I still remember, vividly, as it was just yesterday when my mom suddenly woke me up in the middle of the night with a smile so big that I almost thought I saw a ray of sunshine shimmering through her face. My confused, yet curious eyes, stared back at her cheerful face as my tired mind was still adjusting to the bright light she had just turned on in the room. She looked so happy that even an eight year old me could tell she was having trouble looking for the right words to say, but it was then she cheerfully exclaimed, “we can finally go to America, we got called in for a final interview!” After a few times of getting rejected by a small American Embassy branch in Pakistan, we had almost lost hope to ever come here. Well, not just hope—a lot of money and time as well. Every time we applied, we would not only have to pay for the visa, but also for a handler that was supposed to fasten the process, and plane tickets to the capital city of Pakistan for multiple interviews at the embassy. Years of hard work, spending more money than we had, and traveling more than we wanted to—it had all seemed to be finally paid off.
Therefore, as someone who was born and raised in a less developed country, I understand the desire to seek a better life in a country full of hope. When I was eight years old, my parents applied for us to move to America in hopes for my siblings and I to have a better chance at having a more successful life. Sacrificing everything we had and everything we owned—including our family and friends that we had known for all of our lives to the materialistic things we had grown attached to while living in Pakistan—we only had one similar goal in mind: a better future. However, when we first arrived here, our dream didn’t seem so promised anymore. Wearing a hijab, a headscarf that covered our hair, made us feel like aliens. As soon as we stepped foot in America, we received looks filled with disgust from everyone who passed us, even little kids. From my first few years of adjusting till today, I have always wondered how many other people, just like myself, leave their home countries to chase the American dream despite the discrimination and unfair treatment we receive upon coming and if the American Dream we so blindly chase after still exists today.
Annotated Bibliography: “As Immigrants, Our Greatest Dream Is the American Dream.” El Tecolote, eltecolote.org/content/en/commentary/as-immigrants-our-greatest-dream-is-the-american-dream/. Accessed October 16 2018. “As Immigrants, Our Greatest Dream Is the American Dream”, is a well-detailed story of a young, undocumented immigrant from El Salvador who is now an intern at El Tecolote. She fled to America at the age of fourteen in hopes to escape the threat of gangs. Though she encountered numerous obstacles while adjusting to a new environment—a place that was completely strange to her—she still feels confident in her decision, because this way, she gets to be one step closer to her American Dream. Listening to stories, such as being captured by the border patrol, or drowning while crossing the river, did put a fear in her heart, but also gave her another meaning to the dream: fighting to have a better life. Just like her, so many immigrants, every day, risk their lives just to ensure a better future—a future they deserve just like anyone else; however, a future only they are willing to fight as hard for. In addition to her narrative, the article also includes a cartoon that illustrates a group of Hispanics climbing onto a rugged mountain as they all tightly hold onto the American flag. This animation successfully captures the hardships they are willing to endure, and the mountains they’re willing to climb, as long as they are promised the American Dream.
Blanchard, Sarah, and Chandra Muller. “Gatekeepers of the American Dream: How Teachers’ Perceptions Shape the Academic Outcomes of Immigrant and Language-Minority Students.” Social Science Research, vol. 51, 2015, pp. 262–275., doi:10.1016/j.ssresearch.2014.10.003. In the research paper, “Gatekeepers of the American Dream”, the correlation between teachers’ perception of immigrants and their academic accomplishments are being discussed. Even though immigrants are more productive and work harder compared to the native-born students, the results show mixed academic outcomes. Because English is not always their first language, teachers often tend to think that immigrant students are less academically inclined despite the fact that they hold a more positive outlook towards education. According to a mixed-method study of immigrant students, it has been proven that a teacher’s perception of a student not only shapes how a teacher would evaluate the student but also shapes a student’s future potential. For example, a student who infers that their teachers have higher expectations from him/her tends to make better academic decisions; whereas a student who assumes that his or her teacher has negative views about them, tends to decline academically.
Chua, Amy. “Immigrate, Assimilate.” Read, Reason, Write: An Argument Text and Reader, 12th Edition, edited by Dorothy U. Seyler, Allen Brizee, McGraw-Hill Education, 2018, pp. 482-286. Accessed 16 October 2018. In “Immigrate, Assimilate,” Amy Chua brings attention to the immigrant issues occurring throughout the world. Towards the beginning of the article, she introduces her own story as a Chinese immigrant—how her family could not even afford a heater during the winter times nor could they speak perfect English when they first arrived in America—in order to attain the sympathy of her pro-immigrant audience. However, she then points out that unassimilated Muslims in Europe, and their different, disunited sects including Kurds, Sunnis, and Shias, are still a rising conflict in terms of other countries being more accepting towards immigration. Therefore, she suggests that immigrants who pride in their culture can maintain their heritage while assimilating in their new home in order for the host country to be more welcoming and accepting immigration without fearing to lose its national identity.
“Julal, Beverly and Davis, Clair. “In immigrants, the American dream is very much alive”. Philadelphia Tribune. 2015. doi:10.1016/j.ssresearch.2014.10.003. The article, “In Immigrants, the American dream is very much alive” by Beverly Julal and Clair Davis is a reply to Donald Trump’s repeated statement asserting that we have got to get America back. The authors of this article respond by saying that everyone who currently lives in America is not originally from America, so who are we getting it back from. Additionally, by utilizing statistics by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, that majority of the workers employed in the agricultural field are immigrants. Because these immigrants are desperate for work in hopes of supporting their families in a new, strange country, they can do the same job as anyone else for half the price. Therefore, without these immigrants stepping up and working hard to keep food on the table for their families, the economy would not be thriving as well as it is today. In conclusion, immigrants who tend to be more productive are not only fulfilling their American Dream but are also benefitting America as a whole. “The American Dream – From An Immigrant’s Perspective.”
Peace Catalyst International, www.peacecatalyst.org/blog/2017/5/31/storyteller-american-dream. “The American Dream – From an Immigrant’s Perspective” is a series of interview questions with a Somali immigrant, Ahmed, regarding the American Dream. Upon being asked the reason to leave his homeland, Ahmed explains that his family had to seek refuge in multiple different places due to a civil war. However, a few years later, they finally received a sponsorship to enter the U.S and relocate in the states. Another question that was asked during the interview was that what did the American Dream mean to him as a child and how the meaning has changed over time as an adult. As a child, he did not ponder much upon the American Dream because he was happily living the Somali Dream – eating junk food and watching cartoon shows just like any other child. However, it was not till his teenage years, he grew more intrigued towards chasing the American Dream. Growing up in a low-income family, Ahmed began to associate his dream with money and financial stability and growth. Yet, his adulthood made him realize that the money he should chase while living the dream should be able to make a difference in the world and that is the only way he could actually fulfill the American Dream. Another important question that was asked was if Ahmed considers himself the American Dream. He instantly responds with a thoughtful answer that sums up the notion that he does not know if he fits someone else’s definition of the American dream, but from his standards, he is still working on HIS definition of the American Dream. Lastly, upon being asked if Trump’s new policies serve as a threat to the American Dream, he mentions that the ban list and plans to build a wall in Mexico defeats the purpose of immigrants and refugees coming to the country in hopes of being successful because American Dream can only be attained by people from only who come from certain countries and not everyone altogether.
Wadhwa, Vivek. “For Indian Immigrants the American Dream is Alive.” India Currents, vol. 29, 2015. doi:10.1016/j.ssresearch.2014.10.003. In the narrative, “For Indian Immigrants the American Dream is Alive”, Wadhwa relies on humor, personal experiences and statistics to convey his point that majority of the Indians who came to America as poor families have now thrived to be the high-middle or upper class. To prove his assertion, he mentions a credible source, the U.S. Census Bureau, to justify that 76 percent of Indian Immigrants have received at least a bachelor’s degree or even higher, and a vast majority of Indians are proficient at English, regardless of the mockery they receive for their accent. Although Indians make up a very small population of the U.S. population, at least one Indian can be found at one of the higher-end companies. This describes the nature of immigrants who come to America to live and lead a better life for themselves by taking advantage of the American Dream. Therefore, this narrative defends that the American Dream can be fulfilled if one is able to disregard the negative comments—just as Wadhwa did whenever someone pointed out his accent, or his attire that had apparently smelled like spices—and work hard towards success. Reflection: Upon researching about the factors that pull people into coming to the United States in hopes to fulfilling the American Dream, I now understand that there are many people like me who were not only willing to leave their homes and belongings, but were also open to assimilate within a new culture and a way of life just to lead a better future.
Although most of my sources validated that the American Dream can, in fact, be achieved, the article that included the interview of a Somali immigrant made me realize that everyone has a different definition of it—some associate the American Dream with money and success, while some like to think of it as a capability of giving back to the society. Another source I could very much relate to was a narrative by an Indian Immigrant, Vivek Wadhwa. Despite being mocked for his accent, and other factors that initially made him feel isolated from the rest of the Americans, he was able to be successful by working twice as hard. However, one of the sources I do not completely agree with is by Sarah Blanchard that discusses the correlation between a student’s academic success and their teacher’s perception of them. When I first attended an American school, my very first teacher did not think I was capable of doing the same work as my other classmates due to the language barriers. However, in only a few years, I was able to take more high-level classes than my peers despite being a newcomer. Therefore, I do not believe that a teacher’s view of someone can affect his or her academic behavior. In my opinion, the only thing that can help you succeed in almost anything in life is your own willingness and dedication. Additionally, referring back to Beverly Julal’s research paper, Trump’s new policies may bring a threat to having a fair chance for everyone to be able to take advantage of the opportunities available in America, but the persistent and hard-working nature of us immigrants cannot stop let any policy or threat from trying to lead the best future we can.
