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When to fake it till you make it (and when you shouldn't), Amy Morin (2016)

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"Too often we hesitate to spring into action. Instead, we wait until everything feels just right or until we think we're ready."

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"Too often we hesitate to spring into action. Instead, we wait until everything feels just right or until we think we're ready."

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This quote is from an article that a psychoanalyst wrote about how to change into the person you want to be. This helps answer the question of what it means to be an American because many people may not think that they are ready to take the next step in life, but sometimes you have to trust that we can do it. Many people may not think they're ready to go to college, or get a job, or start a family, but the best thing to do is take the first step and figure it out as you go. Gatsby knew that he wanted to have money so he could give the life to Daisy that she wanted, what helped him achieve that was knowing how rich people act with his time with Dan Cody.

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The bean Trees, Barbara Kingsolver (1988)

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“I knew for certain something would have to change if I were going to stay in that school. Either the students would have to change the way they behaved, or I would have to devise a better plan to protect myself.”

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“I knew for certain something would have to change if I were going to stay in that school. Either the students would have to change the way they behaved, or I would have to devise a better plan to protect myself.”

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In this quote, the character is explaining that they need to make a change in their life. They are allowed to either make the place around them better or move to a new place. This represents the American dream because you can decide to better the place you're in or move to a new one if you are lucky enough to have the resources to do so.

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A Psalm of Life, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1838)

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"But to act, that each to-morrow                                     Find us farther than to-day."

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"But to act, that each to-morrow                                     Find us farther than to-day."

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This quote is from a poem whose message is to not let the past ruin the future, but to go out and live your own life how you want to. This connects to the American dream in the sense that you have the freedom to try and live a life that you will enjoy. If you want to live the life you want tomorrow then you should start today.

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We are not free, Clyde Merton Warrior (1967)

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"American Indians need to be given this freedom and responsibility which most Americans assume as their birthright."

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"American Indians need to be given this freedom and responsibility which most Americans assume as their birthright."

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Historically Native Americans have had less rights than white people in the United States, all that they have wanted is the freedom to live their lives how they want. This quote shows how their dream is to be able to have the rights to live equal to everyone else. This would give them the freedom to live how they want so they can live their own American Dream.

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"And will never be any more perfection than there is now."

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"And will never be any more perfection than there is now."

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To live the American Dream you must be willing to go out and grab it. This quote supports this idea by saying that the time to do something is now, and we should not wait until later to start something. Gatsby does this to live his American Dream by becoming the man Daisy would want.

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Guide to the American Culture, James R. Krausman (2018)

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There is no religious requirement to be a citizen of the United States. All of the World's religions are openly and freely practiced here.

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There is no religious requirement to be a citizen of the United States. All of the World's religions are openly and freely practiced here.

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Americans have the freedom to practice any religion they want. In many other places people may experience religious persecution for their beliefs, while yes there still is some in America, it is not as bad as it is in other places. The American government is not allowed to make laws that exclude different religions so the people have freedom to practice how they want.

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A Summary of Federal Education Laws Administered by the U.S. Department of Education, Adam Stoll (2022)

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"The U.S. Department of Education supports the general welfare of the United States by working to ensure equal access to educational opportunity; and it supplements the efforts of state, local, and private entities in improving the quality of education."

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"The U.S. Department of Education supports the general welfare of the United States by working to ensure equal access to educational opportunity; and it supplements the efforts of state, local, and private entities in improving the quality of education."

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The US government works to create a school system that gives everyone equal opportunity to live the life they please. In the US school system, students can choose classes that fit their interests for their future. The system definitely has flaws, but it is designed to help students as much as possible to be ready for the life that they want to live.

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"If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow why, oh why can't I?"

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"If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow why, oh why can't I?"

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Over the Rainbow is a classic American song that is about looking to the future to a better place than where you are now. I think this connects to the American Dream because in America you have the freedom to change your life to get to that place "over the rainbow." Everyone has a dream of how they want to live and in America we are free to pursue that dream.

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Why I Went to the Woods, Henry David Thoreau (1854)

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"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived."

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"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived."

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The author of this text went to the woods to discover who he was. I think this is a good example of someone living their American Dream because he was not sure what he wanted to do with his life, so he chose to go live in the woods and think. The author had the freedom to live his live how he wanted to which I believe is the American Dream.

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Tinker v. Des Moines - Landmark Supreme Court Ruling on Behalf of Student Expression, (2019)

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"On Feb. 24, 1969, the court ruled 7-2 that students do not “shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.”

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"On Feb. 24, 1969, the court ruled 7-2 that students do not “shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.”

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The quote is from the outcome of the Tinker v. Des Moines supreme court case where the court ruled that students are allowed to express themselves how they please at school. This connects to the American Dream because the students were suspended for wearing black arm bands at school as a form of protest against the Vietnam war, but the court ruled that students still have their rights to express themselves how they please at school. As Americans we have the freedom to express ourselves freely.