Explaining 'Ambition and Ritz'

I chose this as the title of my blog for several reasons.

As a 16-year-old girl living a seemingly insignificant high school life in a small, seemingly insignificant place, I would like to prove some generalizations wrong about my generation. Further, I believe adhering teenagers to lower standards creates an idle spirit.

The American Dream, a life of personal happiness and material comfort as traditionally sought by individuals in the U.S., as defined by dictionary.com, completely reflects the title of my blog. I would hope that a majority of the human race has at least this in their endless list of goals in life: happiness. In these modern times, most associate happiness with success. And the American lifestyle associates success with wealth. And how would one achieve this wealth? By pursuing their passions.

We all have big dreams, correct? Well, if you possess a big dream, but do nothing to act upon it, bluntly put, you will not achieve your dream.

As teenagers, we watch TV shows of people living glamorous lives, and we wish to be them. Right within that situation is a paradox. We are probably sitting on a couch, in a small town, binging on potato chips, and procrastinating studying for a test.

Does that sound glamorous, ambitious or passionate? Of course not.

Sure, there are many limitations for a teenager to act upon his or her dream, and maybe the best we can do in the moment is just to study for that exam tomorrow morning. But I believe several things play into a teenager’s idea of being "stuck" in their high school dilemma, with no life bigger than what they have at the moment. Maybe it's how they were raised, or maybe it's the people they hang out with at school.

The problem here is that teenagers do not realize the potential they have to be individuals. Whatever teenagers' friends do, they are bound to do as well. But what if you, a teenager, want to be a fashion designer for New York Fashion Week, while your friends are just focused on making it through American History class with a passing "C"? Passion and ambition separate you from them in that instance. You can do things without your friends! Get your name out there, volunteer, intern, make contacts, research, read, etc. Even though you might think of these things as “grown up” things, the age for “getting yourself out there” is becoming younger and younger. Colleges look at your high school transcript and resume; jobs look at your previous experiences; graduate school looks at all of the above…

Eventually, teenagers will have to realize that there is far more to life than making it through high school and partying in college. Because what comes after? A job, a family maybe… But, in today’s world, in my opinion, it’s a dog-eat-dog world. And getting a job is not that simple. Higher education is becoming a new standard. Obviously, there are many decisions that lead up to this, and as a 16-year-old, you cannot possibly know if graduate school is in your future. 

I am not saying that teenagers need to rush to pick a career track to guide the rest of their working lives. I am simply encouraging teenagers to hold themselves to a higher standard and have an ultimate goal that they can work towards throughout their high school years.

I happen to possess lifetime goals of happiness, success and wealth. I firmly believe that the main way to get there is ambition, and I hope that every teenager has someone constantly encouraging them to find and pursue their passions. These things are crucial to achieving those big dreams you and I both have.

So, within my blog title, ‘Ambition’ means holding yourself to a higher standard, and actively working to get there, and ‘Ritz’ essentially represents the goal of living a rich lifestyle. I hope that every person, young or old, can achieve their dreams, whatever they may be. And this blog is purposed to be me sharing my experiences with the public of how I am attempting to do so.


PS-- A quote I really enjoy:

“If your ideas are bigger than the town you’re in, you’ve got to get out of there.”

—	Brian Fallon