a) My role in the simulation was about average. I was a legal European immigrant. I did have a better advantage than some of the others; however, there definitely were others who were "more fortunate" and better off than I was. It appeared to me that a majority of the advantages and disadvantages were based on the color of individuals skin as well as their place of origin and their sex. For example, I was better off than the African-American individual as well as the Hispanic individual. There were some, the African-American babies who did not even stand a chance; they were set out of the simulation before we even started it. I guess it was kind of nice to be in the higher half of the "population" of the simulation, however, I did feel sorry for those who were less off than I was. Being as that I personally am half Hispanic, I kn ow what it does feel like to have others look down on you and try to make you think that they indeed are superior to you simply because of the color of their skin . I am the first one out of my family to graduate from high school and then go off to a four year university; that is definitely something that I am proud of and hold dear to my heart and one day when I have children of my own, I will encourage them to do the same thing and not allow the stereotypes that may be attached to them discourage them or bring them down.
b) I think that the "American Dream" has a different to everyone. For immigrants that come to the United States, their dream is obviously going to be much different from that of individuals who were born and raised here. The stereotypical American Dream is having a big house, lots of money, nice clothes, a perfect family, being well-educated...basically being pretty close to perfect. However, that may be the true American Dream for some, but not necessarily for all. Some people come to the United States in search of bigger and better opportunities than the ones that may be offered in their home. America has often been known as the land of many opportunities. There are so many opportunities out there that are available for people, it is just a matter of working hard and striving to achieve what it is that you want. Things are not going to come easy to anyone; a majority of the people in America who are well off weren't always that way; they had to work and out a lot of time and effort into being successful. Some just expect that coming to the United States means that things are just going to be handed to them but that most definitely is not the case and yes some individuals will have to work harder than others but the chance is there. Some even use their home or their ethnicity as an excuse for why they might not be so well off. But the truth is, if you look throughout history, you probably will find a successful individual in some field, whether it be business or education or law, of pretty close to every ethnicity and race out there. While racism does still exist and people are still often times looked down upon or underestimated because of the color of their skin of where they came from, that should not be seen as a put down; individuals should take other's criticism and doubt and use that to their own personal advantage to motivate them to push forward and do better and eventually accomplish something that they can be proud of.
