My American Dream

The United States of America has always been the Land of Opportunities or a place to escape to when times became harsh. America used to simply be a place for a new beginning, but as the nation grew and more people began to settle here, the "American Dream" changed accordingly. Our parents and grandparents dreamed of being independent and owning property. Times have changed drastically, but my dreams haven't. My "American Dream" is to own my own place and to be able to happily support a family, just like my parents. However, with the way society and the economy has changed, that dream does not seem very realistic and in need of modifications due to both the receding economy and the increase in technology in every day life.

In reality, my dream seems standard and simple. I simply want my to own my own place that my future family and I can live in. Having my own home and being able to support my family has been the dream almost every adult in my family has dreamt for me. As I grew up it actually did become my dream. To move out and away from my parents to raise my own family is the ultimate goal. I've known from a young age that education was the way to achieve that goal. My parents successfully achieved that goal with simply a high school diploma and a few years of college. As the years went on a college degree became the way to stand out, but now it seems like even a college degree doesn't mean instant success. In "Generation Screwed", Joel Kotkin states that "college education doesn't seem to make a difference" (43). However, my dream still remains the same. Instead of being an advantage, a college degree is now the standard. So my "American Dream" is to move away from home for college, earn my degree that will hopefully help me get a job I enjoy so I will eventually be able to settle down in a place of my own and maybe raise a family.

The economy can definitely affect a person's life goals by ultimately deciding if they're achievable or not. Lately, the economy has been on the decline and has in turn caused society to change the way it operates in order to adjust to it. One of the biggest effects of the declining economy is that it's forcing people to have to work longer. This in turn means the older people are holding onto jobs that younger people both want and need (Kotkin 42). This economy is making me question the reality of my "American Dream".  According to "Generation Screwed", my generation spends hundreds of thousands of dollars trying to get that college education that will put us ahead in the job hunt, but we end up disappointed. All we end up with is immense amounts of debt and a job that barely requires a high school diploma. Faced with this harsh reality, I know that my dream of getting a job that will easily pay for any bills and for my family is unlikely.

The enormous increase in the use of technology has also affected the likelihood of my dreams, but in a more positive manner. Over the past few decades, technology has both made human life easier and harder. It has both stolen jobs and created new ones. Normally, we only hear about the positive effects of technology. We hear about how easy they make life. However, in "iCrazy", Tony Dokoupil explores the many negative sides effects of technology such as depression and addiction. I intend on going into either the computer or mechanical engineering field so the use of technology will be both my life and career. Technology will be the base of everything I do in order to achieve my dream. "iCrazy" has brought to my attention all of the risks that technology comes with, but none of them are going to affect my dreams nor stop me from achieving them. Dokoupil states that depression, addiction, and loss of social skills are all side effects of too much internet use. I believe it all depends on how a person uses it. I find it easy to balance my use of technology and that is a necessary skill to have when going into the technology field. Instead of making it less likely to achieve my dreams, I believe technology makes it more likely since it's the base of them all that will support all the others. Technology is quickly taking over more aspects of life and with new technology comes the need for people who know how to use, create and fix it. Which hopefully means the need for people with a background in my intended makor will increase and jobs will be plentiful. The increase of technology has helped raise my hopes for actually achieving my dreams.

The concept of the "American Dream" changes over time. My "American Dream" was to own a place of my own that I could easily raise a family in with my paychecks. However, with the decreasing economy and the decreasing value of a college degree, the likelihood of that dream has decreased immensely. On the other hand, technology is constantly on the rise and more people are needed to understand it. Technology changes a person's lifestyle, but once people fully understand it they should be able to benefit from it instead of letting it ruin them. The economy and the use of technology in every day life made my "American Dream" both more unlikely and likely, respectively. Therefore, I realized the need to alter it. I still dream of being able to raise and support a family, but owning property is much more unlikely in this economy. Now I simply dream of having my own place whether it's an apartment or a house, but I will still dream of complete independence.