From what we see in pictures and movies, the 1950s was an era of simplicity. Kids went to school, mothers stayed home to cook and fathers went to work. It was the American Dream.

Fast forward to the present and that dream is long gone. Today, we live in an era of over consumption, over spending and overworking ourselves each day in order to obtain just a sliver of what might be considered the ideal life. In today’s society we can no longer support what used to be the American Dream; therefore, we must evolve with it.

A survey from CNBC shows that 37 percent of employed Americans work 10 or more hours on top of their normal schedule per week. In the past that would have been time spent with family or at home, but in the modern world it is simply the new normal.

Times are tough, and we’re graduating into a job market and economy on its last leg. Students come into college expecting to put all they can into four short years, graduate on time and end up with the perfect job.

In reality, most students graduate, move back home and find a job that’s just good enough to begin paying back their student loans. It is common for these postgrad students to fall into the trap of complacency.

Unemployment is a fear at the forefront of everyone’s minds, but it is underemployment that we should really be worrying about. According to the Huffington Post, 48 percent of the 41.7 million working college graduates had jobs that required less than a bachelor’s degree in 2010.

In its halcyon prime, the American Dream featured an ideal perfect family, which even today can be seen as a rarity. Divorce rates are up 40 to 50 percent according to the American Psychological Association. In addition, the new concept of a modern family encompassing same sex, interracial and childless marriages is becoming more common.

It is imperative that we acknowledge these changes so that we can adapt along with whatever today’s American Dream becomes. To some that may be leading a life as simple as being content with the basics, and for others it might be more akin to a Kardashian-esque lifestyle of materialism and wealth.

It is not to say that the American Dream is nonexistent, but more so it is currently being revised. As students about to embark on life after college, we are given the opportunity to shape our own American Dream. It is an opportunity that should not be taken for granted.

In a generation where technology and social media is not only on the rise but easily accessible, students can connect and network in a way that was never thought possible. These are benefits that living in the modern world gives us, but it’s now easier to lose sight of what really matters.

Success is never a guarantee, and people’s perspectives of what success is can be subjective. It is important to realize that happiness and success do not go hand in hand. Simplicity may have been a running theme in the 1950s, but today’s society gives us the resources to make the new American Dream not just a concept, but a reality within reach.

 

-Dominique Wald is a senior communication major from Santa Clarita, Calif. She can be contacted at 335-2290 or by [email protected]. The opinions expressed in this Column are not necessarily those of the staff of The Daily Evergreen or those of Student Publications.