I used to believe in the American Dream, which meant a job, a mortgage ( 按揭 ), credit cards, success. I wanted it and worked toward it like everyone else, all of us 1 chasing the same thing. One year, through a series of unhappy events, it all fell 2 . I found myself homeless and alone. I had my truck and $56. I 3 t he countryside for some place I could rent for the 4 possible amount. I came upon a shabby house four miles up a winding mountain road 5 the Potomac River in West Virginia. It was 6 , full of broken glass and rubbish. I found the owner, rented it, and 7 a corner to camp in. The locals knew nothing about me, 8 slowly, they started teaching me the 9 of being a neighbor. They dropped off blankets, candles, and tools, and began 10 around to chat. T hey started to teach me a belief in a 11 American Dream — not the one of individual achievement but of 12 . What I have believed in, all those things I thought were 13 for a civilized life, were nonexistent in this place. 14 on t he mountain, my most valuable possessions were my 15 with my neighbors. Four years later, I moved back into 16 . I saw many people were having a really hard time, 17 their jobs and homes. I managed to rent a big enough house to 18 a handful of people. There are four of us now in the house, but over time I ’ ve had nine people come in and move on to other places. We ’ d all be in 19 if we had n’ t banded together. The American Dream I believe in now is a shared one. It ’ s not so much about what I can get for myse lf ; it ’ s about 20 we can all get by together.