CINDY, INCIDENTALLY:

When I asked 44-year-old Tony LaTour what he thought of the future of the American Dream — good job, big house in the ’burbs, fluffy dog, cute children and enough disposable income for an annual summer vacation — the Huntington Beach resident laughed and said, “It’s possible, but not always plausible.”

“Before, the dream was to have a house and two cars, but now you have to have a back-up-plan,” LaTour said. “It’s scary and makes me nervous for my kids.”

An article in USA Today (“Economy Squeezes American Dream,” June 9) reported the high cost of living, rising food costs, $4 gas prices, and unemployment has changed the standard of living; and did this mean the American Dream was officially dead?

The story was prompted by a study done by the Pew Research Center that revealed “Fewer Americans now than at any time in the last half-century believe they’re moving forward in life.”

After I read the article I took a personal poll and looked around at my circle of friends who were in the early or middle stages of their career and could see most were struggling to get just a small sliver of the so-called “American Dream” pie.

Most live in high-priced apartments, job security was iffy, marriage in the back burner and for those with any money to spare, did have high hopes they would someday own something.

When you’re younger you’re told if you work hard, go to college and pay your dues the dream can happen. The reality is … maybe.

It just depends on how flexible your version of the American Dream is; because the dream isn’t so much dead as it is just evolved.

Natasha Refice, 34, a Huntington Beach resident, said her outlook of her own dreams have changed since she was in her early 20s. She now works at her family’s Huntington Beach restaurant, she doesn’t own a home, and her greatest priority is being a good mom.

Refice pointed out that when you live in an affluent area like Orange County, where wealth and lavish lifestyles is epic, the American Dream feels completely out of reach unless you are born into it, she said.

“I just think that if your parents already have it (big house and money) then you have a better chance, because you’ll inherit it,” she said. “It seems like the only way.”

But for every person who believes the standard of living has changed and that it is impossible to catch up to, there is 18-year-old Ariana Hill.

“If you want something bad enough you can have it,” Hill said. “I’m going to be a dentist and have a bomb house … but, if I didn’t have mad money or a big house than I’d just want to be happy with my friends and family. For some people, maybe that’s their American Dream.”

CINDY ARORA is a freelance writer for the Independent.