External Influence That Affected Me

External Influence That Affected Me

I had a very happy life in Medan, Indonesia. I was fortunate to go to a very good high school, where my peer group was composed of high-achieving students. All of my friends decided to stay in Indonesia and build their lives in comfort and familiarity. While Indonesia is certainly not as prosperous as the United States, for high-achieving students in established families, it is possible to do so. However, I was different from my friends. I wanted something more than comfort and familiarity. I wanted something that I think is a uniquely American experience; the ability to entirely create myself as my own person, rather than being the product of someone else's creation. Oddly enough, the thing that drove that desire was not a lofty meeting with an influential American, but Hollywood movies and their portrayal of the American dream.

For Americans, the idea of the American dream being something that inspires all people around the world is a given. The American dream and its ability to change lives and make a tremendous impact on people is something that is almost mythical in American society. However, the reality is that many people in other countries are not inspired by the American dream. While it may not be labeled the same way, we all our own versions of the American dream. People in other countries want to raise their families in health, safety, and relative economic prosperity, which is what the American dream has become to so many people in this country. With the globalization of the economy, the reality is that it has become possible to pursue the so-called American dream from almost any location, if one focuses only on the financial aspects of that dream. However, the real American dream has nothing to do with money, and everything to do with being one's own person.

One of the first American movies that I remember seeing is to Kill a Mockingbird, an old black and white movie about children and their father, a lawyer. The movie did show any type of financial prosperity, the family was poor as were all of the other people featured in the movie, but it showed a man striving for his American dream. Though he knew he faced incredible odds, Atticus Finch defended his client, because it was the right thing to do. In America, he had the right and the ability to do what he believed was morally and ethically right in a situation. Watching that movie was the first time I wondered what it would be like to live in America.