My American Nightmare

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My American Nightmare

Many people today talk of their American Dreams…how much they want to fulfill a

fantasy of houses, wives, cars, and jobs that pay well. To me, becoming the same

as everyone else…fulfilling the dream of a life that I don’t want is in truth not

a dream, but a horrible nightmare which my education has tried to direct me

towards, and that I have fought at every turn.

Anyone can live the life of another person. It’s quite simple to just copy

others desires and dreams, to seek that which they seek. To this extent, many

Americans base their lives on things like pop culture. We bring up these “model”

Americans that everyone should strive to be, usually in the form of singers and

movie stars. To live this life is a lie in two ways, because we strive for a type

of living that most of us cannot hope to attain, and because we forget about

ourselves, our individuality, and our potential as humans to become something

great. As we realize that the first dream is hopeless, we then realize a new

false dream, we strive to gain money and social position through a “good job”.

Most of these jobs involve meaningless and menial tasks which we are to repeat

over and over again, although many of today’s careers mask this repetition by

making things like “projects” and “assignments” with different purposes. While we

may gain money, most Americans hate their jobs, and to this extent lead miserable

lives, gaining escape through sexuality and drugs, much in the same way described

by Krishnamurti (Krishnamurti 115-117). It is this sort of drudgery that is my

nightmare. Waking up every day to relive the same day, the same moments, the same

sensation, and then retire to repeat the process. To live this...

... middle of paper ...

...f music upon my life, I made the decision to change my future, and realized what I wanted in life, which brings me to where I am today. I stand at the edge of reality, and looking back I see what I left behind, I see order, regulation, a boring life filled with things that I have no desire for. I turn to

look forward, and I see limitless potential…a life without borders or boundaries.

A world where anything is possible.

Works Cited

Krishnamurti, Jiddu. Education and the Significance of Life. New York : Harper & Row,

1981.

Columbo, Gary, ed. Rereading America. Boston : Beford, 2001.

Gatto, John Taylor. “The Seven-Lesson Schoolteacher” in Rereading America, Gary

Columbo, Robert Cullen, and Bonnie Lisle, eds.

Anyon, Jean. “From Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work” in Rereading

America, Gary Columbo, Robert Cullen, and Bonnie Lisle, eds.

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