I was 5 years old when I first stepped onto this land of the free

America, the place that I heard was the best place to be

To live a better life to become better beings

To chase the American Dream to provide for our family, the finer things

The world tells us wealth and power is the number one

But is that what really provides us the happiness at the end of our run?

What really is the American Dream?

Tainted by our materialistic desires, we believe that worldly success transfers into content

But will we really forever be at peace with just these tangibles present?

To achieve this American Dream means long hours at work away from our families and friends

To hear everyday, “Daddy, will you be able to make my recital?”

Or, “Honey, come home early today. Please.”

To buy the family hundred dollar Nikes and thousand dollar Louis Vuittons

But to have lost the word, “family” in its entirety

No, this isn’t my American Dream

The media tells us, Just Do It, and we’re all individuals but we’re all part of a movement

Pressured by the media to buy what we can’t and to be who we aren’t

In a world of rich be rich and poor be poor,

We can never be content with just the objects of this world.

True moments of happiness occur between family and friends

To gain all of the world’s objects is in no comparison to the bond that a family holds

To continue this spiritual value against the tangibles that will one day no longer be

To earn self-confidence in the goodness of the future generation

For this is my American Dream.