For years, the United States has been dubbed the land of the free and the home of the brave. The belief that the U.S. can give a person the chance to have a better life is recognized around the world. This belief, however, can be changed depending on the region and the person, eliciting their own version of the American Dream, where many believe you can come to be nothing but the best.
In order to prove that the vision of the American Dream differs from person to person, I conducted an interview with an immigrant from Mexico. Her name is Veronica, she is forty-five years old, and she has been living in the U.S. for over eighteen years. She migrated from Mexico along with her brother and sister, first coming to California and later moving to Chicago. The move from her home to Chicago was frightening to her, she said that entering the States was no easy task and the rumors about coming here did nothing to help her.
Many of the rumors were centered around being sent back home. She says: “At first, they scared you by saying you couldn’t go outside because the immigration officers would get you. But they also said you could get many dollars, and in the U.S. it might be a little, but in Mexico, those dollars would let you live a better life”. A major force that gave her the courage to leave home was the want to support her family, although, that is also what held her back: “The hardest part was leaving those close to me, mainly my parents. While being here my father died and I couldn't go see him. Well, you miss things like food, neighbors, and familiarity. You just miss everything you grew up with”. Her main source of ambition was ultimately her family, she believed that by coming here she would be able to make enough money to support herself for a few years and send the rest back home.
Once she had sent back enough money to stabilize her family, she thought she would return. The years spent in the street of an urban city suddenly made her want to stay, she grew familiar with the buildings, the factories, and the people. All of a sudden, she felt rooted to the ground, her dream was changing, and although she stubbornly wanted to return home, she knew she had to stay. Living in the States allowed her the freedom to do almost anything, the most life-changing of all was falling in love and starting a family. She states: “Coming here the dream grew, well it didn’t really change, we come here with just working in mind, not just staying here. We just want to help back home. But it becomes so nice to live here, you get used to it and as time passes, you fall in love, you have kids, you watch them grow up here and it gets harder for you to go back. You suddenly want more, you want your kids to learn here, to become someone”.
As the years went by her dream evolved into something bigger, she desired to belong. She wanted her efforts to pay off, to give her the title of an American citizen that she was worthy of possessing.
In conclusion, I believe that the vision of the American dream varies from person to person, and the interview I conducted confirms my vision. Although most immigrants come to the United States in the first place for greater opportunities, living here transforms their original purpose, imbuing it with a personal meaning that sustains a person's desire to remain on this earth.