History

After the long-awaited election, voters, volunteers, and donors all over America waited to see if their efforts had paid off. My efforts had paid off, because Barack Obama is the next President of the United States. He's the first black president we've had, and to think we elected him after one of our worst presidents got two terms in the white house. John McCain gave a really sincere speech for him, which I admired, that he was able to put his feelings aside and congradulate Obama. On Facebook, I, along with some of my friends from Hyde Park, changed our profile pictures to Obama for the day, and was excited that he won when I heard the news. (Obama's from Hyde Park, so that was a big part of the "Obama profiles") Don't get me wrong, I like some of McCain's ideas, but he had promised to fight a clean campaign, which he didn't, and because of that, he's filled the minds of supporters with hate and violence towards Obama; at a McCain rally, supporters were shouting "Off with his head!" at Obama. On facebook, things are scary, since Facebook friends made comments such as "We are oh so screwed" and "Go back to Indonesia" and worst of all "He's not my president" on election night. Hopefully, America can see past prejudice and hate that Palin had been spreading and that had been around for centuries, and accept this man as our next President. He's not a socialist, a terrorist, or a threat. He's a smart man, and maybe soon people will get past their hate and realize that.


He gave his acceptance speech in Grant Park in Chicago, the scyscapers lit up for the occasion. My motorcycle was broken then, but I would have loved to attend, and instead watched the event on TV. I loved seeing the reaction in Martin Luther King Jr.'s church, where his daughter and a huge crowd cheered and celebrated. I could imagine Nas, and how he must feel, since he had high hopes for Obama. Eminem, I bet, is glad the war will come to a close soon, since his previous albums showed strong feelings towards the war. Jay Z, Kanye West, Will. I. Am., Busta Rhymes, Common; I could imagine them all celebrating the night. Whether or not you supported Obama or not, history has been made.

Busy sunday

It feels great to be blogging again after months of nonstop Facebook! This Sunday, though was busy and not at all spent lazily surfing the net. I got to meet Hillary Clinton today. My dad and I were invited by this family to hear her speak, and to meet her in person. The place was really small, and filled with fancy-looking people, which made me feel uncomfortable. When Hillary walked in the room, however, I didn't feel nervous anymore. It was her birthday, so we all sang Happy Birthday to her before she gave a short speech about Obama and how we need to get more democrats elected to the senate and congress so that Obama's plans will be able to get passed. When the speech was over, she shook hands with people and said hello to familiar faces. I was luckily able to shake her hand, and my dad got a book written by her signed. I got my picture taken with her as well, but not with the camera I'd brought. (Hopefully they'll send it to us) I was impressed that Hillary was working so hard for Obama after their rivalry in the primaries, and that she was able to joke about her temper during the speech as well. To be able to meet in person someone like Hillary Clinton was an amazing experience, and I left feeling incredibly lucky. Later on in the day, since I'm in Global Activism Club at my school, I got to return to Chicago to go to a walk to protest the violence in Darfur as well as in Chicago. The event wasn't huge, and was held in Grant park, (where Obama might be speaking on election night) Fewer than 70 people showed up, however kids from many different schools came and held protest signs as we walked. There was a raffle when we got pack to the park, with computer chips as prizes, but mostly people just wanted to be there to protest and make a difference.

So it was a busy Sunday for me, and though I didn't get to spend much time at home as I normally would have, yet a lot had happened in that one day that made it a great day for me.