Name Name
Paper # 2

The Individual American Dream

	In the 1920’s, F Scott Fitzgerald wrote The Great Gatsby, a book which portrayed the ideals of the American dream at that time.  Since the publication of his book, some ideas of the American dream have changed, however many remain the same.  The American dream is not universal however, some people only want parts of it, and others may not want any of it.  For me, the American dream is working hard, graduating from a good college, finding a successful job that I enjoy, and living in a home of my own.  All of these are very similar to what most people consider the American dream.
	Like others, my idea of the American dream is slightly different from what most Americans might consider it.  What most people consider the American dream to be would be having the ideal family, a husband and wife, two kids, and a pet.  At least one of the parents would have a successful job, leading to the family being a wealthy family.  They would own a nice house, and often be judged not on personality but based on wealth and the possessions that they had accumulated over time.  My idea of the American dream is similar to this.  To work hard in everything I do, and be the best person I can, is part of that dream.  To find a good school, and work hard through it getting the best education I can and being prepared for what is next.  Finding that perfect job where I will enjoy going to work every day and feel like I am making a difference, and at the same time earning enough money to easily support myself.  And like most Americans, I dream of buying a home for myself.  These two views, what most Americans think and what I think, are so similar that it is hard to notice the differences.
	It is easy for anyone looking to see the American dream in almost anyone, for me one of the easiest places to look is at my family.  My family exhibits nearly all of the ideas associated with the American dream from the 20’s as well as the modern ideas of the American dream.  My house is the typical 1920’s American family, with the working father, stay at home mother, and two children.  My dad has a job that he enjoys, and earns more then enough money to support our family as well as put back a large amount.  Our family has a nice house and is soon to be moving to a new possibly better home, with numerous possessions that could be used as a measurement of wealth.  It is evident through this that my family embodies the ideas and characteristics of those things that most people associate with the American dream, as well as those things that I feel are part of my own American dream.
	Another place to look for the American dream that might not be so noticeable is me.  Sometimes it is difficult to look at ourselves from a different viewpoint, but almost every person has some part of the American dream in them, and I am no different.  When I look at myself, and I wonder what parts of the American dream are a part me, the first thing that comes to mind is hard working.  In the 1920’s it was the idea of rags to riches, and to me some of that has rubbed off.  I want to work hard, and make something good happen for myself.  Money is important to me as well, I have expensive hobbies and interests that I need to be reasonably wealthy to afford.  To get to a point in life where I can earn enough money to support myself, my hobbies, and possibly a family, I need to be in a good college, work hard and graduate with the knowledge I need to be successful.  This is one of the parts of the American dream that I think is very crucial, as well as important to most Americans.  Another crucial element of the American dream for me is to begin looking for a good job which I will enjoy for the majority of the time I spend in it.
	Over 80 years ago, Fitzgerald wrote a book that highlighted the aspects of the American dream in the 1920’s, much of which is still around today.  While today’s American dream might differ slightly from his, for the most part most Americans have a very similar dream to his.  Mine is not much different from the majority of Americans or Fitzgerald’s.