Author: Natalie Orozco (Page 1 of 2)

Door of opportunity

This photo serves as a visual of the American Dream.

When I looked up what doors symbolize, the internet gave me the terms: Boundaries and Protection, New Beginnings, Opportunity and Possibility. Similarly, the American Dream is the same thing.

Boundaries and Protection:

The U.S. is a country respectfully known for its military. It is a promise that the country will protect its people. It is within the responsibility of the federal government to protect its citizens and property. The Preamble tells us:

“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, ensure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

The door itself symbolizes the country’s goal of protection. They want to keep it closed and maybe even locked to keep us safe. Or they want to limit the American Dream to certain Americans.

New Beginnings:

The American Dream can represent new beginnings for any dreamer. America is a place where anyone can be anything. The Declaration of Independence declares our Unalienable Rights of Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness

To be granted the right to Life means that we are naturally given the ability to live our lives seeking our own happiness and well-being. Individuals who open the door to the U.S. chasing the American Dream can find their New Beginning in relation to what makes them happy.

Opportunity and Possibility:

Among the terms the most important is Opportunity/Possibility.

They are significant because without opportunity there is no American Dream.

The Oxford English Definition provides this definition of the American Dream:

“The ideal that every citizen of the United States should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative.”

Opportunity is a stem of hope people hold onto in order to succeed. People from outside of the U.S. see the country as a place of opportunity, from education to labor.

I believe the U.S. is the land of opportunity. There are so many ways to become successful on your own terms. Opening the door is the first step in

The American Dream is comprised of these symbolizations because they are what people are in search of in this country.

Immigrants especially, are in search of all these things. They are the ones who leave everything behind in their country to live the American way, free and happy.

I believe the future of the American Dream could go one of two ways. The door will be locked forever with limited to no access or wide open and free for everyone to take a shot at.

Veni Vidi Vici!

I have been challenged in this class to explore a topic that I did not know what so in depth. As a student at OU, I plan on taking the skills I’ve learned as a researcher and writer to expand my understanding of backgrounds through culture, race, and ethnicity.

Initially coming into this course, I did not know how in depth the American Dream was. I thought it was just the dream created by all Americans living freely in the U.S.

I remember thinking that the American Dream was not a myth. I did not understand why it was a question. Now, I feel like it is a myth. I did not understand how far back the idea came from. I did not know what values it stemmed from. I most certainly did not think about comparing the American Dream to the country’s history. Such as, the Osage Reign of Terror and the Black Wall Street Massacre.

I think it is a myth because of how corrupt the idea has become by white Americans. I feel like the American Dream for white Americans differs for every other race. That is because of the values we believe in as we grow up and what we value is developed from how we grew up.

When I came into this course, when I heard of the American Dream, I instantly thought of all races that are not white. I still feel like that because of how easy white Americans have always had it. They always had the power and the money to control everyone. So, in my mind I did not consider them dreamers because I thought they essentially have it easier because that was always the intention of the Founding Fathers.

My favorite part about this course was the rich history. From talking about the Native Americans, Black Wall Street, and touching on the history of Oklahoma. It was interesting to learn about and I think they were essential to my understanding of the American Dream. I also enjoyed the readings that came along with the lessons because in furthered my knowledge and helped me improve my analyzation skills.

I can’t exactly say I had a least favorite part of the course. I thought the workload was challenging but I came into the course expecting that. I felt overwhelmed in the beginning but towards the end I am glad I got the hang of it thanks to the teaching and conferences!

My blog posts were mostly centered around songs and one movie. I think the song “american dream” by 21 Savage was the best one to analyze. Rapper, 21 Savage, was not born in the U.S. but has made a huge success as a rapper here. His mother traveled from Britain to give her son a chance. The song is not so much as a song, it is more like a speech by his mother talking about the American Dream. I think it is worth the attention especially because 21 Savage is widely known.

I also think talking about the American Dream for immigrants would be interesting for so many people because of how diverse OU is.

American Dream by 21 Savage

american dream album cover provided by Genius.

Shéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph formally known as 21 Savage is a rapper well-known in the U.S. However, 21 is originally from London but came to the U.S. when he was young and grew up in Atlanta, Georgia.

21 came to the U.S. on a visa, however; when it expired the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), detained the rapper for a week. This unfortunately happened to him after releasing hit song “A lot”. Luckily, after getting help from lawyers 21 is a lawful permanent resident of the U.S.

January 2024, the rapper came out with an album called “american dream.”

The intro song is titled “american dream” and is essentially a reading by his mom.

“My dreams have always gone beyond the crossing of a pond. As a mother, every path I walked was for my son. Challenges were part of the journey. And what I wanted was an afterthought. The idea of providing him proper chances. Helped me to never stop moving forward. “

I think this is an incredibly relatable mindset for most people with the American Dream. Her dream was to provide opportunity for her son. She acknowledged the challenges at hand but remembered who she was doing it for. She was ready to take on whatever would come her way to achieve the American Dream.

“Forever confronting whatever transitions that needed to be endured. To make his position as a winner more secured.”

She knew that she wanted her son to be successful. She describes the success as becoming a “winner”. I think this is an interesting way of seeing it but I think it a good way of describing the feeling of success.

“Now I smile, feeling assured. My choices were not in vain. Locations and situations constantly change. But my unwavering heart remains. For all the trials and all the pain. The mission is as it’s always been. For my son to become a man and live free in his American Dream.”

It is clear that she does not regret chasing the American Dream. She did not care about her location or her situations she believed that this country was the place for success. She also knew that her son would take advantage of it.

21 Savage is not a Grammy-winning rapper with a net worth of $16 million. It is clear to say that he is a man living free in his American Dream, just like his mother always hoped for.

Mexican American

My grandparents came from small towns in Chihuahua, Mexico. Tutuaca is just outside of the city. It is a very small and in the middle of nowhere. My family has talked about the struggle of maintaining basic necessities out there. Water was one of them.

They were a poor couple that knew they were living in an area where they could not live an obtainable life.

My grandma got pregnant with my aunt Cely, and they made their way to the U.S.

I always hated the derogatory term “wet back” that refers to people who cross the river from Mexico to the U.S. because so many Mexicans sacrifice so much for the American Dream.

Crossing the river is extremely dangerous and so many have lost their lives due to the extreme waters.

My grandparents were extremely blessed to have made their way in successfully.

They made their way to Tatum, NM a very small town in NM. This is not the best town to have landed in but it was good enough to make a start to their new lives. There they had my dad Melecio and my uncle Angel.

They spent their childhoods growing up there and taking casual trips back to Tutuaca.

They moved to another small town called Eunice, NM where majority of my family lives now. My Wello worked a job in the oilfield that he loved so much. His favorite thing was to work hard. This beat any hands-on labor in Mexico that did not pay enough.

My grandma cleaned homes and workspaces and took care of people in their homes. She values hospitality in every form. She dreamed of a life outside of Mexico because having well-paying jobs was important to them. In Mexico they worked more and harder but for way less.

They were living in a trailer until they moved up and bought a beautiful home. This home is still standing and full of love.

From my grandparents they brought my dad and uncle. Who are owners of a successful oilfield company in my hometown, Hobbs, NM.

They all wanted to work hard, and they wanted their work to payoff. They all dreamt of better lives for their kids and themselves.

My grandma became an official American Citizen 2022. My Wello was not here long enough to do the same. However, through him came many American citizens who work hard every day to make him proud.

Coming from nothing to something is such an amazing feeling and I am thankful I saw my family reach this level of achievement so far. I am the first of my family to attend college and I am the fifth oldest kid in my family.

I am thankful for my grandparent’s sacrifice to make this happen for me and my future.

The American Dream is achievable with great sacrifice and perseverance. It is not easy, but I say it is worth it in the long run.

My Wello Melecio Orozco and my Wella Romona Orozco.

“The Lord is Coming” by H.E.R

Today I will be analyzing the song “The Lord is Coming,” by H.E.R.

Lord Is Coming (Lyrics) – H E R (youtube.com) (Song with lyrics)

Photo provided through: Genius.

In the introduction to this song, H.E.R, gives a profound speech. In this she voices her strong opinion on how the country is allowing its people to live. When speaking this she sounds frustrated and disappointed. Her voice radiates power as she is speaking words that are unspoken by fellow Americans.

She wrote this song in 2018. Around this time there was action being advocated against gun control. In that year there were about 300 mass shootings in America.

“I never read the news anymore, it’s hard not to feel hopeless.
When no one noticed the explosion came from
A man whose legal gun was loaded.
It’s all watered down and sugarcoated.
We voted, but did we really get to choose?”

In this part she talks about how she has lost hope in society. There is never good news, and it doesn’t even tell it how it is; it’s all watered down and sugarcoated. This is because the people of the United States may not want to look bad by really telling it how it is. But H.E.R. is calling out attention to the problem, which, is the people whose legal guns are loaded.

In the last line she says, “We voted, but did we really get to choose?” She is questioning the fact that our opinion matters. Freedom of opinion and speech but to what extent?

The audience that H.E.R attracts is mostly young people. She was 20 years old when she made this. This could have been the start of her questioning the world we live in today; the country we live in today.

“We don’t need proof that they separate us from the truth.
Mothers and fathers are being separated from their youth.
And they’re selling the American Dream and what it appears to be.
But they don’t teach us that wealth is unattainable with their currency.”

There is always going to be this idea that the government is telling us only half the truth or even some modified version of it. They are separating us from the truth in front of our eyes, she suggests.

Then she mentions the American Dream. Money has a lot of control over how we live our lives. America realizes this and they try to make its country appear worth dreaming about. The more people dream to be part of America, the more money it will make as people climb their way to succeed here.

Wealth in America may be the American Dream of many people; however, they are unaware of its attainability. Inflation has been a big problem in the country that Americans hate as it lessens the worth of people’s wealth. However, people remain money hungry, as it is a big part of the American Dream.

She ends the speech with this:

But do we ever think of the need for inner peace?
They can’t put a price on your soul.
Don’t matter your religion, right and wrong is something everybody knows.
They pick and choose what’s equal.
Who’s good and who’s evil.
And this is the devil’s world, but the Lord is coming for his people.

Being caught up in worldly desires can cause people to feel unsatisfied and hopeless. She questions if we ever think of inner peace. In a world full of chaos, why do we not dream of having peace within ourselves? They seem to have control over how we live our lives based on our financial stances. However, they cannot put a price on our souls, as they are separated from this world. It is something that only we can control.

In the fourth line she says “they” referring to the government. Equality has always been tied to the American Dream. This was clearly never the case as history shows us the major divide between races. Today we see still face inequality in society. Although it is preached that we are equal, only so much change happens.

Lastly, she ends the song saying that this is the devil’s world. The world being the devils has always been expressed. This is because there is no good in this world. No matter what is preached and no matter what is done. There is always something beneath the surface. In the end though all that matters is that the Lord comes for His people.

Unwritten dreams

In the song Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield, she sings about living life in the moment. Whenever she starts the song, she says:

I am unwritten
Can’t read my mind, I’m undefined
I’m just beginning
The pen’s in my hand, ending unplanned

I think her saying “the pen’s in my hand” has significance to the idea that our dreams our in own hands. It insinuates this idea that we are here to write our dreams to tell stories that are unique to us. Being undefined by our own selves not by others.

Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words that you cannot find
Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost taste it
Release your inhibitions

Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten, yeah

American Dream analyzed in the movie “Us” by Jordan Peele

The movie Us (Jordan Peele, 2019) is based on society having two separate lives just beneath them.

You have the “normal” people living their happy free lives unaware of who is “tethered” to them down below. Those who are “tethered” to these individuals above are being controlled by those above but in a miserable way. Living in underground tunnels with no sunlight and feeding on rabbits, essentially having no agency.

This reminds me of how you have wealthy people who are essentially “above” others, being completely unaware of the sufferable lives’ others are living.

In the movie, the tethered have a leader. She is the only one that has the ability to speak and freely think because she was actually part of the real word until her “tethered” switched places with her at a young age.

She had a dream to free not only herself but everyone. She dreamt of life outside of their world where they could be happy and unattached from their “tethered” to be their own person. I say that this resembles the idea of Freedom in the American Dream. Such as analyzed in the reading of “American Values and Organized Crime: Suckers and Wiseguys” by Peter A. Lupsha as he identifies individualism as an American value.

The movie symbolizes a lot of aspects of the American Dream in many ways. The idea of the movie that two people live doing the same things just in different circumstances shows that where we are born and under what circumstances has an influence on the quality of our opportunities.

If these tethered were born in normal circumstances, as their doppelgänger above they could have lived equal lives or even better.

The main character Adelaide who was switched with her underground tethered saw her life get lived for her and she saw what her life could have been if it weren’t taken from her by her tethered, which influenced her leading a strike to let these tethered take control over their lives.

The idea that we are essentially not equal is shown throughout the movie. Just as in real life there is constant battle between two groups because one thinks it is superior to the other such as the rich vs. poor. This is where we see the shift of the American Dream become more individual and dream of going from rags-to-riches.

Our opportunities are what determine how big or small our dreams are. Our circumstances are something that will challenge or help our dreams; however, we have less control over our circumstances as demonstrated in the movie Us (Jordan Peele, 2019).

PRELIM:1 Key term Catalog

Photo by: Natalie Orozco 2023

UNIT 1:

The American Dream: “arguably the “national ethos” of the United States of America, has been central to cultural narratives of Americanness and American identity from the Declaration of Independence to Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech at the August 28, 1963, March on Washinton for Jobs and Freedom.”

Declaration of Independence:

Liberty: This seems to be important because it was mentioned plenty of times regarding American values. Which means the freedom for individuals to govern themselves and have the right to freedom.

Establish: To establish means to come together in agreement to permanently determine the nature of our rights.

Unalienable Rights: These are special rights that are not going to be taken away from us these rights include, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Prudence: Cautiousness. The word is used in the DOI in the sense that people will not overthrow the government because they are too accustomed to it and have a lot of caution.

Independence: In the title, it is a statement of self-government.

Life: One of the rights that cannot be taken away from no matter what.

Pursuit of Happiness: “The right to seek the greatest good free from any predetermined will or forced action.” The Pursuit of Happiness in the Declaration of Independence

Preamble:

Justice: Maintaining fairness in behavior or treatment.

Tranquility: This refers to drive of maintaining peace.

Posterity: This insinuates that the Preamble was intended to be passed down for generations to ensure longevity.

Union: A lot of group words were used throughout the piece to emphasize togetherness.

People: People is also emphasizing togetherness.

Blessings: It is insinuating that Liberty is a blessing.

Suckers & Wiseguys

Power: Control in the form of occupation or money or both.

Loyalty: Something that grants security in relationships of any kind.

Culture: What we are part of that influences our lives.

Success: The rewarding outcome of our work.

Crook: A person that usually commits crime and is sought out to be dishonest.

Organized Crime: Planned criminal activity that usually is carried out by powerful people.

Materialism: A desire to have material possessions and they more valued than any other aspect of life.

Competition: Comes in many forms in life mostly comparison within successful achievement such as money.

The American Dream 1900-1916: The Spirit of American Dreams

Personal Success: The way someone is able to achieve their own personal goals.

Property: Land that has been granted full ownership to an individual.

Justice: The value of fairness.

Equal opportunity: The chance to all have fair chance at the world’s possibilities

Individual Aspiration: The idea that we all have our right and freedom to dream and achieve.

The “Daily Me” Concept

via GIPHY

In chapter five our Digital Literacy by Susan Wiesinger; Ralph Beliveau, the writers talk about a rather interesting concept called the “Daily Me.”

The book, Digital Literacy, begins by saying that it is the “the difference between narrowcasting and digital.” Narrowcasting is simply about personalizing information for a group on people that are just like you, a whole population. Whereas digital is personalized and targeted to you based on the information you follow and interact with. So how is “The Daily Me” concept the difference between the two?

According to the book, the three characteristics of the concept are three P’s, partnership, participation, and personalization. Partnership happens through user’s agreement to terms and conditions. Which essentially lets the Web’s content be a reflection of a user’s engagement of interest. This is where participation comes in. Our engagement and participation through these partnerships is what makes everything personalized.

This is happening and most people do not realize it is from their usage. Whis is why the question, “why do ads pop up on my phone after I talk about them“, is prone to be asked.

I believe that the book got the concept right because this way of digital living is all about the user. It is all personalized on a daily basis. I think they are right about the three P’s because through partnership comes participation, then personalization.

Nostalgia from commercials

In my personal opinion, I believe the best commercials happened in the 2000s. As a kid I loved watching Disney Channel and Nickelodeon, the shows were unbeatable. However, just like everybody else I dreaded commercials. Looking back now I realize how good and catchy they were.

What I realize now is that these commercials had a long-lasting effect on me. To this day I still sing a lot of the catchy songs that would come from them. One big one that is forever engraved in my memory is the Reese’s Puff Cereal Commercial. The song was so fun to sing then and even more fun now.

Now, I was never one to like Reese’s or anything peanut butter but the commercial not only made it fun to think about it but also made it look appealing to eat because of the graphics and seeing the rapper eat a bowl himself.

Watching the commercial really made me want to try the cereal. However, my mom knew about my dislike of Reese’s and peanut butter, so she never let me get them.  So, every time I would see the commercial, I would just want the cereal even more. Sadly, I have yet to try this cereal and writing about it still has me curious on what it tastes like, and I will be singing the lyrics to this commercial for the rest of the week.

Picture from the commercial provided by Genius William Lupo – Perfect Combo Lyrics | Genius Lyrics.
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