Ambitions

The great Gatsby is a story of ambitions. The ambitions of rekindling old flames, old relationships. Gatsby attempted to get back with his old time lover even though he hadn’t talked to her for 4 years. Despite Gatsby’s poor judgment in his pursuing his old lover his story is one of great ambition. To me the United States is all about it’s ambitions and how we rose from British rule to become one of the greatest countries ever. Through out our history the united states has been ambitious, from the great west migration to the revolution we have been a symbol of working hard to reach a dream just like in Gatsby.

Consequences

Consequences are everywhere we look. From the decision to hang out with people to eating foot all our choices have consequences. In the book Gatsby made a lot of decisions that affected he’s ultimate dream of being with daisy. Gatsby decided that he was going to be with daisy no matter what situation. Gatsby knew daisy was married and also made the decision to pursue her in the same way he had four years ago not even wondering if she might have changed. If Gatsby had thought about these things or maybe had a different approach he could have gotten wit daisy but instead he ended up failing. I believe that when it comes to any dream people need to have a plan. Taking things in to account may seem to spoil the dream in the short term but in the long term it can prevent disappointment or even possible death as learned in Gatsby’s case. Where would Barrack Obama be if he hadn’t came up with a plan and take things into account to reach his dream of becoming president? In life it’s hard to get anywhere without taking things into account let alone reaching your dreams.

How perception effects

Throughout the book Gatsby is judged or talking about in a perceptive way by almost every single person nick encounters. He was compared to everything from international terrorist to a high ranking official for the United States military. The way people perceived Gatsby throughout the book knew little to nothing about how Gatsby truly was.

In prufrok he would talk about how he was scared about how his actions was look to other people so much so that he couldn’t speak. Perception affected prufrok so much that it affected him physically. In the book Gatsby was also affected by perception. I believe that the wild rumors circulating his parties were part of the reason he often seemed never truly engaged. Unlike prufrok I believe that Gatsby generally enjoyed listening to the rumors that he would hear at his own parties which would be a good explanation as to why he kept inviting them over.

I perceive myself as a laid back individual whose mood can change dramatically depending on the situation. From the outside looking in if you don’t know me you probably assume that I’m not that intelligent from the way I carry myself and the people I hang around. When I know I’m going into a situation where people may be hostile or different in their ways of doing things in comparison to myself I tend to “put on a mask” to fit in with the crowd instead of standing out.

Embody the dream

My version of the American dream was whatever career makes you happy and gets you where you want to go. My version of the American dream is different because when most people think of the American dream they think wealth while my version is centered around happiness. In my version you can be as financially secure as you want as long as it makes you happy.

With that being said the person I chose who I believe best fits my version of the American dream is Dwyane wade.

I chose Dwyane because this guy is one of the best examples I could think of when it comes to working hard at what you love to reach true happiness. There are plenty of times in Dwyane’s career when he could’ve given up, like when he was struggling growing up poor in Chicago with a mother addicted to drugs, when he ended up having a couple of kids out of wed-lock in college or when he tore up his knee and shoulder, injuries that could’ve easily ended any other players career but Dwyane powered through. Nowadays Dwyane is doing what he loves everyday for millions as a career. Dwyane is a great example because he’s somebody is doing what he loves, something that he’s always wanted to do and it’s making him truly happy.

Advantages

Having a dad that’s a doctor I’ve been blessed with a lot of advantages. I haven’t always lived in Carmel, but my years have been pretty financially secure. Growing up with a dad as a doctor doesn’t mean I get everything I want though. I don’t have a lot of the clothes and video game systems my friends have because my parents don’t want me to become spoiled. I have a lot of friends who are in tough situations and don’t have a lot of the things I take for granted like a room to myself, because of these things when I see people with less than me I look at them like I would anybody else. Humbled by the fact that my parents don’t spoil me and the eye opening experiences I’ve had with close friends who aren’t so well off I view people around me who aren’t doing as well by their character not how advantaged they are. When I see people who are better off than me and my family instead of hating I envy that person and think about what I can do to be just as successful. In the end I would say that my advantages don’t affect how I view other people, because to me it’s all about how a person carries themself not how advantaged they are.

American Dream

The American dream is a unique idea that is very influential in how we go about finding our way in the world. The American dream is the idea that no matter what economic background, race, gender or disability a person has they can overcome it and become successful.

To me the American dream is basically what I said above about people succeeding despite their challenges; although I agree with this the American dream needs to be modified a little. Growing up in Carmel I’ve been blessed with a lifestyle free from the bonds of major economic challenges and while being perfectly healthy (despite from some A.D.H.D) I don’t really have much to comply with what people consider the standard definition of the dream. I am a minority being African American, but I do not personally believe that seriously damages my ability to be successful. For those reasons to me the American dream is what you want it to be, weather it has to do with growing up rich coming from a well off family or being able just to get by but having a crap load of fun every day, the dream is what you want it to be.

“Though the Census of 1890 declared that the frontier was no more, the idea of packing up and moving on to better things has never faded.” Moving on to better things can have a lot of meanings not necessarily growing up to be wealthy. The American dream to me is as simple as being happy.

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