The End and the Beginning

I have been thinking about how to start this blog for a few days now. Deep down, I always knew it would be Obama. In fact, since I was a junior in high school, I knew a man named Barack Obama was going to make a difference in our country. I was a senator at Girls Nation in 2005, the summer before my senior year, when I first heard about Barack Obama. I knew nothing about politics, especially in comparison to those around me, and was eager to learn anything I could. One of my closest friends at Girls Nation was Meg from Illinois and she was a die hard Barack Obama fan. She told me everything she knew about Obama, and told me if I wanted to hear a fantastic speech I should definitely check out the keynote he gave at the DNC. Our other friends joined in too, telling me to buy his book immediately when I got home, and make sure I learned everything there was to know about him. During our visit to Capitol Hill, two senators saw Senator Obama in the hallway and their picture with him was passed around to all 100 girls numerous times. I was interested in this man that had caused such a frenzy among all of these young politicians, and was anxious to see what all the fuss was about.

This interest in Barack Obama has continued ever since.  Although I did not decide who I was voting for until the very last minute, Barack Obama’s charisma and leadership has impressed me ever since the summer of 2005. Now, being more educated than I was then, I realize there is more to Barack Obama then a charismatic speaker. Barack Obama has the potential to lead our country to greatness. The history that Barack Obama will make goes even beyond being the first African American President. I have faith that as President, Barack Obama will motivate America to assist their government in making some necessary changes to help our country.

It is with some sadness that I post about the closing of this historical election, but while I first viewed it as the end of an era, I know see it as only the beginning. My love for politics will continue as I follow the last few months of President Bush and the first term of President Obama and it wil be interesting to see what changes come about from a new President in office. I am proud of our country for getting out and voting today in record numbers, and I am even prouder of the record number of youth voters that made a difference–especially in New Hampshire. The last two years have been a whirlwind of excitement, and I wouldn’t trade any of it for the world. My election coverage will continue tomorrow as I am attending a political analysis seminar at Harvard that will be interesting to report on, but as it stands right now, this election has been great fun and I think the results will bear fruit to positive leadership and change in our government.