American Artifact

There are so many things that this wonderful country has to offer. It took me a really long time to decide what item to choose that best describes American culture - from cars, to phones, to clothes. As an immigrant, these are the things that constantly amaze me. There are so many gifted people out there with so much talent to create things that other people intend to get ideas from. For this essay, I chose Disneyland. I believe that everybody, no matter where you’re from, or what age group you represent, should come visit this wonderful place. I always dreamt of being on a plane and watching the clouds, maybe someday, I’ll walk on the moon, and that one day in my life when I can have money to come to the United States and visit this majestic place that I always see on the television. Coming from a place of poverty and so much corruption, this dream seemed to be just a wish. When I turned 16, I found out that my parents were working on taking us to the US. I was so excited. Finally, my dreams are starting to come true. I came to the US in 2005 and guess where I wanted to go first – Disneyland. The eight hour drive did not seem to bother me at all. I thought to myself, this is almost like I’m in a different world. Everything seemed awesome. Everyone was friendly. I loved it. Their history started in 1954, when Walt Disney used his Disneyland series to unveil what would become Disneyland, an idea conceived out of a desire for a place where parents and children could both have fun at the same time. On July 18, 1955, Walt Disney opened Disneyland to the general public. On July 17, 1955, Disneyland was previewed with a live television broadcast hosted by Art Linkletter and Ronald Reagan. After a shaky start, Disneyland continued to grow and attract visitors from across the country and around the world. A major expansion in 1959 included the addition of America's first monorail system. It is truly amazing how our minds work, how we come up with ideas that make this world a better place - from rides, to stuffed toys, to movies. Recently, I watched a clip online about a guy who had a dream of working for a big company to design projects for them. After he got rejected over and over again, his focus changed to creating something that’s one of a kind and he ended up designing rides for an amusement park and was very successful. He became one of the engineers for Disney. This man, who was said “no” to repeatedly, turned around and had a vision to make something that millions of people enjoy going to. Every time I visit Los Angeles, I make sure to check out at least downtown Disney and I look back and realize how fortunate I am to be here, enjoying this very famous land mark. "The postmodern family, out there in the woods trying to bond, can't adapt to real time, real trees and real conversation, because real life has become an alien landscape." In the time that we live in, almost everything is web-based. We talk to people from thousands of miles away through a small screen. We can see what they are doing. Sometimes, we forget to slow down and appreciate the people and things that surround us. Sometimes, we choose to live in a world of fantasy because it makes everything easier to bear. Disneyland is a place where families reconnect with each other. This is a place where everyone seems so happy. I guess that’s the reason why it got the title “the happiest place on earth”.