I remember my main goal in life when I was a kid was to be wealthy and successful. Material objects came to mind when my elementary school teachers would ask the same questions of how we pictured ourselves as adults, but I never thought that my goal was quite irrational until I started growing up. Of course, my hopes have changed since then, and it’s obvious that wealth isn’t the only dream worth having, and nor is it the most plausible. I was just a naïve child at the time, so I understand my lack of judgment, but I still see unrealistic dreams amongst people my age, and from people even older. The media has illustrated a whimsical life of wealth that contrasts with the reality of the recession which we are barely recovering from. Due to our economic instability, it is necessary that we change our dreams to something that is more in our reach. Personally, my “America Dream” is to have a steady career, to be able to get a full education, and to do better economically than my parents have. However, according to the article “Generation Screwed” and “Is the Onslaught Making Us Crazy”, my dreams might be farther from my reach that I believed.
What many people think is that a college diploma will automatically guarantee them a better life. It’s supposed that having a degree will ensure a more stable, high-paying career, but as said by the Heldrich center for workforce development, “over 43 percent of graduates now working are at jobs that don’t require a college education”. Those numbers equate to more than two out of every five college graduates, meaning that almost half of college graduates are competing with non-graduates for jobs that they are already overqualified for. To me, this means that there’s a 43 percent change that I won’t have a steady-paying job like I anticipate. On the other hand, it does not mean that I have to avoid pursuing an education, or even at all. The unemployment rate for non-graduates is much higher than that of people of the same age with degrees, and non-graduates are qualified for fewer jobs than graduates are, so having an education is still evidently superior.
Furthermore, funding a higher education is a problem for adults all over the country. With tuition hikes over the last decade, it is coming close to us having to choose between books or meals. It seems obvious to want to sign up for student loans and credit cards, but with the nationwide tuition debt piling up to one trillion dollars, according to “Generation Screwed”, I might have to look for other ways to pay for my tuition. With the lack of guaranteed employment upon graduation, many are at fault with their loans and bills, and fall deep into debt. I take this as a lesson, in which I need to look into as many scholarships as I can in order to ward off the debts that potentially follower with going to college.
On a different light, economic prosperity may not seem as rewarding as it seems, depending on what you put your money towards. After paying bills, rent, and necessities, most Americans turn to technology and gadgets for entertainment as a way with keeping up with our internet-fueled generation. However, it may actually be that we are funding our own stress and anxiety by focusing on technology and networks. According to Tony Dokoupil, our use of the internet is skyrocketing, and is conversely changing the ways we think and feel. This made me think twice about setting high economic goals, or at least how I choose to spend it, because it seems almost pointless if I am going to spend it on technology that could potentially lead me to psychosis. Creating goals more oriented in helping others or my community seems more worthwhile than being led down the destructive path that social networks have paved.
To conclude, the American dream has greatly shifted in the past few decades, and it is vital to recognize that. Our economy is not as prosperous as it was before, and dreams such as owning a house and having a family are not as easily obtainable as they were long ago. This not only means that we must work to our best abilities in order to succeed. What this means is that even if we put in twice as much effort as before, our success will still not be promised to us. The articles “Is the Onslaught Making Us Crazy” and “Generation Screwed” provided a bitter reality of my generation which helped me realize that I need to change my American Dream to fit into the ways of today.
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