What is the American Dream?
The overall American Dream for many has been to live a successful and wealthy life. To me, though, the American Dream is much more. In my eyes, the American Dream is to live a happy, successful life while enjoying the many great freedoms of the land. I like the definition that comes from thefreedictionary.com. "The ideals of freedom, equality, and opportunity traditionally held available to every American." To live in a free country is a great blessing that provides so many opportunities! Because I live in America, I have the freedom to worship freely, the freedom to choose what school I go to, what my career may be. I have the opportunity to set high goals for myself that are actually possible for me to achieve, through my own hard work. This is my American Dream: to become something, to become someone, to one day be able succeed in the things that I love to do, and feel great about it. Living in the free country of America, I feel like I have the opportunity to accomplish so much and make a huge impact on the world and that is what the American Dream is to me.
My Knowledge and Feelings about my Ancestry
My knowledge of my ancestry mostly comes from researching about my family in the past. Also just being able to talk to my parents and grandparents about their knowledge of our ancestors strengthens my knowledge, as well. I know that many of my ancestors came from England, Wales, or Sweden many years ago. I don't know the exact dates and reasons they did, but I know that they were pioneers that came from Europe. There are many pioneers in my line of ancestry from both my mother's side and my father's side. Brigham Young, the famous Latter-Day Saint leader and prophet who led so many Saints across the plains of America so many years ago is my great, great, great, great grandfather. Since Brigham Young was known to have many wives, it is also important to note that I am descended from his wife Mary Ann Angell. I am so proud to have the pioneer heritage that I have. Knowing that my ancestors were courageous pioneers who stood firmly in their faith as they came to Utah for religious freedom gives me a confidence that I can follow in their footsteps to take my own place in the legacy that they have left behind. It gives me motivation to endure to the end of my life with courage and make my own impact on the world, as they have.
Being Mormon pioneers, my ancestors are perfect examples of people who had a desire to fulfill the American Dream. They traveled so many miles and worked so hard, many of them dying along the way, to be able to have the opportunity to worship freely and to have many more opportunities to succeed in the things that they believed and loved. This strengthens my belief in the American Dream and gives me a greater desire to fulfill my own "dream" through faith, hard work, and endurance.
Being Mormon pioneers, my ancestors are perfect examples of people who had a desire to fulfill the American Dream. They traveled so many miles and worked so hard, many of them dying along the way, to be able to have the opportunity to worship freely and to have many more opportunities to succeed in the things that they believed and loved. This strengthens my belief in the American Dream and gives me a greater desire to fulfill my own "dream" through faith, hard work, and endurance.
My Family Tree
Final Thoughts about my Family Tree
While researching just a bit more about my ancestry I discovered that I have quite a large variety of places where my ancestors came from. I found ancestors from England, Wales, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Scotland, Ireland, and even France, distantly. I just think it is so neat to see where all of my ancestors came from and to think that they were the ones who shaped the world we live in today. It gives me an even greater desire to go visit Europe because of the ancestral ties that I have there! Overall, I hope that I can leave my own legacy just as strongly as my ancestors left for me!