Salvador Dali's 'Persistence Of Memory'

Hooker Page 1 "Time rushes by and yet time is frozen. [It's] funny how we get so exact about time at the end of life and at its beginning." This quote by Helen Prejean shows the importance that time has played in many American dreams. Part of my American dream is to let time play less of a role in my life and to go experience life at the pace I want to and achieve my goals how I want to. My family has always had the same philosophy about time, and is very supportive of my primary goals: going to college, becoming a high school teacher, and being a loving husband with my own great family. Salvador Dali's "Persistence of Memory" helps to reflect my idea of time "melting" out of need and Emily Dickinson's poem "Because I Could Not Stop For Death" shows the fast pace that many Americans have put their lives in, which is exactly what I would like to escape from.
Learning has been a passion of mine since I was very young, which has been sparked by my family and by teachers.
Being a teacher would be important to me because it would allow me to pass on my passion of learning to other high school students while allowing me to spend time with my family that I dream of having. I hope to make my dream achievable by attending college at Southwest Missouri State University (by the time I enroll there, it will have become simply Missouri State University) where I plan to major in math and minor in history. I plan to marry someone who will complement my abilities and quirks well, and will want to start a family with me. This is a dream that I see as accomplishable and a dream that will make me
happy.
Parents are influential in every high-schoolers life. My parents and family have been supportive of any dream that I cook up, especially the ones that are reasonable. My
Hooker Page 2 parents help encourage my dream by their lifestyles, meaning that family alone can help make a person happy. I want to continue this influence onto my children and show them that money is not what will necessarily make someone happy and to strive for goals and dreams that will. My goals will, hopefully, set an example for my children that will last them throughout their lives.
My American dream about time is one that I knew could be reflected by art work and by many prolific American authors or poets. Emily Dickinson begins her famous poem "Because I Could Not Stop for Death" with the distinct allusion to the fact that many Americans are too busy and caught up with time that they are not even ready for death with the lines:
Because I could not stop for Death-
He kindly stopped for me-
The Carriage held but just Ourselves-
And Immortality. (lines 1-4)
These lines showed me that time has been an issue for America for a long time and ties in with the piece of artwork that I chose for the background of my poem, which is Salvador Dali's "Persistence of Memory." The melting clocks fit in with Dickinson's, and my own, poetry concerning time and Americans. These two selections seemed to compliment each other perfectly with my vision on America. Theodore Roosevelt once stated, "We are face to face with our destiny and we must meet it with a high and resolute courage." I plan to take this quote quite literally and instill in myself the courage to strive for my dreams and goals of teaching and being a
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"family-man" even though I do not know exactly what it must take for me to achieve it. I plan to listen to Dickinson's poetry, and my parents, and not let time control my life like it does some. Instead, I will go only for what I feel will make me happy and let my watch be "only for show."