Slep

Sam Atwell

9-20-15

The American Dream

The American Dream is frequently defined as the ideals of freedom, equality, and opportunity held to be available to every American. It is a life of personal happiness and material comfort sought by all Americans. I believe that everyone has the American dream whether you are an American or not. Everyone wants to be successful, have money, be happy, go on vacations, and the list goes on and on. The question is if they are willing to bear down and actually work extremely hard for it. I love the quote “If it’s easy, it’s not worth it, but the harder things in life are worth it” This quote is perfect for the American Dream theory. My biggest example of the American Dream is my father, his failures and setbacks, and his success.

My father was born in Miami, FL and lived there until he was 13. His family was very poor and struggled for money all of the time, especially with 5 children under the same roof. His dad was a police officer for Miami Dade, and his Mother worked at a hair salon. When his family decided to move to Ocala, he was 13. At the age of 14 my dad realized the importance of hard work and money and began working at Winn-Dixie. My father had the American dream at such a young age and I find this so inspirational in my own life and his determination has rubbed off on me in a good way. At the age of 17 my father had saved up a good amount of money from working. He was always intrigued by jewelry and gemstones from a young age. He decided to use his money to buy jewelry and then sell it to family and friends. From here he got himself a job at a small jewelry store here in town where he learned a lot about repairs from his boss. On the side when he was not at the jewelry store he went and worked at the farm down the road from his house moving bails of hay all night which weighed hundreds of pounds. Fast forward 5 years and he is paying for his own schooling to become a jeweler and working nights. Fast forward...