By Brooke Denovich

Many years ago, African Americans had a dream of being free of slavery. Today people have dreams of becoming very wealthy or living in a mansion even. All of these dreams are different, just as people are different. My American Dream consists of good education, enjoyable job, nice house, family, and to be financially stable to where I can help others as well.

My American Dream starts off with my schooling. Throughout high school, and even grade school, I have been striving to get good grades. I am always trying to do my best and get all my homework done and in on time. I study for my tests and take everything to do with school pretty seriously. Occasionally I forget about homework that I have to do; and I hate it when I leave it at the school! I want to graduate high school with a good GPA and an acceptable A.C.T. score so I will be eligible to get into a decent college. I want to go to college to pursue my dream job, not to just party. If I have to work hard for the things I want, and if I have to put out money to get my credits, then I am not going to just blow it off. Knowing what I want to do with the rest of my life probably helps keep me on the right track in school. Going to a college that majors in the Medical field is what I would love to do, even if it is farther away then I planned. I would like to, however, stay in Michigan to do my schooling just so I would not have to pay more for being an out of state resident fee. I want to go to college to become a nurse.

Becoming a nurse is my dream job. Nursing has always interest me ever since I can remember. I love all that technical things with the Medical Field; all the shots and blood and surgeries. It fascinates me! I am thinking I might want to become a Surgical Nurse. I would love working right next to the doctor during surgeries. If I did not become a Surgical Nurse, then I think I would want to work with children or babies. I know I want to become a Registered Nurse though, either way I want to have enough money for my job to get a house.

Next for my American Dream is where I would love to live. I know I want to buy a house at some point. I want it to be pretty big but not too large so it would be hard to clean. I would like to have a big kitchen, living room though, and a walk-in closet would be nice as well. I have always dreamt of living next to water. Near a river, lake, or ocean is where I would want to be. I would prefer an ocean because I love walking on a nice, sandy beach and waking up to the sound of waves crashing in on the rocks. Dolphins are my favorite and living next to an ocean would give me a chance to be able to catch a glimpse of them for time to time. My love for swimming attracts me to the water as well. I have always wanted to go scuba diving but I have never had the chance to. Living right next to the ocean would allow me to in my free time. If I could live on the sea side I would be out there almost all day. I would be tanning, swimming, boating and fishing. I do not really care for winter weather, and even though I think mountains are simply gorgeous, I would much rather be warm and see the beautiful beach in my backyard. It would be a great place to just sit back and relax with my family which I would love to have of my own.

Having a family of my own is my next step. When I am old enough to have a good career and house, I would love to get married. I want to get married to someone who is not going to hold me back from anything I want to do. I also want them to want to go places with me and help me out with things I need help with. It would be nice if they had some of the same interests as me and were a little classy because I love to dress up nice. When I was little I dreamt of a fairy tale wedding. Lots of people, big cake, elegant dresses, lights and flowers, and gloves just like princesses wear. That was what I wanted. I am not really sure on how I want it to be now, maybe not so fancy so everyone would fit in and not feel out of place or anything. After a couple years of being married, when we are stable and on our feet, I would like to have kids. Kids are a big part in my American Dream. I have always wanted kids at some point in my life. I want to take my kids places they want to go and get them a great majority of the things they want but I do not want them to be too spoiled to where they are ungrateful for the things they get. Growing up we have never had money. We are living pay check to pay check like many other families. I remember when my sister and I would be in the store with our mom and we would ask for the littlest things and my mom would tell us, “not today; maybe next time.” That time never came because we never had money for little things even. I watch my classmates grow up along with me and they complain about not getting something for Christmas or their parents getting them something other then what they wanted because it was cheaper and I am just grateful for what I got. My sister and I do not ask for much because we know we can not afford a lot. I want my kids to understand that they are not always going to get what they want but they should be grateful to have what they have. I also want my kids to be nice to everyone. My mom always told us not to judge anyone by how they are or by the clothes they wear because you do not know what is going on in their life and God made everyone of us special. I want God to be a BIG part in my children’s lives. I remember being very little but dressing up every Sunday to go to church with my mom and sister. Even though back then I did not understand barely anything that was going on, every night my mom and dad would come into our rooms and pray to us right before we went to bed. I want my kids to go to God when they are struggling with something in their life or when they need to be forgiven of their sins. It is important to me to be a good role model for my kids as well. I want to show them they can stick up for others if they are being bullied and that they can be even just be a friend to someone who does not have one.

I have always wanted to help people out fanatically. Even only being sixteen now, I have saw many people struggle with money, my family included. Every year right before Christmas my sister and I get a card in the mail from “Santa”. We have not figured out who this “Santa” is yet, but every year we get money from him. Quite a bit of money actually! We have been so grateful for this money because every year we get our family presents and also a couple of our cousins presents as well who would not have the best Christmas. It is always hard when we do not get money from our family or mom and dad so we have to work for it. For kids it is hard to spend their own money that they worked for but I am glad we got to work for it and then with the fifty dollars from “Santa” is a big help! My family has always been there to help each other out even if all we have is just five dollars to spare. It is nice, and we would love to help others out if we had it ourselves. This is were my American Dream ends. I do not know if I will ever have enough money to be set myself and to be able to help others out, but that is something I really want to do throughout my life. Even if it is just twenty dollars to someone secretly for Christmas; anything can help and every little bit counts.

I have a long ways to go to be able to complete all of my American Dream, but that is good I need all the time I can get. I am going to start now while I am young still because you can not take back time and I know if I do not start striving to reach my goals I will not be able to get everything I want done. Education was my first dream that needs to be complete in order for everything else to fall into place; job, house, family, and helping others. This is my American Dream and I will do everything I can to achieve it!