“I want to succeed. » It's a statement that almost everyone has made, but what makes each statement different is each person's definition of success. The definition will change many times as you travel around the world, but each region has its own definition which is usually influenced by the expectations of its society. In the United States, the definition of success has three elements: wealth, college education, and homeownership. If a person is wealthy, graduated from college, and owns a house, then that person is considered successful. College has become one of the most important pieces of the American puzzle. Once a person earns a college degree, they become more marketable than people who only have a high school diploma. A college graduate starts at the head of the pack because they are guaranteed higher earning potential, more job opportunities, and the ability to make better choices for the rest of their life (Benefits College). When combined, the three elements necessary to succeed in America have been described by two words for decades: it's the "American Dream." I want to delve deeper into this stereotype of success and find out if it is possible to succeed and live the “American Dream” even while leaving out one of the main pieces of the puzzle, a college education. the modern American dream is relatively new. Before getting to where it is today, the American dream changed at least three times over the last century. The American dream was first discussed in its simplest form in the early 1900s. The first definition of the American dream was surrounded by the idea that every citizen of the United States had...... middle of paper...... secondary occupations/>. "Education." Collins English Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 10th Edition. HarperCollins Publishers. May 2. 2014. “How much does a doctor earn per year? – Salaries of doctors. » Access 2 Knowledge. Np, September 7, 2013. Web. April 30, 2014. “Lawyer: Salary.” Lawyer salary information. Np, and Web. April 30, 2014. .Main, Douglas. “Who are the Millennials?” Science Live. TechMedia Network, July 9, 2013. Web. April 30, 2014. .Sherrie, Scott. “What is blue collar and white collar?” Small business. Np, and Web. April 30. 2014. .