Within everyone, whether it is realized or not, there lies a dream. This dream is the American dream. It includes having a huge flamboyant home, a job with a hefty salary, the perfect husband or wife, and the perfect body. Oh, and don’t forget true love and happiness at its best. When we become so concerned with reaching the status of achieving the “All-American Dream”, we fail to realize what we have right in front of us. Having goals is wonderful, don’t get me wrong, but there is a point to where being obsessed with fantasy takes over individuals’ lives. It is great to hope to make a lot of money, be in love with your beautiful spouse, have a great home, and look great as well, but if you are healthy, satisfied with your appearance while upholding a healthy lifestyle, in a successful relationship, and have a home that you can pay the bills for, what more do you need? If an individual’s life is full, and that individual is content, life should be complete. The media often confuses us by the images we see and hear. But, in truth, how often is what we see and hear reality? Reality and perception rarely matches up, and this is why so many people feel as if they are falling short of happiness. We are making ourselves unhappy. Appreciate what you have and try not to seek a path of fantasy and dissapointment.

Check out this page for more insight on the “American Dream”

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-american-dream.htm

Media’s affect on boys and girls:

    Realistically, every where we turn we see touched up images of men and women, exploiting a certain body type. I believe that we all know good and well that few people obtain these self images we see day to day. Sure there are a handful of people that try to exercise and try to keep their fit, tight body looking that way, but, we all know how many people actually look like the pictures we see on television and in magazines. In my opinion, it does not have a drastic effect on any particular people. Anyone with a brain in their skull and eyes that can see, know that these images do not portray reality. As mentioned in the previous paragraph regarding the “American Dream”, reality rarely matches perception. Children realize that their parents and friends do not resemble the media that they are so often hoarded with. Just like anything else in life, we must sift through the good and bad and leave the bad behind. When we are overwhelmed with media, let’s take a step back and ask ourselves, does it really have an influence over what I think? In reality, the answer is no.

Facts:
 The average height and weight for a model is 5’10″ and 110 lbs

The average height and weight for a woman is 5’4″ and 145 lbs

*These statistics should lead everyone to believe that because the media is exploiting a completely different body type from the average woman, we should definitely overlook these ads and prevent our minds from believing in any form or fashion that we should resemble these advertisement models. 

http://parentingteens.about.com/od/bodyimage/f/media_bodyimage.htm