Redefining the American Dream
The vision of an autonomously successful life that has been so deeply implemented in all of society’s outlets, commonly known as the “American Dream”, is quickly dying. This one-dimensional image of life, one that American adults have blindly sought after for many years, has recently been brought under heavy fire and is being fundamentally questioned for the first time. If this way of life is one that promises to reap success if hard work is sowed, why is it being challenged, rebuked, and chased after less and less, seemingly all of the sudden? Is it that the ideologies of those who birthed the American Dream are fundamentally out of line with those who are now of the age to potentially seek it? Material possessions are beginning to be replaced by memorable experiences, and objective successes are being replaced by subjective happiness.
Young adults in societies everywhere are no longer searching for fulfillment in life through the same calculable and material longings of those that reflect the generations before us. So what has taken the place of simply becoming wealthy? What is now sought after instead of the idea of a flawless family in the suburbs?
The generation paving the way for the future is no longer concerned with secular longings that come to an eventual end, but instead we are encompassing our every action with pursuits that last; we are redefining what it means to be successful, joyful, and fulfilled in America. This generation is longing to become creators instead of consumers, innovators instead of followers, and to make memories instead of letting memorable moments slip our fingers. This ideology is not synonymous with irresponsibility or a lack of level-leaded motives, as many assume, but is instead redefining how to live the life we are given with passion, spontaneity, and deeply relational interactions. I cannot count the myriad of times I have heard that “the upcoming generations just want what is free”, or that we “don’t know the true meaning of hard work”; is using the resources that are given to us in a way that benefits those around us, while still molding our own version of the good life, something that can morally or logically be degraded at all? Instead of absentmindedly seeking guaranteed economic stability in meek areas of life, why don’t we step into the unknown, take risks, and work toward our desires in a way that brings us both true happiness and subjectively defined financial freedom, all while doing what we love? The American Dream that this nation has become accustomed to is encompassed all too strongly in building and acquiring material possessions to simply watch them fade away; I seek to grow relationships, make awe-inspiring memories, and yes, even create my own vision of economic success that will last many days past my own.
Young adults with this mindset are quickly labeled as egotistical, narcissistic individuals, but I argue the exact opposite; we want to help those in need stronger than any generation before us, we hope to find wealth not for simply our own gain but to use it to build and create future accomplishments, and we long to live a life that enjoys the opportunities we are given while we are experiencing them, not as we reminisce with a faint heart at old age.
The American Dream is truly no longer about finding a quick way to earn wealth and live a safe, riskless, and vaguely enjoyable life, but is being molded into a dream that future generations can thank us for as we innovate. It is about time young adults start to shape future generations and societal achievements with a mindset that writes our own success story, instead of simply being a page in the book of one that was made for us.
