The American Dream is alive and well among Millennials, but the dream looks quite a bit different for them than for their parents and grandparents.

Youth in their late teens and 20s place a premium on mobility and flexibility, according to The 2013 State of the American Family (conducted by MassMutual). About 38 percent say travel is an important part of the American Dream, far more than the 28 percent who cite a secure retirement. More than a quarter dream of being self-employed, and they don’t consider home-ownership—long considered an indispensible part of the American Dream—as much of a priority as their forebears.

“These attitudes make a lot of sense in the context of the era that Millennials have come of age,” writes Dan Kadlec for Time. “Home ownership? Many of them saw the foreclosure crisis up close. A good job? The rate of 16- to 24-year-olds out of school and out of work is unusually high at 15 percent. Many college graduates have taken jobs that don’t require a degree. What about retirement security? Again, this generation has seen the retirement hopes of its parents fade with lackluster investment results and crumbling pensions. It seems the Great Recession left its mark.”

Kadlec goes on to say, “A true American Dream has to feel attainable, and many Millennials aren’t feeling they can attain much more than a day-to-day lifestyle that suits them.” (Time)

Paul Asay has covered religion for The Washington Post, Christianity Today, Beliefnet.com and The (Colorado Springs) Gazette. He writes about culture for Plugged In and wrote the Batman book God on the Streets of Gotham (Tyndale). He lives in Colorado Springs with wife Wendy and his two children. Follow him on Twitter.