My American Dream by Luke Marsden by Luke Marsden https://padlet.com/5812971/kwoxhy2oa2xwesg1 The American dream is alive and well en-us 2023-05-17 20:42:21 UTC 2023-05-22 20:44:59 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet.net/icons/png/1f1fa-1f1f2.png In The Distance Between Us, Reyna Grande lives life as a poor kid who shares a room with her 2 siblings and her Grandpa. She was treated horribly by her grandparents and had a miserable life. She continued to work hard throughout her life and pushing past all of the abuse and struggles she was the first person in her family to make it to college. She even got accepted into UCLA, one of the most prestigious universities in the country, but turned them down to go to UC Santa Cruz. She is now a famous author with many well known books and lives a completely different life than that of which she had as a child. 5812971 https://padlet.com/5812971/kwoxhy2oa2xwesg1/wish/2596758308 2023-05-18 21:19:07 UTC https://padlet.com/5812971/kwoxhy2oa2xwesg1/wish/2596758308 The definition of the American Dream by James Truslow Adams, the man who coined the phrase, is "that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement." His definition is based on the idea that everyone should have equal opportunity to have a better life for themselves. Although I partially agree with this definition, I have one problem with it. His definition gives everyone a better life for themselves ignoring "ability and achievement" which I think is what makes the American Dream. I believe that the American Dream is the dream that everyone should be able to live the life they want if they work hard enough for it. I believe that this definition continues to be true to this day and it will be for generations to come. Taking away the hard work required to live a fulfilling life less sought after if they are easier to obtain. 5812971 https://padlet.com/5812971/kwoxhy2oa2xwesg1/wish/2600089801 2023-05-22 13:34:02 UTC https://padlet.com/5812971/kwoxhy2oa2xwesg1/wish/2600089801 5812971 https://padlet.com/5812971/kwoxhy2oa2xwesg1/wish/2600107150 2023-05-22 13:46:35 UTC https://padlet.com/5812971/kwoxhy2oa2xwesg1/wish/2600107150 5812971 https://padlet.com/5812971/kwoxhy2oa2xwesg1/wish/2600113025 2023-05-22 13:50:30 UTC https://padlet.com/5812971/kwoxhy2oa2xwesg1/wish/2600113025 The First picture shown is a poll where only 7% of people want money and fame for their American Dream. Although that is what some people dream about, most Americans just want to have a better life than they grew up with, and give their kids a better life as well. The second picture shown is a family enjoying dinner together and this picture portrays my American Dream because I want to have a happy family when I grow up. The last picture shown is a house, which resonates with me because I want to have a big house to raise my kids in. 5812971 https://padlet.com/5812971/kwoxhy2oa2xwesg1/wish/2600116858 2023-05-22 13:53:12 UTC https://padlet.com/5812971/kwoxhy2oa2xwesg1/wish/2600116858 The song I chose to convey my idea of the American Dream is R.O.C.K. In The USA by John Mellencamp. The lyrics of this song depict people coming from nothing becoming rock stars in the USA. These people gave up everything in order to live the life they wanted and be famous musicians. One lyric, "With the pipe dream in their heads and little money in their hands" shows that people took everything they had to follow their dream. Many people succeeded in their dream due to their talent and ability to work hard which proves my definition of the american dream to be true. Another lyric illustrates how hard of a life these people had, "They come from the smaller towns And beat up cars with guitars and drummers," but they pushed through and found a way to thrive in America with what they had. 5812971 https://padlet.com/5812971/kwoxhy2oa2xwesg1/wish/2600123626 2023-05-22 13:57:45 UTC https://padlet.com/5812971/kwoxhy2oa2xwesg1/wish/2600123626 5812971 https://padlet.com/5812971/kwoxhy2oa2xwesg1/wish/2600135596 2023-05-22 14:05:44 UTC https://padlet.com/5812971/kwoxhy2oa2xwesg1/wish/2600135596 5812971 https://padlet.com/5812971/kwoxhy2oa2xwesg1/wish/2600278245 2023-05-22 15:49:38 UTC https://padlet.com/5812971/kwoxhy2oa2xwesg1/wish/2600278245 I chose to interview my mother for this project because she has always supported my dreams so I wanted to hear about hers. She has a similar definition to me, she believes that if you work hard enough nothing can stop you no matter where you come from. She had wanted to be a stay at home mom from when she was young, but her parents taught her to have a backup plan. As a kid, she dreamed of being a veterinarian, but later changed and had a desire to become a physical therapist. She ended up becoming a stay at home mom just like she always wanted. Her American Dream was heavily influenced by her parents, and she says they always taught her to believe she could be whoever she wanted to be. 5812971 https://padlet.com/5812971/kwoxhy2oa2xwesg1/wish/2600292092 2023-05-22 16:00:58 UTC https://padlet.com/5812971/kwoxhy2oa2xwesg1/wish/2600292092 My video clip is from a speech by the motivational speaker Eric Thomas called The American Dream. What resonated most with me was when he said "just because you didn't start right doesn't mean you can't finish right. This proves that the American Dream is still alive because even though it is hard it is possible to get out of bad circumstances. Throughout the speech he talks about how anything is possible in our country and with enough work you can live the life that you want. He gives the example of his mother who came from poverty and was able to make it in America. This speech shows that dreams are possible and the best place to achieve those dreams is in America. 5812971 https://padlet.com/5812971/kwoxhy2oa2xwesg1/wish/2600481202 2023-05-22 18:43:59 UTC https://padlet.com/5812971/kwoxhy2oa2xwesg1/wish/2600481202 5812971 https://padlet.com/5812971/kwoxhy2oa2xwesg1/wish/2600544343 2023-05-22 19:47:53 UTC https://padlet.com/5812971/kwoxhy2oa2xwesg1/wish/2600544343 This article written by Jack Kelly proves that the American Dream is still alive by showing the numbers of new businesses opened during the pandemic. When people were losing jobs and money and had nowhere else to go, they made the decision to open up their own business. In fact, "nearly 1.4 million startups were founded," which shows Americans were willing to take the risk to follow their dreams. During the pandemic, many workers were getting fired because companies didn't have enough money or resources to keep them, so "taking up a side hustle has become common to have a second stream of income." People didn't want to rely on a job that they might lose to be their source of income, so they took a shot at trying something new and following their dreams on the side. People began working for themselves, making companies, and making much more money than they would if they had continued working. 5812971 https://padlet.com/5812971/kwoxhy2oa2xwesg1/wish/2600549580 2023-05-22 19:53:50 UTC https://padlet.com/5812971/kwoxhy2oa2xwesg1/wish/2600549580 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9jOheAA0X8&t=34s 5812971 https://padlet.com/5812971/kwoxhy2oa2xwesg1/wish/2600580260 2023-05-22 20:32:20 UTC https://padlet.com/5812971/kwoxhy2oa2xwesg1/wish/2600580260 5812971 https://padlet.com/5812971/kwoxhy2oa2xwesg1/wish/2600584170 2023-05-22 20:37:45 UTC https://padlet.com/5812971/kwoxhy2oa2xwesg1/wish/2600584170