The American Dream is an unconforming, undefined phrase. It can not be singularly defined because that would make it simple and generalized, but the American dream is not simple. It is specific. It is complex because people are complex. 

The American Dream is a life, a dream, a feeling. Today, the American Dream is what a person is hoping their tomorrow will be.

Although the American Dream may seem like a glamorous, unobtainable lifestyle portrayed by the imposing perfection of celebrities, social media influencers and flawless profiles, they are only a miniscule amount of individual dreams – not the only American Dream. What is impossible is a person wanting to leave their body and entire life in a distant past and instead hop right into the body and life of Kylie Jenner. Unfortunately, that is the definition for many. 

The American dream seems dead and maybe even lost to times where success standards were low because the majority of society in the United States is comfortable and idle with no experience of struggle and no need for a better tomorrow. People don’t realize that they are already living the American dream, and it might not be their own – but it could be.  

Then, there is the idea that the American Dream isn’t external at all. That it has nothing to do with financial prosperity or material objects, but that it’s a feeling. People from all walks of life, immigrants, poverty stricken people, people that are oppressed or persecuted, who aren’t trying to achieve a tangible dream rather that they yearn for something more. A satisfaction on the inside that says “I made it.” They long for the ability to escape themselves, and the American dream for them is being able to stop running that tiresome and meaningless race because they finally made it. The American dream is reaching an internal place of peace and happiness that leaves no room for doubt, anxiety or fear.

As Columbus Day (and Indigenous People’s Day) approaches, and the three-day weekend is near, thoughts of the country’s origins cross the minds of Americans. Every person should have their own version of the American Dream. Dreamers need to keep fighting for a better tomorrow and for their happy ending because the American Dream is waiting for them.