.d.). Retrieved December 1, 2015

218

most people would do anything for. He was able to strive for this dream
because he started his own business at 22 years old. He was the boss of
about 30 people and everyone always looked at him surprised, because
he looked so young and yet was an intelligent working CEO. People
would always say, "Hey son where is your dad I have a meeting with
him". He would always laugh it off and say, "Haha no I'm the one in
charge, my dad doesnt work here."
After several years of marvelous income, Jose knew he was a
success in moving into a new social class. He went from a homeless low
class to a stable place in middle class. According to recent 2013 data,
people were more likely to have a second child after feeling comfort that
they landed in a safe economic stand.76 Several years later, Jose had a
second child. He felt like the world was looking at him as a successful
man. To feel relief as he can support his children and buy them their necessities. Looking back to his past struggles when he finally had success
the dream was the brightest at this point, he thought he had accomplished
the American Dream. His version of the dream was simply to have
enough money to support his family and to have a stable job to keep
working. Later he mentioned the American Dream around the 80's was to
live around the Los Angeles Hollywood area and to have various cars
around this time to make millions of dollars mainly because the world of
an actor was the perfect life. Making millions of dollars, and having the
world honoring you and your talent.
Many people around this time did not go through the same lifestyle as Jose. This was mainly because there was many different races
around this time. According to A child birth, many Hispanics had many
problems with pregnancy around the 80's because of poor treatment and
lack of sex education. A few things people faced around this time was
reality. Various people around the 80's simply had too many rich dreams,
but they had the lack of opportunity, and education. The growth of edu-

76

Also of Interest. (n.d.). Retrieved December 1, 2015,

219

cation could of prevented many childbirths according to CDC.77 But a

child wasnt going to change a mindset. The dream was much alive in the
mind. Many peoples dream in America was as common as a nation primarily, because the rise of communication was a given. The success
stories that are heard, all share strength. The 80s community that were
born into a working class life style share the same dream that they just
want a good home with stable middle class income. They all share this
because they have no communication with social media or trends because they can't reach those resources because of money issues.
When things started to look excellent, Jose and his partner decided to go their separate to moved on. Although they separated, he
bought a house for them to live and funded his childrens necessities and
college tuition. His dream hasn't changed much up until this point in life
where he just wanted to find happiness before he started to live it. It was
clear that Jose wanted to share his experience with someone else which
would be later his second wife they ended up to be business partners. She
helped bring stock up, brought thousands of dollars in income, and bring
their new business together as the CEO. Later doing well in his business,
Jose would come to work energetic even if he had to have a crooked
smile to show a glimpse of happiness. At around this time Jose looks
back at all the opportunities he was given and shares to everyone that it is
possible to live out your dreams if you simply put effort and sacrifices
for your own success.
Jose has made it clear that anyone can reach the American dream
by simply sacrificing and dedication to a work ethic, if it means school or
even working. Jose's story is to not give up even if all the odds of you
surviving a horrible event are slim. Use all opportunity, chances, and to
show hard work when it comes to just simply putting any effort into any
subject. Jose was dirt poor and homeless yet he rose from the ground to a
new rising business empire. He was explaining that his struggles show a
passage way to victory and that they helped him become the man he is
77

Teen Pregnancy by Race. (n.d.). Retrieved December 1, 2015

220

today. He grew up to give opportunity to many people by giving them

jobs and an outlook for a better future Jose's story makes the 80's pregnancy statics true, a father at a young age and having no income. It all
seemed impossible yet he came to the land of dreams and showed his
nightmare and how he can make any event that can slow him down to a
unbelievable reality.

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MARIANAMARIAMARYNOMI
JENNECKJAVIEREDSUSANLORIJOSE
CYNTHIAVICTORIA

Imagine an eight year old Mexican girl, who spends her time
mopping and washing dishes instead of playing with dolls. Doing daily
chores and helping her mother sell tortillas to help maintain a family of
nine, was a large role in Cynthia Garcias 48 years of life. She grew up
with the strong belief that everything had to be worked for, along with
family as the number one priority. Although her mother did not attend
school, she knew how to raise her children to grow up with respect engrained into their brain. Unfortunately, Cynthias mother died in 1987
from diabetes three months before she graduated as an accountant and
her father had already passed away one year prior due to a heart attack.
The grief and sorrow was not enough to stop her. Cynthia never limited
herself to do the unimaginable, and for her that was moving to America.
However, Cynthia didnt arrive in America out greed nor a dream, but in
the name of love.
Her journey began when she was buying food for her sister and
herself in a Tijuana mall. It was at the mall where she met Luis, the man
that was bound to change her life for the better. Small talk at the mall
eventually transformed into daily phone calls. He would phone her during her break while she was at work, and that soon became a routine as
their relationship progressed. They traded schedules and since he had his
days off on the weekends, as did she, they began to meet every Saturday
for an hour at a park. It was rather difficult for them to meet up, for he
had to cross the border from America to Tijuana just to wait for her in
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their usual spot. Luis moved to America from Mexico, at the young age
of 17, in order to obtain a job to help pay for his land back in Mexico.
Cynthia was a bit of a skeptic when it came to love even at the age of 25.
She would purposely make him wait half an hour or so, as her own little
test for him to pass. Cynthia learned to be careful with her heart, when
she lent it to her ex-boyfriend, at the age of 19. However, Cynthia felt
deeply within herself, that she could safely accept the fact that the man
she was meeting up with at the park had stolen her heart, as she had stolen his. Her reasoning behind the feelings she felt for Luis, was that they
were destined to be.
Although Cynthia was interested in visiting America, her plan
wasnt to stay permanently. She did not want to live far away from her
family, because she was raised with the idea that family must always
stick together. Despite her wish to stay with her sister in TJ and eventually head back to her hometown, she couldnt refuse his offer to come to
America. Its difficult to say no to Will you stay with me forever?
when youre in love, which led to August 21, 1991, the day she packed a
set of clothes to take with her to America. As she was packing, a wave of
sadness and nervousness washed over her, because she knew she would
be far away from home. Incidentally, she wasnt able to take her belongings with her because there was an excessive amount of walking in order
to cross the border. Around 6pm they began to walk the outskirts of the
Tijuana beach for three hours. While they were walking on the sand he
pointed at the horizon where multiple buildings were visible as he told
her, Do you see those buildings over there? Thats the other side. Once
we cross, well be walking by those buildings. In order to successfully
cross over to America, they had to get into a canal that was filled with
plenty of water and small round cacti. The water made everything much
more dangerous because it was quickly rushing past. He went into the
water before her turn to get in, and he was able to support her by holding
her hand. They swam in the canal for thirty minutes in order to get to
Imperial Beach. They were forced to huddle behind a large rock as the
border patrol was passing along in their squad cars with flashlights in
their hands, ready to catch anyone who trespassed. Luckily, they were
223

unseen which allowed them to safely find a school that was a popular
spot for taxis to drive by. They took a taxi and headed to his humble
apartment which would soon be hers as well. Cynthia doesnt recall feeling any different when getting to America, she just remembers feeling as
if her limbs were going to fall off from the exhaustion. She felt as if the
worst was over. However, it finally became clear to her that she would
most likely never see her family again. It saddened her to think of all the
changes she was bound to face and all the hardships that were going to
be thrown her way.

It soon began to dawn on Cynthia on how difficult her life was

going to be. She was not eligible to work as an accountant in America,
because their education system was different than Mexicos, and she also
didnt know any English. Cynthia got married to Luis, and throughout
the years he introduced her to the place she would now refer to as her
second home. They had five healthy children, and Cynthia became a
stay at home mom. Cynthia is the youngest in her family, which is why
she wasnt aware of how to care for anyone younger than herself, and she
did not have the assistance of her family present to help her out. Not only
did she struggle with that, but it also wasnt easy for her to resign all the
working she was accustomed to. Her husband worked, she would volunteer at her childrens school. She volunteered as a way to keep herself
busy from simply remaining as a stay at home mom. Cynthia may not
have known English, but that did not detain her from becoming a leader
in her kids school committees. Cynthia has multiple certificates and
awards to prove all of her time and effort she put into making her childrens school better in the community. One of the many reasons she
224

didnt get a proper job was because she didnt have the required documents to work. In addition, Cynthia wanted to dedicate all of her time to
her children. She has seen many of her childrens classmates struggle
with alcohol, drugs, or any other harmful addictions that may have developed because their parents worked a lot; they were too busy focusing
on economic stability, and not the dangers that their children could be
affected by. Cynthia cares deeply for her children. If she were to have an
American Dream it would be a selfless dream, because all she wants is to
see her children with successful careers so they dont struggle later on in
life like she once did. Cynthia chooses to not have a specific American
Dream for herself, because she believes that to be an act of selfishness
and ambition. In order to succeed in life, it is important to avoid greed
and materialism, because that will kill the chances of happiness and drive
away the capacity to truly love from the heart.
Cynthia now lives in America because she fell in love with a
man who helped her open new doors. What she thought wasnt possible
or even a figment of her wildest dreams, soon came to be her reality. In a
way, she renounced everything she grew up with in the name of love.
Cynthia hasnt seen her family for twenty three years, and she hasnt
worked either, both of which were strong morals to her. She wasnt able
to be by her sisters side when she became severely ill, or attend the funeral of her cousin who she thought of as a brother when his life was
abruptly put to an end by a bullet. Despite that, Cynthia does not regret
her decision to come to America with the love of her life. She is thankful
to have had the opportunity to provide her children a place where theyll
get a proper education and be exposed to opportunities that she wasnt
given. On a lighter note, Cynthia and her husband still hold hands, go on
dates, and reminisce their past to this day. They continue to share their
story with their children on how powerful love could be.
The year before Cynthia came of age, 1986, was the year that
Ronald Reagan initiated the immigration Amnesty Act. The amnesty was
for anyone (although, Mexicans were the most common to be associated
as immigrants) who came to America illegally. Due to the Amnesty Act,
225

3 million immigrants were pardoned for illegally crossing over. However, border protection increased drastically to prevent anymore
unwelcomed visitors. Furthermore, it was required to have rigorous
security when it came to hiring others; it would be punishable to hire an
undocumented immigrant because in a sense that would appear as if they
are encouraging and accepting the concept of people crossing illegally.
Immigration has been a constant issue that needs to be properly addressed in order to prevent it from increasing. In Reagans eyes, the
perfect solution was to legalize anyone who was in America to be unauthorized, whilst enforcing the border and hiring standards. Reagans
Amnesty Act has gained a particular attention, for his intention to fix a
controversial issue. In his amnesty speech, Ronald Reagan (1981), stated
that Illegal immigrants in considerable numbers have become productive members of our society and are a basic part of our work force. Those
who have established equities in the United States should be recognized
and accorded legal status. At the same time, in so doing, we must not
encourage illegal immigration.
Cynthia Garcia came to America during the time that Ronald
Reagan created an amnesty for immigrants. She was not aware of the
enforced border security, and if her future husband knew about it, he did
not find it necessary to inform her. Arriving in America as an immigrant
during the amnesty, did not work in her favor. It complicated her chances
of obtaining a job, which may be the reason why she never worked in the
US. Considering the fact that immigration was a controversial topic, and
the amnesty was sure to bring more attention to it, the level of discrimination rose amongst those who disagreed with Reagans decision. Thus,
hatred towards non-english speakers increased, which may be why people switched up her words whenever they translated for her in committee
meetings. However, before moving to America, her thirst for education
was stimulated by the new opportunities given to women. Cynthia was
able to go to school and become an accountant in Mexico, because at that
time it was no longer improbable for a woman to have a proper job that
stemmed outside daily house chores. Cynthia knew she could have a fu-

226

ture in which she would be able to work in, without the constant dependency on a man.
Although gender equality has shifted, money has always been
constant in our lives. Money, it seems, has always been essential to live a
successful life. In order to prevent from falling into poverty, it is important to have a job that will guarantee a roof over your head and a meal
to feed your family. To have a successful job, education would be required, because it opens up various opportunities that otherwise would
not have been attainable without the attendance of high school or college.
It makes it easy to assume that the American Dream is to have enough
money to be stable in life. In modern day it is not uncommon to see a
woman as a lawyer, doctor, or any other job that requires a rigorous education. It has given many women a strong motivation that they are
capable of accomplishing much more outside of their stereotypical ideals. It provided them all with an ambiguous motivation to strive for more
than they could have ever before. This may be the reason why education
seemed to be a priority for many in the 1980's, because it was available
and more common amongst both genders. With everyone given the opportunity to have an education, it also meant that the desire to obtain a
job increased as well. However, its hard to overlook that although its
important to be economically stable, the acceptance of those who wish to
take part in the American Dream, who are non-civilians, is out of the
question. The Amnesty Act, was to benefit the immigrants that were already in America and to discourage anyone else from entering illegally
by increasing the difficulty in crossing over. To this day, people take
note of Reagans attempt to abolish immigration as a fraud because it had
the opposite of its intended outcome.
Although society may still not view all Americans as equal, we
have advanced in the area of gender equality. There has been a change in
our perception, and were gradually opening up our minds and opportunities by doing so. The American Dream is all about progressing and
succeeding, however, Cynthias story teaches that we can progress effectively if we do it out of love. Thus, love can drive us to do the
227

unimaginable because our actions will be made with an open heart. In

reality, love is what we all need in our lives, not greed nor excessive
negative ambition.

*Cynthia Garcia and Luiss name have been changed to respect

their privacy and their decision to remain anonymous.

228

MARIANAMARIAMARYNOMI
JENNECKJAVIEREDSUSANLORIJOSEC
YNTHIAVICTORIA

The American Dream is something every young adult and immigrant tell themselves. The belief that America, the Land of Opportunity
has the bright future they strive for. All they need to do is try. Everyones
definition is different because everyones story is different. This is the
story of an immigrant and selfless worker and mother. Victoria Ross was
born Victoria Margaret Schlar in Auckland, New Zealand. She was
raised by a well educated father, Ludwig Friedrich Heinrich Johann
Schlar who was a judge and war veteran, and a caring mother Pamela
Schlar. She was a jafa for 16 years until the death of her father. But
when she graduated, she decided to move to the US. In New Zealand,
people must have their future already decided by the end of high school.
But she wasnt ready to decide. In America, she would be free to find
what she really wanted to do in life.
Victoria originally saw the American Dream as going to school,
working hard, getting a good job, owning a nice home with a family until
eventually retiring. She first arrived in Oregon with a student visa and
lived with her cousin. Though her cousin and all her friends were ten
years older, she was able to fit in well. Initially, she was insecure with
her different schooling and attended an American high school, presuming
her New Zealand education would be different. But while she easily
shined in class, she despised the cliques, and toxic community. Within
two weeks, she decided to immediately go straight to college. So she en229

rolled in Oregon State University where she studied for 4 years with a
degree in general science. But while her student life was the same as her
peers, she struggled to make enough money to get by. As a non-citizen
without a permanent residence, she was forced to work illegally. Her first
job was picking strawberries in a field. The conditions were horrible and
the pay was next to nothing. The unbearable heat, the dreaded back
aches, and miniscule pay of fifty cents for every basket, which each took
forty-five minutes to collect. We were practically slaves, it gave me a
real idea of the struggle people who must work in the fields must endure. This experience had her working closely with many other
immigrants who had no other work options. She related a lot to them, but
she was lucky enough to have the ability to get an education. After leaving that job almost immediately, her only other option was to work in
fast food where she had to deal with a terrible boss and minimum wage.
When [my boss] locked me in the meat freezer as a joke, I decided it
was time to leave. Luckily, she was eventually able to find a decent job
working as a receptionist at the Oregon State registrars office. Her experience at Oregon State was the beginning of her story in America. It
was where she started her life on her own in America, discovered her
interest Physical therapy and even met her future husband; Bradley Ross.
After graduating Oregon State, Victoria and Bradley went to
University of Southern California to get higher education. Hers in Physical Therapy, his in Dental Surgery. During this time, she worked as a
librarians assistant. Here she discovered her incredible passion for reading. I also realized how much I really wanted to just help people. Her
American Dream wasnt materialistic. Although it did involve owning a
nice home, she really just wanted to have a positive impact on everyone
she knew. It wasnt long before she found a assistant physical therapist at
Scripps Clinic. I was worried that when I tried to talk with patients, because of my accent and the different way I say things, they would only
focus on how Im saying something versus what I am saying. There
were many occasions where she first met patients. She would give them
important insight on their condition, yet they would completely drown
out everything because of her accent. When she finally graduated with a
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masters, she was promoted to physical therapist, then senior physical

therapist. She then created special programs for arthritis, prenatal exercise, and a back school for people with severe spinal injuries. All these
special programs were an enormous help for people with specific problems to receive the perfect treatment. After a few years, she decided to
move to San Diego with Bradley. She continued to work home visits
both with an agency, and privately under the name Ross Physical Therapy. Meanwhile, Bradley ran his own dentistry called Mission Trails
Dentistry. Together they had 4 children: Jamison, Daniel, Hannah, and
Ian.
As each child was born, Victoria had to dedicate more and more
time to her children. She left her agency and only kept private patients.
By the time Ian was born, Ross Physical Therapy was no more. She was
entirely focused on her childrens schooling and success. When two of
her children had left to become independent for themselves, she began
working with a charity called Voices For Children. She would help represent foster care children and their parents. If I hadnt gotten to
[understand those childrens home] better than the busy social worker, a
caring, hardworking mother probably would have lost her kids. She did
all this work free of charge.
The American Dream is defined as, the opportunity for prosperity and success, and an upward social mobility for the family and
children, achieved through hard work in a society with few barriers.78
Victoria went to America as a young adult looking for a place with more
opportunities than back at home. She went to school while working her
way up a ladder of jobs to get to where she is today. Her children have
been successful so far, two of them have graduated from college, one just
entered, and one is working hard to become a musician. To this day she
remains happily married. In many ways, Victoria lived the model American Dream. Starting as an immigrant, to owning a home and raising a
78

American Dream. (2015, November 15). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 22:50, December 4, 2015,

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family. It is an inspiration to many other who likely share a very similar

story. What the model American Dream is missing is her drive to help
others. The typical American Dream is centered around self-economic
stability, she always thinks of others. While the American Dream is nowhere near all its brought up to be no matter what, through the
recession, and the stigma, a small piece may live.
Victoria Ross came of age (or became financially independent)
at the very end of the 1970s and beginning of the 1980s. She arrived
right at the beginning of Ronald Reagans presidency, the rise of computers and a technological boom. The Cold War was ending and The
United States was rising as the worlds lone dominant superpower. Similar to the 1950s generation recovering from the The Great Depression
and World War II, the ending of the deadly standoff was an incredible
relief to a nation terrified of an imminent nuclear winter. Meanwhile,
Ronald Reagan was implementing a much more conservative economy
by focusing mainly on upper income citizens in order to encourage more
investing and spending thus creating more jobs. This plan had very
mixed results that involved both a recession between 1981 and 1982, and
eventual economic growth after 1983.79 The 1980s was also when computers began to be popularized for everyday use. The American Dream
of the 1980s involved a lot of new ideas that were all about increasing
productivity and investment while having a relatively greedy attitude.
Everyone wanted money. They wanted to spend it, invest it and do it all
in the moment. There wasnt much thought of consequences and many
people were incredibly reckless with their savings.80 It was all part of the
wild spending, cut-throat, technologically advancing, cocaine fueled party that was the 1980s. Victorias American Dream somewhat differed
from the greed is good attitude of this time. She didnt want to make
millions, create a big business, nor buy into the obsession with material
goods. When she came to America, she didnt know what she wanted to
79
80

Money and Inflation in the 1980s, The Peoples History

The 1980s: A Critical & Transitional Decade, H-Net Humanities and Social Sciences

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do, but she did know that she wanted to help others and make a positive
impact. When she made her way up the work chain, she always found
new ways to benefit those around her. For example, when she became
Senior physical therapist at Scripps clinic, she took the opportunity to
implement programs that help people in need. Another example was her
charity work. She would work hard in order to properly represent the
children and parents she was assigned to insure the children were well
taken care of. She did this all for no pay. Many of the people that needed
help were immigrants, and she related to them. She realized from her
own experiences, even as a Caucasian immigrant, that without a proper
education or citizenship, it is almost impossible to maintain a house and
family. Especially if they are a minority. Rather than deal with the cutthroat attitude of many workplaces, she always wanted the best for everyone, even if it meant more work for herself. Luckily for her, she was
able to avoid the effects of the economic recession of 1981 and 1982 because she was still in school. When she was finally qualified as a
physical therapist, the economy had stabilized. Despite the selfish attitude of the 1980s, Victoria wanted nothing more than to help everyone.
The 1980s was also a time that maintained many traditional values of America. The idea of the American Dream was more popular than
ever under the vibe of becoming incredibly successful and wealthy
through all the rampant investing and spending heavily encouraged by
President Ronald Reagan. It almost seemed like the pre-Great Depression
big-spending culture was coming back. Victoria, just like any other immigrant looking for a fresh start, came to America looking for education,
work, a home, and a happy life with what she needed. While she never
craved a penthouse on Wall Street, she believed one of the most vital
aspects of the American Dream was to own a home. Victoria has always
been passionate about the rise of new technologies. When she discovered
the incredible advances in home computers, she embraced the changes.
To this day she is incredibly supportive of new companies, new apps,
and new ways to life. While she retains a cautious cynicism, she remains
open to new ideas to revolutionize the world. This type of attitude al233

lowed a lot of progress to be made with computers and technology in the

1980s and was also a great boost to the struggling economy. She was
also motivated to rise through the job chain and escape from both backbreaking field labor, and low paying, dead-end jobs in fast food or
libraries. The reason she needed those jobs was to pay her college debt.
Like a lot of citizens, since the workforce was becoming more and more
competitive, she needed to get the best education possible to stand out
and compete against the rising population, fighting over the decreasing
number of jobs.

Although the 1980s in many ways didnt particularly match Victoria, she was part of the small, valuable group that avoided the greed is
good attitude. People that care most about benefiting the world and the
people around them. It would have been easy to be a part of the selfpromoting, cut-throat business world. They chose to do good for the
world, even if it meant harder work and less rewards for themselves.
America needs people like Victoria, for they were some of the few who
were willing and able to make positive impact.

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The 1990s

The stereotypical American Dream is to have a nice house, a good paying job, and to be financially stable. People believe that if you take all the
opportunities you are offered, you will arrive at the same destination, if
you try hard enough. The 90s exterior appeared that the 90s was still
very prosperous with opportunities, making the American Dream seem
believable to all who wanted the dream at this time. In 90s the American
Dream seemed to be possible, but to whom was it guaranteed?
The 90s werent all hardship in fact, the stock market was great, unemployment rates decreased, and productivity increased. The 90s weren't
recognized as a chaotic decade, we became more involved in things like
music, fashion, technology, and scandals. Even our very own president,
Bill Clinton, was often involved in sex scandals more than in passing
civil rights acts.
The only case that seemed to be relevant in the Civil Rights acts was
Rodney Kings, after the people of LA rioted for justice. The Immigration
Law Act of 1990s allowed foreigners to come as long as they would benefit the United States. While those immigrants came to seek better
opportunities, Americans were seeing them as lower wage employees. If
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you were a woman in a suit, white or not, you would earn 73.3% of a
man's pay. We have have difficulties achieving our American Dream in
the 90s based on the laws and Events of that time. People carry along
their whole life trying to obtain the dream and then realizes that there are
far better things that can fulfill, the feeling of a successful American
Dream.
Araceli Hernandez, Shihong Nicolaou, Erika Ibarra, Fely Blanz, Ryan
Monroe, Arturo Leon, Perkins, and Shona Jones took the challenge of
their new independence in the 90s. Some stories with almost similar
backgrounds, but completely different outcomes. Events affected some
while the others didnt know what was going on.
Araceli Hernandez from a young age dreamed of happiness and the joy
that not only brought to her, but to everyone around her.
Shihong Nicolaou was striving for a higher education. Her dream was to
get a good job, be financially stable, and to be happy. Erika Ibarra
doesnt believe there is such a concept as the American Dream, to her the
American Dream is just a form of improvement.
Growing up Fely Blanz believed that the material things were everything. She grew up in the Philippines in an extremely impoverished town
and was adopted. She had an expectation of herself to do better because
she was given a better life. Ryan Monroe wanted to feel true freedom
and independence. His dream was building a family, owning a house,
and to be successful at work. Arturo Leon believed that there can be a
dream, but not the American Dream. Anne Perkins faced many obstacles in her life. Overcoming the odds and reaching her American dream
she says proves no matter where you come from, making something of
yourself and obtaining freedom is never impossible. Shona Joness
American Dream was to just be successful and use her success to make a
change in the world because she thought certain things about America
and the world that we live in were not right.
These people proving that although opportunities can seem aplenty we
are all limited and we never journey the same path of another. We learn
things along the way when dreaming of our American Dream can

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onlyapply to what we missed out. Making our American Dreams, truly

just our own.

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I thought I became an adult when I turned eighteen, well I was

wrong said Ryan Monroe, a forty year old Sacramentan who moved out
of his home at the age of 25 to find out what life had to offer. Getting
into college marked his coming of age because it was then when he felt
he was free to study and think whatever he wanted. Furthermore, moving
out of his house and away from his parents was the best thing that he ever did, because it was the feeling of true freedom and independence that
he so longed for and loved.

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Ryan has a Mexican-Italian ethnic background. His father was

born in Pachuca, Mexico, and his mother was a second generation Italian
born in New York City. Ryan grew up in a very Strict Baptist/Christian
household. They were the worst highlights of my life, thats why Im
not religious anymore. Due to the strictness of the church and the pressure his parents put upon him, he started to feel hate towards religion. He
came from an upper middle class family and he claims his parents had a
lot of money and could provide a good childhood/ lifestyle for him and
his other sibling. Due to his parent's wealth, he was able to attend a good
college and achieve a bachelor's degree in business, as well as a certificate in adult education. Even though he wanted to make his own future
bright and full of opportunities, his tuition was taken care of by his parents which he never fully agreed with. Ryan now works fulltime as an
automotive teacher at Miramar College, and a part time automotive
teacher at Mira Mesa High School.
Both of Ryans parents were very successful business owners.
Thanks to his exposure to such environment, Ryan was able to create his
own business selling spices and teas. He expressed himself in saying,
religion was a big disadvantage for me. It took me a while to grow out
of that mindset. Ryan felt like he was getting brainwashed by the
church. In a way, the church convinced me to think that everything I did
was wrong and that I should pray for forgiveness for anything I did that
they didnt agree with. Ryan has a strong feeling towards religion, due
to the hate I have towards religion, Ive learned to consider their disagreements as challenges. Ryan then adds: Its like they say, strict
parents make sneaky kids
For Ryan, the concept of the American Dream itself is described
as a complete lie. The American Dream is based off of three things:
owning a house, be successful at work, and building a family. Ryan
does not agree with the so called Traditional American Dream because
to him success is only an illusion to what life really has to offer, meaning that the idea of the perfect life of an American is viewed as an
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adjustment of perfection to reality. my main focus isnt the money but

the experience in the workplace. But dont get me wrong, I do wish I
made more money, and even though I have an excellent job I still cant
afford what my parents could. At this point, Ryan feels that all of his
work got him nowhere, and believes what hes doing is not enough.
Ryans favorite definition for the American Dream was the feeling of freedom, making radical changes and to not worry about the
upcoming future.My definition of the American Dream has always remained the same. Ryan always thought that if anybody couldnt afford a
house or exceed the lifestyle your parents had, then that they are just not
putting enough effort into their lives. He then added that it was a total
different story if you were an immigrant. Say you were living in the
middle of nowhere in Mexico, and then made a radical change in your
life and moved to the United States in search of happiness, then the
American Dream would apply because they went from being nowhere to
starting somewhere.
Ryan mentions that the only challenges he's faced in life are religion and making bad decisions that could interfere with the achievement
of his goals, such as procrastination, and not taking the workplace seriously. He had the courage and initiative to make those changes happen
from age 25 to 30. When asked if he thought the American Dream had a
meaning to him he said, No, I honestly think the concept of the American Dream is stupid, considering I am a citizen and I have all the rights
an American should have. I unfortunately just live life wanting more,
which made me pursue a better job. Even though I live comfortably Im
still in the search for a better and more stable lifestyle.
In a way I feel like Ive achieved the American Dream, I live in
a nice neighborhood, have an excellent job and have a family that loves
me. It is clear that Ryan doesnt have everything he wants. Of course I
don't work as hard as I do and say damn Im satisfied. If I was satisfied

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with what I got, I wouldnt be motivated to work harder, in my case two

jobs to try to achieve more every day, and sadly thats my reality.
It is clear that the collectives of Ryans memories and experiences have caused him to reflect on his opinion on the American Dream and
have made him the man he is today. Ryans journey was affected by religion and the average income expectations that were set for him. Ryan is
clearly not completely satisfied with the goals he has achieved for himself, but he seems to be in a dilemma between satisfaction and
dissatisfaction. He implies the message that money is not all there is in
life, but at the same time he deeply believes that money determines a
person's level of success and the amount of effort they put into their education and their commitment to becoming a better person. Ryan is a very
stubborn person yet a determined, hardworking one who very much disagrees with the idea of the Traditional American Dream because, Its
just impossible to become rich, no matter how much I work, I will never
be part of the upper middle class unless my tea company blows up. As
the economy is always changing and capitalism takes over, it is clear that
starting a business is not as easy as it was before. Ryan feels frustrated
and wishes his company is successful for once and for all.
Ryan Monroe claims he came of age during the 1990s, a time
characterized as a nation at peace and also the best decade America has
ever had81. This statement is partially true, considering the fact that the
1990s was a decade where more victories were witnessed than defeats.
For instance, the collapse of the Soviet Union boosted the economy after
strong recession, and brought an end to costly military82. Another victory
was the improvement/ evolution of technology and medicine. These factors were of great impact to that specific decade, which led to the
accomplishment of researchers to find solutions to everyday problems

81

Andersen, K. (2015, February 7). The Best Decade Ever? The 1990s, Obviously. Retrieved November 30, 2015
82
American History: The 1990s. (n.d.). Retrieved November 30, 2015

242

such as the accessibility of internet browsing to the public and the discovery of treatments for common diseases.
Ryans definition of the American Dream is a result of these
factors all put together. For instance, the improvement in Americas
economy allowed Ryan to make radical changes in his life, like moving
away from his hometown, a dispersed area whose main focus is religion,
to a much more diverse, urban, open minded region, a city full of opportunities. For Ryan, religion in the 1990s seemed to be less relevant
because he was so fixated on his jobs and succeeding in them; in the end,
he didnt even have time to deal with his faith. He later on became more
comfortable living away from that religious background and made the
decision to continue living the way he was.
The common expectations of the American Dream set in the
90s were practically the same as the expectations that America has always been branded with. These expectations are to obtain a steady
household, to make a family and to work in a successful career. Could
the American Dream be achieved in the 90s? If so, what advantages
would a person have to be born with? The American Dream was indeed
possible to achieve easily back then than today. With the boost of the
economy, it was probable for someone to become successful in their career, and actually be able to afford a family and a house. This decade
clearly consisted of new ideas and since many material objects hadnt
been invented yet, many people took advantage of that opportunity and
became successful from it. This in a way relates to Ryans journey, he
pursued his dream which was to teach automotive classes. Back then this
was a new and a somewhat necessary skill to learn now that technology
had been improving in the automobile industry.
Ryan said Even though I dont make nearly as much money as I
would like to, Im still happy. As much as Ryan denies it, deep in his
heart he feels satisfied that he was able to achieve the American
Dream. Ryan now owns a business; he works two jobs, has a steady
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income and made a family for himself. I was really spoiled as a child
He was so used to obtaining everything so effortless from his parents that
he just couldnt be satisfied with what he got. Furthermore, Ryan's transition from living in an upper middle class household to now experiencing
a lower middle class lifestyle still pains him deep inside.
The main point of the American Dream is for people to become
and feel superior. But why do people want more? Why can't people be
satisfied with what they already have? What do they really want? And
why? People want more simply because they wish to work less and have
more fun, but unfortunately the fun that the people crave requires money.
Many people live their whole lives trying to reach a point of satisfaction,
but sadly many times that point can never be reached. The unfortunate
truth is that the working middle class often dont know how to shift up
into the upper class.
There are endless questions that can't really be put into simple
words and perhaps have no possible answers. The opinions that we as
Americans have on the working, middle and upper class are often reflected in the movies we watch and things we see in everyday life, like
homeless in the street, or perhaps rich white men driving Ferraris. Another triggering question is, why isn't the middle class socially
acceptable? Why is there that thriving necessity of possessing millions of
dollars? America is so fixated on perfection that we often ignore the fact
that poverty even exists in our decade and often think a Utopia is the ideal place to live in. Thus, we are without a doubt the proudest, greediest
country of them all.
It is clear that the American Dream is a fantasy set by hard
workers who believe they can move themselves up to the upper class. In
Ryans experience we can appreciate the struggles he encountered
throughout his journey and the radical changes he made in his life that
have eventually brought him to a point of satisfaction . It is also clear
that Ryan has always been pushing himself forward trying to improve his
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work ethic every day. Yes, he achieved the American Dream, he has
everything that categorizes him as an achiever of the American Dream
but he doesn't realize it because he is drowning in the greed that the
world tempts him with.

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Ones circumstances should not deem their future. The American

Dream shouldnt be about materialism, but about the relationships you
create with those who love and support you. For Fely Blanz, material
things were everything growing up. You had to appear put together, to
convince those around you that you are a success; in hopes that at some
point you will be. This was the way Fely was raised. Growing up in the
Philippines, in an extremely impoverished town, and then soon was
adopted. So she was expected to do better because she was given a better life.

Living in San Diego, California was so much different than in

the Philippines. Felys family in the Philippines included, her birth mother, and 6 other siblings. She only lived in the Philippines till she was 5
years old. Than she was adopted by her aunt and uncle and moved to San
Diego with them. She remembers very little about her time in the Philip247

pines. Fely went back in 2006 and visited her family with her daughter. It
was still heavily in poverty and most of the men were and continued to
be alcoholics. Felys younger brother, James, was also adopted by their
aunt and uncle a couple years after, she had been officially adopted.
Felys brother was extremely ill as a baby, and medical treatment wasnt
as easy to receive as in the United States, this was the main reason for
getting adopted.
Her father was part of the United states Navy, and San Diego
seemed like an ideal place for them. Fely and her brother were polar opposites he was summer, and she was winter. She was a girl who was
always quiet and had her nose in a book. One summer while her father
was on base, her father dropped her off at the library; reading everything
and anything she could. Her brother on the other hand couldnt sit long
enough to even pick up a book. He was very into baseball just like her
father was. Her father played the trumpet, and the sound of jazz music
played continuously. Felys brother grew up to make music. Music that
had a lot of Hip hop, R&B, as well as jazz influence. Both Fely and her
brother came of age in the 90s, so the spread of hip-hop was due to new
technology such as the world wide web Felys brother made a career
he loved out of the technology and musical influences of the 90s. The
internet gave him an outlet to share his music that was created with mostly computer generated sounds. Felys mother was a nurse before
becoming a stay at home mom. She was very strict but really wanted her
kids to be as successful as possible. Her mother believed that your
childs success is a reflection on the type of success you have. This made
it very hard on Fely and James to fulfil her expectations.
James American dream was driven by his love for music and
media, whereas Felys was fueled by success and the ability to provide
for herself. She had a very different high school experience than her
brother did. Felys parents very much reinforced the message of if you
want something you better work your hardest to get it and if you didnt
have it, you did work hard enough. This gave Fely a very strong sense of
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independence. On her 16th birthday, she made her parents take her to the
DMV so she could get her permit. She had made the appointment and
stayed home from school to get this paper that symbolized some form of
freedom. When she finally got a car, she paid for all of experience. She
had a job and continued to do well in school. She wanted to go into the
field primarily driven by science. Fely was extremely good at math and
found the sciences to be extremely interesting.
During Felys high school year, her life had become school and
work. Felys group of friends ended up a huge part of her life; which was
both good and bad. During her senior year at Abraham Lincoln High
School her friend groups started to change, most of her friends were going away for college where as she stayed local. Her friends didnt make
the best choices, and affect the way Fely made choices good and bad,
drugs and alcohol became a huge part of their lives. After graduating in
1995, her friend Teresa and Adam had a child together and soon after got
married, not even 2 years out of high school. Fely had moved out of her
parents home, and was now enrolled and attending San Diego State. After the first year of working full time and going to class regularly, she felt
like it wasnt the most effective way to use her time, so she stopped attending SDSU. After the stop in college Fely did what was necessary to
pay her bills.
In 1999, Fely found out she was pregnant and once again took
time off from school for a couple of years. The father and Fely werent
together, so she was raising her as a single mother. Once the baby turned
1 Fely started going back to school. She really wanted to give her daughter a better life. As single mother it was so challenging but she would
never use that as an excuse to not work her hardest. She raised her
daughter on her own, and spending many days working from 6 in the
morning to 7 at night. This was her daughters normal and when Fely
would get offered to get paid more, but work more. She always turned it
down. Not because she didnt want the money but because it wasnt
worth it. Fely had an apartment, her daughter always had food in her
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stomach and clothes on her back, and for these reason the extra money
didnt matter. As long as she came home to her every night to tuck her
in, it was enough.
It was just them two, until she met someone in 2009. They were
together for 4 years before having a child together. This time she wasnt
a single mother, she was surrounded by love and even if she worked
many hours she knew someone would be home to give her children the
love and attention they needed. In 2013, Fely got married and her family
bought their first house. Her American dream was ownership. That didnt
change but one thing that did change is what become before ownership,
her family. After her first daughter Fely knew that her daughter and the
time they spent together was worth more than a bonus. She sees herself
as very successful because she has a family who support and love her.
Felys greatest adventure and biggest success is her family and she takes
so much pride in them. The house and money are all temporary but those
moments that make her smile are forever. That she wouldnt trade for
anything.

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What is the American Dream, or the Dream itself? Well, the one
person you would not expect to give you a traditional answer is Arturo
Leon. He states, There isnt a dream, or more specifically an American
Dream. From the days he started to speak and walk when he lived in
Imperial Beach and Chula Vista, he helped his family with supplying the
essentials in order to live a stable life. No matter what he did, whether he
enjoyed it or not, everything was meant to help provide for his loved
ones. Arturo wasnt always able to involve himself in activities he loved,
so there was never a time for him to take time off and savor the moments
for himself. Of course it seemed unfair for him not having the chance to
live carefree like most children at a young age. But, for him knowing the
situation that his family was in, led him to understand what was more
important. Growing up working and having to understand much more
than others made me realize that people shouldnt complain about selfish
or petty reason that they have, he explains. He understands how difficult
it is to work for something so when he hears other people fuss about their
own vague problems it tends to frustrate him.

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Arturos lifestyle consisted of working long hours at such a

young age, that he realized it changes your perspective on life. Around
age six to seven years old, Arturo had to work at his parents workplace,
Alfa Auto Wrecking. He also spent his time at concession stands selling
snacks that were placed at parks and warehouses. He would do everything from sell, stock, manage, customer service, shop labor (tires and
brakes), inventory, shipping and receiving, and work paper routes. All
with the help from his two other brothers, so that all four family members would each be providing for food, clothes, rent and their education.
Since six years old, I was working all over the place in the hot sun,
wearing long pants and having to develop the skills immediately so I can
move along quickly and hopefully get another job that paid more money. There was no end to it! With developing the lifestyle of working and
putting in hard work at the age of six, he didnt have the time to plan out
what he wanted to do, not only for himself but his life as well. There
werent any, Hey Art, lets go to the park or movies after school or
Arturo! We should join a club so well have activities to do after
school? from his friends. Instead, it was, Sorry guys, but Im not going
to be able to do most school activities with you guys. Even side
thoughts ran through his mind because he was so disappointed that he
couldnt get away from the endless hours at the Alfa Auto Wrecking and
all the other jobs he had. He explains, I didnt go to school and now
work at HP because I wanted to, its because I had to. In order to have a
well payed job, I needed an education" he continues, I still dont live the
Dream I wanted for myself, because now I have my own family to provide for, to make sure my kids have an education so they wont have to
do what I did, make sure there's food to eat and that they have clothes to
wear that look decent on them." Arturo doesnt know what his dream
would have been if he didnt have so much responsibility. He regrets that
he didnt focus more on himself when he was younger. All of his time
was dedicated to helping his family, which was very easy for him to do
with the experience he had. During the course of time, this drove his
mind towards a different direction.

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As he grew older, he didnt have the same mindset as those

around him. His struggles drove him to become more determined. As he
explains, Everyone just wants money to be given to them, to not work
and have a car that works. They just want everything done for them so
they can live the 'Dream'." Not only do the ones who actually live that
way have that advantage, but a disadvantage for Arturo would be his
Hispanic race. Arturo was given a job opportunity to become a supervisor, but the opportunity was taken from him by an African American
man. Since the owner's wife, the person who was in charge, personally
thought that his colleague could do the job better than him. Her decision
was based on her opinion of which race could do the job correctly without giving each person the equal amount of opportunity. Even though
everyone else in the office (who were all white) knew he did the job
more proficiently and effectively. Before she could even decide, Arturo
already knew what the outcome would be. Arturo says, "I knew I could
do the job better than him and I was. When my partner and I would be
organizing and preparing boxes, the other man would be in the lady's
office and that was before she even hired him." It frustrated him that
while his colleague was acting as a servant to the owner's wife, he was
doing all the work that was assigned to his colleague. It didnt upset him
that she decided that his colleague would get the job. He also didnt expect to get the opportunity to be the supervisor. With a grin of acceptance
he says, Its how life was for me. Everyone knew I could do the job better than the person who was hired which ended up being a white male. I
was able to do more than most people, I just didnt get paid for it or even
credit. So because of his race, he was discriminated upon someones
views of him, without actually knowing him personally or him as an individual.
Arturos individual idea of the American Dream was different
from many others. The image of the big house, white picket fence, a car,
and a family of four, a wife, daughter and a son isnt what he expected
his Dream to be or how he believes others see it as well. His Dream
was to have a good enough life to survive. It didnt consist of him having
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a huge house. All he wanted to reach for was a safe building that sheltered him, a four course meal that would last for weeks, to fill his
stomach daily. He also explains that, Back, maybe in the 70s, for black
people the American Dream was to be free and make choices for themselves and not be forced to live a life that they didnt choose for
themselves. For white people, it was to gain more than what they had
since they were already living the American Dream. For Mexicans, it
was to be able to obtain a job and an education since they were not given
that opportunity all of the time. As International World History research states, Numbering about 22.4 million in 1992, they make up the
second largest minority in the nation, African Americans being the largest. Although Hispanics have experienced less outright discrimination
(except in Texas and New Mexico) than have African Americans, some
sections of this group have lower economic and education levels than
does the rest of the population of the United States. His dream in his
past years is still the same today. If he were to change it, the only change
he would make would be money issues and the first impression people
have of him. It doesn't bother him that he isn't recognized for his ability.
There wasnt anything that was given to Arturo, for him to receive the
equal amount of opportunity.
Any open opportunity he had, he took it. For example, he specifies, "That's how life was back then and you couldn't do anything about
it. If anything I was happy I at least had a job that paid me, we were all
happy." Arturo also doesn't feel like he would want to change his past
because he wouldn't have met his wife, his two children wouldn't be here
today and every little step that led him to where he is now. Even if he
didnt have to help his parents or not, he predicts that he would have
done the same thing either way. So, from the beginning, whether he had
to work from a young age or not, the "American Dream" wouldn't have
made a difference in his life for he still would be the person he is today.
Even though the 1990s era had some downfalls during its time, it
also had some uprising occurrences as well.During the nineties the
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American economy recovered from a recession and grew strong. Inflation and unemployment were low. There were new developments in
medicine and technology. The Internet began to evolve from a defense
project mainly linking researchers into a new way for the world to communicate.83We became the digital age. By the beginning of the 90s,
there were no such things as technology, cell phones, 3D games, powerful laptops that were affordable and by the time the decade ended we had
them all. But at the same time there was a lot of walls blocking your way
in order to gain anything that you wanted. If there were such low job opportunities and not enough resources to keep you going, what dream
would there be? Yes, you would like to have the things you wanted, but
if youre not able to work then where would your dream be heading?
Out of all the possibilities that can detract ones path from the
stereotypical American Dream, one main one would have been the difficulty in finding the opportunity to live the American Dream. Just as the
Amistad Digital Resource explains, The African American community
was overwhelmingly working class in composition in the 1970s. By the
late 1990s, the socio-economic profile of black America had changed
considerably. About 51 percent of all black employees sixteen years old
and over were classified as white-collar workers. Approximately 60 percent of these were white-collar sales and clerical personnel; many in this
group were non-union workers with limited benefits and wages. The
people who werent wealthy or did not come from a wealthy family, such
like Arturo, often needed to work ten times harder to fulfill their American Dream. Not only that, but the economy also affected people in the
90s. Not everyone was able to access the same amount of wealth. So why
even deal with the American Dream in the first place or a dream at all?
Yet there were still many comparisons that affected so many others.
The similarities that developed and defined peoples reality of
the American Dream was to be able to feed yourself and family. For instance, Our agenda is based on the real needs of workers. Food on the
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table, a decent house, a secure well-paid job, health care for all and the
right to get a decent education. It is based on the idea that all the people
need to have a decent job available to them, so they can produce sufficient goods and services to earn a decent living as the (Socialist
Alternative) claims. Since there was difficulty obtaining a secure job and
attaining an education because of the money issues, having the essential
needs was the best place to be at for Arturo. People in the 90s would
have been grateful for what they would have been able to achieve, since
it would have been the main goal they set for themselves. Having food
on the table and a decent house with other supplies was at that time, a
great living. Furthermore, as Vanity Fair explains, The American
Dream was now almost by definition unattainable, a moving target that
eluded peoples grasp; nothing was ever enough. It compelled Americans
to set unmeetable goals for themselves and then consider themselves
failures when these goals, inevitably, went unmet. No one was concerned about there was not an American Dream anymore. And Arturo
was one of them. Not because they didnt create goals for themselves but
it wouldnt have been a high goal. They just went about their lives and
did what they had to do. It was just a false hope.
Throughout the interview there seemed to be a mindset that there
wasnt an American Dream and everything you presented was to have a
stable living. Before researching about the 1990s, based on the interview,
this era seems the same as life right now. We dont live with too high
expectations, especially with disadvantages in our way. We work to gain
money, pay rent, pay for food, and buy clothing. There is a dream, but
not the American Dream, as Arturo states. Everything you went
through for yourself, family and any possessions you wanted was the
dream to have. There wasnt any time where you could stop what you're
doing and expect everything to be handed to you. Not even today, do you
see people strive for more to the expectations with an easy pathway. You
might not be able to see the struggle in people most of the time but its
definitely there. And who could blame them for not having an American
Dream, if it was unattainable then what would you do? It seemed that
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you had to deal with life and what you went through. It felt that people
thought it wasnt something to care about anymore so they went their
own ways, which was mainly focusing on their life and how they would
manage it in the world. But at the same time, you could guess that it was
a nice way to step away from the American Dream and settle for what's
really needed in everyday life. There was also a resemblance in Arturos
perspective in the American Dream and the 1990s American Dream version. Not only were they very similar but it shows that through periods of
time there has been so much change in peoples views on the way life
could be, once was, and how it actually is. Not only were the 1990s not
long ago but it has passed on its journey to todays world. People were
happy enough to have job even if it didnt pay much or well enough.
That just shows that people were thankful for even the smallest things.
Since the 1990s was in such a downward fall with cut wages,
low job opportunities, unemployment, and higher taxes, there werent
many choices to choose from. This collapse in living standards is rooted
in the failure of the economy to produce well-paying jobs which was the
basis for the American dream.84 Having a job was the way in achieving
what you wanted. With Arturo having a job, he gained money and with
money he was able to pay for things such as providing for his family and
more. Its upsetting to think that there wasnt a chance to get a job because that's what you live off of. It also gives you the question, on why
the American Dream even exists.
The American Dream has taught many people, such as Arturo,
the reality of the world and how focused you should be when it comes to
providing for you and your loved ones. Not only that but the obstacles
you will face in reaching for the dream you set for yourself. People have
also realized that they do not have to follow the stereotypical American
Dream for you to live happily satisfied. Even though others might not
cross the same path as someone who had difficulty throughout their journey, they still have their disadvantages. So, in the end, whether you lived
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as a poor, middle, or wealthy class and where you grew up in, would affect each and every individual. The American Dream might still exist
but its meaning has been washed away by those who break down its
mask and make their own journey.

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RYANFELYARTUROARACELISHONA
SHIHONGERIKA

American Dreams evolve with ambition. For Araceli Hernandez this was true. From a young, age Araceli only dreamed of
happiness and the joy, that it not only brought to her, but to everyone
around her. Araceli Hernandez was born October 22, 1966 in Guadalajara. A light skinned blonde haired baby girl. Growing up Araceli
was in the middle class. Her father had just retired from the Army and
was stable to support his family and move them from Guadalajara to
Tijuana. She was two years old at the time, and doesnt recall much
about her move there. She lived with family for five years before having their own place. She lived with her mother, father and maternal
grandmother in a small one floor gated apartment complex with a big
courtyard. In the middle of the courtyard there was a giant planter
with big and tall banana palm trees. Her house faced a railroad; if she
stood on the porch to the right she could see the gate that separated
Mexico and the U.S. Since she was young she didnt know what the
border was for and what it was used for. The only thing she could
think of it as was freedom.

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They eventually decided to move to a two bedroom house

right up the street; since they were in an apartment and wanted more
room they moved to a house. This house had a white gate door with a
pathway towards the back. Araceli was in love with this house because it had a massive window that faced the railroad. She would
always gaze out the window to admire the view she had. Her favorite
part of the house were the fruit trees. They had apricot, pomegranate
and peach trees. As a young girl she remembers consistently playing
with her two childhood best friends; Leti and Maribel. Cousins would
also come frequently visit all the time, as a family oriented person
they allowed their cousins to live with them. As the oldest of six she
has always been the person that has enjoyed having family around at
all times.
In 1970, when Araceli was five years old, Mexico got a new
president named Luis Echeverria. The president had devalued the peso
which started a economic crisis. Her father and mother were working
twice as hard to bring home a significant pay to help support their
family. Like most five year olds, her priorities were about having fun
on the playground and what she would have for dinner. All she wanted to be was happy, and to make everyone around her happy. She
attended a school a bit far from her house. There were multiple occasions where she was hit on the palm of her hands with a ruler by her
teacher for crossing the street to a middle school to use their play
structure. After the first time she still didnt understand how that was a
bad thing, and she constantly kept doing it.

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As soon as she was old enough to attend elementary school,

she transferred to Primaria Benito Juarez. Aracelis father would pay
her best friend, Letis grandfather to walk Leti and her to school. Most
of the time she was afraid to walk to school because they would walk
on a dirt road full of rocks onto the railroad tracks. What frightened
her the most was crossing the railroad bridge; the bridge stood twenty
feet high and was made of enormous heavy wooden beams that were
spaced three to four inches apart. Looking straight through the gaps,
she could see the bottom of a ditch and a running water stream that
was surrounded by green bushes.

As they got close to school she would pass a big high school
that one day she, wished she would be attending. When they got to
school they all met outside for the school assembly, which was to sing
the Mexican National Anthem to the Mexican flag. As they gathered,
the girls stood out because of their maroon dresses, which was layered
on top of a white button-up collared shirt, their wool white knee-high
stockings and their black shoes. The boys would wear the same button-up shirt and khaki pants. After the morning routine she would
head to her classroom where she learned to write and read Spanish.
One memory that she had as a child was her mother pregnant
constantly. She always felt like the third mother to her siblings, since
her mother and grandmother were primary. When she was four years
old, her brother Alex was born. He was a light skinned, black haired,
baby boy. He was the only boy out of five girls. Alex was spoiled, he
always got what he wanted, event if he was a bigger pain than the rest
of the siblings. He turned out to be a caring brother, a great father and
an amazing husband. Two years later her sister Maria was born. Maria
looked exactly like her father, with darker skin, and black hair. She
was very quiet and conservative. She would get angry very easily,
which was hard for Araceli and made it difficult for her to get along
with her own sister. In 1973, at the age of seven her and her family
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moved to San Diego, California. The only reason they moved to California was because her father decided she needed to come and attend
school. She was neither happy nor sad towards this. She was a young
girl ready to explore everything and anything. He wanted the best for
his children, but since she was the oldest, he needed her to start as
soon as possible.
Seven years in Mexico never prepared her for anything in the
U.S. In 1973, when she came across the border to the U.S. with her
family, her mother refused. She was leaving everything behind. Her
mother already took a huge step and moved to Tijuana. She was eventually forced into moving because her father had bought a house in
Linda Vista, in San Diego, California. So many things were occurring
in America. Which gave thousands of people opportunities and allowed her father and mother to try to get good jobs.
After being enrolled into a school district, she attended Linda
Vista Elementary. At that time her grandmother Mama Cuca would
walk her to school. That year her sister, Mary Susan, known as Susie,
was born. She had a light complexion with brown hair, and brown
eyes. She grew up to be a big hearted person, always helping and caring about everyone around her. As a teenager she loved being around
her friends and loved going to school. Unfortunately in 1991, she
passed away at the age of 17. It makes Araceli so sad that she was
never able to get to know her sister as an adult and that she wasnt
able to let her know how much she loved her. She always gets emotional when the date of Susies death comes up every year, and regrets
not spending more time with her sister.
In 1975, Martha was born, a pretty blonde, light skinned baby.
She was always a girly and proper child. She went through very hard
times through her teenage years. She started hanging around a group
of girls that soon got into gangbanging and got addicted to drugs. She
chose the wrong path for herself and was dragging everyone down
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with her. She got pregnant at the age of 15 and still carried on doing
drugs. Araceli was there for her and supported her every step of the
way, trying to have her quit. After rehab and getting all the help she
needed she is now a successful woman and a mother of five children.
Last but not least Adriana Catalina also known as Cathy was born, she
was the lightest of them all, with pitch black hair. Araceli would always picture her baby sister as her own version of Snow White,
because she was always happy and dancing everywhere she went. She
is now happily married to her prince charming and has a three year old
son.
When Araceli turned 11, years old she attended Montgomery
Junior High School and that is when the hardest part of her life begun.
1997 was one of the most difficult years to go through for
Araceli. Her mother got very ill and the doctors diagnosed her with
brain cancer. As they entered the doctor's office, the only thing she
could notice was how sad her father's face was. The doctor had called
this meeting to let them know that their mother only had three days to
live. She was old enough to understand that her mother had only three
days to live, but too young to know how serious and critical it was. As
a result from her sickness her mother had become blind. From that
point on as the oldest, she was forced to take control and help out her
family while her mother stayed in the hospital for over a year. As her
mom went through aggressive chemotherapy that caused her to fall
into a coma for three months and then rehabilitation for six months.
She was the one that taught herself everything because her father always worked and her grandmother was from a little ranch in Mexico
and didnt know anything about the American lifestyle.
Years after, it was difficult for her to adapt to her mother being sick. As soon as her mother became stable, and doing her motherly
things again after all those years, Araceli was able to continue living
her life. 1985 was a great year for Araceli because she graduated from
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Kearny Mesa High School. After High School, she went straight to
Mesa Community College.
As she got older she was more independent, more to herself.
She kept on working all through college. She knew at that point she
was able to follow her American Dream because she could do what
she wanted. She wanted to find a stable job, be able to support her
family and herself and she wanted to get married to the love of her
life. She had so many more opportunities; she was able to choose from
more. Because she was in America she was able to do what she needed to in order to succeed.
Throughout her college years she met a boy named Ruben.
She was devastated because she liked him so much and she had no
clue if he was feeling the same way towards her. They got to know
each other and sooner or later they became boyfriend and girlfriend.
She went on vacation and had to quit her job and left school. When
she got back she had no job and no school so she had to find something that would help her support herself. She found a job at a
restaurant called El Indio. El Indio Mexican Restaurant was her first
real responsible job with a good pay, she became assistant manager
right away. She wanted to be able to go back to school and follow her
American Dream. She wanted to graduate and become a paralegal.
With a good paying job she knew she could support herself off that.
She still lived with her parents, siblings and grandmother.
She became manager of a newly opened El Indio right at the
corner of Pacific Beach and Grand Ave, in a small shopping center on
the second floor. The inside of the restaurant was a terracotta and a
beautiful Mexican blue color, the walls of the restaurant where windows and they had a patio facing the Pacific Ocean. She ended up
managing this place for seven years, the food and the clientele was
just amazing.
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After being engaged for two years. On September 5, 1992 she

married Ruben Hernandez. They were married by a civil wedding
first, then married by Catholic church. Their civil wedding was held in
the patio of her mother in law's house. It was just a small ceremony
with just immediate family. Lots of Mexican food, mariachi, dancing
and of course lots of drinking. About four days later they were married in a church. After a year of extensive planning and spending, the
big day had come. The morning of she got up and went straight to the
beauty salon to get her makeup and hair done. They had a maid of
honor, four bridesmaids, one best man and four groomsmen.
She remembers being picked up in the limousine and going
straight to the church. As the door swung open for her she looked
straight into the eyes of her world, as he stood there in shock to see
how beautiful she looked in her big beaded beautiful white dress.
When she stepped out her dress cascaded in the wind. With a long
train following right behind her. As she carried herself up the steps
into the church, once she entwined her arm with her father's she knew
she had reached her goal. She was ready to complete her dream and
set a goal they could reach together.

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RYANFELYARTUROARACELISHONA
SHIHONGERIKA

Born in San Diego California in 1974 to a lower middle class

family, Shona Jones had a very slim chance at success because of the
opportunities she had. She grew up with 1 sister and brother and

sometimes stayed with her grandparents. Her mother was often gone
because she went out to party a lot. In her childhood Shona had a lot
of fun playing with her family but there was also some things that she
knew were ultimate no nos. For example, she and her relatives knew
that they can play all day but the house better be clean when their
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grandma got home. So everyday at around 4:00 pm, they would stop
whatever they were doing and clean the house because if they forgot
then there would be consequences. In school Shona was a great student. She worked very hard and quickly because she wanted to do
better than her friends because of her natural competitive atmosphere.
When she was done she would ask if there was any more work to do.
In highschool she had to become very independent, her Mom started
making her wash her own clothes at a laundromat even with no form
of transportation. She would drop Shona off at the laundromat and
come back 3 hours later and if she did not finish washing her clothes
within the time given then that was too bad.
While in High school, Shona had a strong passion for the
game of basketball; she started off as a freshman at Kearny High
Schoo85l, never having played before in her life. Once she started
practicing she got better and then she even started to play travel basketball. Travel basketball is a type of basketball for younger kids and
teenagers and it gives teams chances to compete in highly competitive
tournaments and play teams from all over. It gave her some unforgettable memories. Shona loved the fact that she could travel to different
states to play different teams and see what the competition was like
and ontop of that she had one of the best coaches she could have possibly had. One of the things that she remembers about her coach is the
fact that whenever they went toward L.A. or Orange County they
would pass the San Onofre power plant and her coach would say hey
guys look at Dolly. Shona and her teammates all thought that was
funny because Dolly Parton was an American Singer/Songwriter who
had sizeable breast. They all thought thats what the power plant
looked like. Since Shona took Basketball more and more seriously she
was working harder than she ever did to get better. She often played
pickup basketball with men and it payed off. Shona became the best
defensive player on her team and also had a good offensive game; she
was starting to get noticed. Basketball was not the only sport that
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Shona played, she was also on the track and field team for Kearny,
where she competed in the long jump. She also won a lot of medals
for that. The one thing that was always affecting her was the fact that
her mother never went to any of her games except one; the only type
of support that Shona had was from her uncles but in the end that was
enough. Shona eventually ended up earning a basketball scholarship to
Oregon State University. Shona was ecstatic as her dreams seemed to
becoming true right before her eyes.
Unfortunately Shona made some mistakes that would eventually cause her to lose her scholarship. She got caught up in the social
life of a young teen and started dealing with reality in the wrong ways.
She started to do more things that was unlike her, she started going out
to parties, she tried Alcohol, and started to surround herself with the
wrong people which lead her to having the wrong future and living a
life that was not for her.
Her American Dream was to just be successful and use her
success to make a change in the world because she thought some
things about America and the world that we live in were not right. One
of the events she hated the most was the War on Drugs. The War on
Drugs was a period of time where crack cocaine and cocaine were
somehow released into the impoverished areas of Los Angeles. Most
people believed it was the government that put it there as a trap for
Black families. After it was released in those areas, the black men saw
it as a way to make easy money without getting a job. They sold it to
anybody they can find and this was a trap because the crack weakened
the black communities. Soon after that Nixon, the President at the
time sent in swat teams and FBI. They would drive to the front doors
of the dealers houses with a BTR, which is an armored vehicle that is
like a tank. They had a ram attached to the front and tear the house
down. Shona hated it because the War on Drugs took the fathers away
from lots of little black children and threw them behind bars, which
lead to little black boys growing up with no father figure and that just
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started a never ending cycle along with a bad stereotype for blacks.
Shona also had struggled with this problem because her dad was also
only around for the first part of her life and after that he was just gone.
Shona says It is important for young boys to have a father figure in
their life so they know what a man is like, what a mans responsibilities are and how a man should act in various situations. They also
need a man in their life because if they dont they will think it is alright to just abandon your family and that cycle will keep repeating.
In the 90s there were a lot of events good and bad. America
was prospering at large in the 90s. The United States economy grew at
an average of 4 percent a year from 1992 to 1999, an average of 1.7
million jobs were added to the American work force compared to the
average of 850,000 a year over the entire century and this helped Shona as she needed to get a job to make sure that she was able to provide
for her kids ( New York Times, The Best Decade Ever ). The unemployment rate dropped from 8 percent in 1992 to 4 percent, by the
end of the decade. From 1990 to 1999 the median american household
income grew by 10 percent. Since 2000 it's shrunk by 9 percent ( New
York Times, The Best Decade Ever ). At the time there was good
things going on all over the world, not just in America, the number of
free countries had climbed from 65 at the beginning of the decade to
85 at the end of the decade ( New York Times, The Best Decade Ever ). Since the 90s the number of certified free countries has only
increased by 4 according to ( New York Times, The Best Decade
Ever )
The 90s was a great time overall, in sports you had Michael
Jordan and the Chicago Bulls making their great run which led to to
six straight NBA finals. In music you had 2Pac and Biggie Smalls, in
the movie world you had the Matrix, Pulp fiction, Forrest gump, Lion
King and so many others. Another big part of the 90s was the Technology. At the beginning of the decade almost nobody had heard of
the web and there were no cellphones or search engines like google,
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but by the end of the decade America had them all and Steve Jobs had
returned to Apple and started its rebirth. The 90s are considered The
Last Great Decade for a reason, and it will always be remembered as
one of the best time periods all over the world.
Growing up in the 90s was not as hard as some previous decades, but it did have some challenges, especially if you were a
minority in a middle or lower class family says Shona. Barely turning
20 years old Shona was faced with the obstacle of having a child and
not having a stable job. At the time she was in community college after losing her Scholarship to Oregon State University to play Division
1 Women's basketball. Shona knew she needed to find out something
or gain some type of skill that could help her get a well paying job.
She soon acquired the skill sets of an Admin. It helped her get jobs as
an accountant which is a little more than a secretary. After having her
first child, Derric, her view of the American Dream and what she
wanted to do with hers changed. Soon after she was pregnant, Shona
and her son's father had a disagreement and he moved to another state
afterwards and never came back to see his son Derric. Now Shona was
faced with another challenge which was raising her child on her own
and she did not know how she was going to go to work and get someone to watch her kid at the same time. Shortly after, she met a man
named Joudan L. Taylor. He was a cool, nice guy, who was a working man with a good paying job in construction. They soon started
dating and he took over the father role of her son and soon after, they
had a child together named Johnny in 1999. Joudan also had children
of his own, 7 and 14 year old sons. They soon sent Derric to Washington/Oregon to live with her uncle Jinx and aunt Pat for a couple of
years while they improved their lifestyles and made better
oppourtunities for themselves so that it will be a stable household
when he comes back . Later on Derric came back from living with her
uncle and aunt and Shona and Joudan lived in Spring Valley California with their kids.

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Later on down the line she ended up breaking up with Joudan

and moved to the other side of town with her kids. As they grew up
and became teenagers, her American Dream had changed and went
from her wanting to be successful, which in her mind meant making
some type of change in the world to help others and making sure her
children had a stable and effective support system that would lead
them in becoming successful and make a mark in the world somehow.
She soon ended up having one more son named Joel. His older brothers welcomed him dearly and were very helpful to Shona, when she
wanted to go out with friends and needed them to watch him. Shona
loved her kids and they often have good times together.
Since Shona loved sports, she and her son Johnny often went
at it about how their teams are better than the others and they often
disagreed on a lot of things and she says, He just hates whatever I
like because if she said she liked a certain player, he would respond
with Mom that dudes garbage or Hes not better than this guy.
Shona and Johnny basically never agreed on anything.
When asked what she would change, she said she wished she
would have made better choices, kept her scholarship and went to a
University. She wished she wouldn't have gotten caught up in social
life and dealt with reality the right way. But she also says she wouldn't
want to change anything because she wouldn't have had her kids if she
went to college. She also feels that she has achieved her dreams because she believes her kids are going to be successful and that they are
going to achieve dreams of their own.

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Shihong Nicolaou was born on February 6, 1965 in Beijing

China. She is the oldest child of two. Her mother and father were also
born in China. Her mother was a teacher and always pushed her to do
her best in school, while her father was an engineer. As a child,
Nicolaou had great relations with her parents. They supported her
through every decision she had to make. They were always favorable
for the good education for their children, and we all studied very hard,
because education is valued and considered very important in a Chinese family.

They really cared about us. They devoted their life to their children
and our family. It means so much, growing up with this family tie; it
has helped me whenever Ive been in trouble. A lot of people dont
have this much support from their families and she is very grateful. I
felt lucky because many people wanted to come here and I was lucky
enough to be able to come here for graduate school and receive a
higher education. Today, Shihong still lives in the middle class and
has a job, which she worked hard to get. She moved from China to
America to live the life she wanted,and the family she loves. She succeeded her ideal American Dream and is happy with the life shes
lived. I think that being financially stable and having a family are
important, but happiness is key. She has her daughter, her husband,
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and a supporting amount of family friends. Although there were a few

challenges in her life, she was supported through most of them.
Shihong went to school in Beijing, and finished college there.
After finishing primary school, she wanted to expand her education.
She came to America for graduate school at the age of 24. Although it
was a difficult decision, her parents wanted the best for her and supported her. She knew that in order to achieve her dream, she had to
come to America. She thought of America as the land of freedom
and the land of opportunities. She left Beijing and moved to Ohio.
There she immersed with other international students, so she wasnt
alone. She knew that there were better opportunities for her in America. Her heart was set on having a great education, so she knew she
made the right decision. After moving to Ohio, she met Mike
Nicolaou, her present husband in graduate school. When they got together, Mikes parents were very against the idea of him dating an
Asian. Her culture was so different from his. He was Greek, she was
Chinese. On the other hand, her parents were very supportive. They
knew that she would
make the right decision. She loved him,
thats all that mattered
to
them.
Shihong and Mike
decided to move to
San Diego, California when she got a
job offer at UCSD as
the Intellectual property manager. Mike was a pharmacist so he knew
that even if he moved, he would still be able to find a job. After a couple years they got engaged and decided to make a family. Later they
got married and had a baby girl.
Her baby girl was her biggest challenge in life. At age 10 her
daughter was diagnosed with cancer. It was a very difficult time for
them. When we first found out we were in complete shock and disbelief and then there was a lot of sadness. Having a daughter is a
beautiful thing, I look at the world through her eyes, its so much joy
and I learn so many new things, just by watching her grow. But of
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course any of her problems are my problems. If shes sick, its very
devastating for me." In 2012 she was cleared of cancer. I was extremely grateful, everything worked out, but at the same time it
changed my perspective on life in general. I became more thankful for
everything I have and try to enjoy every day I have. Throughout these tough years they always had the support from their family and
friends.
I think that being financially stable and having a family are
important, but happiness is key. She wanted to have enough money to support her family. Family is important to her because they
can support you through anything. You have to be happy with what
you have; you cant be ungrateful. Not everyone is going to be happy with what they have, but in order to be happy accept what you
have. In her mind she achieved the American Dream. She has her
loving family, great job and a good income. Although she achieved
her dream, she thinks that the American Dream is dying. Jobs are
scarce to find. Minorities have less of a chance to get a job, and
peoples happiness is ran by money. People think that having money
will buy them happiness but in reality with the American Dream
dying and so is peoples hope. She was lucky to have her opportunities. I stayed here for my education, Mike and opportunities. There
were more opportunities here than there were back home in China.
But now there are better ones back home. People in Beijing had a
similar dream as her.
Shihongs, dream was simple. Her dream is simplistic and
doesnt ask for a lot.The American Dream in the 90s was to have
money, power, and status. The American dream was so strongly
based around money and self gain (prezi.com). People wanted a
higher status. They wanted more power over people. Driven by these
things was not a good thing. People werent focused on themselves;
they were focused on how they could be better than other people.
Your American dream should satisfy yourself and to get just enough
money, power, and status. No ones American dream is to be happy.
Shihongs dream was different from the average person's. Everyone
wanted a big house, a job that payed a lot of money, and a perfect
family. She didnt care about power. Money, yes she cared about, but
just enough to make a living and support her family. Status wasnt
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very important. She was always in the middle class and that never
bothered her. The 90s is really when her life started. She started to live
her American dream.
Living in the lower class is looked down on. The middle class;
although most of America is in the bottom class, people are still wanting to move higher. If you are in the upper class, you are respected
and you have a lot of power. You have every thing everyone wants.
It's probably not a good mindset thinking about money and power all
the time. You just need to think about how you can get successful by
working hard and staying happy. What is the point of your American
Dream if in the end happiness is not achieved. Shihong achieved her
idea of the American dream. She has her family, is financially stable,
and is happy.

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Its not an American Dream it doesnt exist the fact that you
want to improve yourself as a person isnt an American Dream. You
can do it in China, Japan, Mexico. To improve yourself isnt an American Trait. Erika Ibarra doesnt believe there is such a concept as the
American Dream, to her the American Dream is just a form of improvement. While Erika wants to improve herself she doesnt consider
anything she does as part of her American Dream simply because she
doesnt have one. How could the American Dream leave such a sour
taste on a woman who wants her children to achieve their own versions of the American Dream?
Erika was born in Guadalajara, Mexico; February 14, 1979.
She lived with her mother, her father, and her seven siblings. Erikas
mother, Maria Ibarra, was a traditional Mexican wife; religious, family oriented, and strict. As a traditional mexican mother, her
punishments resorted to hitting. Although the stakes seemed pretty
high, that didnt stop Erika from becoming the black sheep in her family. Erika and her mother seemed like night and day but Erikas father,
Miguel, would always be the voice of reason. She respected her mother and father, for they made sure her and her siblings didnt go to bed
hungry. That meant long hours of work and constant nagging to behave properly. Erika didnt always have their attention but that was
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okay, Martha was there. Martha was Erika's best friend they would
wonder the nights alongside one another. Which went along with how
much Erikas 86mother hated Martha. Despite Erikas mother, Martha
and Erika became inseparable, they were in the same fights, the same
parties, and the same group of friends. Martha was the kind of friend
youd know you talk about forever, in fact Erika still does.
During the 1980s Mexico experienced a financial period crisis referred as the lost Decade. Mexico had so much foreign debt to
pay America leaving the peso worthless. Erika wanted to become policemen which meant she had to get an education, but as always
education in Mexico cost money. Later in the decade by 1989 only 55
percent of students completed their primary education. 87 It left Maria
in a position that as soon as Erikas grades didnt meet the standards,
paying to go to school was out of the question. Erika dropped out of
school at the age of 11. In Erikas house hold the most educated was
her older sister, Came. Erika noticed that some of her sisters took it
upon themselves to move to the United States the Land of Opportunities. As soon as they got there they were busy at work. One of Erika's
oldest sister had a baby boy, but no one to take care of him. It was
suggested that Erika moved to the United States and care for that baby. Erika was fifteen with no say.
In Mexico, a grand celebration is thrown the day a girl turns
fifteen. Its called a quinceanera. It resembles a girl transitioning to
womanhood. A girl and her mother would spend countless hours finding a dress and planning the celebration. Unfortunately Erika didnt
get to experience that. Her sister hired a man to get Erika into the US.
It was common that way, you trust a complete stranger who smuggles
people into the US with the lives of your family members hoping that
nothing goes wrong in the process. Erika made it across just fine,
86

George Bush: Statment on Signing the Immigration Act of 1990," The American
Presidency Project. November 29, 1990. November 18, 2015.
87

Mexico-Education Mexico-Education November, 18 2015

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along with the other immigrants the man smuggled. Erika arrive into
the San Diego, California 1994.

During Erikas arrival Bill Clinton was president. Bill Clinton's greatest accomplishment was leading our country into a period of
strong economic prosperity. One of the reasons was his flexibility
with immigrant workers. Clintons view on the Immigrant issue was
faily simple, he stated The Act maintains our Nation's historic commitment to family reunification by increasing the number of
88
immigrant visas allocated on the basis of family ties.At the same
time, dramatically increases the number of immigrants who may be
admitted to the United States because of the skills they have and the
needs of our economy. This legislation will encourage the immigration of exceptionally talented people, such as scientists, engineers, and
educators. Other provisions of will promote the initiation of new
business in rural areas and the investment of foreign capital in our
economy. In the end Bill wanted his states to thrive. Thus, encouraging immigrants to come to America if they had purpose in serving us.
According to the New York Times, during Clinton's presidency, the
United States economy grew by an Average of four percent per year
between 1992 and 1999.
88

Andersen, Kurt. The Best Decade Ever? The 1990s, Obviously The New York
Times. July 2, 2015. November 18, 2015.

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Upon arriving Erika's responsibilities were those of a housewife. She cared for the children and cooked. All five of her sisters
crammed into a house for them and their children. She missed her parents just as her sisters did, but she felt that she still needed them. Her
age still marked one of a child. Erika would leave the house to run
errands and it hit her that she was no one. She couldnt understand
anyone. It was almost as the only presence she made were to her sisters. Erika had a few friends who came to America to seek more
opportunities. One of her friends in particular got a boyfriend. Her
friend claimed that her boyfriend had a cute friend Erika should talk
to. They met, his name was Miguel Acosta. Miguel was 20 and was
also an immigrant coming from Morelos, Cuautla. They exchanged
numbers and they continued talking.
Eventually they started dating and before Erika could grasp
the idea of love, she got pregnant shortly after. Erika started panicking. How would her baby assumulate to the country? How could she
provide for the baby? What kind of adolescene did she have? It
seemed that Erika needed her parents more than ever. Miguel promised he would stay by her side and they would get enough money so
they could live on their own. At the age of 16 her baby girl, Josselyn,
was born December 10, 1995. Following almost two years later on
July 1, 1997 they had another baby girl; Evelyn Acotsa.Erika had gotten a visa and decides to bring her two daughters along to Mexico.
When she looked around she still saw the place she called home and
felt at ease that she could understand everyone. Faces seemed to be
friendlier when you knew the words people spoke. Then she got
scared, because here were her two baby girls that seemed to have better odds in America. They could get passed the language barrier for
America was their home and education in America was far better than
that of Mexico. Even if they would have to struggle in America, in
Mexico them becoming something seemed impossible. That was the
last time Erika visited Mexico.
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Erika and Miguel went on to have two more babies, Alyn and
Miguel Jr. Acosta. Miguel had to go off to work to support his family
and Erikas tradition role as a housewife was impossible. Jobs that Erika wanted required her to know English. She had to settle for a job at
a clothing store, which didnt require communication or education.
The idea that she was no one was getting worse. Erika didnt want to
settle. English classes and school were out of the question. As soon as
Erika got out of work, she had four kids to go home to. Miguel's role
was present to the children, but not to Erika. Erika had to bite her
tongue because Miguel's job paid him more and during that time gender gaps were present. For every dollar a white man got a white
women got payed 73.3% of that dollar, which significantly decreased
if you were a hispanic latina. Being of a minority, both of them were
already at a disadvantage.Erika became frustrated with how inconvenient everything seemed for her in America, but she was still fighting
for a say. She started raising her kids with the same way her mother
had, which unfortunately became hitting them.
It wasnt noticeable to her how affected her children were by
the way she behaved until she found out her oldest daughter was failing 8th grade. She was in disbelief, it seemed to her as if Josselyn
wasnt trying hard enough. When she went to speak to the teachers, it
wasnt Josselyn they were addressing, rather her parenting. In the
same disbelief Erika started questioning herself. Where did she go
wrong? What else could see do? How out of it was she? She never
notice Josselyn's patterns. She couldnt pinpoint any job she was
proud of. The only form she had learn the language was out of cold
hateful lips. This wasnt an America she was hopeful in. How long
was she just working that she lost sight of any form of ambition.
After Josselyn's meeting, she didnt see Josselyn falling into
the same disbelief, instead she was working harder to repeat the grade.
She saw the admiration her other children expressed for Josselyn. In
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Josselyn was hopefulness. In all her children was hopefulness. Where

was the celebration for Erika? She had stood still feeling like a nobody, where everyone acknowledge the children she raised. Prideful,
ambitious, children. In all her realization she should make her children
happy by helping them with their own ambitions. Josselyn wants to
become a nurse, Evelyn wants to become a nutritionist, Alyn wants to
become an activist, Miguel wants to become an entrepreneur. Her future was in her children. As soon as she celebrated her children, she
was at ease with herself. She was at a state of happiness because she
was able to listen to all of them. Watch them grow and share their passions. Be involved by just listing.
Everyone has a different interpretation of what their American Dream
is and yet everyone assumes it should have the same outcome. Just
like the language, the American Dream gets lost in translations for
those who migrate to America. It shouldnt be a requirement or
assumption that the American Dream be adopted by immigrants; when
we dont have a clear grasp of the dream. We can never know the
positions of everyone's American Dream unless we are willing to ask
and listen. Erika Ibarra's American Dream is one of the many stories
that should be acknowledged.

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The 2000s

The 2000s changed America and the world forever. Innovative new ideas and technology transformed the way the America
connected, while global events and major foreign policy decisions
affected American life just as heavily.
The American Dream in this decade was as unique to the individuals that held it, especially minorities. Although not everyone
takes the same path to achieve their goals, it is definitely clear that
people who came of age in the 2000s believed in the chance of opportunity, a drive for change, and the patience to overcome any
obstacle they face in life.
The 2000s brought a set of unique challenges. Whether it was
competition with other people, or finding their own identity and success in the world, Americans were benefiting from their drive to never
give up in achieving their goals. In this progressive era, the American
Dream was about uniqueness, and not following the status-quo.
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As a time of rapid change in all aspects of American life, the

alteration of the fabric of the American Dream was marked by several
major events. The increased personalization of technology through
new innovations like the smartphone and social media completely
changed and shaped how people related to technology. This brought
about unprecedented interconnectedness, leading to new opportunities
everywhere.
Furthermore, Americas national security was threatened with
the September 11th attacks, the first attack on American soil since
Pearl Harbor. Everyone across the country began to question their
safety. Laws were made to protect airports, stadiums, and other public
places. Our country's mass paranoia over the Middle East eventually
led to the Iraq War, and the ongoing war in Afghanistan. This event
has made Americans more aware of their surroundings and helped
them realize to take pride in their country and to stand together united
as one.
The Great Recession of 2008 changed the generation that
came of age during that time. Unemployment rates were higher than
ever, and over 60% of American families saw a decline in their
wealth.89 As America is still crawling out of it, the American Dream
continues to be shaped by those who are trying to find it, the
Millennials. This chapter is their story, and ultimately Americas story.
The stories in this chapter each bring unique visions of the
American Dream. Josseline Acosta felt like there's more to life than
what she learned at home. Annel Garcia defines the American Dream
as believing in the meritocracy myth; as long as she worked hard and
graduate from college, she would live in suburbia with the picket
fence and have a career. You will read on how she realized her American Dream wasn't exactly what she thought it was. Luis Perez
describes the American Dream as way for a better and happier life, but
89

Income, Wealth, and Debt | Recession Trends. (n.d.). Retrieved December

4, 2015

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he had challenges to overcome. Grace Bagunu believed her American

Dream was based off of education. Throughout her journey, you will
read about the obstacles she faced and how she overcame them.Tomas
Pena defines the American Dream as Progression and Change;
through the highs and lows of his journey, every event that happened
marked his American Dream. Brianna Salazar defines the American
Dream as finding happiness in your life. To be proud of the person
you have become and continue to strive towards your happiness.
Fabrizio Bresciani believes the American Dream means to obtain
enough success to not have to carry a burden with you in life. To pursue and get through your problems. Dewi Prasetia-Garcia emigrated
from Indonesia in pursuit of education, ready to use the American
Dream to make her family proud. Tony Chapels American Dream
was to have a job he enjoys, and to support his family. Tony's life
might seem bumpy, but he eventually achieved his American Dream.
As much as they are stand alone stories of individual hard
work, accomplishments, obstacles, and resilience, these stories are so
much more. Their commonalities make them a part of a bigger picture, a picture of the decade that changed it all.

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There always comes a time in life where one must accept
themselves in their own skin. Each human is to take what they have,
and progress in life they best they can. The beauty of life is to overcome obstacles, and excel beyond the expected limits, to not only
make others proud but make yourself proud.
Brianna Amanda Salazar was born and raised in San Diego,
California. She comes from a middle class, Hispanic family and
claims, Weve always really been middle class. With the exception of
a couple of times. Even though she grew up in a split household, she
still feels that she has a positive relationship with both her mother and
father. My mother and father were divorced before I could even
talk. She also grew up with a step-father and a step-mother including
step-brothers and step-sisters. Basically my entire family is from
Mexico, she sums up. Brianna has always been a gentle heart, always
concerned about her peers and their progression in life. She is a very
loving, compassionate sister and friend. Always encouraging others to
make the right choices in life as well as following her own advice.
Brianna marks her coming of age at 18 years old. Due to her
leap into the independent, scary world that is college. I definitely
grew up in an environment that helped me achieve my dream. She
says both her parents were very supportive of her during high school.
They were always offering help with homework or with her extracurricular activities. During her time in college, her parents were always
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by her side either helping her with her rent or just helping her pay her
way through college. When I was growing up I never really had to
worry if I was going to eat the next day, or have somewhere to sleep. I
was in a very stable environment.
Brianna was accepted to UC Davis and decided to major in
Animal Science. In high school, all that I knew for sure about my
future was that I wanted to work with animals. She described the
feeling of acceptance into UC Davis as relief. Everything that she had
been working so hard for is finally paying off. Up until that day, she
had been living with her parents, and the feeling of moving into
crowded dorms was overwhelming, not knowing the people who she
was sleeping next to. The anxiety of all the new people in her life, and
all the new personalities just added to the hardship of leaving her parents and the home that she knew for so long.
She spent her first year of college in the dorms, and was taking classes in general education. She claims that high school really
prepared her for this. College is definitely a slap in the face. She
describes high school as training wheels for college. Teachers in high
school are always helping you and are always on your back, while in
college they wont be there.
During her life in college, she was given many opportunities.
She was given a job at a Veterinary Hospital as a cleaner, but because
she knew the general staff of the hospital, and had many connections
at school, she was able to obtain multiple internships with some of the
doctors. She worked in behavioral medicine and outpatient services
around the hospital. Basically just being in the hospital, and being
around the patients and doctors, was a really cool opportunity because
you dont get to see that a lot. After getting her degree in animal science, Brianna moved back to San Diego and joined the workforce as
an assistant at the local San Diego vet offices.
In school Brianna was taught that the American Dream was to
come to America, work hard and achieve that perfect house, or make a
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family, and that was to determine your happiness. My version of the

American Dream is to be happy with what you do in life and be happy
with the person you become. There are so many things you can do and
I feel like that perfect, idolized American Dream is for some people,
but I dont know if thats really for me. However, she is feels positive about reaching her American Dream. I have a great support
system, my family who supports me not only emotionally but as well
as financially. Brianna is very resilient and confident towards her
future.
Currently, Brianna is in a grey zone with her life in between jobs and personal relationships. Due to these instabilities, she
ended up losing her job and leaving her apartment in Ocean Beach. I
went from moving to a place where I was independent, safe, and secure to a place that was the total opposite. She is not sure if she wants
to pursue her career further in veterinary assistance, but she does
know that she wants to work with animals.
When asked about the relevancy of the American Dream today she replied, I feel like theres a lot of people who come to this
country to work really hard and to be able to support their family. Unfortunately a lot of immigrants are faced with low paying jobs, and not
being able to support their family. The American Dream is a good
idea to spread out, but I feel like thats all it will be, a dream.
As the generations go on, this same American
Dream fades further away from sight. Many students are entering the
workforce, while the number of jobs given to young people (age 1629) is dwindling. For those who do have jobs, dont get paid much and
their wages are not growing. In fact, only 27% of students have a job
that is related to their college major.90
The Great Recession had a wide scale effect on todays youth.
During The Great Recession (2007-2009), the country lost $14 trillion
dollars; nearly a years worth of economic activity. 5,807 jobs were
90

Plumer, Brad. "Only 27 percent of college grads have a job related to their
major." Washington Post. 20th May 2013

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also lost in the year of 2009.91 While all of America has suffered from
The Great Recession, many believe that young Americans have suffered the most, and will continue to suffer. The unemployment rate for
young Americans stands at 16.2%, which is more than double the U.S.
unemployment rate.92 It is estimated that young Americans will lose
$20 billion dollars in earnings within the next decade. This also means
about $22,000 dollars per person. 93Workers who are unemployed as
young adults are expected to earn lower wages, due to lost work experience. This delays them from paying off student loans, college tuition
fees, and living expenses. Not only is the unemployment rate among
Millennials going to effect the immediate group, but also the United
States as a whole.
Millennials are pressured with rising college tuitions, inflation
in healthcare, as well as energy expenses. While prices are escalating,
household income is actually on a decline. Since these young workers
are now earning less, they are not present in the United States economic growth. They are not spending money at supermarkets, local
businesses, bookstores and other companies, resulting in an economic
downturn for the United States. Youth unemployment also punishes
the average taxpayer. Taxpayers are having to pay for government
provided healthcare, crime expenses, and welfare. It is estimated that
the financial cost spent over an unemployed youths lifetime is $1.6
billion dollars in taxpayer money.94 Unemploying todays youth will
just result in even higher taxes for future Americans.
States in the U.S. were forced to cut spending as a whole. By
2010, states had cut spending by a whopping 9.5%, the first consecu-

91

Grovum, Jake. "2008 financial crisis impact still hurting states." USA Today. 15 Sept. 2013.
92

Grovum, Jake. "2008 financial crisis impact still hurting states." USA Today. 15
Sept. 2013.
93
Steinberg, Ayres Sarah. "The high cost of youth unemployment." American Progress. 5 April 2013.
86
Steinberg, Ayres Sarah. "The high cost of youth unemployment." American Progress. 5 April 2013.

316

tive downcline since 1979. 95States spending in areas such as education, public services, and transportation. It is doubtful that these losses
will ever be regained. K-12 spending was cut by 22%, resulting in the
loss of before and after school programs, summer school, as well as
bigger class sizes. In higher education, states cut spending by more
than 28% per college student. Arizona cut all the way down to 50%
per college student, resulting in skyrocketing tuition fees.96
Brianna graduated with a degree in animal science, planned to
go to vet school to become a small animal veterinarian, but to tuition
expenses, she was not able to. The average tuition expense for veterinary school is $18,310 dollars per semester. Brianna decided to move
back to San Diego from Davis, and look for a job as a veterinary assistant. Right now Im not entirely sure where Im moving forward in
my life. I have all the tools and the ambition to move forward. But all
that really matters is that Im happy in the moment.

95

Grovum, Jake. "2008 financial crisis impact still hurting states." USA Today. 15
Sept. 2013.
96

Grovum, Jake. "2008 financial crisis impact still hurting states." USA Today. 15
Sept. 2013.

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Throughout Joseline Acostas middle school and high school

experience her mom didnt speak English nor knew how to write it.
Joseline was really by herself in middle school because she was in a
Latino household and she couldnt practice English at home. Her mom
was busy looking for jobs or taking care Joseline's two sisters and one
brother. Joselines mother felt discriminated against when she went
grocery shopping. Americans gave her a dirty looks like she didnt
belong there. Joseline felt like she had to hide her and her family from
not being discriminated.
Joseline Acosta was eighteen when she came of age in 2009.
Her responsibilities started to roll in when she got her first job at a
pizza place. She started to pay for her phone bill and helped to make
ends mean. Joseline described it as becoming a woman and she believed that money changes people. She felt the change after a couple
of months because it was hard earned money. She felt proud when she
saw her bank account. She said there's a difference between that and
just getting money from your parents. She described it as the money
has more value to it knowing that she earned the money and on her
own time. She understand how money it impacts people because when
people get rich or start having more money people ask them for money and their mindset changes they start to thinking I spent three hours
making this money and I might not even see it again. Would it be

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worth giving someone something you spent three hours on to just

spend it like its nothing.
When Joseline was growing up she could tell immigration was a really serious situation. Every now and then people
would give her mom dirty looks and treat Joseline like she didnt
know anything while attending school. Joseline remembers she felt
unappreciated and felt like white people got treated differently as she
grew up. There she was, the first day of work at a pizza place, she
looked at other people's faces and noticed they were looking at her
differently when they would talk to other people. She didnt feel comfortable working because she felt like the door of opportunity was
closing. Her knowledge with stereotypes was happening everyday but
she didn't think they could impact her life. She felt like the boss would
only move the white works up in rank. She has heard of stereotypes
like wet backs, aliens, etc, but she didn't know it was this bad. When
she would work, she felt unappreciated.

There are many people who can't face the truth. There are
people who choose to believe whatever their mind is set too. This era
makes it harder to make improvements on technology because everyone's busy on social media. They don't want to face the truth until it in
their face. Joseline needed the job and couldn't risk losing it; she never
has been in a situation like this before so it was really hard for her to
find a solution. Rather than confusing to the boss, she decided to go
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on to a different path in life. She didnt know what to do but she knew
not to stand by and let it grow.
There are many people working at the pizza place. It is located at a casino and everyone who works there is white. When
customers order their pizza, some have a confused face as if they
weren't sure if they could understand her. Soon Joseline started to realize this because she looks mixed with Asian but she was only
Mexican. When people would order they looked confused until she
responded and spoke fluent english.They looked amazed like it she
was not supposed to be that fluent but she was actually raised speaking English and those stereotypes just got the best of the person.
People have the mindset that we are living in a perfect world.
If you ever come across a problem, it's better to deal with it as soon as
possible because most people either wait till the last minute or wait to
cross that bridge with they get there Joselines feels if we wait for a
long time to solve the issue than people might start to get hurt.
Joseline's American Dream is to not worry everyday about the struggle, and her desire to be happy in the future.
Erika Acosta had talked to Joseline about how people would
treat her like she was a second class citizen ever since she had gotten
to America. Joseline remembers she was walking into a store with her
mom and she was in line to buy dinner and the cashier was checking
off their food and it came out to be 20 dollars. Erika gave the cashier
50 dollars and then the cashier gave her 10 dollars back, Erika got
mad and told her where's the rest of her money then the cashier gave
her the other 20 dollars back. Erika told Joseline to make sure doesn't
slack at school because anything like this can happen anywhere.
As Joseline got older she wanted money and fancy things and
when she got her first job she earned money but quickly learned life
was not really about that. She just learned to not let the money change
her. She was responsible for her two sisters. She bought her own car at
19 and told me it feels good to have something that useful and know321

ing you paid for it. Joseline learned to be more respectful about the
things she had because she earned it. Her American Dream is to have
more knowledge than what she learned at home. The knowledge she
got at home was to clean everyday and keep all of your belongings
clean. Also, throughout middle school and high school she babysat her
siblings. She knows knowledge is key to life because nobody could
take that away from you. Joseline felt like the American Dream
shouldn't be a whole list of things that happen once in a lifetime. It
should just be things that they should need to survive.
She believes everybody should appreciate what they have and
the people around them. It's not the end, it's the journey. She met a
couple of people who thought the American Dream is about becoming
rich. She hopes everyone knows its not about that. Joseline realizes
that not only because people judge her for her color or what race she is
that she's going to stop trying to accomplish her American Dream.

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BRIANNAJOSELINEANNELLUIS
DEWITOMASFABRIZIOTONYGRACE
The American Dream is a term that is often used but also often misunderstood. It isn't really about becoming rich or famous. It is
about things much simpler and more fundamental than that - (Marco
Rubio)
Annel Garcia, a 22 year old woman marked her coming of age
in the 2000s. The moment when Annel came of age would have to be
when she moved out of her parents house for college. It was her first
time living completely away from her family, which meant that Annel
had to grow up in a matter of months to ensure her survival. The first
weeks were the worst; she was homesick and ready to go home, but
eventually the homesickness went away and she is now on her fifth
year of college at San Francisco State University. Annel is a Chicana,
Catholic, and comes from a middle class background. She's currently
an undergrad, majoring in sociology and minoring in women gender
studies. As far as the American Dream goes, Annel grew up believing
in the meritocracy myth; as long as she worked hard and graduated
college, she would live in suburbia with the picket fence and have a
career. However, Annels a little bit less nave now and noticed that
there are certainly a lot of disadvantages for everyone.

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Her parents are both immigrants, which means that the resources she had growing up were very limited; she could only have
certain amount of things because of how much money her parents had.
She did not have the same opportunities as other kids, she wasn't able
to be in the best schools or live in a good neighborhood. Luckily, she
didnt wind up at her local schools. These schools had bad teachers
and rude kids that really didn't care about their education but if Annel
had ended up there, she doubts she would be where she is at right
now. However, going to High Tech High International, a predominantly white student population, did make her hyper aware of her race
and she would sometimes experience micro aggressions from white
students and her teachers. An example of this was freshman year during math class when the math teacher, Alan, told her she would never
be good at math and that Annel would get left behind as all her friends
would go on to 10th grade. At that time, Annel didnt know how to
articulate it but she knew that it didnt feel right to be judged by her
teacher. Annel essentially managed the situation by talking about it to
her close friends and by shaking it off, and not paying attention to
what her teachers and students were saying.
She realized that when she came of age, she identified the
American Dream as living in the suburbs in a nice home and having a
degree. Annel knows that the dream of home ownership has traditionally been reserved exclusively for white people, which made her feel
like she's not part of the nation where everyone is included. To her,
the dream was always to attain citizenship for her parents, achieve
financial stability, get out of the bad environment, and to take her family with her. Annel's understanding of the American Dream has
certainly changed. It continues to change, as she grows older. She has
developed a political consciousness around the world and how she
views people. Annel didn't necessarily have this before because she
didn't know the world was so messed up.
A lot of that consciousness is rooted in personal experiences.
She learned through her sociology and women's gender studies classes
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about social, economic, and political factors that play a role in our
day-to-day lives. Annel doesn't feel like she has achieved the American Dream in the slightest. She's in her early 20s and nowhere near
the, American Dream she envisions for herself. One of the most vital opportunities that Annel has thus far is her education. Annel went
to a charter middle school that implanted in students that they had to
go to college. They went on college trips that inspired her to one day
be a student at one of the colleges they visited. One of them was
where she attends college now, San Francisco State University. Annel
feels like she's one more step to making her family proud.

Her American Dream looks different, she believes that the

American Dream still has meaning but a different one, not everyone
looks at the American Dream the same. Currently we are grappling
with widening income inequalities between the poor and the rich and
are experiencing an increase in segregated communities. In San Francisco, the cost of living is skyrocketing as a result of the tech boom.
This affects Annel because she has to work really hard to better herself. In a way the American Dream remains what it has always been,
exclusive to white people.
Our workforce and our entire economy are strongest when
we embrace diversity to its fullest, and that means opening doors of
opportunity to everyone and recognizing that the American Dream
excludes no one-Thomas Perez. This points out that no matter what
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class you are that no one is left behind to achieving their American
Dream.
The problem is not that a few fat cats are pulling ahead of the
pack. The rest of us have seen little change or even falling income, in
inflation-adjusted terms. In the past three decades, economic growth
has generally benefited only those at the very top of the income ladder.97 Articles are only talking about how upper classes have better
chances at things and jobs than lower classes. We have been experiencing just such a moment around the American Dream. More people
are questioning whether the Dream is actually alive.98 People say that
American Dream is something real that involves a house, car, family,
and a career, but half of the people in America don't have any of that
because of the status of their situation: some are lower classes, homeless and don't have the ability to have things. Do the same
opportunities apply for the poor in America today? What is the American Dream now? These questions have to be asked. In the past three
decades, economic growth has generally benefited only those at the
very top of the income ladder.99 Was this really only in the past cause
it seems like is happening now. It's time Congress looked around and
noticed that for most of us, the American Dream is a far-away fiction.
The American Dream is something you need to gain and earn for
nothing comes free.
American Dream plays differently in people's life accordingly
to the race they are. Annel Garcia is a Mexican woman who is just
finding out what the American Dream means to her. Annel has seen
the difference between the social classes and now people are treated
just cause the color of their skin. She has noticed this because she sees
that white people have more benefits than anyone. They tend to have
better jobs, they have better incomes also theyre more educated than
97

Dearing, T. (2011, November 16). Where Is the American Dream Today? Retrieved
November 17, 2015
98
Dearing, T. (2011, November 16). Where Is the American Dream Today? Retrieved
November 17, 2015
99
What happened to the American Dream? (2005, April 8)

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other people. She feels that she has to work hard just to be at the same
level as others. Her American Dream is considered differently because
of her race she has to work ten times harder than usually other people
do. Mexican lifestyle isn't easy at all to be judged just by your skin
color sometimes causes depression, stress, and is overwhelming because these things make us want to shut ourselves down. We believe
that in order to do things and accomplish our American Dream we
need to be motivated and push to see the outcome of things. When it
comes to race, African-Americans are less likely to top their parents'
income and wealth than whites are. And blacks are more likely to be
stuck at the bottom of the ladder or fall out of the middle. This study
couldn't even measure black mobility in the upper income levels because the number was too small. Why does a rule have to define
people and what they're capable of doing in life and what they can
bring to the world? Most Americans would be more impressed by
someone who made it to second base starting from home plate than
someone who ended up on third base, when their parents started on
third base. But because we tend to focus strictly on outcomes when we
talk about success and mobility, we fail to acknowledge that the third
base runner didnt have to run far at all.100 Annel has success so
many things, she overcame people judging her, and now she's on her
5th year in college.
Annel, is a hard working sister and daughter, she learned that
she didn't have to become someone she doesn't want to be in order for
her to be able to reach her American Dream. She believed that the definition of the American Dream has changed throughout the course of
her life because she has developed a political consciousness, which is
a way to understand your identity in relation to the political system. A
lot of that consciousness is rooted in personal experiences and shed
also learned through her sociology and women's gender studies classes
about social, economic and political factors that play a role in our dayto-day lives. Annel hasnt reached nor accomplished her American
Dream because she feels she hasn't been prepared mentally to see
100

Dearing, T. (2011, November 16). Where Is the American Dream Today? Retrieved November 17, 2015

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what the future holds and plus she's in her early 20s. People see the
American Dream as something you can do whenever you want. This is
true, but to become something in life the American Dream is a starting
point. It doesn't matter if you're young or old you can have the chance
to achieve the American Dream.
The American Dream is still alive out there, and hard work
will get you there. You don't necessarily need to have an Ivy League
education or to have millions of dollars startup money. It can be done
with an idea, hard work and determination.-Bill Rancic. The American Dream can mean so many things to different people with different
races; the American Dream is what you desire to do in life what you
want to set your goals in. No American Dream is right or wrong. Everyone can have a different American Dream. Nobody has it easy in
life everyone had to work their hardest to become what they are now
or what they still want to become. A statement or an opinion of someone should not determine what you have set your mind for. What
Annel really wants in life; is to make her parents citizens because she
has witnessed what they have been through in order to live in America. She was satisfied knowing she has made her family happy,
showing that she was still the girl that grew up in the hoods, but was
also the girl who was able to make it to San Francisco State University
and prove to everyone that no matter where you live you're always
capable of doing. At some point, the American Dream meant having a
place to call your own, get a house paid for, have a job you liked,
transportation, take a vacation now and then, but those things didn't
seem so out of reach. Now, it's about survival. Many people worry if
they will eat or have a roof over their head at all. The American
Dream has been stolen. I don't believe that the American Dream
should be reserved for those who are born into the elite or somehow
have been given an advantage over others. My growing-up experience
is probably the most important thing that guides my priorities and my
work today.-Ken Salazar.

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BRIANNAJOSELINEANNELLUIS
DEWI TOMASFABRIZIOTONYGRACE
The green, tropical port city of Surabaya on the island of Java,
Indonesia is a strikingly different world from the mild and dry coastal
desert of San Diego. Surabaya is a patchwork of a city, a result of Indonesia's colorful history. Traditional Javanese structures stand
alongside Dutch and Portuguese colonial-era grandeur, against towering Mosques, and even modern monuments and high rises. At its core
though, its a world of Indonesian tradition, and the last place that one
would think of when considering the American Dream.
However, it was in Surabaya that in 1988 Dewi Prasetia was
born to Ethnic Chinese-Indonesian parents.

Though the majority of the country of 250 million is Javanese

and Muslim, Ethnic Chinese Indonesians make up roughly 2% of the
population. This minority population has been the subject of extreme
oppression that dates back to even before the Dutch colonists, peaking
in the mid 20th century under the policies of President Suharto, who
forbade everything from celebrating traditional Chinese festivals to
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speaking Mandarin in schools. In 1998, widespread anger over the

economic downturn caused these anti-Chinese sentiments to culminate
in mass violence and riots that specifically targeted Chinese owned
businesses, killing somewhere around 1,000 people101. This eventually
resulted in the resignation of President Suharto, who had been in power since the 1960s, thus ushering in a more progressive era, one more
tolerant of the Chinese culture.
It was in this climate that Dewi came of age in, a new Indonesia for her people. Her experiences in this Indonesia ultimately led her
to pursue her idea of an American Dream based on opportunity and
education.
Dewi grew up in a middle class house; her father was a doctor
of traditional Chinese medicine, and her mother had very little education. She was the first daughter in the family, and she had many
responsibilities growing up. Because of their traditional values, her
dad always emphasized the importance of education for his kids. It
was in school at Widya Mandala Catholic University in Surabaya that
she first heard the phrase American Dream.
My english teacher in the university, he told us When I was
young I went to The United States with my wife, and I spent five
years working very hard, working whatever I could do in restaurants,
cleaning, washing dishes, and when I came back to Indonesia, I could
bring a lot of money, I could buy a house, buy a car, and I started a
better life, this is the American Dream. A lot of Indonesians come to
the United States just to do whatever and then they bring the dollar
back, because the dollar value is very high. However, this initial exposure to the concept of the American Dream as a key to success and
money is not what led her to America.

101

Glionna, J. (2010, July 4). In Indonesia, 1998 violence against ethnic Chinese remains unaddressed. Retrieved November 18, 2015, from

330

We have a lot of western influence. In Indonesia if you can

send your daughter or son to a school the United States or Australia,
its a great source of pride for the family, because people know its a
lot of money.
Initially, she wanted to do her Bachelors degree anywhere
outside of Indonesia, like her friends who had all studied a year in
high school in Australia. She set her sights on Vancouver, Canada, but
her dad didnt let her; he feared for his oldest daughter to be so far
from home. Who would care for her? How would she get by? She
ended up doing her bachelors in Indonesia, where she decided she
would pursue a masters in business. She wanted to go beyond what
was expected of her, after all, her family had been in both eastern and
western medicine for generations.
I wanted to do my Masters in the US, because the US is
where the MBA originated...I remember in the university, I told one of
my professors, Hey I want to study MBA and she made fun of me
What do you mean you want to study MBA? Married by accident?
because we have a slang abbreviation in Indonesia, Married by accident, like when you have kids so you need to get married. From that
day on, I told myself, you know what, Im going to get my MBA no
matter what, and I will try my best.
It was this very determination that led her to ask her dad a second time, but again to no avail. He thought it would be best for her to
first study Chinese in Hong Kong, where her brother practiced medicine in Maccow. After a couple of years living in Hong Kong, she was
ready to return to Indonesia. This time, she was dead set on her goal.
She was ready to prove to everyone in Indonesia who doubted her that
she could in fact get a Masters degree. She was ready to prove that she
wasnt interested in getting married by accident, but ready to prove
to her dad that she could live independently in a new country.
After enrolling in a pre-masters program at San Diego State
to improve her English, she finally left for the US from Indonesia in
2011. She had never been to the United States before, and feared that
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like many of the Indonesians she knew that studied in western countries, she would not want to return. She merely wanted to get a masmasters degree, not start a new life.
Her life would have panned out very differently had she not,
in the end, crossed paths with Norma Garca, through a program with
San Diego State University that places international students in homes
of the college area. Norma, an immigrant from Mexico, was a widowed grandmother who lived in the college area, and had been renting
out rooms in her house to international students for decades. While
living with Norma, she met Normas son Eddie, and eventually they
got married.
I never expected it, but I married him. Everything changed
after that...My plan was after I finished my masters to come back to
Hong Kong, because my dream was always just to go back to Hong
Kong and work there. I never planned to stay here, honestly
The first thing she noticed about The United States is its differences from Indonesia.
Here compared to Indonesia, people are much more open.
Indonesia is much more judgemental...I think of America as a freedom
country, as a melting pot of people all over the world. They appreciate
your origin, or they really appreciate people who actually come to The
United States and try and chase the American Dream. Dewi learned
about this melting-pot firsthand not only through the international
students that she met studying at San Diego State, but also through
marrying into a Mexican family.
This viewpoint of what the American Dream is no doubt also
influenced by the fact that she never intended to live here and have a
life in America in the first place. Her American Dream was rooted in
the education that America could provide, but it quickly shifted to one
of feeling accepted as an American. Acceptance that she found
through her marriage and fulfillment of her goals through her educa332

tion. In a way, she feels proud to be an American. Only four years after she arrived, shes married, owns a small business, and of course, is
finally getting her MBA.
I dont think I have more status than my friends, but when I
go back to Indonesia they say Oh, you have a green card you can stay
there forever. So yeah, Im kind of proud to be an American, but my
heart is still back with my country.
A deeply rooted desire to make her family proud through her
education was what led Dewi to her now permanent-resident status.
Similarly, the link between the American Dream and education for
Dewi is a link present for many middle class Indonesians. She alludes
to this link herself, when talking about how in Indonesia most middle
class families send their children to study abroad in Australia or other
western countries, and this observation is supported by statistics, at
least at the university level. Behind Australia and Malaysia, The United States is the third most popular destination for Indonesian students
studying at the university level, with just over 7,000 students coming
in the 2011/2012 school year, the same year Dewi came. 102
These numbers however have been declining significantly
since the late 1990s. This decline could be attributed to the 1998 economic crash in Asia, but could also have to do with the September
11th attacks, and the increased scrutiny under which applications for
visas are reviewed. Some of the hijackers involved were in the United
States on expired student visas
.
Data shows that stringent visa regulations fear of discrimination against Middle Easterners and South Asians (especially against
male Muslims) in the United States...are all factors contributing to the
increasing interest of students in academic options offered by other

102

Clark, N. (2014, April 4). Education in Indonesia - WENR. Retrieved November 30, 2015

333

countries.103 Indonesia is not only a South-Eastern Asian country, but

also the world's largest Muslim country. Although Dewi was able to
get the necessary documentation to study in The United States, its
apparent that this is not always the case for Indonesians. This difficulty represents one factor in the availability of the American Dream in
different different people.
If you compare a middle class student born in California
whose American Dream is to go to college to a middle class international student whose American Dream it is to go to college outside
their own country, they will inevitably have very different journeys.
The Californian student will have to work very hard in high school,
get good grades, get accepted into a school, and then somehow be able
to find a way to pay for it. The international student will not only have
to meet those requirements, but in addition have to go through a
lengthy process to get an F-1 visa, the type of visa needed for international students students studying in the United States. This process
includes all sorts of paperwork, and even an interview at the US Consulate. It can be made harder, of course, if your country of origin
causes causes more delays.
These differences clearly teach us that in anyones pursuit of
the American Dream there will be obstacles, regardless of your background, especially if you take into account the challenges that face all
young people pursuing higher education, like affordability and accessibility.
These obstacles played a part in Dewis story because as an
international student she had to go through the process of getting her
F-1 visa, and of course the process of getting married to a US citizen
and changing her status to a permanent resident. She has seen the
lengths her fellow international students have to go to in order to stay
in the US.
103

Urias, D., & Camp Yeakey, C. (2005). International Students and U.S.
Border Security. The NEA Higher Education Journal, 87-197.

334

A lot of people come and then try to stay, and try to start a
new life in the United States. When I was studying in language school
a lot of girls were trying to find a husband just because they didnt
wanted to go back to their countries...people are always searching for
shortcuts to be residents, whether its marriage or any other way. I
don't consider that The American Dream, its cheating. Its because
of this the American Dream is already a different meaning than it
should be.
To Dewi, the meaning attached to her own American Dream
is the opportunity she created to make not only her family, but also
herself proud. She experienced the fulfilment that the American education system had to offer for her own goals, and upon achieving
those goals; she happened to create a new life for herself. Just because
she didnt have a clear concept of what her own American Dream
was, she proved to everyone that she was capable of getting what she
wanted as an independent person. Dewis American Dream is beautiful because it crossed international borders in unexpected ways, and as
she makes her family in Indonesia proud, she can also make her new
family in America proud.
On opposite ends of the Pacific, Surabaya and San Diego
seem like different worlds. Dewi Prasetia-Garca has seen and experienced both of these worlds, and in the end, her meaningful experience
with the American Dream teaches that the two worlds are not so different after all.

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BRIANNAJOSELINEANNELLUIS
DEWITOMASFABRIZIOTONYGRACE

We are the land of opportunity. Tomas Pea once said, In the

United States, if you want to become somebody, you can achieve it.
Tomas Pena, a young teenager, came to pursue his American Dream
from Mexico. It was the year 1991 when he decided to take advantage
of the opportunities that America had to offer. He came to the United
States for a better education and a chance at a lifestyle different from
the one back in Mexico. Throughout his journey, there were many
hardships he had to go through in order to achieve his sole purpose of
coming to the United States; however, these hardships did not stop
him from getting him to where he wanted to be.

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Tomas Pena came to the United States at the age of 15; when
he first arrived, he was undocumented, which made coming to the
United States hard because he had to start from zero and he was also
leaving behind his family. When he first arrived to the United States,
he lived with his sister who was married and had kids of her own. He
began working at a restaurant in Pacific Beach called Froggies, where
he not only did work, but also attended Mission Bay High School.
Tomas was to enroll into high school, back at home he was in his
sophomore year but coming to the United States he didnt have
enough credits so he had to redo his freshmen year again. Not only
does he describe this as a big setback, but not knowing how to speak
English made it more difficult because he could not understand what
he was learning. Although these both were big setbacks in what he
had planned, he believed he could overcome them. His plan was to
come to the United States and follow his dream of studying and attending college; he wanted to get a job and have enough money to
send to his family in Mexico and also enough to save up to buy a
house and have a family.
Later, Tomas became a legal citizen. From the beginning,
Tomas believed this was all possible, all he had to do was put his
mind to it and never give up. These challenges werent anything close
to what challenges he had back home when it came to his education.
The education in Mexico is much different than the one here in the
United States. Education is not a priority in Mexico. Only the most
financially privileged have a chance to excel in education. If a family
does not have enough to pay for school itself, uniform, and school
supplies, the children cannot attend school and instead must get a job
at a very young age. Tomas always dreamt of finishing high school,
something that very few of his family members had the chance to do.
He describes this like a opportunity that is so tedious yet so helpful in
becoming the person who you want to be. Like any regular high
school student he came across many challenges where it made him
think twice what he wanted for himself.
During the 90s, there was plenty of racism going around.
Many of the stereotypes he would hear are the ones that are still used
today, like beaners, illiterate, and wet backs. When I first came
337

across someone else calling a hispanic such a degrading name, I did

not know how to react to something so stupid yet so powerful and
hurtful to someone, Tomas explains. Although he never directly experienced this type of racism to this day he thinks labeling someone
because they are different is ignorant.
As time went by, he learned to speak, read, and write English.
He also became a star athlete for the Mission Bay High School Buccaneers playing for their football team and track team. There were
times when having half of his family in Mexico became something
that began to weigh down on him. Relatives passed away and he felt
so helpless because he could not be there to comfort his loved ones.
He felt disconnected with his family because he wasnt there for all
the good and bad times.
The American Dream is defined by the ideals of freedom,
equality, and opportunity traditionally held to be available to every
American.104 Tomas was not a US citizen yet, but he quickly managed
to learn the language and the American culture. He married his high
school sweetheart, who encouraged him and insured him that he could
do anything he set his mind to, even his goal of attending attend college. And so he did, Tomas went to Mesa College the year after his
graduation in 1995. Managing work and school was often like, juggling valuable vases if either one fell it would cause serious damage to it
and have consequences, knowing that if he stopped working, he
would not have the money to pay for rent and to feed himself, but if he
were to stop going to college, he would not get to the place he wanted
to be, which was to be financially stable have a good place to live and
a good paying job with a college diploma. He began working more
and more, he quickly got used to getting easy money without actually
having a good education.

104

How Do Americans Define the American Dream in 2015? (2015, May 1).
Retrieved November 17, 2015, from
<http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2015/04/what-is-the-american-dream>

338

Because of this, Tomas only finished two years of college and

dropped out because his mindset became focused purely on the money
aspect. He says, Like any other dream you have, there is always going to be times when you give up or things don't go your way, as soon
as I dropped out of college I instantly became aware that the money I
was making wasnt going to pave the path to the future I wanted.
He was in his 20s, and he instantly realized that life was
hard; everything about adult life was hard. Every single thing he gave
no value to became something important he had to constantly care for.
I seems nowadays money and where you stand economically becomes
something that almost defines what type of person you are. Tomas
strongly disagrees with this, he believes that a number should never
define someone and what type of person they are. With the very little
college education, he only managed to obtain a good but not so great
paying job as a Kitchen Manager in another restaurant; not only did he
work in a Kitchen but he also did graveyard shifts power washing and
sometimes even carpet cleaning just to be able to make ends meet.
Till this day I have constant battles in my head trying to figure why I
chose to go down the path I did.
Opportunity, this is the word he constantly seemed to use
when speaking and describing his American Dream then, now, and the
one for his future. Through the hardships and highest peaks of his
journey of achieving his American Dream, Tomas still describes the
American Dream as a progressing movement. The American Dream
will always change alongside history; it could change for better or for
worse. The US now offers the Dream Act which gives the chance for
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undocumented students a chance for a better education.105 Tomas

wishes he would have had a chance at this opportunity for it would
have given him a reason to stay in school and to graduate. He does not
regret anything, but he does know that when you work hard something
much greater will be used to pay you back. When asked to give advice
to someone who is now currently in pursuit of their own American
Dream, he simply states, Work hard for everything you wish to
achieve, set goals for yourself and dont ever doubt yourself and what
you are capable of doing. Tomas currently continues to make his
dream into a reality, he now works for the government and gets a better pay and does not have to worry about having to work long hours.
All in all, he believes that he is still working on achieving the dream
he had when he first came to the United States. He can proudly say
that all his work has been repaid. Getting to the place where he is now
was not so simple. Every drop of sweat and every heartache has been
worth it because he is slowly getting what he wanted as a young teenager. Tomas continues to accomplish the many other goals he has for
himself. He still wants to buy himself a house and own his own restaurant when he has enough money to invest. Tomas describes his
journey of achieving his American Dream what it was, is, and will be
as, Progression and Change. Tomas follows this with saying that as
an individual you change every day, and as part of a nation we all
progress in what we hope is to something better.
The American Dream has a different value and meaning to
each individual. Tomas valued the opportunity he was given throughout his time living in the United States. He wanted to show others that
coming to the United States, anything can be accomplished and although it may not be easy with hard work and determination, you can
accomplish just about everything. After all, we do live in the land of
opportunity.

105

Dearing, T. (2011, November 16). Where Is the American Dream Today?

Retrieved November 17, 2015, from
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tiziana-dearing/us-wealthgap_b_1093582.html>

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The decade of the 2000s was filled with events that shaped
what the American Dream is today. With the turn of a new millennium meant a new start. There was many events that did happen and left
a mark on our history. It was September 11, 2001, a devastating terrorist attack by an Islamic terrorist group left more than 3,000 people
dead in New York and Washington D.C. This tragic event left the
whole nation shocked. After 9/11, many Islam and Muslim were often
looked at funny or were automatically assumed to be terrorist, this
became something that would interfere with their American Dream
because now they were often looked down as inferior and dangerous.
Soon after, war with Afghanistan left many men and women to serve
and fight. His high school sweetheart, his wife, then enlisted in the
Navy right after graduating high school. Although 9/11 did not directly affect him, he explains that as a nation every American was
devastated by such tragedy. 9/11 brought the nation a bit closer because our hearts were all with those who had lost someone that
day106, Tomas explains. With war in the minds of many Americans,
the American Dream and its meaning may have shifted due to this.
The simple thought of having to worry about your safety, became
something else you to think about while striving to achieve your
American Dream.
The 2000s have brought us blogs on every subject, random
thoughts on Facebook and Twitter, 10,000 songs in our pockets
and piano-playing cats on YouTube.107 Along with such tragedy
came a revolution in technology, and human progression. Progression
the word choice Tomas used to describe the American Dream. Technology was a chance to stay connected and entertained. Technology
106

Have Americans Lost Faith In the 'American Dream' ? (2011, November

15). Retrieved November 17, 2015, from
<http://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2011/11/15/have-americans-lostfaith-in-the-american-dream/>
107
James, M. (2004, December 4). The 2000s: A Decade of Doom or Diversions? Retrieved December 7, 2015, from
<http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/Decade/defining-2000s-decade-doomdigital-divas/story?id=9174978>

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became a big factor in the American Dream. Technology advancement

became easier for Tomas to communicate with his loved ones back in
Mexico. Not only was this an advantage for Tomas but for many other
Americans.
Americans like to argue that there is still faith in the American
Dream, but with a simple question like, what and who defines the
American Dream? It really puts in perspective on realizing what the
American Dream means or better yet, even is. A lot now is defined
where you are socially placed, are you lower class, middle class, or
high class? Its sound so bad to ask someone what class they fall in,
but it is now the way we are defined as Americans. Why was a social
pyramid implemented in the first place? The social standing has become a wealth gap between Americans, often determining if they have
achieved their American Dream. The American Dream was put in
place to prove that our system was better than the Soviet way, and
now it is used to prove to each other as Americans who is better
amongst each other.
This so called dream used to mean owning a car, owning a
home, and having enough money to live off after working for a majority of your life. Like many other American, this was Tomas ideal
American Dream.

We seem to always follow some type of script written from

someone who most likely had the opportunity to achieve their own
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American Dream. So many factors begin to affect how you achieve

the formed structure of the American Dream. In the lands of our ancestors, opportunities for self-actualization and unlimited success were
negligible except for those born into families of class and privilege.108 Social mobility became so much more clear in the 2000s,
those in the wealthier family had a better chance to stay at the social
standing rather than the person who was born into a lower class, who
then would have to work twice as hard as the other person. This was
something Tomas struggled with, he came to the United States to
change his financial situation and now he had to work even harder
than someone more privileged. While CEOs earn more than they can
possibly spend, most Americans are struggling to make ends meet on
less. 109 Not only do wealthy people have the opportunity to achieve
their dream of becoming a CEO, if you are from the lower class there
is often times where you have to work harder to get to a position like
that.
Every event during the 2000s has and is still impacting our
meaning of the American Dream. Today it is obvious to see how it
impacted how we perceive our ability and understanding of it. The
2000s have made it so that this is viewed in black and white. Although not totally realistic nor totally fictional, there is still hope that
in this decade one can establish that an American Dream should be a
dream for everyone not only for a privileged individual.
The American Dream will be something that will continue to
progress and change as years go by. It could be for the better or it
could be for worse. What it does do is give us a slight chance at something to dream of something to look forward to. Like any other decade
the 2000s will be good and bad where people change and their ideas
do as well, it is what human progression. We have nothing against
108

Boushey, D. (2005, April 8). How Do Americans Define the American

Dream in 2015? Retrieved November 17, 2015, from
<http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2015/04/what-is-the-american-dream>
109
Boushey, D. (2005, April 8). How Do Americans Define the American
Dream in 2015? Retrieved November 17, 2015, from
<http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2015/04/what-is-the-american-dream>

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successful careers or wealth or fame, but far more of us believe that

the American Dream is about giving our kids a better life.110 Now is
the time to stop glorifying a luxurious lifestyle, but for us to achieve
our dream not only for ourselves but for others, and maybe to be in a
place where we are happy without need of such materialistic objects.

110

How Do Americans Define the American Dream in 2015? (2015, May 1).
Retrieved November 17, 2015, from
<http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2015/04/what-is-the-american-dream>

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BRIANNAJOSELINEANNELLUIS
DEWITOMASFABRIZIOTONYGRACE
Fabrizio Fabri Marcello Bresciani, was young male seeking
to make his dream come true. Fabris journey began on November
8th, 1995, when he was born into Bergamo, Italy. As the first born
child in a middle class Italian family, Fabri pursued his early years
with ease. His parents, Sergio and Gabriella Bresciani, informed Fabri
that the family would soon be leaving Bergamo for a life in America.
He was confused; he did not understand the reason for abandoning
Italy. Everything he knew came from Italy. His friends and his close
family lived within Italy. Only four years old, Fabri packed his bags
and headed on a flight to North America.
The trip was long and unsettling. To Fabri, the first step off of
the airplane and onto the passenger boarding bridge was like stepping
onto the moon for the first time. It all happened so fast, it was like
completely forgetting where you were from in a matter of hours.
From the groups of unique people seen at the airport, to the new
American attractions, everything was eye candy to Fabri. His father
looked forward to job opportunities within the states, better pay, insurance, and better work environment. On his first night in America,
the Bresciani family stayed in a small hotel located in California. Unprepared and shaken up, his American Dream began.

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The celebration was the same, but the environment was not.
Fabri was turning 5, but he was not comfortable in where he was.
Fabrizio did not know any of his family on his Mexican side, and he
was not eager to meet them. He did not want to be introduced to family friends and aunts and uncles that he had never heard of. He just
wanted to be back home in Bergamo. His birthday did not matter to
him. His dream was starting to sound more like an Italian dream, rather than an American Dream. Fabrizio went on the achieve whatever
he possibly could.
Fabri looked forward to watching television after his days at
school. He planned on becoming a superhero when he grew up,
fighting criminals, and saving the day. Fabrizio listened in on his family talking. They would talk about crazy scenarios with astronauts,
and I would question why I couldnt be just like them. Fabri was not
learning the basics of English that all the other kids knew. The language barrier set me back as a child, I felt almost as if I was behind
because of it. My parents were unable to teach me language well
growing up. Most of the kids at his school knew English well and did
not struggle like Fabrizio did. Fabri was forced to learn English with
his grandmother in addition to his normal kindergarten classes.
Growing up fast and truly gripping reality really altered my
thoughts for my future. Fabrizio felt as if he grew up much faster
than most kids his age, he felt as if it was not fair he had to learn so
much more in less time. Fabri was soon made aware that he would not
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be able to grow up as a superhero. We were not making tons of money at the time, and we didn't have a plentiful to spend, so it was hard
on my parents and that made me mature faster. Fabrizios family was
not in the best social class, and they were not as financially stable as
they had hoped to be. With all of these items holding him back, Fabri
believed he would end up as a janitor, a busboy, or a salesman. Fabris
own American Dream was altered in front of his own eyes; maybe his
dream could not come true after all. Fabrizio realized that not everyone could be as successful as they sought out to be. Maybe owning a
Lamborghini was unrealistic. Maybe having a three-story mansion
was impossible. Maybe you had to lower your expectation and hope
for the best.
If I have anything that truly belongs to me, its my dream.
Nothing changes your dream besides yourself. Your dream only modifies if you let it. Influence comes from anyone, anything, anywhere,
and it only changes your mind of your dream if you allow it to do so.
Only you decide on your own dream. Sergio Bresciani, Fabris father
was promoted to assistant regional manager at his job and his family
slowly started to become more and more financially stable.
Graduation night, St. Martin of Tours Academy. Fabri had to
begin thinking of high school. Graduating from a private catholic
school. He hadnt even graduated 8th grade and still was already
stressed over 9th. A change in friends, school location, and academics.
He was surrounded by his friends, and his family was there to support
him through his life changes. So much was flooding his mind, he did
not even believe in God. Originally Catholic, because of my Italian
and Mexican heritage, but after much consideration and time within
Catholic school I realized that I don't need religion, as much as I needed basic education in my life. So many decisions needed to be made
so suddenly.
First day at Kearny Mesa High School, Fabri looked forward
to meeting his teachers, but not so much meeting the new kids. He
was taking foreign language, math, physics, and chemistry in fresh347

man year. The campus wasnt the most beautiful, graffiti on the walls
and a dark environment. He felt as if he would never fit into an environment like this. He had no idea of what to expect in high school, so
he tried to play along with his academics to the best of his ability.
Fabrizio Bresciani transferred from Kearny Mesa High School
to High Tech High Media Arts in his sophomore for academic purposes. He didnt feel that Kearny Mesa was really teaching him what he
wanted to know. He wanted to go into art and design, and figured a
school focused on media arts would be the perfect choice for him. The
work and stress of school became more and more difficult throughout
the years, but he finally graduated from HTHMA and began to pursue
his college journey. Graduating from high school is not very different
from graduating from grade school. It is another achievement of succeeding and opening up to more future experiences to come.

Our perception of the American Dream is more of a concept than

anything else. Maybe the dream is more of a mindset rather than a
goal to achieve. Fabri is currently attending college at Grossmont. He
majors in psychology, is learning Japanese, and he has side interest in
art and design.
Id like to believe that the American Dream does have meaning to everyone, but more so to the people who have nothing else but
the ability to believe in it alone. Maybe you dont believe in the
American Dream yourself. After all, you do have the choice to believe
in the dream. It is not a burden you have to carry, unless you make it.
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If everyone looks forward to success, no one will realize how much

poverty and failure actually exists in the world.
The year was 1999; Fabrizio was only 4 years old when his
family decided to emigrate to America. During the time, Italian immigration rates were rapidly ceasing, immigration was no longer needed.
His family stayed in a hotel for the first week in California, soon to
find housing with family friends. Since he already had family living in
the states, Fabrizio was lucky to be introduced to the positive, accepting side of American immigration quickly.
About 5.5 million Italians immigrated to the United States
from 1820 to 2004. Around the early years of 1860, many economic
issues in Italy developed over the worth of a euro. These economic
issues within large cities in Italy left many small business owners,
landowners, farmers, and sharecroppers with no other option other
than to emigrate away from their homes and families. A majority of
these groups were attracted to emigrating instead accepting poverty.
Often, the father and older sons were seen as more fit for work, so
they would go first, leaving the mother and the rest of the family behind until the male members could afford their passage. 111 The
numbers really stand out: in the 1880s the Italian-American immigrant count numbered 300,000; in the 1890s about 600,000; and after
another decade, more than two million. Fabrizio would become one of
the many Italians to come into America.
Many Italians seeking to get into America were introduced to
the immigration stations at Ellis Island, New York. Ellis Island was to
go to immigration during these times, Immigrants had to endure many
hardships in the process. Many of the immigrants were stereotyped,
and deported due to unfair reasoning like racial profiling. They were
often victims of prejudice, economic exploitation, and sometimes even
violence.
111

Italian - The Great Arrival - Immigration...- Classroom Presentation |

Teacher Resources - Library of Congress. (n.d.). Retrieved November 18,
2015

349

At the time of arrival, not only did the immigrants show up in

large cities on the East coast, (New York City, Boston, Philadelphia,
Chicago, and Milwaukee) but also in remote states like California or
Florida. This was Fabrizios case in ending up here in California. At
these times of mass immigration into the United States, Italians suffered through discrimination in housing and employment. Many of the
immigrants had to work as soon as they arrived in order to make any
money in the states. The Italian male immigrants were most often employed in arduous manual labor, heavily involved in public works,
such as the construction of roads, sewers systems, subways and bridges. Physical labor was unappealing to the working individual, so it
was easy to assign to immigrants. Other occasional job opportunities
were also available but much harder to get, such as: agriculture, fishing, mining, railroad construction, and lumbering. The American
Dream started here, with a low paying job in a large or rural city or
town in the US. Immigrant families could not afford living expenses
without a hard working individual bringing in a solid source of income.
Approximately one third of all Italian immigrants planned on
being stationed within America for a limited amount of time. The
Bresciani family was not prepared to stay in states for as long as they
did. Many did return to Italy, however others chose to stay or were
prevented to return home after the outbreak of the First World War.
Many were left with no other option than to wholeheartedly support or
even fight for our country. Since immigrants claimed loyalty to their
new country, it was disrespectful to not offer a helping hand during
the World War I.
Today, over 17 million Americans claim Italian ancestry.
Meaning of the 325,000,000 living Americans today, 1 in 20 people
have a trace of Italian heritage. Not only was Italian immigration big
in the United States during these years, but Mexican, Chinese, German and Indian immigration happened at the same time. Many
different ethnic groups moved into America over the years and have
shaped our history, the present, and the future to come. Fabrizio has
played a role as one individual of the many groups to move into
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America and start a life. Without racial association, the United States
would not be the amazing and unique country it has become today.

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BRIANNAJOSELINEANNELLUIS
DEWITOMASFABRIZIOTONYGRACE
In life, you adjust to your natural instincts. Even though it
might be hard sometimes, you just have to do what you feel is right.
Raised in the Chicago area in 1999, Tony Chapel was a very independent young teen. He is a white/Italian Muslim male. By the age of
16, Tony had to depend on himself and had to become more responsible. He got a job and started to drive himself places. I was not under
my parent's control. I would drive myself to school, I would drive myself to work, and I was responsible to get my own money, buying my
own stuff.

Tony grew up as a very ambitious guy. He has become a

proud father of four, and also a caring husband. He is a very kind and
warm hearted person. Growing up in the suburbs of Chicago, Tony
had many hobbies. He enjoyed skating, rollerblading and drawing in
his free time. Like most teens, his American Dream was to own a
mansion/ 3,000-5,000 sq ft. house. He wanted a big car, and a beautiful wife, and wanted to be wealthy. He envisioned his life to have a
lavish lifestyle and to travel the world, meeting many different people.
As he got older, his view on the American Dream changed drastically.
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He became wiser and started to become more realistic about his

American Dream. Tony said, I think now, I have more perspective on
the world, and life and what's important. Tony became more open
minded and broadened his lens on the American Dream, but this did
not prepare him for what was going to happen in his early life.
Tony suffered a major tragedy in the 8th grade. He received
the news that his great grandfather had passed away. He was overwhelmed and didn't know how to accept his passing. His great
grandfather worked for a phone company and invested a lot of money
into stocks, and when he passed, all that money went to Tony's great
grandmother. Not knowing that his great grandfather left him money,
Tony went to a private engineering school and took out a lot of student loans. He knew that it may take him a long time to pay back the
money, but he still wanted to go to school to pursue his dream. When
he got the news that all his student loans were paid off due to his great
grandfather, Tony was beyond ecstatic. This opportunity enabled Tony to reach his American Dream and also helped shaped his future.
Unlike other college students, Tony had the privilege of having all his student loans paid off in full. If it wasn't for his great
grandfathers savings, Tony would not be where he is today. Some
challenges that Tony faced while trying to reach his American Dream
were getting a good score on the A.C.T test to get into college, including getting into college and applying for grad school. Other challenges
for Tony were finding a wife, and having children and moving around
the country. These obstacles affected him, but he still wanted to move
forward with his life. He felt like all his challenges happened for a
reason, and if those challenges were not met, then he wouldn't have
been able to achieve his American Dream.
After Tony finished four years in engineering school he got a
job. A few months into that job as an engineer, Tony knew that job
wasn't the ideal job for him when leaving engineering school. Since
Tony's grandfather lived in San Diego, he decided to move there and
finish his master's degree to get that real job he wanted, and he did just
that. Currently, Tony feels like the American Dream still has a meaning. To Tony everyone has their own dreams for themselves. He
thinks that most people have dreams and visions of the country. After
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a lot of hard work, Tony became an electronic engineer working as a

manager for an electrical engineering company. Tony had to focus on
what he really wanted in life and go for it. He travels from time to
time due to his job, and enjoys going around America
According to Tony, the challenge is that people don't all have
the same dream/goal, and they can't move forward with one dream all
together. In Tony's eyes, he achieved his American Dream. He has a
job that he wakes up to every morning and feels happy to go to and
pursue. He doesn't have to stress over much. He has a family, 3 beautiful children and a loving wife. For me, I'm good. I don't need
anything more. Not all things in life need to be about living large and
having all the flashy cars and big houses, but more about spending
time with your loved ones, and making the most of what you have.
Looking back at his past, Tony laughs at what he thought his
American Dream was when he was 16. Sometimes he wonders how
his life would have ended up if his life did not go as it did. Would he
still be where he is now, or would he be somewhere else?
Throughout the highs and lows in Tony's life, he did what he
had to do to support his family while making himself happy. This
shows the mindset that Tony had going into his life, and the responsibility he had as well. Tony lives in his dream everyday which is to
have a job that he enjoys and have a healthy loving family, and he is a
happy person.
America is the land of the free and the home of the brave. The
American Dream is defined by, Owning a home has long been a big
part of the American Dream. Despite this, the proportion of adults
who own their homes has been on the decline. Homeownership rates
have been dropping since the middle of the past decade. Rental vacancies spiked during the Great Recession and have plummeted since,
indicating a shift from owning homes to renting apartments112. To
have a home to own is a common goal when it comes to the American

112

Kiersz, A. (2015, January 5). The American Dream Is Dying. Retrieved

November 19, 2015

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Dream. If you are planning on buying a home it is going to be very

expensive to do in modern America.
How could someone achieve the American Dream? Do you
have to be a white male or could you be a minority and still achieve
the American Dream. How does one achieve the American Dream?
Yet the question remains, how does one achieve this success? How is
the Dream realized? For many Americans the formula is one of instant, albeit elusive, gratification. Rather than adhering to a traditional
work ethic, far too many Americans are pinning their hopes on what
they perceive as easy money. This article focuses on three phenomena in contemporary American society that have successfully captured
the quest for the American Dream. Savvy marketers have convinced
their audiences that a new wave of television game shows, lottery
luck, and lucrative lawsuits are the way to wealth113. In modern day
today, the American Dream is very hard to get and expensive. This
isn't what the American Dream should be like because everyone
should have the opportunity to get/achieve the American Dream in
modern America.
The American Dream is a myth. It should not be called the
American Dream; it's more of goals someone wants to accomplish
through living. Most people migrate to America for a better life and
in hopes to one day to get that so called American Dream. Even
though it's hard to get the American Dream nowadays, is gives people
a goal and vision to want and one day have. Tony talked about how a
lot of families at his high school came to America for a better life and
for happiness. Tony was also talking about how some of the immigrants at his school wouldn't be treated right and equal by other
students because they were different to the.
This quote shows factual evidence to Tony's observation and shows how it was accurate, Since 1973, the bottom fifth of
families have seen their income fall by an average of 0.2 percent per
year, while the bottom 40 percent have seen no growth at all. At the
same time, the top fifth of families have seen their income rise by 1.1
113

Warshauer, M. (2003, February 13). The American Dream. Retrieved November 30, 2015

355

percent per year. Since the recession of the early 2000s, however, inequality has begun to grow again. Growing inequality over the past few
years has been accompanied by economic growth and rising productivity. Between 2003 and 2004, the gross domestic product increased
by 3.0 percent and productivity increased by 4 percent. (Liz, 2008)
This quote is basically saying that through 27 years, the inequality
grew tremendously.
In conclusion, the 2000s was the tip of the iceberg when it
came to many things like technology, ideas, society and the future.
Tony believed that basically everyone wanted a big house, and nice
cars. Everyone could have achieved the dream. You had to have a
strong household and financial support to get it. If you didn't get into a
good university, you couldn't get/achieve the American Dream. Overall, you just had to have a lot of money to pay for college, then a lot of
support to help you get through the high and lows.

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BRIANNAJOSELINEANNELLUIS
DEWITOMASFABRIZIOTONYGRACE
Grace Bagunu once said, Life can be hard if you let it be
hard, or you can see it as an opportunity. As an Asian-American female that was born in the United States, Grace often sees her life
through the lens of striving, persevering, growing, and of course, in
the land of opportunity.
Grace grew up in a big family, and because she was the
youngest of nine children, Grace at a young age, was greatly influenced by her family. One of the first scenarios that influenced Grace
was her parents decision to leave the Philippines and strive for a better life to pursue their dreams in America. The work they did to even
get me here. Grace says thankfully. Not only her parents, but because
Grace was the youngest, she was able to see the American Dream that
all her other siblings led, and this inspired her to do the same. She began to see the path and opportunities that were open for her siblings.
Her family acted as role models for Grace to look up to, hearing their
dreams and goals; watching everything that her siblings wanted out of
life and seeing that they could achieve their American Dream. This
inspired Grace to also look for her achievements. It was almost as if
there was a paved road with open doors left out for Grace to achieve
her own dreams.
Because Grace grew up in the Midwest (Kansas City, Missouri), she noticed that there seemed to be high expectations from the
Asian community when it was related to education. Her high school
career became an advantage because the assumption was that she
would do well, and of course, she wanted to live up to that expectation; therefore it became easy in high school for that prediction to
357

come true. Unfortunately, as soon as Grace went to college, she started noticing a gap between Asian minorities and it was much harder for
her to live up to this false expectation that others portrayed on her. She
explains, You see them in higher education, but if you really pay attention, those are Asians who have been here for generations, whereas
Southeast Asians, or refugees coming to this country, theyre not performing at the same rate, so then it gets massed, and theres this whole
subculture of Asians who arent doing well, but nobody sees them.
Grace stresses on how all around the world there are many different
kinds of Asian people, and the world-wide stereotype given is that
they are good at math, or overall smart people. Because of this, society assumes Asians are always going to do well in the education world
without hesitation. Since Grace was the first generation in her family
to be born in America and go to college, a big struggle for her was
finding the support and resources she needed in order to be successful
during her undergrad. The high standard stereotypes of the Asian
community became so ingrained in society, that because she is Asian,
it is automatically assumed that all Asians are accustomed to college
life, or the education world. Alas, because of the pressure in college
without having any support, Grace made the poor decision to drop out.
Her mind runs with all these thoughts, I never wanted to disappoint
my family, she explains, I never wanted to be a disgrace. She tried
keeping this from her parents, but it wasnt until it was time to enroll
for the next year, they knew. However, this downfall in her life was
not going to stop her from achieving her American Dream.
As a young girl, she was greatly inspired by her father, who
opened her eyes to the world of education for not only its importance
on what it means, but also what it brings for the future. Because of
this, Graces American Dream was always rooted and instilled in education. She often reminded herself of this. She believed that once you
get the education, doors will open for a job, thus, youve already
achieved a part of the dream because someone sees value in you.
Grace was determined to get there. Although during her undergrad she
made the decision to drop out, Grace still felt she was coming of age
because she wasnt afraid to explore what it was like to make her own
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decisions, even if in the end they were poor ones. She always remembered that education was her American Dream, and she wasnt going
to let this small obstacle get in her way of that. About a year after,
Grace had the opportunity go back home and finish up her undergrad
at the University of Missouri-Kansas City where she met the director
of student activities and found her inspiration to pursue her work in
student affairs. Once I realized that you could do that for a living, to
get involved with all these student activities, orientation; how helpful
those are to students in college, I realized that was something I wanted
to do. she says. Her passion to help students was driven from her
mistakes, so she could be there to help students during their journey
through college. By the time Grace was in her Mid-Late 20s, she
moved from her hometown and headed straight to California; she became self-sufficient and pursued her passion for higher education and
student affairs where she now would gain her Bachelors degree, Masters Degree and PhD.
But even with Grace thriving in her higher education, there is
a part of her identity that she feels she is most challenged with, her
gender identity. Because she is female, Grace feels there is a battle
within herself with how she must be presented, or what others will say
or think of her. I feel like Im constantly trying to prove myself, its
not necessarily a disadvantage, but I wake up every morning and I
have to think about how Im going to dress, or how young I look, because I am an Asian Female, in the classroom; its just a different way
to engage, in the world even, maybe I wont get a certain job because
the way I look. As she says this, it becomes clear how, not only
Grace, but many other women feel very frustrated with always having
to look a certain way to have their opinions be heard, or how to be
acknowledged. As a female, Grace often wonders if having higher
education even matters in the work field considering she has a masters degree but a man without one gets paid more than she does.
However, Grace sees the money and success aspect of the
American Dream in a different light. She says, Its no longer rooted
in capitalism, its not about the money anymore, its about doing good
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and doing whats right, a paycheck to my heart and a reason for being. Grace believes her dream is in service for the community rather
than her personal benefits; she finds security from change in her
community along with growth in herself. When asked if Grace has
achieved her American Dream, it was automatically known just by the
look on her face that she no doubt has achieved what she has set out to
do, and even beyond. She says with confidence, I think if we stop
trying to strive for something, were no longer living. This is exemplified with Graces education and her dreams because once you
achieved a goal, you dont stop, and this perfectly describes how she
continued on her higher education, and pushed through any obstacles
that troubled her, and is now achieving her dreams by furthering her
education, by enrolling in a doctorate program.
Life is... it isnt supposed to be easy, thats how we build
character, face the obstacles we overcome, build your capacity and
grow. It is obvious that Grace holds her head high for life and sees it
much more than just living. Grace looks at life as an opportunity to
strive and see everything that comes her way as a gateway to furthering her knowledge. She has come far in achieving her American
Dream because she puts meaning in the actions and decisions she
makes throughout her life. Everyone has challenges and obstacles they
face throughout life, but Grace has her eyes on the outcome. I have to
want that enough to see something beyond this moment right here...
have a reason to keep living, keep going, and persevering. She says
with a smile. It is clear that Grace has the many characteristics of the
21st century American.
The 21st century in America can be described as a decade
where society started to shift and change socially, economically, and
politically. Whether good or bad, the people of America still adjusted
their lifestyles in order to achieve their American Dream. Not only
was the population growing in America but knowledge and new ideas
were spreading throughout. It was also a time in which there were
big changes in knowledge in how people see knowledge and how
they use it. This period is now widely known as the beginning of the
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Knowledge Age to distinguish it from the Industrial Age.114 This

decade is believed to be called the knowledge age because new ideas
are becoming known to society, and technology is advancing. In the
2000s, there are constantly new innovative technologies created that
become helpful to society; what is this decade without the advantage
of smartphones and the internet? Grace in particular has used technology to her advantage when achieving her American Dream. She says,
Part of that is because my career has brought me down a path where I
really integrated social media practices in professional development
while working with other student affairs professionals. With the ability to be mobile, the advancements in technology has allowed Grace to
change the way she works, whether its as a Foodie on Yelp, or the
Skype meetings with colleagues. Knowledge and technology in the
21st century opens new doors for anyone, it doesnt just relate to the
education world, but rather anything you are trying to pursue. Grace
saw this in a new light, because it gave her the ability to communicate
with others and create relationships with people to learn and further
her knowledge in education to achieve her American Dream. It is clear
to say this decade is progressing faster than ever, with the many hightech technologies and new ideas.
In the ideal, American Dream of the 21st Century, opportunity seems to be a huge part of what makes us humans strives. Of
the next 10 people who you meet, 8.5 will bear a faith in their unlimited opportunity. The ability to become a ballerina, physicist, holder of
patents, teacher of poetry, real estate mogul, pro basketball player,
senator, ambassador, president or even a TV-show host.115 It is highly
valued in this decade that opportunity in life helps us envision our
American Dream and how itll all play out in the future. Whether you
talk about the American Dream in the past or present day, it is all believed Americans should have equal opportunity.
When Grace sees her American Dream, she explains it is of114

The Knowledge Age. (n.d.). Retrieved October 12, 2015

Powers, R. (2000, May 7). Identity; American Dream. Retrieved October
12, 2015
115

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ten tested because of her gender and race identity. In this society and
decade, the male in the work field still seems to get paid more than a
woman, and it becomes frustrating to Grace because she often wonders if her education means anything, considering some men without a
doctoral get paid more than she does. In addition, Graces racial identity is pushed as well because of all the labels and assumptions that are
given to the Asian American communities. Theyre put on a scale
from too good for education to not good enough, and in the end,
social stress put on them becomes overwhelming. Although those stereotypes and labels of Asians dont seem harmful, it is still frustrating
because the assumption is that they are automatically going to do well
without any resources given. On the contrary, when Grace is often
pushed to her limits with these disadvantages, she always finds a way
to look at her identifiers differently and turn it into a positive light;
everyone has struggle in their life, it builds character and these disadvantages werent going to stop Grace in achieving her American
Dream, because her ability to be optimistic and open-minded within
herself goes further and then become advantages in her life.
This decade has shaped Grace into who she is today. The grit
that she faced throughout her life really helped her in achieving what
she wanted to do, when she faced the challenges in her undergrad, she
kept on persevering and even when times became rough and she hit
bumps in the road, Grace still saw the outcome of it all and is now
challenging herself and pursuing her passion of higher education. And
because of her love for education, Grace teaches children what higher
education means and believes they can achieve it too.

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Grace is a Filipino-American female that is determined and

continuously seeking for knowledge and strives for her goals in life.
She is a perfect example of how the ideal American Dream doesnt
always refer to the wealthy, white, society. She is a female minority
even when Grace finds herself in situations where things dont work
out in her advantage, she believes everyone is able to achieve the
goals they set out and strive for even more; their American Dream.
Grace still believes that this dream Americans envision still exists; she
says, It is important to have dreams, to do what motivates us. The
21st century has become the decade for society to realize that they are
able to stand out as individuals and believe they can achieve the passions they might have, to have an American Dream with higher
education and opportunity. Because of this, Grace sees her identity as
an advantage that opens new doors and opportunities in order to keep
furthering her American Dream and her love for education.
After everything that has happened and is still happening in
the 21st century, it really tests and stretches people to show their full
potential; we all seem to share the common values of opportunity and
the need to strive. Even if life doesnt want to go your way at times, in
this generation, we find ways to overcome any obstacle. This generation is currently taught that life is supposed to be challenging at times,
but you need to see your way through it, look past it, and grow from
there. When achieving your American Dream in the 21st century, you
have to have the grit to know you will get there, Life can be hard if
you let it be hard, or you can see it as an opportunity. -Grace Bagunu.
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Part II: Student Reflections on the American Dream

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CONTENTS
Alin Acosta // Inherited Dreams
Makenna Albano // Imperfect America
Francisco Amador // White Picket Fence
Aaron Bagaoisan // America And I
Kayla Baos // Dream Or Reality
Josh Barragan // You Are The Author Of Your Life
Cecilia Carranza-Davis // My American Dream
Emilio Carranza-Davis // Old Way Of Living
Luke Davidson // Not Perfect
Marcus Edwards // The American Dream of Marcus Edwards
Daniel Enriquez // Box Of Life
Mauricio Figueroa // Reality Check
Jacob Fine // Conceptions
Brian Fonseca // My Idea of The American Dream
Francisco Garcia // Last Roll
Ezekial Gomez // Conflicting Thoughts
Alvaro Gonzalez // Rent
Diana Gonzalez // The Beginning Of My America
Michael Gonzalez // No Change
Abdul Hagiismail // The Views
Miriam Hernandez Gomez // Dreams Dissected By Reality
Deanna Hernandez // I Will Be
Stephen Hymer // Is There Such a Thing
Kathryn Joachim-Robles // Not So Traditional American Dream

Aijah Jones // A Time To Reminisce

Aidan Jones // Dream Of America
Mandalyn Kime // What Do I Do
Diana Leon // A New Beginning
Diego Lira //
Ayanna Mackell // Our Story
Rebecca Markowitz // The Golden Paved Road
Brianna Medina // The Sad Reality
Lucas Moore // Counter Culture
Alan Morales // About Alans American Dream
Israel Perez // The Magical Card
Kaylee Roberts // The Path That Lies Before Me
Ian Ross // Ummerica
Jay Russell // An Imperfect World
Sarah Salazar // Four Months of Recovery
Katrina Sayavanh // Reality Is Catching Up
Hallie Schlauch // Hopeful
Mia Schummer // Perfectly Broken
Ethan Seriva // Game On
Joanne Sith // Borrowed
Johnny Taylor // Long Roads
Kristen Tenanty // Pocket Change
Thomas Uppenkamp // Simplicity
Daniel Valencia // Daniel Valencia
Ximena Valencia // Perfectly Imperfect
Lance Wiggins // Reflecting On My Past
Rea Xenitopoulos // Reality

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ALIN A. // HAPPY & VEGAN

Inherited Dreams

The American Dream at its core is financial success. With all those
things comes a home, less stress about bills, the opportunity to take
your ideas and make them a reality, traveling to extoic places. Ive
come to find those things all pleasing, of course what person
wouldnt. What saddens me is that the expectations to achieve the
American Dream makes my parents accomplishments less amazing.
My parents are both Hispanic, they both came from Mexico and they
wear their heritage in every aspect of them. They both have wonderful
thick accents that their homeland misses. My parents are my American Dream.
I dont know anyone in my family who truly feels theyve achieved
the American Dream. I feel like they dont give themselves enough
credit. Out of the crappy situation, even though we live paycheck by
paycheck, I am the happiest little vegan girl. For it is my fathers passion of cooking, that illumnates my passion for making all his recipes
vegan. It is my mother outspokenness that makes me voice my dream
to others. My American Dream is any dream that makes them proud.
Ive never really looked much into the American Dream as a concept,
Im pretty sure that wanting success was ingrained into everyone. Of
course what person wouldnt want more for themselves. I can tell you
the kind of car my father would want if he didnt have to worry about
bills, or the kind of job he wish he had gotten, heck even the kitchen
hed want. I knew my father's American Dream before I could even
think about my own. At the age of 17 my father came to America, he
had so much hope for himself, nowadays he looks at his children with
bigger eyes. My mom has the same look.

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My mom is the first powerful women Ive come to admire. My mom

came here at the age of 15 and shortly got pregnant with my older sister. I cant tell you what kind of car she wants, I cant tell you the job
she wishes she had, she only advises us on how we should dream bigger than what we have in mind. My mother doesnt spend much time
thinking about her American Dream. Which is the reason I want to
focus mine on her.
The scariest part of this whole thing is the obstacles. Ive only had a
small taste of racism. I cant explain how insignificant I felt. Alien.
the man said with disgust, as he looked into the eyes of thirteen year
old Alin. I cried all the way home because I couldnt find the right
words and I need someone who could explain what just happen, because an adult has never looked at me with such hate. When I found
that adult, my father, gosh he almost cried. It wasnt the man who had
hurt him, it was me. Boti, you show that man your papers, you speak
back to him in your beautiful American accent, and you never let anyone talk to you like that again. Again? That was the only thing going
through my head because not only had I just experienced hate because
of something as insignificant as my race, but there was more like him.
My dream is to help my parents. I want to travel with my parents. I
want them to own a house of their own. I want to buy my dad that
green pick up truck he always talks about when we pass a car dealership. I want my mom to know that shes the one who gave me that big
push to achieve everything Ive ever desired. I want my parents to
have what Ive had all along, happiness. Thats another part of my
dream, I want my parents to be happy.

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MAKENNA A. // LOVER OF ALL

Imperfect America

America is perfect in a lot of peoples eyes, but what happened to

nothing is perfect and that being okay? Growing up Ive had a great
childhood, I am an only child with big dreams and lots of them. When
I was younger I would say things along the lines of mommy I am
going to save every animal in the whole world Yeah ok, maybe my
dreams were pretty far fetched, but I didnt grow up in a family who
would have shot these dreams down. Thank goodness for that, because
to be completely honest I dont have a single clue where I will be or
what I want to do with my life. I have accepted that I cant save every
animal in the world, but I know that I can make a difference.
I dont just care about making a difference in animals lives. I have
realized and started to really appreciate that I can make a difference in
bringing something as easy as a smile to people. These people are the
homeless population, I remember being in the state of denial that there
cant actually be people living and sleeping on the streets wondering
where their next meal will come from, if it ever comes. When you
bring up the idea of feeding the homeless let alone have a conversation with them, it could very easily be shot down on the spot. America
has created this stereotype that all homeless people must be dangerous, and we have to stay away from them. Think about this for
example, you could be doing great in life, making a steady income,
have a family, then one day something tragic happens. Maybe your
spouse dies or they lose their job. Without that money, your family
cant be supported, so the house you are living in may have to be sold
and just like that you could be homeless. Although you never thought
you would have to beg for money on the side of the road, it pains you
to have to do this, a lot of people are thinking that you are dangerous
and you must have done something really bad to end up on the street.
Imagine a day in their shoes, how would you feel begging for money
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to feed your family? What if you see someone you know, and they just
look at you like a mouse looks at a snake. In fear. You have the
choice, you dont have to be that person who looks at them with fear
or even sadness. They dont want you to feel bad for them, they just
want a chance to prove they are not the scary beast that people think
of them as.
I have met some amazing homeless people who have told me their
whole life story, most of them grew up as an average person but one
thing went wrong, or one wrong decision was made and now they are
stuck in quicksand, slowly sinking. Even with their life as hard as it is,
they still have faith that America will fix everything. Just by holding a
sign that says god bless you or If I were to be homeless anywhere,
America would be the place I have met many amazing homeless
people that even with the little they have left, their American spirit
hasnt dimmed, this is absolutely amazing to me, and still inspires me
everyday! Something as small as a warm cup of coffee and simply
having a conversation with them causes so much joy, it proves that
little acts can have a big difference in peoples lives. So give it a try
make someone less fortunate than you smile and brighten their day.
My American Dream is strongly based around helping people and animals have a better chance at succeeding in some way in life. I
wholeheartedly believe that the harder you work and help other people, the better the American Dream will be in the end. If you can
dream it you can do it. I am a girl of many dreams, but my dreams
involve helping whoever and whatever whenever I can.

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FRANCISCO A. // COMPETITOR & TEACHER

White Picket Fence

To have a house with a white picket fence

A loving and caring family
And maybe a dog named Brutus
That was my thoughts on the American Dream
I lived with that my whole life
Oh but did I have a wake up call
From dads to Joanne I knew nothing was perfect
A perfect family is hard to come by
My first dad didn't even want me
My second dad is mentally insane
They both left and it hurts but happens
Not only this but Joanne
Money money money
That's what the world runs on
Joanne showed us that
How am I going to make enough money
To start my life up to what I want
I can't let all this get in my way though
My new dream is better
Is different
Now I want to work hard for just what I can get
Not too big and not too small
I won't go searching for love but instead
I'll let it find me
I'll make it work in a world where no dreams come true anymore

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AARON B. // HUMAN

America And I

I was born into a community where dreams can only stretch as far as
the street. Where happiness is as artificial as the vivid colours and distorted lines lasting only through the night. I lived my life without a
dream in sight as if it was fine to die in vain. I lived only for the height
of excitements up until the end of my freshman year in highschool. Of
course the question What career do you want to pursue when you
grow up? has been asked more times than I can remember, but this
question has always remained a hinderance from the beginning.
The only duties my parents had laid out for me was to study hard, go
to college, because they wanted to rejoice in what they wish they
could have accomplished. I can work hard, be rewarded, and live as a
vanity slave just as the people around me. I could achieve the same
standard as every American and I couldnt be happier. I obliged to
their advice because of the sternness tone in their voice and worked
hard towards a guise in the form of a dream. This was the path to
completing my American dream until my brother opened my eyes to a
different path.
You think something like that is a joke? my brother said with a look
of disappointment. During this time, I honestly did not know what was
so distasteful with my joke.
Whats wrong with it? I said confused.
Think about what you are saying before you try and make it a joke.
Racism is not part of anything that should be laughed about. If you
want to be respected, then give them a reason to respect you because
someone like me doesnt respect you at the moment.
For the longest time it felt like I had been choked for ages just struggling for a breath of air trying to get my brother to recognize me. I had
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the person I deemed closest to me tear me down for something I didnt

understand. Even my shower thoughts couldnt quite help me put my
finger on it because a racist joke was just another way to put a smile
on another ignorant childs face. The words my brother spoke didnt
click with me until a routinely night walk down the derelict alleyways
of my apartment that I finally understood why I wouldnt be respected
in the eyes of my peers.
A group of teenagers sitting on ledges were clearly laughing at me as I
noticed all their eyes reflecting right back at me from the moonlight.
Dont worry, look at that guy over there is Asian too. He probably
eats dogs like you.
Comments like this usually never bothered me, not one bit, but in this
instance knowing that all of their irritating smiles were focused on my
appearance was so aggravating. Ever since this night, it was as if racism had become a whole new meaning. Something that should never
be belittled to the point that if it could become the epitome of my
jokes, I might as well never joke at all.
This event was bittersweet. I may have frowned upon myself for a
while, but it lead me to question my own self worth. If I can be influenced by others to the point where it became shameful to reflect on
my actions, has it gotten to the point where my ambitions were not
truly my own? Were my ambitions to succeed in school only for accomplishing what family before me could not? I realized that I have
never thought about my own goals and have never set a standard for
myself that I knew was not just a pipedream. That if I worked hard
enough, Id get to where I want to be, not where others want me to be.
It may sound off beat to many but I finally started to try and give my
future a shape and form. I pondered what would make me happy. I
thought about my own familys situation and where they stand. They
may be well off from a stereotypical American dream point of view
where what you own becomes the worth of who you are, but through
my eyes, a car will only ever be a car. A fancy house will only ever be
a house. I feel that over time, Americans have placed belongings on a
pedestal to flaunt it to everyone. It shouldnt be a representation of
who you are. This lifestyle will never be able to make me happy.
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To do much more than enough to support myself and leave this earth
as a positive inspiration to others is one of my goals. In other words,
to go beyond making a living which would leave me comfortable in a
daily routine that accomplishes nothing. When you die your dreams
die with you... unless there are other people to help carry on that
dream. My dream is that each individual will recognize each other
more than just a stranger. To help give everyone a sense of purpose in
life. So that one day, people in the future can look up to their peers for
guidance and what it means to be human. Being able to have someone
in my life such as my older brother be there for me every step of the
way whenever an obstacle appears in front of is something I am eternally grateful for.
A dream to me is not just a verb, it is me looking in the mirror with an
ever changing background until I am content with my surroundings
and I can literally live that moment.

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KAYLA B. // AMAZING & LOVING

Dream Or Reality

Growing up all I see is a big white house

A white fence surrounded like a jail cell
Dogs barking, running up and down
Loving parents and supportive siblings
Is all this the real American Dream
The American Dream is not a fantasy
But the reality of the real world
Learn to be free and to fight for what's right
Black, Mexican, White whos better
Everywhere you walk there's racism
When would this ever stop
Hate surrounded around just by your skin color
Is the American Dream for the rich or famous or the poor
When would the American Dream be for everyone
One nation just like God asked for
The ability to accomplish anything is this real or fake
The American Dream does it really stand for a dream or just a reality

377

JOSH B. // YOU ARE THE AUTHOR OF YOUR

LIFE

You Are The Author Of Your Life

I'm sixteen years young and a junior at High Tech High International,
I have been in this system since sixth grade. From sophomore year up
till today, I've been coming of age. No one had to really to tell me I
was, I just knew. As time continues, I know I will gain more responsibilities and have do things on my own. By that time I will have
already came of age, because when you grow your mind develops like
a picture, and when the picture is fully developed you see it how
you've developed.
The American Dream might be different for everyone, but in some
ways it's the same, we go through the process of life and growing up,
trying to live for ourselves. My peers and I believe it's to happy and do
what you desire. I have somewhat found inspiration as to what I could
possibly do in my life, such as some of my hobbies like, dancing,
skateboarding, music or beatboxing. As of now, I'm achieving my
dream just by being in class, listening to teachers, and doing what I
have to do. Growing up in the middle class, I have somewhat an advantage to my goals, as to paying for a college tuition, rather than
someone who's family finances aren't as strong. A challenge within
me achieving my goals, or future could simply be me, myself, and I.
Because someone had the decision to apply himself to what you're
doing and continue to strive. You are the author of your life and decide whether you want to move on. I know I have the support of
guardians behind my back to help me succeed and keep me on check.
I've been thinking about it a lot now, and I know I have a good head
on my shoulders, with a good mindset. I make some mistakes, but I'm
also wise enough to realize. This American Dream does have meaning and I think the meaning is different for everyone depending on
their situation and interests. Doing things that suits one's personality
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could even be one's dream. The American Dream, a word programed in the mind to do good, or to be successful. In a positive way,
and personal way too. Dreams for the future will or will not change,
that's just depending on your future and if you apply yourself to your
goals. The quote you are the author of your life said by my mom,
really makes me think that, If you really try to achieve something you
want, then you just have to believe and take the action to do so. In
striving for your American Dream there are people who can help
and guide you, but only the person who truly knows how it will be, is
you.

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CECILIA C. // PHILIPPIANS 4:13

My American Dream

Two story house, gated community, mom and dad and lots of money.
That was my American Dream since I was a little girl. Most of my
friends had a different American Dream, first of all they had dads, had
money, and big houses. I went to elementary school in San Carlos and
it was filled with rich white kids. Everyone walked or biked to school,
unlike me who had to leave at 6:00 am to get to school on time at
7:30. My mom sent me to this school rather than the local school because it was a good school. I always felt like I was the odd one out, a
poor Hispanic girl in a school surrounded by my opposites. I remember being so innocent and not understanding how they saw me
different to everyone else. It never really occurred to me that we as
people are different, different races and ethnics. I finally realized
when my mom told me about my heritage and my friends told me
about theirs. They were not the same. I think the idea of the American
dream came to me when I went to my friends house, she had everything I wanted in my American dream. Being a selfish American kid I
was, I wanted all those things.
I could not imagine living in the 1970s. In my opinion, living to see
women protest for equality would have been a great inspirational
spectacle. I learned that it was hard to be bold in the 1970s. What I
mean by that is being able to speak your mind and getting someone to
listen to you and taking action on it. Women who were sexually assaulted and could not speak up because they were scared they would
be ignored or be labeled a liar. Nowadays if you you say something
that you have a problem with it gets addressed and youre listened to.
Even with discrimination, jobs will ban any kind of discrimination at
the workplace. There will always be racism everywhere but it was
worse and I appreciate the progress we have been through.
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In present day my American Dream is to have a perfect life. However,

my idea of perfect has been tweaked since reading about how the
American Dream evolved over time. I realized that people always
have to get the newest car, or the biggest and most extravagant house.
Not because they need it for transportation or shelter but because it
makes them socially acceptable. People will like you if they know you
have money and have the newest things. The American Dream used to
be, get a home and a car because you need it. Im one of those people, I
always want the newest iPhone just because I will have a better phone
than someone else or because I will become acceptable to others.
While interviewing my mother about her American Dream, I asked
her What was your American Dream as a child?. She told me that
she wanted a family and a house that they could live in and a car to
drive them to school and to get to work in. She was born in Mexico
and raised in America. My new American Dream is to live the way I
want to, and to be happy.

381

EMILIO C. // ADOPTED & MAKING A

DIFFERENCE

Old Way Of Living

When I was 10 year old I pursued my knowledge of the American

Dream. My American Dream was to have stability after going in and
out of foster care. For the longest time I didn't know where I would be
living or what I would eat. All I wanted was a stable home. When I
was between foster homes and didnt know where my next home
would be I was sometimes be homeless or living in a motel. I had a
chance to make a difference in my life. While being in foster care one
of my social workers asked if I would like to give my thoughts on who
would like to live with? I went to court and the judge asked my parents to step out and then I went into the courtroom. He had me sit right
next to the judge. My hands nervously shaking wondering what question the judge would ask. I had so many thoughts racing through my
head. He first sworn me in. At the time I felt scared it seemed like I
was walking through alley on a dark. The judge asked me a simple
question who would you like to live with it was my choice, I said
my foster mom who meant my aunt (My dads sister). I expected more
question but he thanked me and then I walked down from the podium.
He had asked me how my was sister, I responded fine. I thought. He
thanked me and said something as if my parent and aunt could come
in. While there were many ways that you could look at this situation, I
had choice to either do something with my life or follow the bad
choices my parents we're making . I didn't know where my next meal
was gonna come or where I would be living. This is when I pursued
my American Dream. I finally was able to get my voice heard, it also
allowed me to reflected on my parents bad lifestyle. I was not making progress in my life of being a tennager to becoming a young adult.
Since the day I testified I have lived in one house and haven't switched
schools as often. Not having to switch school it helped a lot so that I
wasn't missing content that later I would be tested on. Another key
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point that made me think that voicing my opinion to the judge and
others in the courtroom is knowing that I would have food to eat.
Overall being able to get out of that bad environment that I was in.
While I'm still pursuing my American dream through the last couple
of years I have had new experiences. For example I was able to to join
cub scouts and eventually obtain the highest rank in cub scouting. I
currently am continuing my scouting career into boy scouts which has
open new doors for me. I have learned CPR, First Aid and also Lifeguarding. I have had many achievements in scouting most of them
have come from Boy Scouts. To list a few; Patrol Leader, Senior Patrol Leader, National Youth Leadership Training (NYLT). I even got
asked to come back and staff for NYLT. I had to go through a interview process. Once I heard back from them I had to go through
training for the next 6 months. I was up for the challenge to get to
know new people but I wasn't sure if I would fit in because of my
background and races. Come to find out I was the only mexican but it
at first felt like they would judge me but soon I was happy to represent
my race. At the time I tried to just do my thing and have the most fun
that I could end result was I had an awesome time. I currently am using my experiences to my advantage to make sure I strive to be the
best person I can be . I plan on going to college and doing something
with my life and not making my parents bad choices affect me it can
only motivate me. Im not going to let my social class or my races
drag me down because of what society believes in.

383

LUKE D. // EXTROVERTED INTROVERT

Not PerfectPerfection

That's what I thought the American Dream was. Exactly what anyone
could desire, but thats not what Ive learned. I know now we cant
achieve the American Dream anymore
My goal
I want to do something, something that benefits people. That's my
American Dream. We know only too well that what we are doing is
nothing more than a drop in the ocean. But if the drop were not there,
would the ocean be missing something? -Anonymous. The fact that
any person on the planet can say Look here I am, look at what Ive
done is a beautifully terrifying fact. Not only is it amazing all the
things you can do, it sucks because there are so many bad things you
can be known for as well. Stop and pause for a minute, if these words
were poisoning you right now and you only had a second or two left,
think Are you proud?
Are you proud of what youve accomplished and what youve done?
Have you made the world a better place? Do you even want to be
known? And when people say your name what will they think? What
will they say? Are you a story that will be passed down to your grandkids and their grandkids? And most importantly, how will you know?
Nowadays we are so caught up in ourselves that we sometimes lose
sight of everything else. Do you know if anyone cares? Have you
made your place in people's minds? Are you sure your friends will
remember you?
Its scary to think that you could be the Pacific Ocean or you could be
such a tiny drop of water that none of the other droplets would care.
384

MARCUS E. // A SPORTS PLAYING MATE

The American Dream of Marcus

Edwards

The American Dream is something that you witness and want for
yourself, and what I first wanted was to be successful. Through maturing, education, and experiencing the people who I thought were a
success having a lot less than what they thought they would have I
have come to the realization that the things that I wanted as a child are
nearly impossible to obtain. When I was younger, I always had the
fantasy of possessing all that I ever wanted and more, but that idea has
changed, the big house, fancy cars, and the money were all off the
market now because all of these things are for those who are born into
wealth. The average American is rarely given the opportunity to get
this. I have had a revelation about reality, and I know that I most likely will not be able to get these things. My American dream is nothing
more than than a dream itself. The reality is that I will end up in an
apartment and have only one car. The chance of having anything better than that is unlikely, and I think I can live knowing that because I
am not the only one in this position.

385

DANNY E. // LOUD

Box Of Life

While growing up in a stable home, a nice neighborhood and very

good community I always thought to myself everyone lived the same
way I did. I later learned when I moved to the United States that I was
all by myself. I am a religious Mexican, I grew up thinking that having a great amount of money is an excellent thing to have and only me
and the peers that share the same beliefs and traits as me deserve it.
My race and religion had led me to have the mindset of being better
than everyone because we are a proud race to push for more efforts
which would lead me to being successful and to heaven. I feel that my
religion and my income is a disadvantage, because it would lead to me
to become stuck up. Which wouldnt help lead me to work hard, just
to wait for everything to be handed to me. My parents then taught me
throughout middle school that I should appreciate what I have, but it
was very hard to learn to appreciate. My parents being very wealthy
and smart business owners have always tried to teach me the importance of hard work, and how to take advantages of my
opportunities. My opportunities, of having wealth also showed me that
I would like to be ready to come of age right after college to start my
life in a business and administrating.
What I've noticed but never put thought into, is that my advantages
are much more different than others. Since my parents own their own
business and they have a lot money saved up. They were able to raise
me the right way even if they were blinded by money. I work every
weekend instead of going out with friends, because I have learn to
push myself to succeed. My father always tells me The more you
learn the more you earn. I grew up pushing myself to live a good life
style as an adult.

386

My dreams of becoming a businessman, only came through around

the 10th grade when I had my first my first serious relationship. My
relationship showed me that I wanted to work hard for the people I
love the most. My dream wasnt really about having all these riches
and having the best house or the best cars. My dream was to simply be
happy with myself. She taught me the meaning of happiness which
lead me to my dream. The meaning of happiness to me is to grant
someone a better future, even if it's my son or spouse. Societys American dream is what that motivated me to push myself to work hard
for, my family, and my friends. They are the source of my dream because what's hard times without the people you love to support you
through all your struggles. That is also my disadvantage. They have
the ability to make me stop thinking about success and makes me focus on them. They have the power to push me down to sadness.
Another reason why my dream of working for the people I love is because my father and mother are my biggest inspirations, mostly my
father. He works endless hours to support his family and makes sure I
have the best future possible.
My father is the main reason why I know I will be successful and
grow up to be a smart and a coordinated business man. He has raised
me to give up events such as parties and social hangouts just for me to
learn how to maintain myself, to not rely on others and just focus on
making the best of myself. My views on the American Dream is that I
think it's much harder to obtain now more than ever, but it is possible.
I feel the way to obtain the dream is to work hard, educate yourself,
and have a social class. I take advantage of opportunities when I have
them. Most people have a hard time seeing them even if it's right in
front of their face. My goals are to just be happy with the people I
love.
Before I came to my history classroom I knew what the American
dream was because I was living it already. My definition of the American Dream was to have a great family and to work hard to achieve the
opportunities life offers. I know it's possible yet, I also remembered
that I have different opportunities than my less fortunate peers. What
stood out to me, was my peers all had the same vision. That it was
possible, but highly unlikely. I personally felt wrong. I know it's possible yet I also remembered that I have different opportunities than my
peers. Some people just have a hard time recognizing them. Our na387

tion lives in the society of great minds build great empires which is
what I will result in.
The comment I always hear is, You're so lucky you are set for life. I
know I can only achieve my dreams if I work hard enough like my
parents raised me to do. I have more opportunities, but I still look at it
as an obligation to work hard and to strive for success. Whenever I get
the opportunity to work hard and to build my mind into a business
mindset I take it. The only opportunity I was offered is if I had more
time with my friends and family. They are either always busy working
for their dreams or just to tired from working. I just wish I can build
stronger connections with my peers. Even if I have success I will always have challenges to stop me, mainly my emotions. It could
honestly affect my success by making me do something I'm going to
regret or just simply giving up on my dreams. Which I know can be a
big factor knowing I have so much pressure to grow up so fast.
In the end the dream is just that, a dream a life long goal. It has too
much meaning that can lead to failure as well. Not just in money, but
socially as well such as losing someone you cared about just to simply
gain a little bit of success rather than love. The only real thing that
bothers me is that many people just look at it and say it's unfair and
wait for change. If I show that with enough hard work I can turn my
dreams into reality.

388

MARUICIO F. // HAPPY GUY

Reality Check

A dream that will never become true. What dreams actually become a
reality? Maybe some but mostly none. One dream that will always be
dreamt about but never become a reality is the American Dream.
At first, the thought of the American Dream contained the materials
such as a big two story house, a family, a nice car or maybe two and a
family dog. Everyone wanted this as they were growing up. Having a
yard in the front and back of your own house would have been the
best thing to ever have. Not only being able to live in your own house,
but to also be able to live free. That's what I believed the American
Dream meant. The meaning of the American Dream to me was having
the freedom of speech, religion, and being able to express yourself
whenever and however you want. That's why many many people from
other countries come to America. To live and love with freedom.
As reality strikes you, you start to recognize the difficulties you have
achieving any of your dreams. Whether in America or a different
country. My so called American Dream is to be happy. I most certainly do not want to be stuck with a job that I do not enjoy going to. It
does not have to be the highest paying job, but enough for me to get
by and support myself. I do not want to be stuck with the same job
forever. Exploring would be really enjoyable. Although I hope to
achieve these dreams, it will probably not happen. While growing up
in a lower class family I was always realistic with what I would be
able to do. Going to a a big ivy league college was a low possibility
because of the money my family can contribute to help me. Social
class is at its worst, the gap between the upper and the lower class is
growing more and more. With this the middle class is slowly starting
to disappear.
389

As junior year of high school came along and I start to think to myself, What do I want to do with my life? What kind of person do I
want to be? Who do I want to be? I always was told to be a doctor or
something that would make me tons of money. I was told that having
a lot money is the key to happiness. This theory of being able to be
happy is absurd. I do agree that having enough money to be able not
to worry would be great. Although I can't imagine being some type of
doctor or lawyer that lasted you six plus years of college and not being
able to say, I enjoy coming to work every day. or simply being able
to say I am content with where I am and happy with my life. This is
my biggest fear.
My American Dream, or just dream in general, is to be able to be happy. I dont want to be some type of engineer that goes to work
everyday not enjoying his/her life. I want to have a job that I enjoy
doing. A life that I can enjoy without worrying about too much, being
realistic there will always be something that will go wrong. To be able
to overcome those challenges and enjoy life for the time I have.

390

JACOB F. // THINKER

Conceptions

Ideas, paradoxes, sayings, and cliches.

Who's to say, that Americas way,
will get the rest of the world through, day by day?
Dont be a part of the system, dont succumb, dont listen,
but if you're going to McDonald's, get me the fries, dont miss it.
Arrived to this nation while it was not,
just simple, civilized, people who did not want a lot
Day by day we take out immigrants, who we believe are not just,
yet they are no more immigrant than us.
Jokes about other races being gardeners,
when it stems from the land we took as foreigners.
How can people sit here idly by
while some sit in towers while others on streets beg and cry
Nothing to keep their bellies warm,
the thing that keeps them up, is their fear and alarm
For a fellow man without a home, one would give his leg
people with everything give 25 cents and forget.
In school we memorize the formulas, study well, not the latter,
eat right, society doesn't want you fatter
Look back on the past and see moments pass and go but they matter
unfortunately here Im sensing an unceasing pattern.
To me, the American Dream seems a fiend of the truth.
how can someone be happy when outside their is youth shown no
ruth?
391

BRIAN F. // QUIT YET HUMBLE

My Idea of The American Dream

Many refer to the American dream as a goal in life that they want to
achieve. Like others in pursuit of their dream, I am chasing my own.
Ive known what I wanted to do with my life since I was six. Since
then, it has not drastically changed, but I have also widened my view
towards other paths that Im interested in the near future. None of the
other choices touch me on a deeper level than becoming a professional
athlete in Major League Baseball. As ironic as it is, America's pastime
is my American Dream.
The biggest impact on
my dream began at an
early age when I fell in
love with the sport. As I
got older, I started watching baseball on TV and I
remember watching the
incredible plays all the
professionals
made.
From that point on, I
knew I wanted to be one
of them. A star among
stars where everyone
applauds you for doing
something remarkable. I
also began to hear the
phrase, "If you love what
you do for a job it is no
longer a job." That made
me want to be the best at
what I do, and it made
392

me think about how amazing it would be to become a professional

baseball player as well as becoming an idol to many younger generations. Due to the fact that I knew what I wanted to do from a very
young age, I had no idea how much money they made. Of course I did
get curious as I got older, so I looked up how much money they make
and I was in disbelief. I had not realized how much money they actually made, but that still didn't sway my position on the path I set for
myself. This was a true passion.
After researching and interviewing someone about the American
Dream, I realized that my own dream has not changed much. My
American Dream, which is to someday become a professional baseball
player. What did change about my dream is why I choose to pursue it.
After my interview I realized that there is more to life than money and
fame. Not for the millions of dollars, but simply because I am passionate about playing the sport. After we have studied it in class, my
personal definition changed. The American Dream is a broad idea or
belief that has been brought upon America. There is no exact definition for the dream. It is up to an individual's own idea of what they
choose to achieve. That is how an American Dream is born. There are
deeper values, like what my interviewee said about standing up for
what you care and believe in. Although the odds are very slim for
dreams like mine, it will still teach me values that make up a person
who is true to their self.

393

FRANCISCO G. // CAMERA KID

Last Roll

Who does my American Dream belong to?

I had never thought about this question much before, and never really
thought about the American Dream in the first place. However, I
found the answer to this question on a recent trip to my fathers familys home town of Mexicali, Baja California. I tagged along with my
grandmother to take some pictures and hopefully learn some family
history. As soon as I got there, I stopped at the local photo store for
some film. I asked the shopkeeper if he sold any film, and I waited as
he dug around the back counter. He handed me a canister with no box
and explained to me that it was the last roll in the entire shop, maybe
in the whole city. He would no longer be getting new shipments in.
Mexicali is a fairly populous Baja California city, about 125 miles east
of San Diego and it shares a border with Calexico. Most Americans
would never have any reason to have anything to do with Mexicali.
Its a sweltering hot town, advancing, yet far passed its heyday, where
the main industries are agricultural or factory-related.
It was here that my great grandparents were deported to in the 20s
after briefly working in the fields of Riverside county. It was here that
they settled and created a new life when their American Dream was
taken away from them by the US government through their initiative
Operation Wetback. Most of the Garcias havent lived in Mexicali
for over 40 years now, and as we drove around the city, the ghosts of
the 1960s echoed through my grandmother's oral history of her memories there. Crumbling adobe buildings were once dance halls,
abandoned houses were fine Italian restaurants, and faded cement
apartment blocks were the poshest hotels in the city.
394

Her tour opened my eyes to the fact that my grandparents really did
live in a place very different from East Los Angeles (where they eventually settled). It made me consider the journey that they took to get
there. Thanks to them, I have the opportunity to let my American
Dream be whatever I would like it to be, there are so many doors open
for me that wouldnt have been had they not packed up and left.
Keeping that in mind, I know that my American Dream is simply borrowed from my ancestors who came to this country in the first place.
Armed with that perspective, my American Dream is to make that
choice worth it for them in whatever I choose to do with my life. Just
like how I tried to make Mexicalis last roll of Kodak Pro-100 count.

395

396

EZEKIEL G. // ETERNALLY SEARCHING

Conflicting Thoughts

When I think of the American Dream, Im not sure how I feel about it.
The perfect house, the perfect car, the perfect life, owning it all is
what I thought of it. However so many people, experiences, ideas, and
stories have changed my perspective. Different views on the subject
have made me question my thinking on multiple accounts to the point
where I dont know what to believe anymore. My idea of an American
Dream is a mix of confusion, ideals, and disbelief.
Growing up, I lived in a tough household. I was always told to believe
I was something less than what I really was, and lived with a constant
state of mind that life has nothing in store for me. Because of this, I
expected nothing from my life and future. I didnt expect to be able to
get my dream job, live in a good house, be in a nice neighborhood, or
even get married and have a nice family. Still with those things imbedded in my mind, I continue to live with my life with those thoughts
lingering in the back of my head.
As I continued on with life, I switched households and lived in an environment that taught me to have a much better mindset. The things I
have been told were completely different from what I knew before.
Now, being raised with confidence, I had new ideas being put into my
mind. I was being told I can have whatever I wanted as long as I continued with my path and focused on a good education. I could achieve
anything I wanted in my life as long as I worked hard to achieve it.
The new and positive way of thinking was completely contradicting to
what I already had believed. I had no idea what to think.
Thinking about the American Dream I realize that its only what you
want it to be. There is no set of an American Dream, only the idea of
happiness and content with your life. What that means and what is
397

needed to get there is different for everyone but the idea of it will always be around.
Whether I can achieve happiness or content in my life is a mystery,
but it is definitely something I strive for. Thats something that all
people want in their life, to be happy with what they have and enjoy
the simple aspect of living.
To this day I dont know which side to choose, to believe the experience, or to believe in the hopes. Whether the American Dream can
actually be achieved or if its just an ideal image that everyone wishes
to be able to reach one day. But from all the stories Ive read, all the
amazing things people have accomplished, I can start to feel myself
leaning towards the happier belief. Although not everything can be
achieved with hope alone, trying to keep a positive mindset will go a
long way.

398

ALVARO G. // NEVER ENDING BUBBLEGUM

Rent

So many people love the idea of living a rich lifestyle and having that
big house, nice job, and an easy life. And I mean, thats not too bad.
Thats just not for me, Id rather be surrounded with things of true
value. True value is not what someone tells you its supposed to mean,
but rather what it means to you by itself. The feeling of ownership, not
just owning a house or a car, but owning your success, your well being, your health, and your own life.
As children, we loved receiving things, we never wanted to work hard
for what we wanted, but then again we were just little kids. One day
on the way home from school, both my parents seemed more stressed
from work than usual. When I asked how their days had been my father told me how they are trying to buy the building where the
restaurant my parents created was. This way we would not have to pay
the rent, its not that we cant afford it, its not truly us owning the
building. I did not understand why it was such a hassle to just pay
some rent. Now I understand, it wasnt about paying some guy for the
building, it was about my mother and father truly owning their American Dream and business.
This goes well with what we have learned recently about what really
defines wealth. You may seem gilded or wealthy, or actually owning
what you say you own. This is exactly what I wish to base my American Dream on, not owing money to banks and paying off debts.

399

DIANA G. // MEXICAN FEMALE

The Beginning Of My America

All my life I knew my family wasn't the richest. I could see the struggles we went through. I could see my dad desperately looking for
work so we could make this months rent as well as having enough
money for utilities too . I remember going to the toy section of a store
and asking my mom to buy me whatever colorful toy caught my eye
first, she would first look at the price tag and then the look of my eager face. She would bite her lip and simply said next time mi amor.
I soon learned that next time meant it was too expensive, I then
learned to look at the price tag first and ask myself if I really wanted
it, often times even if it wasn't expensive and I really wanted it. I
would still worry and feel that it would be a waste of money whether
it was clothes or a toy. Because of these events I started to think of the
American Dream as having riches and wealth. As the years passed by,
my version of the American became more defined, instead of just having a lot of money it evolved to owning my own house and car as well
as having a well paid job and a loving family.
Throughout the journey of discovering the roots of the American
Dream and its evolution I have not only learned about my role in it but
also why it's sustained through all these years. Because of all the research we had about the cost and percentage of people who achieve
The American Dream I feel confused and defeated. I feel confused
because I was always told I could achieve anything all long as I put
my mind to it, and now I have graphs and chart telling me the rich
poor gap and how I don't have a chance no matter how hard I try. I
feel defeated because I don't know how I can fight against this, but
then again at the same time I know I can help. Maybe it won't be at a
fast pace but it will be a way to move forward.
Although I have these negative thoughts I still hope for the best. I
hope I can own my own home and also have a happy life whether it be
400

living in the middle class or the lower class. The American Dream to
me is a challenge we give ourselves to achieve, My american dream is
plain and simple, I want to make things better for the next generations
to come.

401

MICHAEL G. // GROWN

No Change

I never had to think about my dream before. I thought I had everything

planned. I thought that all I needed to do was go to college and I
would be set for life. I hadnt even thought about what I wanted for
myself, as everything was always pre-determined. I didnt get to
choose whether or not I wanted to go to college, and I never considered if there were any other options. I never really had a goal besides
owning a house and live the rest of my life in peace, without any problems. Why would I change my life if I didnt want it to be changed?
This year, I did a project called Break Free, a project that later transitioned into the creation of this book. Because of this project, I learned
that peoples lives are not as good as they want them to be. I have
learned that many people have had their dreams crushed, and had to
settle for a worse situation. I learned that not everyone attains their
dream, and that some people never really had dreams in the first place.
The only American dream I knew was that you would come to America and become rich. During this project, I was given so many different
dreams that had nothing to do with that definition and most of them
were irrelevant to the concept of becoming rich or getting a really nice
house. I learned that the American Dream was not the pure definition, but was just someone else's dream. Surely there are people whose
dream is to become rich, but today there are things that people strive
for, disregarding money. If everyone's definition for the American
Dream was different, then there really was not an exact definition in
the first place. Making money was not even the reason for America to
declare independence, so maybe the dream was defined by some pilgrim who wanted to come to this new land for money. In modern day
America, you can not just move to America and start farming just to
make a living, because now people have to work in order to afford
houses and food. That doesnt mean that the dream is dead, as it is still
402

entirely possible to get what you want from America. So redefining a

concept that doesnt have a proper definition is futile.
I shall continue with what I wanted, which was a nice quiet life. My
dream was not changed by this project, because I learned that my
dream was not impossible. It wasn not even a dream until this project
made me define a dream. I dont even know if that quiet life is what I
still want, because a life sailing a boat as a mighty pirate might be
more fascinating to me. The point is that although I might want this
now, it doesnt have to turn out that way if I wish to change it.

403

ABDUL H. // CHARISMATIC

The Views

I feel like the saying, American Dream isn't a real thing. My vision
is more like if you work hard and put your everything into what you
want to accomplish, you will accomplish it. To me, the saying American Dream doesn't need the word American because it's just your
dream/goal and what you want to achieve in your life. My dream is
influenced by my vision of what I want to be/get out of the time that
I'm living. My dream is not necessarily influenced by a person or what
society's view is on the American dream, but it's more influenced my
personal view, and my mindset of being focused on what I want, and
eventually getting it. Hopefully, I will pursue my dream by the age of
32. I feel like if you put a certain deadline or and time frame on when
or how you want to achieve your dream, you will push yourself to
higher standards in order to obtain it. Also because in my 20s I will be
in college, then a few years after that I should be already a into my
career. That being said, there are two parts/goals to my dream. The
first part to my dream is more intimate to myself. Essentially it's just
becoming a transcendent person who most people love, respect and
admire. I want to grow into a person who is caring, content and sophisticated. My logic is, if you try to better yourself spiritually and
strive to be an overall improved individual, then over time you will
develop the characteristics you need in order to become a better living
soul. The second part of my dream is being in a financial state that not
only makes me happy,gives me the ability to start a family, and pay
for my children's education. Once again, if you push yourself to the
highest limits and set not necessarily personal goals but just goals in
general, you will achieve your dream and have ambition carry you.
Currently, I am uncertain what my career path should be yet. I have a
few hobbies and I also take interest in many things, but I want to explore my options before going all in towards a career path. Being a
minority might have an effect on me, but it's just another in the way of
404

me achieving my dream. There will always, without a doubt, be several obstacles in the way of anyone getting to their dream but facing thethese obstacles is when you have to have focus on your dream and
achieving it. In conclusion, my overall goal in life is to become a better person and to be financially happy with where I'm at is my life.

405

MIRIAM H. // CREATIVE WITH A DAB OF

POSITIVITY

Dreams Dissected By Reality

Small wooden house, secluded from humanity

Tall green grass, swaying in the breeze
Sky invaded by clouds, its a breathtaking scene of insanity
Soft and magical wishing weeds surrounding stubborn trees
That was my one true dream
A simple wanting, a pure desire, a clear ambition
Contributing traits to the American theme
We are determined soldiers on an endless mission
Reality hits, opening eyes whilst exposing the American lie
Its an infinite cycle of dissatisfaction, we cant escape it with a plead
I know its a wilting hope that will remain unfulfilled until I die
But the ignorant remain zombies reeking of greed
My dream is no longer an image of what I think is ideal
It has shifted into a humble idea that is attainable and fair
Its to live a life with grace whilst expressing my gratitude and that
will reveal
Happiness doesnt have to be materialistic and rare

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407

DEANNA H. // UNIQUE

I Will Be

People from the ghetto dont make it anywhere, they just end up back
in the hood.
Making assumptions about someones potential based on where they
live shouldnt associate with who they can become. I will be the one
to go against the odds. Being told this at a young age not only sparked
a fire in me but made me realize what I wanted, not just for the present, but for the future too. I want to show everyone that no matter
where you come from, you can always follow your dreams. Your value doesn't decrease based
on someone's inability to
see your worth. I want
everyday of my life to be
full of happiness and positivity. A negative mind
will never give you a
positive life.
I had a materialistic view
of happiness, and how it
only focused around a
money basis. Now I have
a clear idea of what happiness truly is and how it
focuses on the amazing
things in life that you are
gifted with.

408

STEPHEN H. // LEARNER

Is There Such a Thing

Dreams. Probably the most deceiving things in the entire universe. I

know that sounds a bit cynical, but to me that is just the way I look at
dreams. They are the things that trick your mind while you are asleep
into thinking youre in a place that you are not. They are the nightmares which cause us to be relieved that we have woken from our
slumber. However, there are also the occasional ones that make you
smile. The ones where you are in an indescribable nirvana where you
do not really have an idea of what is happening, only that you never
want it to come to an end. Only to have that moment ripped from your
mind as you wake up, and that nirvana is a vague recollection of
yearning that has a sour aftertaste because you know that dream, even
though you do not quite know what it was about, will never actually
occur. That is the main reason why I have trouble with the idea of a
centralized, American Dream.
The idea of a universal goal or dream for a population is deceiving,
both from mentality, and materialistic stand points. It narrows the idea
of a goal so that everything that is an overall goal becomes bland, unoriginal, and in extreme cases dangerous. For example, lets say that the
dream is a house. The house is very nice, and is unlike any other, but
already, it plants a problem in the presence of any society of which
that idea is planted. For example, a utopia, much like communism, can
and will never actually function in the real world. Similar to the idea
of a universal American Dream, they bet on the extremely unlikely
probability that everyone in a society will all think a certain way, have
the same ideals, and want achieve the same overall goal. Thus, any
society that attempts to run on either of these values, must have a governing body that enforces absolute control to maintain order and
consistency. Which, in itself, contradicts the principles of a utopia as
pertaining to the definition that everything is perfect. Adding on, his409

tory shows that executing full control within a communist country

leads to inconsistency, which then leads to the breakdown of the ideals
that hold the system together. Furthermore, who is to say that those
governing those countries will not exploit the systems they run, so that
it becomes a tool for their own personal vendetta? There will never be
one consistent, absolute idea on which everyone can agree on. To
summarize, neither can work because they assume that things which
are inconsistent (diversity, culture, morals, etc.) will suddenly become
consistent; which is stupid because those inconsistencies will never be
consistent.
Again, if you place the idea that there is only one consistent goal similar to the house example, into people's minds, there will be people
who exploit any advantage they can to achieve that goal. So much so
that their actions can be borderline sociopathic in the sense that they
show no empathy to others, except for their goal to obtain the house
and make sure no one else gets it. There will also be those who try and
achieve the goal through hard work, and some will eventually get the
house, but a lot of others will not. I am not saying every person will
perform the first example I gave, but for every good there is a bad, and
for every person who tries to achieve a goal through rightful means,
there is another who is willing to trample, and sacrifice others all
around health and safety for the sake of their own. As such, there are
those who unfortunately do not have a fair chance to obtain the house
as any society will never have absolute full equality among its people.
A universal dream across a society will ultimately lead to deception
created by the society by its own hand.
If anything, Ive learned that people's dreams are even more diverse
than I imagined. And thus, further driven my belief that the American
Dream does not exist because there is no definition for what it truly
stands for. In my opinion, an American Dream references to an overall
correlative or consistent goal, which is not possible. Rather, I believe
that there are just dreams. Yes, the ones in your sleep are deceiving,
but the thing about a society that accepts a diverse amount of dreams
is that it will not increase the chances of deception amongst its population. Instead, it would allow flexibility in terms of what people want
and can achieve in a realistic manner relative to their situation and
thus, they will not be as dissapointed. However, l there are those who
do not have an equal chance. If we instead focused on understanding
each other's dreams and why we have those dreams we would be able
410

to empathise with other within our society and therefore be able to

further benefit human as a progressive society. Yes, some ideas and
dreams I do not agree with, and others might not agree with me on
mine, but if we as a people can even become slightly more diverse in
our way of thinking, a lot more people's dreams would become a reality. We would become a model for human progress.
In line with inconsistency, I have a dream. My dream is to find moments when I feel infinite. If you have ever read or seen The Perks of
Being a Wallflower chances are you have some idea of what I mean.
I want to be able to have moments where I do not feel worried, sad, or
angry, I just want to feel well, the only word to describe it is infinite.
Not necessarily all the time, and Im not saying to cancel out bad
times because those are inevitable, but it goes both ways. And this
way my dream is apart of every moment of my life. it is both a realistic goal, and a motivating goal. It lets me be able to have my dream
come true, more often instead of working towards a goal which I do
not know if it will ever come to fruition. And although it might occur
more often than a single, overall goal, it is a dream that will not get
old and will not leave a sour taste in my mind; because of the back
and forth of life as well as the fact that I will have achieved it, even if
at the same time I have not. It guarantees that no matter if I die young
or old, I will have at least one special moment to project into my mind
as I close my eyes for the last time. It is a promise to myself that
whenever there is darkness, I will have or have had moments where I
feel infinite.

411

KATHRYN J. // INDEPENDENT

Not So Traditional American Dream

My life was different from the beginning

Growing up with three different parents
and two sisters that became my responsibility
I was ten but had the mindset of someone twice my age
Money and the future was all I worried about
My American Dream was to never be like my parents
to have a worry free like
Money became the reason our home was broken
I blamed them for everything, those promises that never happened
and this family situation that always caused arguments
The financial troubles were like an infection
and every time an argument started it grew stronger.
My idea of marriage was shattered
it wasnt like the movies and I hated my parents for that
I hated that my mom was alone and
my step mom and dad took that love for granted
The stress acting like an adult made it hard to be a kid
My life wasnt hidden Iknew the truth
I knew it the whole time whether I liked it or not
But once we made it out of these struggles I was grateful
Grateful that I knew that life wasnt easy but it was impossible
It was okay to struggle
but its how you handle those struggles that were important
Our life wasnt perfect but it was good
We loved each other and that was enough

412

AIJAH J. // LIVE LIFE TO THE FULLEST

A Time To Reminisce

There lied me
An innocent little girl, blinded by reality
Heels on my feet and a mic in my hand,
Both eyes were glued to the mirror happy as ever.
Desires to be on the front page of a magazine,
to be rich and have an easy life, this was my American Dream.
Within just a few seconds later,
emptiness ran rapidly through my body.
With a pouting face,
a few fingers slowly let go of the mic, while some were still holding
on.
I went from a naive girl, to a wise young lady.
This life I once dreamt of,
was just that, a dream.
I now opened my eyes and saw truth.
American Dream, consisted of the typical
white picket fence, big house, and a family.
No, this isnt right, not at all.
The American Dream is whatever I want it to be.
You wont make it, youre a black female and a minority.
Even though these words will forever be engraved in the back of my
mind,
that will not stop me from exceeding.
Wishing to have the ability to go back in time,
to tell that innocent little girl to pick up that mic and tell her
to follow her dreams no matter what.
Hopes for our future world to be a better place.
To make everyone's personal version of the American Dream,
accessible and possible to achieve.
So that your ability to succeed in life
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isnt based on race, gender and your social status.

Equality for all is what I invision.
With our hands joined together,
and encouragement passed from person to person,
we can all start a movement.
A movement that can and will help anyone achieve,
their own personal American Dream.

414

AIDAN J. // BASIC INDIVIDUAL

Dream Of America

Loving family
Need a job that pays money
Dream of nice sports car
Not all can succeed
Realize the brutal truth
Harder than it looks
Giving up happens
American Dream has changed
Life is average
Lower you standards
Set your bar even lower
Expect disappointment

415

MANDALYN K. // LISTENER & WHAT WILL

HAPPEN

What Do I Do

You see everyone taking chances

Not seeing any consequences
You see the American Dream as a dream
Where you can do whatever you want
When I see the American Dream I see success in one's lifetime
Having the privilege of saying I am happy with what I've done
Seeing how opportunity came up in different ways for people
Shows that the American Dream isn't one thing
It's different for everyone
Its a puzzle not one piece looks the same
But they all connect to each other in someway
Seeing the opportunities people got to achieve their American Dream
makes me nervous for my American Dream
I don't feel like I'll have the same experience as others had
I'm afraid that the American Dream is just something one sees when
sleeping
Something so far away that I won't be able to grab it
I'm afraid that the American Dream I want isn't the one I'll get
I feel the American Dream I will have is the one I need
No matter the amount of money
Or the size of a house
The American Dream I need
Is just to be happy with what I've done and what I'm doing
The American Dream is what one wants it to be

416

DIANA L. // A DETERMINED & PASSIONATE

HUMAN BEING

A New Beginning

Not only did I used to believe the world was as simple as tying your
shoelace or serving yourself a bowl of cereal, but the fact that it isnt,
is harder to believe. Since the beginning, I didnt focus my full attention on the phrase, The American Dream. If someone were to ask
me my thoughts on the American Dream, I would simply give them
the answer that everyone has grown up with, not my definition of it. I
didn't fully set my mind in the American Dream because I thought it
was unattainable, unreal, impossible to achieve, and a myth that was
passed on throughout time. Who would ever guess that the whitepicket fence, a big house, a family of four containing a son, a daughter, a wife and a working husband, a operational automobile would
have or has ever existed? It just seems so perfect to even be real.
As a child I was not the one to provide myself with clothing, food,
shelter or any possessions of mine because my parents were the one to
supply me with all of those. Even though my parents still manage to
provide so much for me, I know that they carry stress on themselves
when they are managing their money for paying bills or rent. My parents have always told me to do well in school and to stay motivated so
when Im on my own I could do whatever I desire. Being able to have
a better life than what they have given me (dont get me wrong, Im
great where I am, but just like any other parent, they want more for
me) so I can have my own home and buy the things I want with the
money I earn. Since it seemed that everything was given to me by
hand, I figured that I was living the perfect life. I had all the new
and improved electronics, at the time, I wasnt a teenager, so I got
along with my parents and my brother. I always thought I had that life
where I was lucky to have the parents I have, to have the items Im
given, but at the same time, I compare myself to others that I think
417

have it better than me. For a very long time, I believed I had a better
life than anyone of my friends, family, and others I didnt even know
existed. But as I grew older and my mind started to develop I saw the
true reality in the world that my parents lived in. Work, the struggle of
having to be on my own and the outside world. Rent, the money you
owe in order to have a place to live. Loans, even more money. Income, as of right now, just another phrase that I will later need to
understand. Taxes, money that I dont receive. Money, more money
that I would need to manage. And so much more that I wasnt able to
fully comprehend when I was younger. So now that Im fully aware of
my surroundings and the responsibilities I will have as I grow older
and become independent not only in the future but in the present as
well, Ive notice the true mask that the world has been hiding behind.
Also, the mask Ive been hiding myself behind.
Since I am 16 years old and have the options of obtaining a job, getting my driver's license, start looking for colleges, and later doing
these all on my own, I see the hardship journey I will soon come
across. Wouldnt you think that asking for the job that's being offered
would be just as easy as asking for it? Wouldnt you believe that the
process of receiving your driver's license would be as easy as going to
the DMV and asking to take your driver's test without any knowledge
of how to drive? Wouldnt you think that doing well at school would
already be the gateway in getting into college and not having to worry
about extracurricular activities, test scores, sports and so many others?
By now you might be wondering how this relates with the American
Dream. But if I simply couldn't understand the process and challenge
in any of the topics I just listed, how would I possibly get through life
as an adult that has so much more to handle?
With all due respect, I personally don't believe that any single person
could possibly achieve the American Dream without any help given.
Therefore, people create their own dream that they feel is manageable
to achieve for themselves. Now that we don't set our standards as high
to the actual stereotypical definition of the American Dream, we
live on with what our sources are. It sure isnt easy, but everyone still
has that fantasy of living up to it. If you're going to have an American
Dream, create it to where it fits you and your life, not the ideal life
that fits everyone else. In my opinion, my dream wont dramatically
change and if it were to, its only because I want something better for
418

myself. Who knows, it could be completely different as I grow older.

Thats for me to decide.
We all have different dreams but not all of us can have the American Dream. Heading towards the American Dream is going for the
dream everyone, which was placed for people in America, in my opinion. If you think back to when there was African American slaves,
who were forced to work, were mistreated, and would starve for who
knows how long, while white Americans had a roof over their head,
food on the table and didnt have to lift a finger to work as hard, was
the American Dream they wanted. We all have to work with what
were given. But wouldnt you think that throughout the years it
would have changed, well has it? No, it hasnt completely changed.
We still manage to capture the American Dream. Does that mean it
currently has the same meaning as it did before? Again, no it doesnt.
Because of the multiple perspectives I've encountered and my first
impression of the American Dream, I now just focus my attention of
the Dream part. Since I'm not fully an American and I would like to
accomplish the goals I set for myself. When I hear the words American Dream, I feel that others believe that if youre not considered
American, the American dream is something you should want to
achieve. From what I know about the American Dream, it hasnt affected the way I want my dream to be. The American Dream still lives
on today. It may not be desired as it was in the past, but it hasnt been
forgotten.

419

DIEGO L. // LIVING FREELY

Real Life

As I grew up I thought of the American dream the way my teacher

described it. The big house with a nice front porch and nice green
grass. I also imagined a nice red car in the garage. I grew up in a Hispanic heritage with two sisters and two brothers. I am currently 16
years old and proud of being Mexican. I grew up fighting back and
forth with my siblings because we all wanted the same thing, to watch
television. Victor, my older brother, shaped most of my American
Dream because he made my voice matter.
I havent achieved my American Dream but I have gotten a start on it.
I want people to value my voice. There are people who believe Victor
is not a good influence on me, but he cared for me when I felt like no
one else did. He grew up in the same situation as me and that is why I
feel his voice matters. What made people assume that my brother
wasnt a good role model was his expulsion that occurred during my
freshmen year. After school he called me, just by the sound of his
voice I knew something was up, Yo where you at? I responded.
Waiting for the bus. he replied. He told me to meet him at Old
Town. When I got in the car he looked serious and said I'm moving
schools because I got expelled. Even after teachers said they didn't
want me to follow his footsteps, I knew right from wrong.
My American dream is to live in a society where we are not judged by
our race, what we wear, where we live, or what we do on our free
time. Of course having a nice family with a balanced bank account
seems ideal and doing something you really love should be included
in everyone's American Dream. I hope people aspirations also include
improving our society. Everyone hopes to have good thing for themselves.
420

When I was in 8th grade, there was a student named Steven who was
african-american. The teacher shared out to the class, We will be doing a project, pick a partner. I didnt know him at the time and I
asked him if he wanted to partner up. He replied with,Sure beaner. I
didnt really think he actually meant it so I said, Yeah Im a beaner I
was eating some with your mom. The reason I believe I remember
that moment is because that was the first time I was identified by my
race. I feel like most average Americans are white males wearing a
suit with a good job who live their lives by their amendments. I think
some people see that being Mexican is a disadvantage because America has never had a president of color.
This experience made my Dream become real when I was 13, the
hope that no one would label my family as illegal aliens. I know one
of my goals is that Mexicans should not be labeled, but it seems that
there has been no progress because of people like Donald Trump. He
assumes the worst in every Mexican, by the way they are perceived on
the news. My family is caring and no one makes anyone feel left out,
we are all very close. Donald Trump just sees Mexicans as intruders to
his country.
My American Dream doesnt affect the whole world, but it does affect
me. Some of my family members have made mistakes in the past but
they have learned from them and became stronger. I believe something I could do to change the average American mind is to see the
similarities, the struggles whether its not having parents around or just
feel like their not being heard.

421

AYANNA M. // EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A

REASON

Our Story

My Story.
In a world where the motive is money and not passion,
there lies me.
A young girl with a dream,
a drive to succeed with no worries,
You wont make it Youll never be good enough You cant accomplish that,
Swirls through my cluttered brain,
As I begin to read my story,
I seek to uncover my mystery,
But all I see is blank pages,
Slipping on the tips of my fingers, page to page,
NO.
My story will not be the basic American Dream,
Living in a white picket fenced house,
Driving a fancy car,
Living like the only thing we focus on is how were looked upon,
Acting as if we need to prove ourselves to one another,
When we should uplift each other,
YES.
I, an African American young lady,
Is here to say that I will be the end of it.
I will grow up to make a change,
To sit with my family in the future and be able to say that Ive done it.
To say that I am an independent young lady,
Living a happy life with a career that I truly enjoy.
The American Dream is not impossible nor unfeasible,
I believe it is not proving to others that you can achieve something,
But perhaps proving it to yourself,
422

Painting your own picture,

Drawing outside the lines,
Breaking the rules and showing that youre different,
Showing you have the creative mind to be someone,
Showing that you can be yourself in whatever circumstances,
Rich or poor, black or white,
We all have a passion, a motive,
To be someone and do something in life,
Now thats what Im talking about,
Now we begin to uncover,
Your Story.

423

REBECCA M. // OPTIMISTIC

The Golden Paved Road

Like a ticking clock my heart will stop

Onto golden paved streets
Where anything is possible
They say and wave
For god shed his grace on thee
Where high-rises shoot up to the sky
Blocking our view from the dream
Some hopes are bulldozed down
While others are built from the ground
Shielded
Sheltered
And blurred
We are assured by the debris
That covers our green lens with glee
But find only pebbles at our feet
With my night blue eyes
All I can see is the bright colored ads in full-size
Revealing the reality
Little white fences
Greener than green grass
Shiney red cars
Rosy cheeked kids
Welcoming big houses
Plastered in our minds
The gears of thought turn
Being cleared of the dust
And unfogging to reveal my disgust
424

Is this my reality
Is this everyone's reality
Are we really the land of equality
Ruby reds
Upon my toes
I click them
clack
clack
clack
And arrive
In the actual
The physical
The authentic
He welcomes me
With long outstretched arms and wrinkles upon his face
Lens frame his crystal clear eyes
As he sits in serenity
Under trees that hug him with shade
Flowers that brighten his day
And a stream with animals at peace
His mouth forms a grin as he sees that someone wants to listen
He is the keeper of the secrets
Lonely and unwanted
In my pale blue dress
I open my ears
Becoming captivated with the idea that
We are living in the present
Prisoners of the past
And optimistic about the future
While struggling with the fact that not everyone has equal opportunity
Some people, life cradles
Holding comfortably in its soothing arms
Others it lets slip through the creases
We should not be reaching for the brightly advertise American
Dream
425

Instead take a deeper look at the scheme

It should not be a race to the end of the golden road
But instead at our own mode
We are America
We get to choose our dream
Look over the skyscrapers
And down to the stream
Where a little old man sits
Happily sharing his secrets

426

BRIANNA M. // YOUNG & HARDWORKING

TEENAGE GIRL

The Sad Reality

During this whole process of understanding my idea of the American

Dream, Ive learned that everyone has a different point of view and
only some people believe in it. Some make life goals and try to accomplish them throughout their entire life. Despite every struggle that
comes at them during their journey to achieve their dream they never
give up and then theres other people who give up once things get
rocky. I also learned, the American Dream is difficult to obtain. Many
people try their hardest to make it happen but no matter how many
times they try they are not able to make their American Dream true.
The American Dream is mainly thought as a huge dream for Americans to think of at a young age, they think of their future as if that's
exactly what is going to be. They just believe on what they want but
don't think of any obstacle that may get in their way. However, it is
very easy for wealthy people to accomplish their dreams and have
many more opportunities than the poor. Although, even if they
achieve it, it won't make them have a happy life. They go through
struggles during the process of trying to accomplish their dream and
eventually will get harder and harder each day trying to make things
right so it can go their way and be financially stable. My dream as a
child was to become someone known in the Fashion Industry and till
this day still is, but with everything that I learned I dont believe it
will ever happen. Society has taken over in so many ways. Race, education, if youre rich or poor and the way you look. All these are
stereotypes that stop me from chasing my dream, but I wont let that
get in the way anymore. I will accomplish my dream no matter how
hard it is. Anyone can achieve anything as long as they set their mind
into it. The American Dream may be hard to accomplish, but it is not
impossible.
427

LUCAS M. // HUMAN BEAN

Counter Culture

I have grown up with the pressure of the mainstream American Dream. Go to college to get a job so you can buy a house and be
happy. For my life these goals seemed like good objectives, but as I
get closer to college Im realizing that these goals arent really all that
matters. Growing up we think so long term in regards to careers. I
would always assume that once you graduate college whatever you
end up majoring in would determine your career for your life. After
having long talks with my sister and others I realized that we have so
much time to live and try new things. I shouldnt sell my freedom
away to do one thing.
I grew up in a nice neighborhood with a great sense of community. My parents started their own film and video production
business and when I was little I believed that if you try hard enough
you can accomplish anything. As the years went by and America fell
into recession my parents had to give up the company because rent
became too high. I didnt think much about that at the time. I was
around ten years old and I was so sheltered from what was going on in
our family and our country. Looking back on those years with the
knowledge I know now I see a misconception that many Americans
have. My parents have worked hard. They would spend nights slaying
over a computer, editing videos, and going to film weddings. They put
a lot into their business. They were successful for a long time, and it
wasnt until our countrys economy sank in 2008 that my parents
business fell apart. The government has a lot of say in whether you
can obtain your American Dream. You can work your hardest and do
everything right but there is still a strong chance you may not make it
in this capitalistic country. That is why the idea of the American
Dream is flawed. Its setup for the few and leaves the rest of society
trying to catch up.
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One of the things I like about the newer generation is that some of us
have been raised by parents who have been through the flawed system
and have learned how cruel the lack of economic mobility can be. So
now the newest generation has been raised with the mindset that money isnt everything. Or at least it shouldnt be. What I dont like about
the American Dream, is that it is so closely affiliated with money. I
am in the very thin margin of middle class and technically my status is
exactly what the American Dream is supposed to be, but so what?
People get hooked on capitalism and are obsessed with titles. What
comes with that is a sense of entitlement. Everyone is expected to own
a house own a car to be successful. Why cant success be judged on
how much youve contributed to the ones around you. The American
Dream is like millions of people clawing their way to the top of a
mountain that is capitalism. They leave behind anyone that is struggling in order to fulfill a materialistic need thats been set up in
mainstream society. Youre born into this giant stampede of selfish
unsatisfied Americans where success all depends on how far up the
mountain you are born onto. I dont want to be a part of America's
free for all. Money is a way to get what you need in this society like
food, water, and shelter it shouldn't be used as a way of oppressing.
Money should assists you while you try to achieve your own dreams.
I enjoy playing music and I want to invest my time and my
energy into playing shows and practicing. The reality to that dream is
that it doesnt make much money. That is okay because I have many
dreams and I dont want to limit myself to the skills and experiences
that I can learn in my lifetime. The way I could fail in my American
Dream would to be stuck in an environment where Im not learning
anything new and Im unaware of it. I wouldve failed if my life begins to only revolve around money and not for something I love like
music. This country is very competitive and very job and money oriented. I want to be a part of the counterculture of America that is more
compassionate, and driven by passion. I want to be part of the counterculture that cares more about art and being creative rather than a
swarm of silverfish looking for money.
At this point all I want to do, is learn about the world around me and
acquire skills through experience and schooling. I do not want to go to
college for a career and become tied down to one field for the rest of
429

my life. I want my education to be focused on the things Im interested in and from there decide what I want to do first.

430

ALAN M. // DICTATOR

About Alans American Dream

Before, I never heard or thought about the American dream, but I had
an idea of my own dream that I would be the leader of a country of my
own. I am not sure why I wanted be like a king. However, after learning about the American Dream I want to go to college and graduate. I
also want to get a good and fun job that will allow me to practice my
religion, have a house somewhere in Seville, and have an AdAndalusian Sephardic Jewish family. However, I still want to be a
dictator, then be promoted to an emperor just like Napoleon, or be like
Napoleon. Because having a happy family life, may not be what I
want in the future because sometimes the savage I am can be stressful
like the hulk
When I learned about the American dream, I was confused because
the way I thought the American Dream, was something to hold onto or
something that gives you hope so that you can achieve to your dreams.
Now I think about the American Dream differently, because it was
meant for immigrants who came to America to start a new life and the
American Dream was also for Americans, I had some one explain it to
me.
I try my hardest to obtain an interesting internship that might be my
job until college. Also, I am trying to graduate high school so I can get
into college. I hope to have a passing score from the ACT and SAT
test so I can go to the history colleges. I want to go and the major I
want to pursue is world history. Another hope of mine is,is to graduate
high school and college and pass every class, with As and Bs, but
what I hope for the most is becoming a dictator.

431

ISRAEL P. // IMAGINATIVE

The Magical Card

Looking back at my life and my American Dream and the things that
could have affected it, there is one memory that is stuck in my mind.
The time was when my sister and I were little, and still did not know
much about money, life or even what we were supposed to do all we
knew what to do was to live and have fun with what we had. We were
at a store and we wanted to buy something but my parents said no because we didn't have enough money to buy it, which didn't make sense
to me at that time because we were buying other things like food and
clothes. My sister told them to just pay for it with the magical card
that has money because it never goes away, but unfortunately it didn't
work that way. As we grew older we learned that the magical
cardwas just a credit card. A credit card was just a card that lent you
money when you needed it and you payed it back whenever, I still
thought that the credit card was still the best thing even though I didn't
expect to need to borrow money because I thought that I would be
rich, but it still didn't seem like that was a bad thing especially since
my parents used it all the time. But now that I am 16, I have a better
understanding of what things are like I realize that to me personally
credit cards are bad because not only does it mean you don't have or
make enough money but if you do use it you have to pay back with
interest which means you are paying more than what you could have
spent and if you miss a payment on your credit card your interest rate
could go up by a lot. This lead to me noticing how many people
around me use credit cards which made me wonder if this American
dream of owning things is just a lie and if anyone can make it while
owning their own things. I then thought back to my grandma's biographical narrative and realized why she was so happy in achieving
her dreams when she said yes I have my house, I have my car, they
may not be the best or new but they are mine. she was happy because
she actually owned her things. This just gave me some hope that my
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American dream can still be achieved. My American dream is mostly

based around first getting my dream job and then everything else will
fall into place later. What inspired my dream was a quote said by John
Lasseter If you get a job doing what you love you'll never work a day
in your life. The reason I like this quote and decided to follow it is
because I feel like a lot of people in the America are stressed and unhappy with their jobs since they don't have time to pursue what they
want because their primary focus is making enough money to survive
and I don't want that to happen to me. If you ask me if I believe that
my American dream is still possible to achieve? Id respond yes because if you really want something you're going to try your hardest to
get it and all the negative things about this American dream
wouldnt be able to get in the way if you are truly determined.

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KAYLEE R. // INETELLIGENT BLONDE

The Path That Lies Before Me

How much of your childhood do you truly remember by the time you
are in high school? Not much, I can tell you that right now. However
do you know the memories that tend to stick in a child's head even
from a young age? The heartbreak and times of sorrow. The frightening moments when you dont know what is coming next. I dont
remember a lot when I was 10 years old, but what I do remember will
never be forgotten.
The familiar sound of bickering occurred at least once a week. It
wasnt anything new when dinner ended with voices being raised and
me politely asking to leave the table. Sometimes the whole family
never even made it to dinner due to the argueing starting early. The
small arguments always led to the bigger problem; money. With a roof
over my head and three cars in the driveway, I never understood
where the issue of money was rooted. If we were in so bad of a condition, couldnt we just sell the valuables? But it wasnt that simple, you
see, once you purchase something you are responsible for the debt you
owe on it. As a young child, I did not know any of this. I just knew
that the problem was not being solved.
From that moment on I vowed to be the money maker of my family. I
did not want to go through the stress or the fear of not knowing what I
could afford. I did not want to endlessly argue about money problems,
I just wanted to have it and be okay. Keep in mind I was a 12 year old
child who believed money could solve all problems, big or small. I
saw the American Dream so purely materialized. The dream to me
was having money so you could buy what you want and not have to
worry about looking at the price tags.

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When my parents begun to realize the problem wasnt the lack of

money but the lack of savings, things started to look up. Less and less
bickering occurred and my family felt whole again. Of course we did
have to cut back on a lot of things but ultimately more opportunities
opened up in the long run. Looking back on myself then, I seemed so
foolish. How could I believe money solved all problems when my
family had it and we still went through so many rough patches along
the way. Seeing how much happier my family became once we cut
back on the material purchases changed my view on the American
Dream.
I still believe it is important to be financially stable but to an extent.
You do not need money to buy fancy cars or closets of shoes. The importance of money is the savings. That way in the long run, you can
afford the important things. Being able to let my children play club
sports, sending them to a nice colleges and supporting them as my
parents did for me. Those are the truly important factors. My American dream has changed dramatically. I dont believe the American
Dream is having money. To be completely honest, to me the American Dream is undefined. It is just an idea; a goal that individuals set
for themselves so they dont go through life aimlessly making decisions. People have a set dream that they believe will make them
happy, but everyones definition of happiness is different. Therefore
everyone's American Dream is different.
I fear that my head will be too stuck on the idea of being successful
that I wont follow my dreams. I want to do what I am passionate
about but how can I know what that is if every idea I have comes with
the thought of failing at it? I am scared of growing up because that
means choosing a path and I don't even know where the path starts.
What if I dont find myself in college and I am not passionate about
what I do? What if I follow my heart and I fail? What if I spend my
whole life asking myself what if? Then what?

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IAN R. // MUSIC I DONT KNOW

Ummerica

Originally, I always assumed The American Dream was to live the life
expected in a place claiming to be the Land of Opportunity. To utilize the freedoms and opportunities to become more successful than
you could anywhere else. It was open to all races and backgrounds.
Anyone could achieve it as long as they worked hard enough.
The American Dream 2.0 project has given me much more perspective on what the reality of what people looking for success truly find.
Many factors that discriminate people such as race, religion, education, and income have an enormous effect on whether achieving your
American Dream is even possible.
I am now much more skeptical of the American Dream and the ideology of calling America the Land of Opportunity. After seeing the
many different accounts, both good and bad, on how people have been
treated in America, I can clearly see that the equality and freedom offered is not everything that it is brought up to be.
My American Dream is to do something that makes a positive impact
for generations. Either through writing music that make history, or
create new technology to change the world. My personal life would
include a nice home in the city with a car and hopefully a wife. However, I never plan to retire. I believe that having a job to do is what
keeps people going. The way I want to get all this is through doing
what I love most: writing music. Even though the music industry is
infamous for being toxic and unforgiving, it is worth it to me to try
and make my mark among my musical heros.
I have very high hopes for my American Dream, but my goals are incredibly high-risk high-reward. Sadly, the majority of Americans do
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not have the opportunity to take incredible risks with their goals. They
cant afford to gamble because if they lose, they have nothing left. I
am grateful for my opportunities and my American Dream is to do
something amazing with them.

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JAY R. // ABSTRACT

An Imperfect World

Nothing is perfect
White picket fences don't exist
Not everyone can be happy and rich
Not everything is smiles
The world is dark
Lavish lifestyle is available
Small lifestyle is chosen
Closet full of suits
Studio apartment in the city
Sunset views of the skyline
The city that is mine
Big city, small car
My name known
My building with company name shown
Small lifestyle chosen
Lavish Lifestyle available
Nothing is perfect
White picket fences don't exist
Not everyone can be happy and rich
Not everything is smiles
The world is dark

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SARAH S. // GLISTENING HEROINE

Four Months of Recovery

I was born half Mexican and half White. My father never taught me
Spanish as a child, nor did he teach me much about my ethnicity. The
only exposure I had with Mexicans was from my fathers side of the
family. I never have been able to have an in depth conversation with
my grandmother due to my lack of Spanish. Usually at family gettogethers I never can really speak to anyone, let alone understand
them. I greet everyone there like we have a close relationship, but its
mostly a facade. I just try to be as polite as possible and smile and
make my dad proud. Its all I can really do.
Through my 6th grade year, I was bullied and put in situations that I
was too young to be in. I eventually developed a burdening social anxiety this same year. I would get so anxious in social situations my
stomach would twist and turn, and my palms would get sweaty. I
would get very quiet and eventually, I would be running for the nearest trashcan because my stomach was not even strong enough to keep
down water. I went to therapy for five years, switching counselors
four times. I was not put on medication until a year ago with my last
counselor. During that five year period, I missed out on a lot due to
my anxiety, holding me back from things as small as hanging out at
the mall with my friends. I generally did not like the presence of other
people. I did not trust others around me, even my closest friends. All I
really desired was to be around people who loved me
.
I remember when I was a little kid in elementary, I would go to the
edge of our playground and climb up a tree that was leaning against a
rusty old fence that separated the high school campus and the elementary school playground. I would stare at the passing high schoolers, so
busy on their way to their different classes. Dropping papers and
greeting their friends. I always would think to myself, Im never go439

ing to be like them. Im not going to make it to high school. I

couldnt see myself going anywhere in life. Yet, here I am. I never
really think about the possibilities of the future, probably because it is
not right in front of me. Though when I met her, on that awkward first
day back from winter break, and introduced myself, I certainly did not
think about her in my future. Unfortunately, things dont always work
out the way you expect they would.
She had had short dirty blonde hair, that was a little frizzy, giving the
look that she may not have brushed it in the morning. She was wearing an Avengers t-shirt with a flannel over it. On her feet she wore
Avengers Vans, from the Vans Marvel collection. Her blue jeans had
a hole in the knee that was closed up by super glue. I have a bad habit
of coming to school late in the morning, so of course I was late that
day. I walked in wearing an expensive black dress that I had borrowed from my friend Natalie. I was wearing my year-old black
leather Doc Martens, and a knit cardigan that draped past my dress.
My dark brown hair was curly and I wore gold eyeshadow. I sat down
across from her, and turned to the person to my left and asked who the
blonde girl was. They just replied, Shes the new girl.
That entire week I spent lunch with Amaris. This was really the root
of our beautiful friendship. The root to my true recovery. I spent all
two weeks of spring break at her house in Ocean Beach. These were
the two weeks that really changed our friendship forever. We would
throw mini parties in her garage, where really anyone who walked by
was invited to come in and hang out with us. We would sneak out at
night and not come home until early in the morning, and then do it all
over again. I would tell you more detail but alas, I can not remember a
lot of these nights.
Amaris had this glow upon her, that kind of refreshing smile and a
personality that just made you feel so comfortable. I saw Amaris as
my everything, my long lost sister that I had been looking for forever.
When I found out she was going to be moving back to Germany a
week after my birthday, I decided I would make the rest of her time
here in San Diego extremely memorable. Spring Break for the two of
us was, simply beautiful, but I cannot go into detail. I remember how
we would get home from our night adventures around 1 am, and
would sneak back into the garage, and get undressed and in bed as fast
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as possible because it was freezing. We would go under the covers

and stare at each other, and talk about anything and everything.
Amaris, what was your first impression of me? I asked.
Well, I thought you were this cool punk girl with pretty gold
eyeshadow with an intimidating look about her. she replied.
Did you think we would be friends?
No.
Neither did I.
Thats why were perfect for each other.
I would hug the life out of her at night before we slept, and be the
happiest person alive to wake up next to her. Now, you might be
thinking that I was in love with her. And yes, I was, but not in a sexual
way. I loved her more in a, platonic way. I would do anything for her,
anything to make her happy. I thought about her all the time, and
missed her when I was not with her. Amaris was the love of my life.
She was really the reason I removed myself from a hole of depression
and anxiety. She was always there for me during my anxiety attacks,
and held my hand in recovery.
No one can predict the future, or what is to come of it. Assumption is
just limiting your possibilities. The four months I spent with Amaris,
May was the best time of my life. I had never met anyone who connected with me so quickly. We needed each other, and we loved each
other so much. It broke my heart when she left. Yet, Amaris changed
my life for the better. Her friendship taught me to cherish and accept
all kinds of people, be kind to everyone, and to never forget the good
times in life. And that is not something you can learn from very many
people. To this day, I think about her all the time. I have photos of her
in my room, and I look back on the times we had very often. She was
mine, and I was hers. Even though it breaks my heart that she is so far
away, the days I spent with Amaris were some of the most remarkable
moments of my life. It truly was fate that I met her. When she left, she
left me with a different perspective on my future and what is to come
of it.
My true American Dream is to be happy with who I am in life and to
overcome the obstacles I face alongside the people who matter the
most to me. I generally do not care about having a stable, single place
to live. I do not want to live a boring life in a single place. I have truly
accepted the fact that people currently in my life will not always be
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there like I think they will. They have their own destinies to fulfill,
and I have mine. I truly love learning from others and basing my actions off of their experiences. My American Dream is within all of the
amazing people I surround myself, not within myself.

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KATRINA S. // KIND HEARTED

Reality Is Catching Up

I never really understood what the American Dream was as a little

girl. I was naive, and when I looked at the adults going about their
lives, it never occurred to me how they got to where they were; the
money, jobs, homes, and cars they possessed. I dreamt of becoming a
pediatrician, maybe even a singer or actress. Although I had dreams
and aspirations, it never occurred to me that there would be steps I had
to take in order for me to get there. At the time it all seemed so easy,
like everything would fall into place. However, that wasnt the case
anymore. I feel as I am getting older, reality is also catching up to me.
As I lie in bed, every night there seems to be a constant battle in my
head with how my future will look like, will I be able to survive on
my own? Am I going to be happy? Its crazy to think that in a few
years I will graduate high school and before I know it, Ill be off on
my own. Because so many of us are after this ideal American
Dream, it makes me wonder how will I, out of so many others, be
able to achieve this dream? In reality, one of the main components of
this dream is sadly, the financial aspect of it. Today in America, it becomes more and more challenging for people to achieve this dream
when most of us are still unsure if our American Dream is still based
off of meritocracy, or aristocracy. I believe if I work hard enough to
get to where I want to be in life, I could, but what if that isnt the case
anymore? What if Im limited to certain opportunities and Im restricted from climbing this social ladder because I am born into a
working, middle class family? Even when I think about college, it just
makes no sense to me that Americans are pulling all these loans out
from banks just to spend the rest of their lives trying to pay off our
education. Shouldnt the ability to learn and become educated be free?
Or at least at a price where not every American doesnt have a choice
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but to give up loans? These thoughts spiral in my head every day, because this is the reality.

Any path I choose to take, any decisions I decide to make, I hope in

the future will always be a lesson for me; good or bad. I want to be
able to achieve my American Dream, so I can give back to my family
and have the strength to say that I made it. As of now, I am excited yet
afraid to determine the roads I want to take to get to where I want to
be. I realize that not everything is going to be an easy breeze just like I
thought it would as a young girl, but someone once said to me, Life
can be hard if you let it be hard, or you can see it as an opportunity.
For the future, I have to remind myself that sometimes there are
downfalls in my life when achieving my American Dream. However,
it shouldnt stop me from the things I want to accomplish in life.
Thats reality.

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HALLIE S. // HOPEFUL

Hopeful

All my life I never had a thought about the American Dream as something that was true, but if I had to describe my own American Dream,
it would be to be able to have enough money to afford whatever you
want. However, my ideal definition of it has changed over time because of the experiences Ive had throughout my life. I have always
been a realistic person and never having too much hope in things; if I
had too much hope, Id get disappointed. This all started when my
father left me as a baby. As I grew older without a father for a few
years I felt as though not everything in life is the way you want it to
be. I wanted to grow up with a father, but for few years, he wasnt
there and I hoped he would come back, but I realized he wouldnt.
Later on in life, I as if that the American Dream was something that I
shouldnt have too much hope for. As I learned from my history
teachers, the American Dream is one of which only a few people
could accomplish. However, I did learn that the people that did
achieve their goals had hope. I started to believe in realizing that I
needed to have that to make my American Dream come true, but it
was hard for me due to other experiences in my life that have affected
me. Growing up being in the middle class along with my now stepfather and mother, it was hard to raise enough money to move out of
our apartment. My version of the American Dream changed from
what I had initially thought to trying to work hard to be able to have
enough money.
The American Dream is still false to an extent in my opinion. I wont
live in a house with a white picket fence and clean cut grass; for a few
of my years as a child I lived an apartment with my mother and stepfather who worked to pay for food. The American Dream is a challenge that I had to grow through just to be able to try and live a simple
life. However, I feel that I learned a lot from this experience. I learned
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that if you worked hard enough and believe that you can do it along
with having some hope you can do it. It took me a while to learn that
way. I had to experience people leaving me out of the blue in my life,
people that I hoped would stay with me had left. Along with that, I
gained that the American Dream is not impossible, but willing to put
forth the effort I will be able to make it possible. To this day I still
believe that the main point of the American Dream is to put effort.
Nothing is impossible with the effort and dedication put into it.
With every experience good and bad I have had throughout my life,
where I am now with the American Dream is that I think it is still false
to a certain point, but I have much more hope than I did before about
many things. My current way of thinking is that I believe that having
determination will make it happen and I have been able to try and to
not give up. My hope is that the American Dream gets slightly easier
from now on. In the future I feel as though with more people knowing
about the problems of today they will try to find solutions for how to
solve them. The American Dream is something that I feel is false and
shouldnt have give people hope only to be disappointed in the end,
but I also believe that in some way it is possible. It gave me hope and
something to strive for despite all odds. Overall, the American Dream
for me has been rough, but I see it as an opportunity to think positive
and have hope about something.

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MIA S. // A GIRL WHO HAS FOUND HER

PLACE

Perfectly Broken

Mia Schummer, a girl who as a child thought she had the world.
Growing up with two parents who made sure she always had everything she needed and more, she believed she could accomplish
anything she dreamed of. I thought that I was the luckiest girl in the
world to have a family who cared about me so much that they would
do anything for me. I thought that my dream was to grow up without
any difficulties and I would be able to get any job I wanted. This was
everything I thought I could have.
I realized that my life was actually far from this perfect world that I
had created in my mind. I dont know when the exact moment was
when I first started to see my reality for what it truly was. Maybe it
was when my dad was driving me home and he suddenly couldnt
breathe and we had to rush him to the hospital. Maybe it was when my
family had to stop all communication with my grandfather. Maybe it
was when my aunt got diagnosed with breast cancer. Maybe it was
when my dad got sick with depression and I felt like I had lost him.
These were all moments that showed me that the perfect life that I had
thought I had was broken. Maybe I was just too naive to acknowledge
all the broken pieces of me. Maybe I didnt want to realize it because
it was just too hard to comprehend. I used to compare my life to the
lives of others around me and think that they had it so much better
than me. I felt like I wanted to escape this life because it wasnt perfect at all. I wished that I could change every little thing about my life.
Lately I have been looking at my life through a different lense and I
have recently gained a lot more perspective. Although it isnt the perfect life that I had always wished for, it was still perfect for me. I still
have a family who loves me unconditionally, my aunt has gotten
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through her cancer, and my dad is still the same supportive and amazing dad that he had always been. Though people may not see my life
as that picture perfect dream, I think it is. Every event that has happened throughout my life has shaped it to be the way it is today.
Without all those events, I wouldn't be the same person I am today.
I think that this definition of this perfect American Dream is different for every single person in this world. I believe that every broken
piece and every struggle is what shapes everyone's dream to make it
perfectly imperfect. I have learned that you cant take things for granted in this life because in just a split second, everything you have ever
known could be taken away from you. Instead of ripping apart every
little detail in my life, I have started to accept my life as it is now and
be content with it. My dream now is to continue trying to be the best
person I can be and to appreciate the people that are in my life now,
and the ones to come. I want to be grateful for the experiences that I
do get to have without comparing them to the ones of others. I realized
that I cant and never will be able to fit the perfect image of this so
called American Dream, but that is fine by me.

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ETHAN S. // MIDDLE CLASS & MATH WIZARD

Game On

When I was a young boy, I wanted to be an astronaut or a firefighter

because every boy my age wanted to have those jobs. Those were the
stereotypical jobs that boys wanted to have because they epitomize
masculinity. They require a lot of courage and bravery which are
commonly valued as masculine traits. Men typically get jobs that are
valued as masculine and women get jobs that are valued as feminine.
This is a cultural stereotype that has existed for a long time and continues to exist today. This has an affect on peoples American Dreams
because it has an affect on what jobs they might choose or think are
available to them. However, gender is not the only restriction on
some jobs. Sadly, jobs can also be limited by race or age. This can
heavily impact the american dream.
This project inspired me to start thinking about my American Dream.
There are many factors that help or hinder my ability to achieve the
American Dream. For example, males in our society have a huge advantage because they could get paid more or promoted more in a job.
My race may also help because white people get more benefits than
people of other races. My familys socioeconomic status has hindered
me because I have not had much of an advantage wealth wise.
My familys American Dream is to have a house, a steady income and
a family. My parents have partially achieved their American Dream.
We do not have a steady source of income at the moment, but we have
a house and a family.
My own American Dream is to have a house and an income. In order
to achieve my American Dream, I will get a job in computer game
design. I want to own my own video game company to create videogames. In order to do this, I will need other people to help me to start
449

my own company. I will probably need to work at a different job to

earn money while I do not have people to help me with starting the
company. I will also need money from another job to pay my workers
at my company. It is my American Dream to have a steady source of
income and own a home, but not just income from anywhere, income
from my own company which makes videogames.
The American Dream may not only be limited to Americans. For example, immigrants moving to Germany may have a German Dream
about their lives changing for the better. I think that the idea of the
American Dream is silly because it is branding something that can be
done anywhere, it is not exclusively American. In my case, I think that
the American Dream could happen anywhere in Europe and is more
likely to happen in other countries because the U.S. economy is not
very stable, which makes it less likely to have a stable income and buy
a house to achieve the American Dream in America.

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JOANNE S. // AN EDUCATOR EMPOWERING

OTHERS

Borrowed

My childhood consisted of a beautiful one story, four bedroom, three

bathroom house that rested in a lovely suburb of Arcadia, where each
house on my block represented how the American Way of life was
characterized in all the books and movies. Children playing outside,
the elderly taking long strolls around the block, dogs barking at the
mailman, the sounds of splashing around in our pools Life on 320
San Antonio Road epitomized the definition of the American Dream.
It all seemed too perfect because it was.
It was a Wednesday morning and my sister and I went about our
morning routine as if it were any other school day. We unwillingly
woke at the annoying blare of the alarm, groaned and moaned, and
slowly bickered about who had bathroom rights first. My sister pulled
the older than you card and began to make her way towards the
bathroom. It was at that moment, I remember a strong banging at the
front door. Who the heck is knocking at the door at 6:15 in the morning? Before I could even curb the corner to enter the living room, I
saw a stream of men burst through the door, yelling at decibels that
made it hard to comprehend, and within minutes, as the fog of policemen settled, I saw my mom and dad sitting on the floor with their
hands tied behind their backs. Because I was only eleven years old, I
couldnt make much sense of it except my mom and dad were in trouble. To this day, I dont know why the cops stormed into my house
that morning. My parents dismissed it as adult matters that children
have no sense in meddling and even as an adult, the part of me that
wants to preserve some form of innocence, keeps that memory vague.
But a memory that still haunts me today was what I witnessed after.
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After the morning police raid, I felt as if life was playing in fast forward. From my mom and dad fighting constantly to sending my sister
off to college, the next few years blurred together. My life was eerily
back to normal. But again, when it began to feel perfect, reality struck
hard. My dad left us. He picked up and said he was moving back to
Taiwan and that he will send us money. Again, I never understood
why this was happening and again, part of me didnt want to understand. So I said good bye and continued on. But what I will witness
next will forever be engrained in my head as a hard lesson of the
American Dream.
I came home from water polo practice, drenched and eager to jump
into a warm shower. As I opened the front door, a waft of cigarette
stench welcomed me home. I was confused; the only person who
smoked in my family was my dad. Was he back? Excited, I walked
into the living room, however I did not find my dad. Instead, I saw the
back of my moms head peeking out in between the two couches. As I
approached her, I will never forget what I saw before me. My mom, a
woman who despised smoking, has almost gone through a whole pack
herself. All around her were a sea of bills, some read past due and
some with the harsh red ink of NOTICE written across them. My
moms face looked tired, the eyes that normally appeared warm were
empty and hollow, and all she said to me was It was all a lie.
My American Dream was a lie. The nice house, the three cars, even
the recent renovation done to our house all of it my dad borrowed.
Now, my mom had to find a way to pay it all back or risk losing everything. We were forced into the latter. At that moment, we felt like
we lost everything - our integrity, our childhood memories, our security, our hopes. But looking back, we didnt lose any of those because
they were not necessarily ours in the first place. Besides the memories, the rest of it was a mirage of the American Dream. This moment
has left me with not only many wonderings but also profound life lessons. I am haunted by the big WHY? Why did my dad do all of that?
How far did he go to achieve his American Dream? Although these
questions are left unanswered, I am comforted by the life lessons that I
have gained from this experience.
Do we own our American Dream or are we merely borrowing
it? My familys early experience has left me with this driving question
that I center a lot of my financial decisions around. To me owning the
American Dream means that you are the sole proprietor of your ac452

complishments. In a world of credit cards, lay away plans, and loans,

we are constantly lured into the materialism of the American Dream,
but many of us are buying them on credit on loan. When we do this,
can we honestly say that we have achieved our American Dream?
When you borrow it is it yours? No.
I have learned that your dream is what you can afford. I am proud that
I own my American reality.

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JOHNNY T. // LIFE

Long Roads

I was born Johnny Malik Taylor on November 13, 1999 at Mary Birch
Hospital to a middle class family living in Spring Valley, California. I
was the second son of my mom and the third of my dad. I am African
American and practice no religion. Growing up I had some struggles. I
lost multiple family members to violence and that affected me because
it made me feel like I was going to keep losing people I loved all my
life. I have experienced 2 life and death situations by being in the
wrong place at the wrong time. My parents split up when I was 5, it
took me a while to get used to not being with my dad all the time but I
eventually got used to it. My parents did their best to provide for my
brothers and I, and they basically spoiled us by buying us whatever we
wanted or asked for. By the time I had finished elementary school I
had already attended four different schools. It wasnt as hard for me as
people would think because I made friends pretty easily as I have always been a pretty easy person to get along with. When I started
middle school is when I started to watch more and more sports but it
wasnt until the eighth grade when I started to take them seriously.
This lead to my American Dream.
The influences on my American Dream comes from family members,
sports players that I look up too and the people that I surround myself
with. I started pursuing my American Dream in the 8th grade when I
realized that all I wanted to do in life was be successful and provide
for my family members no matter what profession or job I choose. I
thought the American Dream was the common dream of having a nice
house with a family and a stable income, but I soon realized that it's
not. The American Dream is actually all put together by who you are
and where you come from. If you come from a wealthy family you
will be fine, if you don't then that makes your American Dream two
times harder because of the opportunities you will have. Its like Meri454

tocracy; if you work hard you will get the things you want but if you
dont and you fail, that is your fault.
The reality is, most people don't even achieve the dream that they had
in mind their whole life. My American Dream was always to become
a professional sports player, a agent in a big sports agency or if none
of that works out I want to be a trainer of some sort and start a big fitness business. After middle school was when I started to learn more
about how corporate America worked. I also started to find a lot of
interest in kinesiology and physical health and that was when I came
up with my plan to make sure I go to college and get any degrees that
I will need to start a fitness and health company after college.

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KIRSTEN T. // A GIRL WHO SEES THROUGH

THE LIES OF SOCIETY

Pocket Change

Student reflection.
There is a connection
to the rejection
of the bottom 80% as a whole section.
Raised told
we dont have to fit a mold.
That we can grow tall
and America will catch us when we fall.
But the second we sprout
we grow filled with doubt.
Because the land of the free
is far below you and me.
There are few who have truly succeeded
they took what they wanted, not what they needed.
Now we face the wrath of the top 1%
putting money in the pockets of those we resent.
The rich more rich
the poor more poor.
Our dreams cannot be a reality anymore.
Because we are victims of their power
paying their taxes before we cower.
Hiding in the corners of streets they own
and being forced to witness how much they have grown.
We are held captive in their debt
and promised a reality we will not get.
How can we live in the shadow of the upper class?
Stuck in a recession that won't ever pass.
We the people who have been robbed of our dream
are in a much worse state than we seem.
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Spending money that we have yet to acquire

growing older but still can't retire.
Money is only a part of the problem that we face
but still stuck in a reality we can't chase.

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THOMAS U. // LAID BACK

Simplicity

The American Dream is not as straightforward as you may think.

Many years ago it was the idea that if you worked hard you'd be rewarded, also known as meritocracy. Over the year, the dream has
changed and is no longer as simple as it was before. Every individual
has a different opinion of what the American Dream means. One very
common idea of the dream in modern day America is to be financially
independent. Sadly, this is becoming harder and harder to achieve because of the expanding wage gap. It makes it more difficult for people
to climb the social ladder. If a person is born into a lower class family, chances are that person will stay in that class throughout their
lifetime. It is rare to see success out of low income families in terms
of having lots of money. Its easier for the wealthy to grow because
money buys opportunity. The more money you have, you can afford
to pay for things that benefit yourself. The wealthy can buy stocks and
invest, which only grows the amount of money they have. What they
do with all this money is spend it on materialistic things rather than
giving back to struggling families that actually could use the money.
The wealthy have more of a say in government decisions, because
they donate money to campaigns and their voice is heard in return for
the favor. This makes changes for what the wealthy want, rather than
what the rest of America wants. America is sadly a place where white
supremacy is still very real. Almost all people in government are
white which in a way shuts down other races who would like to have a
say in government.
The issues of race relations are getting better but are not likely to ever
end. The dream has changed alot over many years of economic and
social change. The dream continues to become less relevant in society
because it is becoming harder and harder to achieve. It is becoming
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more of a dream rather than a reality because opportunity is becoming

strictly available to just the wealthy.
Before learning about the huge wealth gap, my understanding of the
American Dream had not fully developed yet. It was not something I
had ever taken the time to think about so it was a new idea to me.
Through learning and finally seeing the wealth gap in America, I have
a very solid understanding of what the American Dream is. Its become irrelevant in modern day society because the ideas of
meritocracy are fading out of reality. In addition, everyone's American
Dream is different depending on their past. My American dream is
simplicity. I just want a simple life and dont want to struggle to survive. I dont want to have to worry about the pressures of society and I
simply want to enjoy life.

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DANNY V. // THE SKY IS BLUE

Daniel Valencia

The American Dream will never become achievable for all if we

keep heading in the same direction. I believed that the American
Dream was to obtain a stable profession and a relaxing lifestyle after
retirement. This definition came from my own expectations. I have
always wanted this lifestyle for myself, I just did not know what to do
to get to that point. I live in a confusing world where if decisions are
not made as soon as possible you either miss the opportunity or are
judged for not making one at all.
My peers and I had a very broad understanding of what success actually meant. I for example, came from a very different place where I
had everything and lost everything, which later on became an excuse
for me to move to San Diego. To my peers their stories might have
been full of wonders, struggles, or both. It all depends on their economic position and what their view of success actually means.
There were two American Dream lifestyles that I could think of.
The first was a Utopia, where everything is perfect .The second one
was meeting my own expectations. At that point I felt like I had
achieved the second one by moving to the United States and living a
better life. I was grateful for this, however I do miss my country from
time to time.
Many opportunities were available to me when I moved to San Diego,
and also when I became a citizen. I believe that was the start I needed
to become successful in life. I wish I had the opportunity to become
successful in Mexico, however I could not because my family split up
and our income started to go down exponentially. One of the challenges I had experienced so far was school. I did terrible in school in
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Mexico but in San Diego I started doing much better because I knew
that my life was heading a good direction.
From what I had experienced I did think there was an American
Dream because it seemed simple: go to school, get a degree, and find
a good paying job. Unfortunately these so called easy steps to success
are not as easy to achieve as I had thought before.Achieving the
American Dream, or in other words becoming successful, seems to
be an impossible task to achieve nowadays, considering the role that
capitalism takes in modern day economics.The famous quote The
poor get poorer and the rich get richer said by many of our presidents, only tell us that the problem has indeed been accepted since the
1800s. This statement alone has lead me to understand why success is
nearly impossible to achieve. It is incredible to understand that the top
1% owns nearly as much if not more money than the bottom 99% (
Inequality for All. Dir. Jacob Kornbluth). The rich pay very little taxes
and the poor/ middle class pay a ridiculous amount of taxes considering their low income. What I find outrageous is that hiding their taxes
from the government is totally legal because rich entrepreneurs own
companies where it is easy to launder money.
I have learned that we unfortunately no longer live in a democracy.
The rich can pay as much money as they want to vote for whoever
they want to win the presidency, leaving the voices of millions of citizens unheard. We live in a society where the rich have all the power
and the poor only work for the rich. In the present day, living in the
middle class no longer means to live as comfortable as people in the
same class used to live before, it means to live paycheck by paycheck
and not having enough money for yourself. The majority of the population unfortunately fall into this category, meaning life in the United
States, at least in San Diego, is not affordable anymore for these people and unfortunately general prices go up but the minimum wage
does not.
Statistics have shown that success is nearly impossible to achieve, but
in my opinion it is all about what success really means to you. Knowing these facts is not going to make me stop trying to achieve what I
am passionate about. I still do not know what I want to do for a living,
but I will try to achieve my goal and I will not give up until I am successful at it. I accept that reality is a big obstacle for someone who is
planning on becoming a millionaire in todays economy but statistics
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do not show that it is impossible to achieve any goal at all. The question Is the American Dream achievable today? will not be
answered until everyone apart of the generation X passes away, because change is always happening, and who knows, maybe the next
U.S president will make a difference and the American Dream will
be achievable for everyone.

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XIMENA V. // STRONG & HARDWORKING

MEXICAN FEMALE

Perfectly Imperfect

Although I never understood the definition of the American Dream, I

still never questioned why it was set a certain way. I admired it because it seemed picture perfect, at a very young age I soon made the
ideal American Dream my own. The dream to own a house with a
white picket fence and to be a part of a perfect family. This dream was
magical almost like a bedtime story.
The cookie cutter version of the American Dream isn't one size fits all.
I think each individual has their own visions, their own aspirations,
and their own goals to accomplish. Growing up, there has been many
struggles. I grew up with a single mom and had no recollective
memory of my father. This was something that always bothered me
but I never really let it get to me. Having a single mother meant having only one parent to come to any school event. At a very young age
I would feel frustrated, there was a part of me that wished for that perfect family. I wanted a dad so I could run up to him and be hugged
and spinned around in the air. I wanted to be able to laugh and giggle
with joy. I wanted to be daddys little girl. I wanted to be part of the
perfect American family. The family that wasnt broken. In order to
achieve that mythical American Dream, wasnt I supposed to have a
mom and a dad?
The American Dream is realistically limited to people who are wealthier. I however fall into a low middle class, leaving me behind. The
American Dream seems to be based on meritocracy or aristocracy, this
leaves me thinking. Will I be able to achieve my American Dream?
Because I am middle class, will I be able to climb up this social pyramid? The most powerful voices seem to be that ones who belong to
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those with money that could last them a lifetime. Does that mean that
my voice will not be heard?
The journey through identifying my American Dream has not been
easy, it has left me questioning my ability to achieve it. But I have
realized that through every obstacle I have learned to value everything
I have, no matter how imperfect it is. The ideal, American Dream is
not made for everyone, each individual must pursue their own American Dream, a dream that makes them happy; a dream that defines
them. I have noticed as a sixteen year old that many of the times we
wait for others acceptance to what we are doing, I think in order to
achieve greatness one must stop asking for permission and do what
seems right for them. As of now my dream is to take adventures, explore the world, and feel every exhilarating thrilling moment of it. I
am in no rush to form a family or get married. I just want the simple
things in life. I just want happiness. I want my American Dream to be
perfectly imperfect.

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LANCE W. // CHILL

Reflecting On My Past

My dream is my craft
it's like a draft
I picked mine
But I can't make it to the goal line
I wanted my own house, car, family, money
and all my days would be sunny
Little did I know,
my chances were so low
to make my dream real
Its like a big spinning wheel
I spin to win
but my chances are so thin
So its time to begin
My new definition
A new edition
This is no intermission
and no sign of repetition
To look at multiple graphs
and paragraphs
Of the wealth inequality
my eyes filled with ferocity
So my dream is to turn the table
wealth should not be a label
My dream is to find someone
who will jump the gun
on creating this spark
on this new embark
A leader with the voice of the people
So Americans can truly be equal
One person doesnt make a movement
But the beginning of an improvement

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REA X. // FEMALE

Reality

When I was younger, my American dream was like every other

childs. To have a big house, a perfect family, and lots of money. Now
that I look back at it, I laugh. I laugh because of how simple I thought
it was to obtain money and own a big house. Watching my parents
over the past few years has taught me a lot. Ive learned that you have
to work hard in order to make money. And when you make it, you use
it wisely. My mother is the only one in our family with a job. Before
my dad lost his job, our familys income was steady. We were very
surprised to hear he lost it, but as the time went on, we grew anxious
for him to find a new job. We had enough to go around. After he was
laid off, we knew that money would be scarce and how valuable it
really was. My mothers income was supporting a 5 member family,
plus a dog. Even though we knew we could not waste money, we still
ended up wasting it, and after 3 years on one income, we are finally
paying the price for not saving our money. The American Dream I
think of now, is to have a steady job, and have enough money to survive. My family has shown me that even when we think that we are
financially stable, we never really are. So, now my American Dream
is to have enough money, have a stable job, and have a family.

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