To me, the American Dream is making something out of nothing. It is the idea that you can come to the United the States of America with absolutely nothing and turn it into a life of happiness and prosperity. The American Dream is something I think that started all the way back in the year of 1776 when we gained independence from Great Britain, when our country declared its independence and became a beacon of hope for other countries around the world. The United States of America with a much weaker army and far less military experience defeated the British, who at the time was considered one of the strongest armies in the entire world. It is the spirit that when you live in the United States of America, it does not matter how rich you are or how much wealth you have. If you have hard work and determination with a mindset to never quit, then absolutely anything is possible and no one can stop you from achieving it.
As far as wealth goes, that is something that can determine the course and direction of your life. First off, wealth is not limited to the number that is seen when you login to your bank account. Although that might seem like the easiest way to look at it, that is not how I see it. Sometime people see it as the person with the most money in their bank account would be far happier than someone who is barely skidding by, living from check to check. What you might not know that the person who has a ton of money could be alone, an account full of cash but nothing to do with it. Emotional wealth is just as important as financial wealth because although that other person is living from check to check, they have a whole family to come home who supports them every single night. Both are can been seen as vital to a successful life, but just because you have definitely does not mean that you have the other.
Unfortunately, this is not how wealth is viewed overall as an American society. Financial wealth towers over emotional wealth on the value scale of everyday Americans. It is not even a contest to see which one is more important, people want the fancy cars and the over extravagant houses while everything else will hopefully fall into place. Wealth is seen by the American society as a competition, one where whoever can get the most and have the coolest things is deemed as as the winner. Poverty is something that is much different and the opinions of the American people vary based on the person you ask. Most people would have an attitude of empathy and selflessness towards the people in poverty but there are some who believe everyone is made to fend for themselves. The idea of poverty is widely discussed in the United States of America but there always seems to be more and more people in it.
I already told you my opinion on wealth and what my thoughts were on that but for poverty I agree with the common opinion. Just to add some more thought to my idea of wealth and what I want for the future, I just want to provide for my family. I want to give back to the community that made me who I am today and I want to give back to my parents who have sacrificed so much for me to be where I am at today. I am not sure what that entirely means right now, I am young and I have not really experienced what the real world will be like. As a seventeen year old white male who has a privileged and blessed family, poverty is not something that I have ever experienced. Despite this, I try to do the best I can to help eliminate poverty in my community or at least make it less of problem then it already is. With me only being a kid, sometimes it is really hard to make a difference but when I come together with my friends it becomes much more possible.
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