My American Nightmare Many people today talk about their American dreams... how much they want to realize a fantasy of houses, wives, cars and well-paying jobs. For me, becoming the same as everyone else... realizing the dream of a life I don't want is actually not a dream, but a horrible nightmare that my upbringing tried to direct me towards and against which I fought at every opportunity . can live another person's life. It is quite simple to simply copy other people's desires and dreams, look for what they are looking for. In this sense, many Americans base their lives on things like pop culture. We raise these “model” Americans that everyone should strive to be, usually in the form of singers and movie stars. Living this life is a lie in two ways, because we strive for a kind of life that most of us cannot hope to achieve, and because we forget ourselves, our individuality, and our potential as human beings to become something big. When we realize that the first dream is hopeless, then we realize a new false dream, we strive to earn money and social position through a “good job”. Most of these jobs involve insignificant and menial tasks that we must repeat again and again, although many of today's careers mask this repetition by doing things like "projects" and "assignments" with different purposes. Even though we can earn money, most Americans hate their jobs and, as a result, lead miserable lives, escaping through sexuality and drugs, in much the same way Krishnamurti described (Krishnamurti 115-117) . This type of fatigue is my nightmare. Waking up every day to relive the same day, the same moments, the same feeling, and then retreating to repeat the process. To experience this… middle of paper… of music in my life, I made the decision to change my future and accomplished what I wanted in life, which brought me to where I am today. I'm on the edge of reality and looking back I see what I left behind, I see order, regulation, a boring life full of things I don't want. I turn to look forward and see limitless potential…a life without borders or boundaries. A world where everything is possible. Works Cited Krishnamurti, Jiddu. Education and meaning of life. New York: Harper & Row, 1981. Colombo, Gary, ed. Rereading America. Boston: Beford, 2001. Gatto, John Taylor. “The Seven Lessons Teacher” in Rereading America, GaryColumbo, Robert Cullen, and Bonnie Lisle, edited by Anyon, Jean. “From Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work” in RereadingAmerica, Gary Columbo, Robert Cullen, and Bonnie Lisle, eds..