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"...even though I'd never let the woman in the chambray work shirt out of my mind I'd let her, in the last few years, become someone different, and she wasn't living, anymore, in my painting. The painting she was living in, I saw belonged to somebody else"

In Pam Houston's 1992 "Cowboys Are My Weakness," the narrator has an image in her mind of marrying a cowboy and living on a ranch. This is her version of the American Dream.

Like the narrator, Americans tend to lose who they are because we do not go for the things we want. We turn into someone who we do not want to be, until we are no longer living the life we have always dreamed of.

In order to achieve the American Dream, we must first figure out who we are. Having a strong sense of self is what will tell us what we want in life and will guide us towards that goal.

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"We were running out of breath, as we ran to meet ourselves. We were surfacing the edge of our ancestors' fights, and ready to strike. It was difficult to lose days in the Indian bar if you were straight. Easy if you played pool and drank to remember to forget. We made plans to be professional- and did."

In Joy Harjo's 2019 "American Sunrise", The Native American community has struggled with their journey to self-discovery. They have often been neglected by the rest of America. Alcoholism is an issue in the Native American community. They drink to forget their dark past.

Native Americans today are struggling to find their identity just like their ancestors. They are trying to start fresh by moving away from their past.

Native Americans are trying to find who they are now, while trying to forget their past. The problem is that our past is part of who we are today. Americans need to embrace their past in order to figure out who they are.

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"And she felt a real sense of loss. Even though she knew she had never had an accent. It was the birthmark, which in its density had lent color to even her voice. She didn't miss the birthmark, but she missed her Norwegian heritage..."

In Miranda July's 2003, "Birthmark," the main character gets a large birthmark removed from her face. After she does this, someone tells her that her accent is gone.

Even though the birthmark is something she does not like, it makes her who she is. Without her birthmark, her identity changes and she wants to go back to her old self.

Americans become obsessed with being perfect, and change themselves in the process. People would be better off if they embraced who they are. If they try to change themselves, they will miss out on what makes them special. Simply because someone is different does not make them less beautiful.

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"But in the main, I feel like a brown bag of miscellany propped against a wall. Against a wall
in company with other bags, white, red and yellow. Pour out the contents, and there is discovered a jumble of small things priceless and worthless"

In Zora Neale Hurston's 1928 “How it Feels to be Colored Me," she writes about her place in America. Hurston is an African American woman who feels different because of her race.

These different colored bags make me think of how America is composed of people of many races. Often times people feel like they do not belong because of this.

Hurston is saying that the differences in who we are make us feel like we stand out. America needs to realize that on the inside we are all the same. No one is better than the other. We are all insignificant in the grand scheme of life.

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"That stigma came from both directions: Many of their new neighbors viewed them suspiciously. To established middle white Ohioans, these hillbillies simply didn't belong. They had too many children, and they welcomed their extended families into their homes for too long"

In J.D. Vance's 2016, "Hillbilly Elegy," he writes about how his grandparents move from Kentucky to Ohio in an attempt to achieve their American dream. They are not accepted by their neighbors because they are considered to be hillbillies.

Their hillbilly customs are what make them who they are. People neglect them simply for being different.

In America, people will judge others if they do not fit in. They do not take time to get to know others for their true selves. Despite this judgement, we must stay true to our identity and not change for others.

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"'Why am I trying to become what I don't want to be? What am I doing in an office, making a contemptuous, begging fool of myself, when all I want is out there, waiting for me the minute I say I know who I am! Why can't I say that, Willy?'”

In Arthur Miller's 1949, "Death of a Salesman," Biff struggles to find what he wants to do in life. His father is pressuring him to find a corporate job, but he realizes that is not what he wants to do.

This makes me think of how in America, we are pressured to be successful and wealthy, even at a young age. It seems that our identities are laid out for us by society, but that may not be the life that we want to live.

It is important for one to find their own identity. When we know who we are, we are able to find out what we want to do with our lives. We tend to create an image of ourself that hides who we really are and what we want. This does not lead to a happy life.

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"Her vigor flows like tides into my blood / Giving me strength erect against her hate / Her bigness sweeps my being like a flood."

In Claude McKay's 1921 "America," he writes about his controversial relationship with America. Even though he has been hurt by this country, he is part of it. The "her" he refers to is America.

America is in McKay's blood and therefore it is part of his identity. The places we come from make us who we are. The hate that McKay receives from America makes him a stronger person. Its power is an overbearing force.

In America, no matter what we do, we are rooted to our country. Our identity is driven by the places we come from, for the better or worse.