The American Dream

At my commencement the keynote speaker spoke about the American dream, and he said that in order to make it a reality you must be willing to work…

Some of you may know my story, but I love telling stories so I will continue to tell it with additional details. While there are many people who have college degrees and some who have received theirs recently like me, I do not think many people have taken the route I choose to get to there. It is said that Millennials have characteristics such as entitlement, being lazy, coddled, and materialistic. While I have seen people from my generation who are like this, I have not been raised to be like any of those things. My father worked hard to put himself through college and worked even harder to earn his master’s degree. While he has been able to enjoy the fruits of his labor now, it has taken years of hard work and conservative saving to get there (even now he would not say he has “made it”). When it was time for me to embark on my college journey, the government informed me the amount of money my father and mother could contribute to my college education, an amount that was laughable. Never did it cross my mind to be upset at my parents for not “doing more”. They did plenty to get where they are today and it was time for me to do my part.

“The American dream is not that every man must be level with every other man. The American dream is that every man must be free to become whatever God intends he should become.” – Ronald Reagan

I was one of those strange kids that knew exactly what I wanted to be when I was older, at twelve I knew that I wanted to be an architect. I begged my parents to get me a house designing program for Christmas, to which they thought I was seriously the strangest kid. After a year of designing houses I realized something, being an architect required mathematical skills I did not possess. Then I decided I wanted to be an interior designer. It did not require serious math skills and it allowed me be use my knack for color and design. My plan was that I would start attending the local community college at sixteen and graduate at eighteen with my associates then transfer to Kendall College of Art and Design. It was perfect, Kendall was considered a great art school, I could attend while living at home, pay in-state tuition, and work to pay for it all. It was a flawless plan. That is, until the economy went bust and my family moved.

However, once the time came to make this (revised) plan official I began to become uncertain about it. I found out that my two years of college and hard work only would count as one year. Immediately I did the math and started sweating. I knew I needed another option. If I really wanted to be an interior designer I would need to go into at least $45,000 of debt in an unstable economy, and likely move to some large city outside of the state to find a job. Those were things I knew I did not want. That was when I started to look at Lake Superior State University and it was my friend’s father who suggested I minor in marketing since I had a background in art, and it all made sense.

When I was accepted to Lake Superior State University I was sent a packet of information on what types of loans I qualified for and how to go about securing that support. However, that assistance did not seem very “secure” to me. My parents were going to help me, but this was more like a scholarship than anything. [In order for me to have received any financial assistance from my parents I needed to be full-time student, earning grades of B’s or higher, and working. Only when those qualifications were met could I receive assistance.] However, even with the help of my parents, I still had to pay for more than half of my schooling.

A job is the obvious solution to paying for essentials like tuition, books, gas, car insurance, a phone and Diet Coke. This is where I began to think differently than other college students. I had a phone, but I had a cheap one that only made calls and texted. I did not buy a computer until my second year and, even when I did, I got a refurbished one. I did get a job at a store right before graduating from high school, but after a year I had the opportunity to work at another store and I took it. By the next summer I took on a job where I filled in for a friend who was a nanny. In the summer of 2011 I was employed at three jobs, working twelve hour days, and went weeks without a day off. It was a whirlwind summer. I know all of that sounds crazy and that most people would read that and think “Well that’s good for her, but that’s not something I could do”. Guess what? I don’t think I could do it either. But somehow I did. Somehow, with the right motivation, drive, and goal, you do the math and just start saying yes. Before you know it twenty days has passed by and you worked every single one of them. Despite the craziness of it, I found ways to enjoy myself. There were nights at the store spent with my coworkers indulging in ice cream, working on crosswords, or discussing the latest book, movie, or song we were into.  Driving home at midnight after nannying I would roll the windows down, letting the summer air whip around, and listen to Coldplay. The stars would be everywhere. It was magic.

When the summer was over I completed my job as a fill-in nanny, and that fall I got a job as a student tutor at the college I was attending, keeping my job count at a steady three. Midway through the semester my second job was causing me some serious anxiety and stress, so I left. Don’t worry though, four months later I went for an interview as a document scanner and was hired at my next job. Not long after that, I had the opportunity to help a family with transporting their girls to and from school, with some babysitting here and there (job number four). During that time I also was hired as a dog/house sitter for a couple.

By the following year, two jobs had come to a close, and I found myself in a tough situation. I was nearing the end of my college journey and my car was dying. It was literally dying. I began looking for a replacement, but due to the Car Allowance Rebate System (or Cash for Clunkers) the market was dreadful for someone looking for inexpensive reliable transportation. My parents ended up using my car as a trade in for their GrandVan (a grandkid van) and I was blessed with being able to drive my Dad’s car. Again, not handed to me, I had to pay for insurance and upkeep (if I crashed it, I paid for it) as well as save up for my own car. In order to be able to do this I needed another job, two was not going to cut it. I also knew that my last semester would be lighter than the others, with only three classes left for me to graduate, so I would have more time for working. I applied at a job and was training there a month later.

In total, since graduating from high school I have had eight jobs. I have done anything from steaming apparel, designing window displays, removing staples, coding invoices, making Macaroni and Cheese, driving, washing dishes, and making McCafe drinks. Through all of these tasks I have also had great experiences and memories. I have worked with fashion merchandising interns from Michigan State University and Western Michigan, I have meet and worked alongside some great people, learned what it takes to run a business, and discovered the beauty of hard work.

At the end of the day, I am glad that I did not accept the norm. Not that I did it perfectly, because I did not. I spent too much on clothing and stress purchases. I am awful at budgeting, partially due to my ever changing income, and there were times I nearly ran out of money. Somehow though, it worked out. That itself is nothing short of a miracle, and something I do not carelessly appreciate. I know that without the support of my family and God on my side this would not have been possible at all. I also made my conscious choices based on whether it would help me meet my goal, a debt-free degree. I chose Lake Superior State partially because the tuition is reasonable, it was a bonus when I found out the school is actually amazing (one of the best in the Midwest!).

This journey has been one of thoughtful chaos. I started out with the goal of going to Kendall to get my degree in interior design and it was a combination of the economy, trends and predictions of the future job market, my love of Michigan, and wanting to pay for my school that steered me away from that option. A degree in business administration with a marketing minor was the perfect solution, because it blended every aspect of me into a degree. It blended both the analytical and artistic characteristics of me together.

It is said that today my generation no longer believes in the American dream, which I find sad because I believe in it. I suppose if the Millennial characteristics are accurate, then my generation would not think the American dream is possible. They would not be able to see such a dream become a reality because in order to make that happen, a person has to be willing to work for it. I believe that the American dream is still possible today with hard work and drive. I say all of this because most people believe going to college without getting debt is impossible, however I have made it possible. I have received my debt-free degree and I hope that this inspires others. The key is to aim high, surround yourself with people who will support you, and work relentlessly towards it.