无论是不是美国人，一定听说过“美国梦”这个词。

一代又一代的美国人做着这样的“梦”，在岁月里匆匆走过……

最近，有一组照片火了起来。

照片的拍摄者名叫贝丝(Beth Yarnelle Edwards)，职业摄影师，美国加州人。

▲贝丝的家乡，加州San Carlos

贝丝的家乡位于远郊，四下安静。平淡的生活对于一个年轻人来说，或多或少有些无趣。

她是这样说的：

“I felt isolated and trapped, but I realized that the people around me really loved being there.”

“生活在这里，我觉得与世隔绝，处处受限。但周围的乡亲们都很喜欢住在这似的。”

▲See How These Suburban Families' Lives Have Changed Over the Last 20 Years (via TIME)

于是，从1997年起，贝丝就开始了一项摄影计划：她把当地——也就是美国郊区小镇——的人们的生活状态如实拍摄下来，并记录下他们的梦想。

在20年左右之后，她再去回访当年拍过的这些人：你现在的生活怎么样？当初的梦想实现了吗？你现在的梦想又是什么？

如今，20年已经过去。贝丝当初拍过的那些人们，究竟发生了哪些变化？

我们来看一些她的作品，以及作品背后的故事。

看着照片中的这些人，你或许可以感知到美国最最普通的人的生活际遇，以及他们的“美国梦”……

1. 三姐妹，2000 VS 2017

▲Niki, Rita, and Lucia in 2000

▲Niki, Rita, and Lucia in 2017

她们的故事：

My sisters and I grew up with parents who prioritized family and who made sure that we maintained a loving relationship with one another.

Our parents still live in the house they got married in 1975. They remodeled it a couple times, from a small bungalow to a larger but simple home to fit their family of five more comfortably. Even after they remodeled, and we each had our own room, we still chose to sleep in the same bedroom together for the first few years.

一家人数十年一直住在一起，姐妹和父母之间都保持着温馨美好的关系。

这样亲亲密密地一起过下去，也是很美好的吧~❤

2. 艾琳，1997 VS 2017

▲Erin in 1997

▲Erin in 2017

她的故事：

In the first photo, I had an average life for that time. It was all about friends and school.

Now my life is all about the children. Having two kids under two takes over in a good way.

Our lives really revolve around food and eating. The kids and Joe and I love to eat, and we are all good at it. The weekend is about farmer’s markets and Costco, and then barbecuing or cooking big dinners or eating at our favorite Chinese or Vietnamese places. And music.

小时候的生活被学校和小伙伴们填满。墙上的贴纸、屋子里的各种娃娃……一个普通女孩最为轻松惬意的童年和少年时光。

现在，生活被孩子们所填满。不过作为“吃货”，艾琳最喜欢的就是和家人们一起吃吃吃，逛集市选购食材、烧烤、做大餐，或者外出去喜欢的餐馆吃……生活简单而美好~

3. 安东妮一家，2002 VS 2017

▲Antonette, James with Danilelle in 2002

▲Antonette, James, Danielle and Darien in 2017

他们的故事：

In the 2002 photo, we were first-time parents who had just purchased a home in the Hayward Hills. We were a young and hard-working couple with dreams. We wanted to give our daughter, Danielle, the best life possible.

Before the second photo, we had added a son, Darien, who is now fourteen. Danielle is now a freshman in college.

I lost my mom, and James lost his dad. I grew up in Oakland, and James grew up in Richmond, California. We both lived in the inner city in blue-collar communities with modest single-family homes. We now live in a larger home in a middle-class suburban community. It’s a more affluent neighborhood than the ones we grew up in.

Time flies by quickly, so you have to enjoy your children at each stage in their lives. Also, spend more time with your aging parents, as they may not be with you for much longer.

这是一个很典型的怀揣“美国梦”的家庭：出生在内陆的蓝领工薪家庭，经过数十年的努力，住进了环境更好的中产社区。有了更舒适的房子，并且在不断完善和装饰它。

父母过世，儿女出生长大，岁月一点点流逝，生活平静而韵味悠长。

4. 莉莉娅，2004 VS 2016

▲Lilah in 2004

▲Lilah in 2016

A year after the second photo, I am a senior in high school. It’s my first year at an online school because my ballet schedule doesn’t allow me the time to attend a brick-and-mortar school.

I still love clothes and fashion. I also love cooking. Deciding I wanted to become a professional ballerina is probably the biggest changein my life since the first photo was made.

Also, my parents’ divorce is something that I definitely didn’t see coming in 2004 and that drastically changed my life.

十几年过去，原来玩玩闹闹的小姑娘经历了一些人生转折：父母离婚、周围环境改变……

并且，她也慢慢树立了个人理想：成为一名职业的芭蕾舞者。

5. 玛格一家，2000 VS 2017

▲Marg, Rachel, and John in 2000

▲Marg and John in 2017

他们的故事：

2000 was a hectic time in our lives. John was working long hours at a Silicon Valley startup, Marg was working as an assistant grade school teacher, and Rachel was an active teenager involved with many sports, extra-curricular activities, and a thick web of friends.

We live in the same house today in San Carlos, California. Between the first and last photos, both of our children have moved out on their own, and our oldest, Sara, got married.

John retired from full time management activities, and both of us have had to deal with some significant ‘medical adventures,’which we happily have gotten through. We’ve done significant remodeling of our home and continue with improvements.

2000年时，一家人都在拼命地忙碌：丈夫在硅谷创业，妻子在学校做助教，小女儿在学校相当活跃……

如今，虽然夫妻俩还住在原来的房子里，两个女儿却已经搬走了。两人不再像当年那样拼命，退休了，工作清闲了，也到了开始为健康的身体所努力的“养生阶段”了……

6. 凯尔，1997 VS 2016

▲Kyle in 1997

▲Kyle in 2016

他的故事：

In 1997 my life was fun and free, living by the moment.

Now it’s more structured. I’ve graduated college and am working as an IT engineer while I try to get my startup, which I’ve been working on a little over a year, running.

In addition to my startup, my goals are to travel the world taking photos and to buy my own place. I’m currently living with my parents in Hillsborough, where I grew up. If I had known then what I know now I would have invested in Google and other tech companies.

97年时的凯尔，还是一枚小盆友，正如他所说的，生活自由自在，活在当下(live by the moment)。

如今，凯尔成了一枚程序猿，并且打算创业，生活一下子变得忙碌而有条理了起来。虽然依旧和父母住在小时候的地方，但他也有着许多亚裔孩子普遍有的梦想：挣钱买房。

如果能回到过去，去投资一下google之类的科技公司，现在岂不赚翻？

▲See How These Suburban Families' Lives Have Changed Over the Last 20 Years (via TIME)

哎……看了他们的故事，突然觉得，其实人生也不过是几十年的事儿啊……

总想着一辈子还有很长，未来还有无限可能，其实唰地一下就过了。

那么……当初的那些“梦想”实现了吗？或者，是否有实现的可能？

生活在郊区小镇上的那些年轻人们，会和长辈一样安心长待与此，还是会努力去到更为广阔的天地？

“美国梦”的起伏幻影

前面有说过，摄影师贝丝记录下这些人的20年，一大初衷是想知道，他们的“美国梦”在这些年间是否发生了变化。

那么首先，咱们来围观下这个老被美国人挂在嘴边的“美国梦”究竟是什么。

各种解释和衍生版本都有，但“美国梦”大体的含义，是指“只要努力奋斗，每个公民都有平等权利过上更好的生活”。

但是这么多年来，对于美国人来说，这个“美梦成真”的可能性有多大？打破阶层天花板会有多艰难？

有人在Quora（国外版知乎）上贴出了这样一张图：

可以看出，和参照的英、法、意、瑞典几国相比，美国人民的预期普遍挺高：觉得收入会停留在最低的20%的人是最少的，而觉得可以通过努力达到最高的20%的人是最多的。

而实际上呢？

在这5个国家中，美国是唯一一个“实际差于预计”的国家，也是5国里数据层面看起来最“惨”的——穷人最多，富人最少。

但是，由于大家的“梦”做得不错，所以大家心态还真挺好。

贴图的人是这样说的：

@Hector Zenil:

As you can see, U.S. Americans largely overestimate their social mobility compared to European countries who largely underestimate it. Unitrans世联翻译公司在您身边,离您最近的翻译公司,心贴心的专业服务translation company,全球领先的翻译与技术解决方案供应商,北京翻译公司、上海翻译公司顶级品牌。无论在本地,还是广州、深圳、天津、重庆、苏州、香港、澳门、台北,海外,Unitrans.cn世联的英文翻译等专业服务为您的事业加速！正如你们所看到的，在社会流动性（指阶层天花板打破的可能性）方面，和欧洲国家比起来，美国人大大地高估了他们改变出身的可能。

However, most European countries have significantly larger social mobility than the U.S. and therefore the American Dream is paradoxically not in America.

而大多数欧洲国家呢，社会流动性普遍高于美国。矛盾吗？最能实现“美国梦”精神的地方却不是美国。

The American Dream is an American Nightmare considering that people not wealthy enough have no access to basic healthcare cannot send their children to university without getting into deep debt and nowhere else in the world people work so many hours per week (Americans Work More Than Anyone ABC News).

对于那些不够富有的人来说，付不起基本的医保、背负大量贷款才能送孩子上大学、工作时间全球最长……所谓的“美国梦”，恐怕也只是个“美国噩梦”而已。

这种说法究竟是偏激，还是大实话，估计只有美国人自己心里清楚。而贫富差距之外，还有种族、地域、宗教、性别……许许多多的障碍。

不过话说回来，“成功”“更好的生活”这些概念本就是因人而异的。既然美国梦宣扬的是“努力就能有更好的生活”，那么，只要努力了，并且生活比原来相对好一些了，也算是某种意义上的美梦成真——毕竟真要跻身上流、走上人生巅峰什么的，绝不是那么容易的。

看着上面这些美国郊区的人20年前后的故事，大抵也是如此。

……还记得20年前的你吗？20年之后，你又在何方？

20年前你多大？当时的梦想是什么？现在实现了吗？觉得自己20年后又会是怎样的？欢迎留言分享讨论！