Your Email:

Your Name:

To:

Subject:

Message:
from Polson High School <a href="http://www.flatheadreservation.org/index.php/phs"> Michael L. Umphrey website</a> <h2 class="title">Model American Dream Essays What other students have said</h2> By Michael L Umphrey Finding my dream by living What is an American Dream? I used to think that it was the perfect family: mom, dad, two children, the white picket fence surrounding the large yard and the just right size house that I could call home. But the truth is that an American Dream can be whatever an individual considers to be a goal, which one sets hoping to achieve that one thing in life he or she would love most to pursue. For some, that is to have the same American Dream as everyone else. They just want to be accepted, living what society may call the “perfect life”. Others want the dream that sets them apart from the rest of society, where they can achieve greatness. But as for me I want the dream that is mine, the one that belongs to me. When I was just five years old my parents got a divorce to this day I still blame myself for it. It might be because the cause of the divorce is still unknown to me. The day my mom walked out on my dad and us was the day I grew up, the day I became the other, the other parent. My days playing with my friends and watching cartoons were gone, for I became responsible. Responsible for my brothers, cleaning the house, and making sure that my dad wasn’t going to go insane! These are things that no child, no five year old should ever have to deal with. The day the divorce became final, was the day that my first grade Christmas recital was to be on. That day was just like any-other day, I woke up, my dad took me to school after dropping off John and Steven, my brothers at the daycare. There was nothing out of the ordinary. When dropping me off I asked him if he was going to make to my recital, and he said he would try. When the time for my recital rolled around I began to look for my dad in the audience, but there was no sign of him. I went through the whole recital wondering whether or if he was ok, where he was, if he forgot, for my dad was a police officer and anything could have happened. After the recital was over I walked around with my teacher looking for my dad, but I couldn’t find him. Eventually a couple of women approached us, it was my mom and my grandmother was with her. They told my teacher that I was going home with them for Christmas. What I didn’t know was that what they were really doing was taking me to Belle Fourche for the rest of my life. My mom got custody of the kids, my brothers and myself. I never saw my dad at my recital, I didn’t get to say goodbye, from that day on the visits to see my dad became limited and my life, friends and family changed. That day was the day I started to hate my mom for running out on my family, our family and for taking me away from my dad. From the very moment my mom walked out on our family, was the day I decided never to fall in love, have a family, or get married. But if I were to do so that I would be blessed my God with the man for me, and stable marriage for if divorce was ever to cross my mind that may I be punished before ever doing so, for I am never going to put my children through what I went through. My dream is that wherever life may take me, I will have the blessings of life, filled with the abundance of family, friends, love, a home to call my own, and God’s guidance in my daily work. I know throughout this dream, my American Dream that I have yet to discover, there will be many trials, sacrifices, victories, achievements, losses, and gains, but every bit of that will be all worth it when I reach my dream, whatever it may be. Why be like everyone else? Why not find the dream that is set for you? Maybe we all have a dream, an American Dream, something that we all hope to achieve, but how many of us will go and make it reality? Just Living for a Dream My dream started when I was just a kid. I was five years old when my great grandfather passed away. That year-was a life changing one. I started to realize more than before, others’ emotions, and behaviors, as well as my own reasoning. My mom never hid reality from me. It was always there. Standing in that room with him on the hospital bed sorrow laid cold and desolate. As a kid I might not have always understood everything, but the emotions in that room lay unhidden, and barren for all of us to see and feel. It was coming to the fall of 1996, I was swinging on my swing-set, given to me before his passing. Somehow, something felt wrong. I saw people coming down the drive way. I recognized them to be the father and the brother of my best friend, Jordan. My father greeted them. After they had left, I learned that they were moving to be closer to their oldest son. I never saw them again. Sure, I kept in contact as best as I could, but I would never see them face to face. The year after, which was fourth grade for me, well that’s when I thought I might as well give up, because of reasons I’ve partially forgotten by now, but at that point dreams felt to have no use, no purpose. I had given up on hopes of becoming a better student. Everything I did I felt I did wrong, thus everything that had gone wrong in my life was my fault. It was all my doing. I had lost all self worth, I felt like I couldn’t help anyone, not even my family, and that’s what hurt the most. As I got older, I took in traits that I knew would not only help my family, but also give others the self worth that I had lost, and give them the feeling that they were just as important as anybody else. That’s when I realized more so than ever what my calling, what my dream really was, what made me happy. It was to give and give till you couldn’t give anymore. Which made the statements “It’s better to give than receive,” and “you catch more bees with honey than with vinegar” all the more true. Even though my family has never owned a home, has had several illnesses, and has been in debt, I have come to see that happiness can make the biggest difference. Laughter seemed to heal the biggest wounds, especially when it came to my uncle passing away, a year ago, of cancer, which he had been battling for more than 30 years. I had never known this until his passing. It started making me thinking about all the other things I had never known about him, as well as all my other family members who had passed before him. Who else was I leaving out of my life? How much longer would I allow this to continue? I believe we are all influenced by the ones we love and care for the most. The traits I have learned and acquired from those ones I have loved and cared for most, are ones I hope will stay with me for the rest of my life. My dream is not only to keep those I care about close to me, near or far, but in hopes that when I die, I will have died knowing that I made a difference in someone else’s life, that I made some one else’s life better, as well as my own. Dying with a legacy of happiness is my dream. Elements of a Life Worth Living My American Dream is a lot like that of Thomas Jefferson’s. I want people to love each other, and to accept everybody for who they are, no matter what color their skin is, and the freedom to worship freely. People should be able to have their beliefs without being teased. The best way to describe how I feel about American society, and how to make it a better place to live, is in four ways. First, accepting other’s no matter what color their skin is. I have family members who are of different racial backgrounds. My brother in-law is from Japan, and my sister in-law is African American. So, it is really hurtful when people make jokes about the Blacks or the Japanese. Or any other race for that matter. I wish that everybody would just understand them for who they are instead of what they look like. Those who tease or persecute people of different skin color or nationality are missing out on a great opportunity to make friends with someone that could change their lives forever. They are also missing out on a wonderful learning experience about different cultures. There is no better way to learn about a different country or way of life than to get an inside look at how they actually live their day to day lives and how they make a living in this very challenging world. The second way to make America a better place to live in is for people to be able to worship without having to worry what people are going to say about them or about their beliefs. I am LDS or most commonly known as a Mormon. My every day life can be very difficult at times. Sometimes my friends tease me for believing in what I do. It would be a wonderful thing if everybody could just accept people for who they are instead of how they worship. Life for me is somewhat similar to what the pilgrims had to go through. They never knew if where they were would be safe for them to worship. They had to move around a lot. Although I’m not forced to move from place to place, I am persecuted for what I believe in. Some people have even called me crazy for it. Third, Friendship is an important part of life. I mean, can you imagine going through life without any friends, it would make this life very dull. Friends are great for when you need some one to confide in, or just need a shoulder to cry on. Friends can be great support for things you have a hard time telling to someone you know will be disappointed in you for something that you might have done. I remember this one time I backed my Mom’s car into a pole although it did very little damage I was still very upset about the whole ordeal. I confided in my best friend and she helped me through it by just talking to me. By the end of our conversation I was able to tell my Mom what had happened. Even though I never did get in trouble, I still remember how comforting my friend was to me. Fourth, Family is a very essential part of life. Even though it goes hand in hand with friendship, it still is very important (to me anyways.) I have seen many of my friends or even some people I don’t know take their families for granted. Families are like a foundation to a house, they are sturdy and never moving. Even though some families break up and move away they are still there for you, and they love you. I think that if America was more focused on the family it would be a much better place to live. What would I die for? You ask, well that is a very difficult question. I would probably most likely give up my life for first, my faith in Jesus Christ, and second, my family. For those two things mean more to me than anything in this world. They are the most valuable to me. And I know that they will always be there to comfort me when I am in need of comfort. <a href="http://www.flatheadreservation.org/index.php/phs/model_american_dream_essays/">Model American Dream Essays</a> sent from Michael L. Umphrey's website