"Everyone Has Dreams, But To Carry Them Out Is The American Dream"
The American Dream is something that makes America great. It allows those with
aspirations to make them come true. In America all one needs is a dream and the
motivation to carry out that dream. Ambition is the driving force behind the American
Dream. It allows anyone that has an aspiration, a desire, a yearning, to carry out their
individual dream. It knows no bounds of race, creed, gender or religion. It stands for
something great, something that everyone can strive towards. A dream can be a desire for
something great. In America, the American Dream allows dreams to become realities.
According to Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, the American Dream is defined as,
"An American social ideal that stresses egalitarianism and especially material
prosperity." To live this dream is to succeed. It allows anyone- rich or poor to have
the opportunity to succeed. It is the ability to come from nothing and become
something. It requires hard work, persistence and a desire for something better. To
have these qualities and the desire and ambition to carry them out is part of the
American Dream. My father has these qualities.
My father came to the United States when he was a young child and was raised in a one
bedroom apartment that he shared with his parents and brother. Still he had a dream, the
American Dream, to own his own business. This dream for him came about when he was a
young boy and read the book The Rothschilds, by Frederic Morton. In this book he read
about a family that came from nothing and built up a fortune through hard work
perseverance and most of all ambition. It was this yearning to carry out their dream
that motivated the Rothschilds, and it was the book about them that motivated my dad to
carry out his dream. He said that "...once I read that book[The Rothschilds] I knew what
I wanted to do, I wanted to own my own business and be like the Rothschilds."
In 1982, my younger brother had just been born, and my father lost his job. Things
seemed hopeless for us; we would almost certainly lose our house. My mother was working
two jobs, from seven in the morning to ten, sometimes eleven at night; and my father
couldn't find a job anywhere. He said that "...this was the hardest part of my life.
Either everything was going to fall into place, or my life wasa going to fall
apart...Once I got through these times, I knew I would succeed."
My father withdrew all of his savings, borrowed some money from my uncle and attempted
to carry out what he always dreamed about, starting his own business. In order to start
the business he wanted, he had to go to a convention in Las Vegas. "If you go, we are
leaving," my mother told my father(referring to herself, my brother and I). He left and
we stayed. He did not intend to let an opportunity to carry out a lifelong dream pass
him by. In Las Vegas he stayed at inns and motels because we had very little money. He
met some of the right people, and a week later he came home on a mission. He told us
that he had the "Eye of the Tiger" (a popular song by "Survivor" for Rocky III). He had
his dream and was ready to make it work.
He was taking a road, one that would require long hours and patience, but his mind was
made up, he knew what he had to do. He had chosen computer software as his field. He
began very simply, selling only three different software pieces, barely hanging on, but
not giving up. As he began to due better and gain greater profits he realized that his
dream was becoming a reality.
To my father "no mountain is too tall to climb...If you want to succeed at anything you
do you must have patience and persistence." These are values he exemplifies- not just
things he says; but his way of life.
By 1988, my father was making his mark on the computer industry. With computers
expanding to home use, my father was becoming a leader of his industry. He was
experimenting and expanding(He was the first to promote and sell CD-ROM software). His
success was continuing into the nineties and business was still expanding, growing at
nearly fifty percent per year. My father had succeeded and fulfilled his dream. He had
that dream since he was in sixth grade, never gave up on it and made it work.
The Presidency of the United States of America is an office that exemplifies the
American Dream. In my lifetime we have had two farmers and an actor become President.
Jimmy Carter was a peanut farmer, and our current President Bill Clinton was also a
farmer. Ronald Regan was a "B" movie actor. They all shared the same dream, to become
President of the United States. And they all succeeded. What they accomplished was part
of the American Dream. They all had a yearning and a desire to make their dream work.
That was all they needed.
Their job is to make the American Dream possible for others. They are all living proof
that the American Dream is possible for anyone. Every day many reap the benefits for
carrying out their dream; for not giving up when things seemed to be most bleak. Every
day someone else has a dream, and every day many act on it. We truly live in a land of
opportunity. The American Dream is a derivative of the principles upon which this
nation was founded. This nation was founded by people who had a desire for freedom and a
desire to create home- their own nation. That is the American Dream. Our forefathers
fought so generations beneath them would be able to make their dreams realities. They
fought for the American Dream - freedom. They fought for the American Dream - equality.
They wanted to allow us the American Dream- "land, liberty and the pursuit of
happiness."
To have the desire and the drive to carry out ones aspirations embodies the American
Dream. My father had these desires and aspirations and was able to carry out his dream.
Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter and Ronald Regan all had dreams and the dedication needed to
fulfill them. Without the American Dream none of these endeavors would have been
successful. The American Dream encompasses everything that helps to create happiness in
this nation. The American Dream is something truly great. It sets our great nation apart
from the rest. It doesn't matter who you are or where you came from, all you need is a
dream...And a dollar(Hey you never know!)(Ha! Ha! Ha!).
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