The American dream. The ideal that every U.S.

citizen should have an equal opportunity

to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative. An indigent
Hispanic female by the name of Myrna Davis didnt believe she had an equal opportunity to
achieve her aspirations due to her lack of support and money. She believed everyone has a
different idea of the American dream and not everyone has the resources in order to become
successful.
Myrna kept her childhood American dream with her throughout her life. What she
noticed was how her American dream was not similar to her peers. My dream was to have a
roof over my family, food to feed them and transportation. I noticed amongst my friends that
they always wanted the nice fancy house where I just wanted a house. They wanted the nice new
car, fancy make, where I just wanted something that worked. Most of her friends were born in
America. She was born in Mexico and moved to the United States when she was ten years old.
She felt alone and left out from everyone, because she didnt speak English. Furthermore, Myrna
did not live in a stable home with her mother, stepfather and siblings. A stable home to Myrna
was a environment that was healthy financially and physically. Her family never had money, so
that is why Myrna dreamt of things she needed because she wanted better for herself and her
children. My American dream as a child was basic necessities for a stable life into adulthood
and get out of the situation I lived in. Myrna felt like she was prevented from achieving her
American dream because of her living situation and because of all the racism that was going on
around the 1970s. I was working against racism. Myrna wanted to be a dancer when she was
little but was told by her peers in elementary school that she was too chubby and poor and that
they had never seen a Hispanic dancer before. Myrna let those words crush her hopes and dreams
but never let anyone do it again.
Furthermore, if Myrna had more opportunities when she was younger she feels she would
have been more successful. Myrna did not speak English when she arrived in this country. Thus,
making school rather difficult. She couldnt do her homework or study because she had no help
at home or at school. She felt as if a brick wall was between her and her teacher. There was no
communication going on or extra support. She was also not supported by her mother. People
who had more opportunities than me, simply had a normal family, a mom and dad. Not a drunk
stepfather. Myrna had four younger siblings and her mother always needed help to take care of
them and the household. Myrna had to do chores, for everybody. You kids are lucky. I had to
mop and scrub the tile floors everyday after school. My mom didnt care that I had homework or
other things to do. We had wax fridays where I had to wax the floors every Friday. Then after
that I had babies to feed, bathe and put to bed. My mom did the cooking and still had to be at the
beck and call of my stepfather. I had to help my mom with the laundry and sometimes the
ironing. My mom did everything my stepfather told her to do, whether she liked it or not. So
most times she would take out her frustrations on us kids. I knew that when I grew up, I would
not live like that. Although Myrna faced many disadvantages, those obstacles helped her
become stronger and wiser.
Looking back on her life, Myrna felt like she had little to no advantages. She worked for
everything she got. One strength she did possess was being a hard worker. I worked hard my
whole life. I started working when I was fourteen. Myrna had one outfit to go to school and one
dress to go to church. She knew they had no money to buy her more so she got a job at a daycare
making very little money. She worked as soon as she let out of school until closing hours. I got
a job to pay for my bus fare, lunch, clothes and toys for my little brothers. Myrnas mother had
small temporary jobs here and there such as a maid, sewing clothes, embroidering. On paydays

I had to give my mom half of my check. Myrna worked very hard for her money and felt proud
of being able to help her mother with extra money. When she left home at eighteen she stayed
with her older sister at first and then with her uncle. Later she found an apartment and worked
two jobs to make ends meet. During the day she worked at an insurance company and during the
night she worked at a Dennys as a cashier. She was not like the other women at her age,
partying and having fun, she worked hard to support herself. She enjoyed being able to live on
her own and not having to depend on anybody else. Despite her coming home exhausted, she felt
proud of herself for being able to take care of herself. Because of her working two jobs, her
dream of a college education was put on hold.
But not for long. Myrna joined the army when she was twenty two. She was the only
female in her class of 45. She joined the army because she felt she had nowhere to go. She
couldnt go back home and wanted a chance to travel and go to school. She studied hard and was
proud when she scored higher than her male classmates on exams, which was not expected for
females then. She went to military school to become a tank radio repairman, but when she was
sent to her actual job they put her to work as a company clerk because that was what females
did. However, Myrna was not discouraged by this. Whatever they put her to work to, she did.
When I was growing up, females did not have as much rights like now. When I joined
the army there was this unspoken belief that if a women joined the army she was either a lesbian
or a whore. Myrna had to fight that stereotype. Because true enough, Myrna joined the army
because she wanted to further her education and she could not afford college. She knew that if
she joined the military, she could go to school under the G.I. bill. G.I. stands for government
issued. The G.I. bill is when the military pays for schooling after you leave the military. I had
no home, no family. I wanted to travel and run away from home and study and become educated
while having fun. Myrna knew education was the key to success. Myrna did not only face
stereotypes in the army and in school, she also fought against them in her own family. She grew
up with the idea engraved in her mind of how Hispanics need to live. I was supposed to marry
early, start a family and be obedient to my husband. Right away Myrna knew that is not what
she wanted. Myrna was independent, tired of kids and saw the way her abusive stepfather treated
her mother and did not want that for herself. I thought they were wrong so I joined the army
instead. Hispanics looked down upon her, shaming her for her lack of tradition. It was a surprise
to her sisters, mom, aunt & grandmother. They were not disappointed in her, they were in awe of
her mindset to want to break free. Myrna wanted to break this stereotype and show other women
like her that they can make it without the help of a man.
Throughout her life Myrna fought obstacles that were not in her control. Her life was
already written for her. Everyone telling her how shes going to live her life. I felt like I couldnt
go anywhere and I couldnt make any decisions. She tells her children to create their own life
and have their own unique, personalized American dream. Dont listen to anyone, try things out
for yourselves. Dont let anyone tell you how the right way to live is or the ideal American
dream you should follow, find out what you want and go after it. Myrna concludes that that
there will be racism and stereotypes everywhere, and people need to correct them so we can
progress. What really matters to Myrna is how her children take in those disadvantages. Do we
take them to heart and let that affect our American dream or do what she did and challenge them.
Myrna actually met her future husband in the military. Although she enjoyed being
married and staying home, eventually her marriage ended in a divorce. Alone again, she
practically raised three children on her own and after those children grew, she adopted three
more and is raising them as a single parent.

It is called the American dream as if it is shared but I think everyone has their own idea
of it. Myrna believes regardless of where youre from, social class, or ethnicity everyone has
their own idea of the American dream. If you want to live the same as you did when you were
growing up or you want a better life, those are your goals and what makes you happy.
The 1970s were famous for womens liberation movement. On March 22, 1972, the
senate passed the equal rights amendment to the United States constitution, which proposed
banning discrimination based on sex(Micheals 2013). Before this movement, women were
expected to obey their husbands and stay home, cook dinner and take care of the children, just
like Myrna was expected to do. Women could not occupy certain jobs that were made only
available to men. Women also did not get paid the same as men. In the 1970s on average a
women earned 6 cents for every $1.00 a man made. It has progressed over time but the United
States still faces a gender wage gap today especially in the military.
In the military, there were very few women, most were nurses. Since there was such a
small number of women joining the army, it was unusual to see any in the military at all. This is
why stereotypes upon women arose. There were many cases of sexual assaults during this time.
One in three women get raped in the military. Women did not have protection. Most women
would be ashamed and scared to speak up about the incident so it was not corrected until much
later. Myrna was never raped or sexualy assaulted, but she knew women who had been and it
was an eye opener for her
In the 1970s, after the womens liberation movement there were more opportunities for
women to have jobs that men would usually obtain. The first women in the history of the armed
forces, the Chief of the Army Nurse Corps and the Women's Army Corps Director, are promoted
to brigadier general. The first Air Force woman is promoted to brigadier general. A staff sergeant
becomes the first female technician in the Air Force Reserve(Highlights in the History of the
Military Women). These are just a few women who were the first to be promoted to these jobs.
Not only were women discriminated in the military, but men were too. Husbands whose
wives left to serve did not qualify for housing or benefits. Wives whose husbands left to serve
had benefits. Husbands did not qualify for benefits because women who served did not deserve
the benefits that their male counterpart received. This was not fair. The 1970s is an important
decade because of the freedom women finally got.
Being one of few women in the army is a disadvantage because you are alone. You are
discriminated against for joining the military and questioned as to why. Sometimes joining the
military was the only option for some women. Women who served and did not receive housing
or benefits were forced to work extra to earn money to pay for the expenses. This was not fair
because as a nurse to the men who fought in the war seems like it would have benefits. Anything
women did seemed less than what a man could do. Even the women who fought in the war did
not qualify for benefits even though they did the exact same job as the men. This movement was
women showing everyone that they could obtain these positions and earn equal pay. This
movement also has showed as an example to other women what is possible and beyond if you
just challenge what people expect of you.
In the 1970s people finally started to realize that women should be treated equally.
Expecting a women to live their life a certain way is wrong. Women should be able to live their
life the way they want to just like any other man. This was a huge disadvantage towards women
because breaking expectations was hard, if you went against these expectations you were
ashamed of. It was like a way of life or a rule, if you did not follow it you were not normal.
Women had to obey, so they could not do their own things without permission. Education was

not encouraged for women to obtain, so they were forced to become completely dependent on
their husbands. Women could not earn their own money, they could not go anywhere because
they would be occupied with the children. Women had to cook and clean, and the man left to
earn money. If the women had to do all these jobs alone without the support of the husband, it
must have been so difficult to focus on herself and her dreams she wanted to pursue.
I could not imagine living in this decade. In my opinion, living to see women protest for
equality would have been a great inspirational spectacle. I learned that it was hard to be bold in
the 1970s. Having the womens liberation act coming on and fighting to be heard. What I mean
by that is being able to speak your mind and getting someone to listen to you and taking action
on it. Women who were sexually assaulted and could not speak up because they were scared they
would be ignored or be labeled a liar. Nowadays if you you say something that you have a
problem with it gets addressed and youre listened to. Even with discrimination, jobs will ban
any kind of discrimination at the workplace. There will always be racism everywhere but it was
worse and I appreciate the progress we have been through.
Everyone has their own disadvantages and advantages for achieving their American
dream in the 1970s. Myrna had little to no advantages so it was harder for her to achieve her
dream. But she overcame them and got to where she is now. The American dream is evolving
every decade. The American dream gets richer and worth more every year. New opportunities
come along every year. As we learned from Myrnas experience not all people are aware and
have access to these opportunities that could get them one step closer to their own individual
American dream. I cannot speak for every race, ethnicity or social class, but because everyone is
different, not everyone has an equal opportunity to achieve their American dream. I always
thought we all have an equal opportunity to success if we tried hard enough, but after listening to
Myrna and researching about others like her I now think differently. She worked so hard, and yet
she was barely able to make her American dream come true. She made it and thats all that
matters. I wonder about people who try harder and still fail to achieve their dream. I admire
Myrna and her perseverance she had to go through the 1970s. Im proud to call her my mother.

Work Cited
1. Micheals, Jim. In the 1970s the US Military Struggled with Morale. USA
Today. Gannett, 04 July 2013. Web. 05 Oct 2015.
2. <http://www.womensmemorial.org/Education/timeline.html>
3. <http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/22/march-22-1972-equal-rightamendment-for-women-passed-by-congress/?_r=0>
4. Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2015.
<http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/american-dream>