If it ain't about the money...

I think that the American Dream is having a family, job, house, and possessions that you can call your own. Society expects most Americans to live this dream and have these possessions. In some cases these possessions may be meaningless but they are still valued and represent an important part of who you are. America offers the hope and means by which to achieve this dream, which is why it is called the American Dream. America offers the education available to get a good job and meet the right spouse, form there you can create a family and build up wealth to accrue a house and possessions.

I would define wealth as the total value of the possessions and relationships that you have with others. The first part of this definition may be a bit shallow (sorry), but it is what society defines wealth as and that has made an impact on my definition. I think the second part of my definition of wealth is very important, the relationships that you have with people, as you can see with Daisy and Gatsby, are very important I throughout your live and can offer lifelong happiness. In The Great Gatsby you can also see the possessions side of this definition as Gatsby talks about his yacht while throwing a major party in his estate. This brings me to Americans’ definition of wealth, which I believe is just the possessions and material wealth that an individual has. In this book you see that money is valued by society and that changes individuals and forces them to become money crazed. Their attitude towards poverty is that it is when people did not work and expected to coast by. People see poverty as a shameful thing to be in and that those who are impoverished deserve to be because they did not work hard enough.

My personal view of wealth and poverty differ from that of the societal norms and values. I think that poverty results from individuals not receiving the innumerous opportunities that we have here in the United States. They are not able to get a high paying job because they didn’t have access to the education that we have here in the States. They are forced to work for minimum wage and be shamed by society for that. I view wealth on the surface as your self-worth or the money you have. Looking below the surface I believe that true wealth is developing lasting relationships with others and truly caring about others. These friends and family that you make will be there though everything but you may lose your money or possessions through that run. The real wealth lies within you and the relationships and choices you make every day.

Eventually, I would like to achieve the American dream by settling down with a wife and kids in my own home with a stable job. More than that though I want to develop lasting relationships and love my job. Obviously we will be working for a long time before we retire, I want to do something I love so that waking up every morning is exciting, and days are viewed as new opportunities. The American Dream is definitely a part of my future, but it is about finding the right people and job to make that dream become a reality.