My Proudest Moment as an American

(A friend was walking down the streets of Barcelona and stumbled upon this + took a picture. Even in graffiti...this looks really good.)

Rosa sat so Martin could walk.
Martin walked so Obama could run.
Obama ran so our children can fly.

-Annonymous

It's now two days after the election of MY PRESIDENT, Barack Hussein Obama and I've had tears in my eyes from the moment I found out that WE DID IT! I was made to believe that we as a country could work together to bring about change. For the first time in my lifetime, we had faith in the process, we went out and DID something, and we as a nation are determining our future + we're not letting history define us.

I know I live in a country that of people that are soooo PROUD TO BE AMERICAN. I've wondered so many times what it was really all about because lately, I haven't felt very proud of anything that's gone on in our country. Wednesday morning at 5:15am Barcelona time, a rush of elation, and pride rushed over me. I've never been so proud to call the United States of America my home + its citizens, my people. Of course there are going to always be ignorant people (like Ralph Nader) who are happy being ignorant but we will have to move above and beyond their ignorance.



Although it was hard for me to be away from my hometown, the nations capital during such a mind bending, incredible moment in time, I felt so inspired that there were several events here in Barcelona where I could go and watch the polls shift, and climb...leading to the election of President Obama.

(Me, Moises + Linda) Enjoying the pre-Obama celebration at Dos Trece

Waiting around for numbers!

The place we went to closed at 3am so I went home, got into bed and brought my laptop in bed with me to keep refreshing CNN's website to watch the world change. I would try to sleep for an hour, and I'd wake up and refresh the page, hoping it wasn't all a dream. At 5:15am I got "the call" that we made history and an amazing, intelligent, strong, charismatic, in touch, BLACK MAN became the president of MY country!!!

When I got up in the morning, and was walking out of the door of my apt. I ran into one of my flatmates who congratulated me on our victory. She yelled, "You have a black president!" and I thought to myself, you don't get it, it's SO much more than that. I actually told her that she couldn't even imagine the feelings that I was feeling or the magnitude of it at...and it's true. There is something so life altering about this moment in time that there are no words descriptive enough or eloquent enough to share with someone the fullness of my heart. I literally bounced to work with this cocky smile on my face as I listened to some Common.

When I was walking up the steps to my office I saw this and HAD to take a picture. Young Spanish students that come to the building I work in during the evenings created posters about OBAMA becoming president...I think that's kind of a big deal.

When I entered my office, my co-workers all hugged me. One of them even cried. They were happy for me, but more than anything they were happy for themselves because they know that this man is going to impact the world and will impact their lives as well.

(my little cousin is already smart enough to know...)

Knowing that states that traditionally vote Republican, that people who don't even like black people, and people who have been waiting on this their whole lives voted TOGETHER for someone because of their character, their promise, and their leadership gave me so much hope for the future. It gave me hope that young black men will strive for greater things and now have a role model to look up to even if no one else is there; that single parent children or children raised by their grandparents will not think that they can't have a happy family life; that black girls will have a strong woman to look up to as the First Lady, not someone who just bakes cookies and has no career of her own; that children with immigrant parents can live the American dream just as much as anyone else; that white people, and all other people who walk around this planet will see a black family, led by a strong black man and can't just go on bad rap videos, bad movies, and FOX News to see what black people look like.

The world will have to take notice. I hope that from this success, people from all walks of life will feel like they can do anything if they prepare themselves and believe. I hope that we all realize that this is just the beginning. Electing Barack Hussein Obama as President isn't going to make it all better. We ALL have to work hard, work with him, and work together to realize the change we keep talking about wanting to see. We're "American" but we're also not superhuman. Things won't just happen for us, we have to be willing to work hard for them, and genuinely care about the outcome. It's not just going to fall in our laps because of some b.s. manifest destiny. WE have to be the change we wish to see in the world.

I LOVE MY PRESIDENT + I'm so hopeful for the future of our nation.