In the early 1930s James Truslow Adams defined the American Dream as “life should be better, richer, and fuller for all, with opportunities for each according to ability or results achieved". His quote alone talks about individualism and nowhere is it written that you can't be yourself. The meaning of the “American Dream” has changed dramatically over time due to history and personal opinions; it's almost become a cliché. Embellished by these thoughts we complete each other, in our eyes every day is a new awakening to competition. You would think that we are all fighting for the same thing, survival, but we have different ways of achieving it. Whether legal or illegal, we walk individual paths in a journey called life which is followed by the society we live in. In today's society we are constantly bombarded by the promotion of a large-scale world, based on unrealistic expectations and not reality; which produces insecurities, cultural influences and lack of acceptance. Many individuals suffer from self-esteem issues caused by insecurities and lack of confidence. The actions of today's society are largely based on the influence of our peers, the community we live in, the way we grow up, and the media. It can be okay to not have confidence in yourself when you start a new sport that you've only been practicing for two days; not because someone calls you fat or if you look different from those on TV, or even from your class. American culture places so much emphasis on ideal images of what a "perfect" man or woman should look like, but is there really such a thing? Vacant images of perfection cause confusion and questions about one's physical appearance but never about how they should act or think... middle of paper... and the women who hold the most weight over them. If the world were designed so that we were all genetically equal, there would be no need for racism, bullying or harassment of any kind and even this probably wouldn't occur in a perfect world. Marilyn Monroe said it best: “Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius, and it is better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring.” Set the trend, be yourself! Works Cited Adams, James Truslow. (1931). The Epic of America (Little, Brown and Co. 1931) Cloud, John. "Never too Buff." Reading for today. Ed. Gary Goshgarian. New York: Pearson Education Inc., 2008. 27. Print.Iyer, Niranjana, “Weight of the World.” Ed. Reading for today. Gary Goshgarian. New York: PearsonEducation Inc., 2008. 34. Print.Valdes, Alisa. "My hips, my Caderas." Ed. Reading for today. Gary Goshgarian. New York: Pearson Education Inc., 2008. 39. Print.