Rule 1:
Never get the large. Everything in America is already the large. Overseas travel taught me that. Exception to the rule: Coffee
Rule 2:
Never buy two. Buying two of anything is nearly always a waste of money and space. Exception: Coffee
Rule 3:
Honest is the outlaw. It’s the “law abiding citizen” you gotta look out for.
Rule 4:
Drive cross-country at least twice. Once low, once high (meaning once on the southern side, once northern). The road trip is a uniquely American pastime. Most other countries are far too small or hard to travel. America isn’t. You’ve got to get a sense of the vastness and beauty of the open space left in America before you really understand its wonder.
Rule 5:
A cliche: Be nice to people on your way up. You might meet them again on your way back down.
Rule 6:
Never judge a person by their circumstance. There’s nothing so interesting about a group of people who believe the same thing or who are the same way. The thing that makes this country great is the differences, not the similarities.
Side rule: Don’t obsess over money. The jobs that are worthwhile (ex. Teaching or Red Cross and other humanitarian programs) don’t pay much because they fill you up as a human. Jobs that are morally void (ex. Any job with the NSA) pay a lot, because they have to. That’s how you corrupt people. Just look at kickbacks in politics. The more money you have, the more morally bankrupt you are. That is, generally speaking.
Rule 7:
Stay true to yourself. Security can’t be found in a job or anywhere external. Security is either inside of yourself or it doesn’t exist. You are your own sense of security.
Rule 8:
Never say you speak “English”. Never say you speak “American English” either. We speak “American” plain and simple. We won the war. It’s our language now.
Rule 9:
Don’t take anyone’s advice, everyone is a hypocrite. Remember opinions are cheap, that’s why people give ‘em away for free.
Rule 10:
Follow your bliss. Walk the hard road down. How many people have had to die (ex. Martin Luther King Jr.) just so that you could have a choice? So you could have the option to follow your own path? For you to sell out too early (go to college, get a job in the name of a false sense of security) is a slap in the face to the people who’ve walked the line in your name. And in hopes of what your name could one day mean. This is the American dream. The goal is to live it.
I agree , I'm at immigrant and beat as fuck