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You can really be someone

Photo of text in which a heart replaces the “o” in “You’re” in “You’re awesome”

Foto: © YuryZap/Shutterstock

You can really be someone

You can really be someone

How often are you told by a teacher or your family that you are awesome? Do you believe you’ll be rich, successful and famous when you grow up? In the USA young people are often told they can achieve anything. They’re brought up not just to have dreams and hopes, but to work hard and take all the opportunities they are given. In high school, students are not just expected to work at academic subjects. They’re also encouraged to think about their personal development in general. Many students take part in school sports, do voluntary work, join school societies or collect money for charity. Building a good CV starts earlier in the USA than it does in Norway.

But can everyone really be a success? Does it only depend on your own efforts? Although there is no traditional class or caste system in the USA to hold people back, some groups in American society are still considered better than others. This is usually linked to the kind of job you have and how much money you earn. There is also a difference between blue-collar workers, who do physical work, and white-collar workers, who work in offices. The latter usually have higher status. In addition, racial discrimination is still a problem in some parts of the USA, even though slavery ended over 200 years ago. All these factors affect what people can do with their lives.

Nonetheless, there is a very strong can-do attitude in the USA. When President Barack Obama was elected President in 2008, he used the phrase “Yes, we can!” in his victory speech. He talked about about how he wanted people to work together to change American society for the better. This appealed to many people because, on the whole, Americans do believe that they can improve their lives, and that change is possible.
And some people do make it to the top. This is what the American Dream is all about.

“That’s the true genius of America: that America can change … What we’ve already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.”

Barack Obama

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