This article was originally published in Discourse Magazine.
In his 1931 book, “The Epic of America,” James Truslow Adams wrote that the American Dream “is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of a social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position.” These words may have been written nearly a century ago, but they’re as relevant and meaningful as ever in my eyes. When I arrived to the United States from Latin America a few years ago to pursue a graduate degree, I became enamored with the American Dream: its celebration of success and achievement, striving and overcoming.
