A prominent value and element of U.S. culture I recognize are the beliefs surrounding \u201cThe American Dream\u201d. This cliched yet longstanding American ideology deems that a happy and successful life can be earned strictly through hard work and monetary gain. This grind mentality has been unconsciously adopted by countless Americans with the main motivation of life being to make money. It\u2019s difficult not to possess this frame of mind when living in the United States as capitalism has inherently created a system celebrating economic prosperity and mass consumption, which both fuel each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From my perspective, this mindset doesn\u2019t provide true fulfillment. Genuine happiness can\u2019t be gained solely through avarice and materialism and I feel as though so many Americans\u2019 are forced to conform to this way of living because of the economic system in place. The negative impacts of capitalism on our society\u2019s mental health is widespread, with high rates of depression and anxiety present among so many citizens. I believe if the U.S. lessened the adherence to monetary attainment, our society would be more focused on cultivating joy, love, and peace among all citizens. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I believe most people outside of the United States would view this cultural aspect as relatively normal. Across the world, money is extremely valued as it\u2019s the main form of commodity exchange. However, I think the United States goes a bit overboard with the amount of financial pressures and stress felt among its citizens in comparison with European countries. Upon researching Italy\u2019s culture, there\u2019s a more \u201cgo with the flow\u201d attitude towards work. Furthermore, community relationships are valued more than individual autonomy; quality of life holds more importance than one\u2019s wealth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This exercise has helped me prepare for my four month abroad experience in Europe as it\u2019s allowed me to think in contrasting perspectives and have a deeper understanding of what to expect upon arrival. Viewing the United States\u2019 relationship with work and money in comparison to other countries exemplifies how strongly differences lie in values, behaviors, attitudes, and beliefs from place to place. Europe harnesses a much more relaxed and slow-paced way of life that isn\u2019t as present within the United States. Being aware of this aspect can promote a smoother transition into a new environment and adjust with less anxiety. When in Italy and exploring other European countries, I am pushing myself to remain open minded and adapt to the culture around me as best I can. Constantly pushing myself out of my comfort zone through new experiences, people, food, and activities will be the key to my personal and academic success while in Rome. Ciao! <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A prominent value and element of U.S. culture I recognize are the beliefs surrounding \u201cThe American Dream\u201d. This cliched yet longstanding American ideology deems that a happy and successful life can be earned strictly through hard work and monetary gain. This grind mentality has been unconsciously adopted by countless Americans with the main motivation of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":715,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[369],"class_list":["post-20953","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-isarome","tag-rollinsabroad"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/letters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20953","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/letters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/letters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/letters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/715"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/letters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20953"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/letters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20953\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20967,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/letters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20953\/revisions\/20967"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/letters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20953"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/letters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20953"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/letters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20953"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}