American Dream

Advance 2+ R/W
11,26, 2012
Teacher: Shane Dixon


American Dream

By Amani

        Have you ever counted the stars at night? Have you ever asked yourself about the differences between them, and have you ever thought to travel on a star? When I was a kid, my father said you could not go to the stars because they are far away, but you can do what the star does. He said that they help people to know their way in the desert when no anyone can help them. My father taught me that I can be a star by helping people to achieve their dream. According to News Max website "The number of foreign-born residents in the United States — including legal and illegal immigrants — reached 40 million last year, the highest figure in American history, new Census Bureau figures disclose. Nearly 14 million new immigrants came to America from 2000 to 2010, making it the highest-ever decade for immigration". So many people are coming to the United States seeking for success. They are coming to find a place to be a star. They are looking for better educational opportunities, and better funding opportunities in the US. They also are seeking for more academic freedom. According to Helen D. Hazen and Heike C. Albert's they said that immigrant student believe that the hope of a US degree will improve job opportunities in their home country,. In my view, there are three most relevant ingredients for anyone to achieve the American dream. Anyone can be success, if he or she knows how to own those characteristics.


       Here in America, it is extremely important to have a star. Having a star is refers to having a plan or goal. The reason why this is important is that it helps you to know what you should do and where you should go to do it. Look at Google as an example, which was made by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Ph.D. students at Stanford University. They were working on the Stanford Digital Library Project (SDLP). The SDLP's goal was “to develop the enabling technologies for a single, integrated and universal digital library", they did it, and they were successful. Subsequently, they are now stars for any student who likes to develop new technologies. Having a star or stars, that means you have dream, hope, and faith; furthermore, you should have a brilliant plan to translate your faith into the reality. In my view, this is a first step to being successful.


        Not only having a star will guide you to success, but also being a huntsman, that looks for opportunities. Even if you do not like to be a shooter, you should be awake and know when you have to be an exploiter. Take Mark Zuckerberg, the Facebook maker, as an example of a student who got a chance to hijack someone else's idea. However, I found that he was smart enough to catch this opportunity to be a star and he exploited it. I am not saying his doing is moral or immoral, but at the end he was successful and no one knows the owner of the main idea of Facebook. The capability to use the skills that you have is the easiest way to exploit your own. Keep in mind that when you came to America, your dream is to be rich or to get higher education that makes you successful and leads you to higher your class as well.


       Fighting or striving is other the key to achieve the American Dream. Perseverance and hard work are examples to make you strong enough to achieve it. Oprah Gail Winfrey is an incredible woman who fought poverty as a child in rural Mississippi. Her uncomfortable and unstable situation pushed her to survive. According to Wikipedia, the result is that she has been ranked the richest African-American of the 20th century, the greatest black philanthropist in American history, and was for a time the world's only black billionaire. She is also, according to some assessments, the most influential woman in the world. Dealing with your obstacles in smart ways is a greatest important step to jumping on a desk success.


      Briefly, in my view, the most relevant tools to achieve your success are having a star in front of you, to be quick-witted, and to fight or strive. Remember one of them is not enough for success. The American Dream has no limits or descriptions, it just happens, and anyone could have it, and reach it. Arnold Schwarzenegger said, "My fellow Americans, this is an amazing moment for me. To think that a once scrawny boy from Austria could grow up to become Governor of California and stand in Madison Square Garden to speak on behalf of the President of the United States that is an immigrant's dream. It is the American Dream".

Citation:
1. http://www.newsmax.com/InsiderReport/Immigrant-PopulationAll-Time-High/2011/11/13/id/417827
2. http://www.uwosh.edu/facstaff/alberts/researchpublications/docs/Visitors%20or%20Immigrants.pdf
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oprah_Winfrey
4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Google
5. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Zuckerberg
6. http://www.quoteyquotes.com/quotes_by_category/a/american_dream/american_dream_quotes_001.html