Jewel: An American Success Story

http://www.mtv.com/artists/jewel/biography/

When we discussed the ideas brought forth by Bellah in class the first thing that came to my mind was the idea of "The American Dream." It is obvious that Oprah is among the greatest, if not the greatest, success story in America. From rags to riches, the idea of the American Dream starts with a goal, and the road to reach that goal is usually difficult. Although Oprah's story is amazing, I wanted to do my blog on someone from a different background, a musician. 

Singer/songwriter Jewel grew up in Alaska with her musically inclined family with little money.  After her parents divorce, Jewel lived with her father. He and Jewel did small musical gigs together to earn a living. Once Jewel was on her own, she lived in her car on the west coast and began picking up small gigs whenever she could just to get by. Coffee houses and small restaurants were Jewel's stage. It was during this hard time that Jewel discovered herself. She realized that although she had close to nothing, the music she played not only helped her financially, but also brought her a new self recognition internally. She could have gone and gotten her education, found a job, and started a living that way. Finding herself through  her music and pursuing her happiness is how she lived her real American Dream, in doing something she loves. 

In class we also discussed the idea of two languages. The first language being your self or your individualism and the second language being things that describe you or that express your self. I think in Jewel's case, she found her first language through her second language. She is a musician which defines her self, but eventually being a musician became her self or individualism when she chose the road she did, to achieve what she did, in her own way to pursue her self happiness.