Once upon a time there was a mother, a father, a son, and a daughter. They lived in a perfect two-story house with a white picket fence and a tire swing. They also owned the cutest dog named Spot. Mr. Smith worked in an office and was the perfect husband and father. Mrs. Smith stayed home to give her children the attention they needed and take care of the house. She wore the most beautiful sundresses and always looked flawless. Little Jimmy and Sally were perfect children and students. This is the American Dream of the 1950s. Things have changed a lot since then. Today I want to talk to you about my latest English essay and how I will improve it. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay On both of my last two essays I know I could have done better. I won't make excuses. I say it's because I need more time but to be honest it's because I procrastinate. I work 40+ hours and take four classes and also try to find a balance between my boyfriend and social life. I feel overwhelmed about 90% of the time. I feel like I'm constantly trying to avoid drowning. I never feel like I have enough time to give 110% to something. Last semester I feel like I found a good balance, but this semester it has eluded me. This affected my grades and assignments. In my second essay I know I could have done better. My essay talks about how we all have an American dream in us, but they're all a little different. We all cling to the American dream, even if we don't realize it. Our dreams are all similar as they revolve around happiness, love and success, but they differ in many ways. I believe the American dream is alive and well, but it has evolved over time and looks different to us. My page length on this paper was a little short, so I gave it a failing grade. I could have filled out my document more by adding sources of noteworthy people to prove that the American dream is still alive. To improve my second essay I want to add more sources and add about two more pages. To improve my second essay I looked at a few different articles on the American Dream. I tried to focus on articles that counteract my essay. I wanted to find an author who believed the American dream was dead or on the verge of dying. I wanted to find this type of article because I wanted to support my point. One of my favorite articles I found was written by Mechele Dickerson titled Is The American Dream Dead? Mechele Dickerson makes many good points in her article titled Is The American Dream Dead? He believes the American dream is dead, and if it isn't truly dead yet, it's almost there. The article begins with the fact that many Americans do not feel secure either financially or about their economic future. He goes on to say that the forecast for our economy is downward, not upward. I believe the information and facts he provided are true regarding our declining economy, but I do not believe the American Dream is dead. I think the big disagreement between Dickerson and me is our definition of the American dream. My personal definition of the American Dream is not just about our personal goals, but it is what we hold onto every day, that pushes us forward, is our dreams of happiness, love, success, wealth or fame. At the beginning of the article, Dickerson begins with a quote from James Truslow Adams: "that dream of a land in which life should be better, richer, and fuller for all, with opportunities for each according to ability or achievement obtained". Dickerson takes this quote.