Name Name
Paper #2
My American Dream

	Martin Luther King Jr. had “a dream deeply rooted in the American dream” (196).  He wanted freedom and equality for all people, especially African Americans.  King also hoped for equal opportunities for all people.  These characteristics along with those of wealth, power, and the “ideal” family and home form the foundation of the American dream.  Similar to Martin Luther King Jr. and most Americans today, I too have an American dream.  My dream includes many of the same characteristics, as well as others.
	The dreams of most Americans today differ from those of the past.  In the past, the “ideal” family and home were the focuses of the American dream.  This “ideal” family included a husband and wife with 2.1 children and either a cat or a dog.  Of course, the “ideal” family had the “ideal” home, which can be imaged as a suburban house with a white picket fence in the front of the house.  At this time, Americans were not concerned with money or social status.  Now, wealth, power, and success form the foundation of the American dream.  Today, Americans are always striving for success.  One is not thought to be successful unless he or she is wealthy and holds some authority or status.  It seems that Americans will do anything to get ahead of one another.  Even though the focus of the dreams of most Americans today focus on wealth, power, and success, they also include freedom, equality, and opportunity as did the dreams of past Americans.
	Similar to the dreams of most Americans, my American dream includes freedom, equality, and opportunity.  I believe that it is necessary for all people to be treated equally and to be given equal opportunities, whether in society, school, or the workplace.  I also believe that Americans should have the freedom to make their own choices.  Unlike most Americans, my American dream does not focus on wealth, power, and success, although I do believe that success is important.  There are always going to be wealthy and powerful people, but I do not believe that success should be measured by the amount of money that one has or by the authority or status that one holds in society.  
        Family, religion, and education form the foundation of my American dream.  I am an extremely traditional person and still believe in the idea of an “ideal” family.  I grew up in the typical American household.  My parents met at work and were married a few years later.  They waited about two years, until they were settled, to have children.  Eventually, my parents had five children.  My mother stayed at home to take care of my siblings and I, while my father worked relentlessly to support our family.  My parents provided my siblings and I with an excellent education.  I have attended Catholic institutions for twelve years and am now continuing this education at Duquesne.  I want to follow in both my father and mother’s footsteps in the medical field.  My father works as an orthopedic surgeon and my mother as a nurse.  I admire them both for their attempts at improving and saving other people’s lives.  They work to give people opportunities that they may not have been able to have.  I intend to become a physical therapist and do the same.  I also intend to get married and start a family in the future.  I want to be able to provide the same opportunities for my family that my parents provided for me.  I hope that I am able to institute the same beliefs and values that my parents introduced to me because these beliefs and values formed the foundation of my American dream.  
        My American dream is similar to the dreams of most Americans today.  It is also similar to that of Martin Luther King Jr.  His dream focused on freedom, equality, and opportunity to all people.  Even though these characteristics are part of my dream and the dreams of most Americans, they are not necessarily the focus.  Family, religion, and education form the foundation of my American dream, while wealth, power, and success are the focus of most Americans.  The dreams of future Americans will differ from those of today, just as the dreams of most Americans differ from those of the past.
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        Works Cited
        King Jr., Martin Luther.  “I Have a Dream.”  Creating America: Reading and 
        	Writing Arguments.  3rd ed.  Eds. Joyce Moser and Ann Waters.  Upper 
        	Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2002.  194-97.