Many authors and philosophers have asked this question, and every answer is slightly different from the next. All of them, though, have one common theme; coming from nothing and becoming something. I believe that The American Dream is exactly that, the climb to become successful in America. It is a commonly known fact that immigrants in history and in the present day have come to the United States to start again and make better lives for themselves and their families. Although this dream means different things for every individual person, all of them reach for something they don’t have, and they usually originate from a lower class than their end point. An example of The American Dream in action is the background behind renowned special effects makeup artist Glenn Hetrick. He was raised in the lowly suburbs of Bethlehem Pennsylvania, and his interest in makeup effects drove him to participate in local theater productions as a fledgling makeup artist in high school. Once he graduated from high school, he moved to the big city of New York and took various film jobs, mostly for horror films. Soon enough, Mr. Hetrick was noticed by big time movie and special effects companies, and was being hired to work for them. After years of hard work under their corporations, he finally became the owner of the Optic Nerve Studios in Hollywood, and more recently has opened up his very own original studio, The Alchemy Studios. The point I’ve tried to make behind Mr. Hetrick’s life story is that he, like many others, started from little to nothing and worked his way up. There are no shortcuts, no get out of jail free cards. The American Dream can not be realized in the time span of one day, it takes work and effort. Although every person’s interpretation of their American Dream is different, one thing stays a constant; ending up better than you