Introducing The Next Generation Of Leaders And Thinkers

Thanks Obama: How Our President Changed My Life

When I was nine and found out that John McCain had selected a woman running mate, I came home and proudly told my mom that I was now a Republican. Her first response was “no, you’re not.” Her second response was that it was okay to make my own political decisions, but our family was active supporters of Barack Obama. I knew that; I owned a shirt that said “My Mama Loves Obama” and for Christmas that year, Santa brought her a framed photo of the man himself. I didn’t understand McCain and Palin’s policies, but I had always been taught to advocate for women, and in my third-grade brain, that’s exactly what I was doing. Little did I know that the President my family and nation would choose for the next eight years would be one of the strongest advocates for women in history.

These eight years have been my most formative – I finished elementary school, middle school, and just nearly high school, I came out as a lesbian, I watched my mother create and run a successful small business in the wake of her divorce. None of these would have been achievable without Barack Obama as our president.

The day of his inauguration, I was pulled out of school in rare truancy to watch our President be sworn in. I wrote “Obama ‘08” on a red shirt in Sharpie and watched as my parents cheered for hope and my future. I didn’t realize at the time how monumental that moment was, but I returned to school that afternoon with a new President and a newfound excitement for democracy. My mother’s car still has an Obama ‘08 sticker on the windshield.

I found out about the decision on marriage equality on my way to summer camp. I read the news to my mom from the passenger seat and she burst into tears, telling me she was “just really happy” for me. The White House lit up in a proud rainbow display showed more solidarity with my community than I could’ve ever asked for. Obama waving from Air Force One underneath a rainbow was more proof that my President was standing with me. Pride was that weekend, and it was prouder than ever before.

My parents’ divorce occurred in the midst of the recession, and getting back on our feet wasn’t easy most days. As much as we complain about Obamacare, it’s the reason my family is insured. The economic growth Obama made didn’t mean anything to me at the time, but it has helped my family immeasurably since 2008.

Because of Obama, I will be ushered into my college years in a time of relative economic prosperity, something I couldn’t have said eight years prior.

In those formative years, I took our President for granted. I took for granted his poetry readings, his concerts at the White House, his jokes and basketball games, his friendships with all of the coolest celebrities. Only now, after having the privilege to attend Barack Obama’s farewell address, do I realize just how lucky I was to have Obama as my President. It would be naive to ignore the prejudices our society continues to face, but it would also be false to brush aside how much Obama has changed lives on a personal level. In his farewell address, he said “it has been the honor of my life to serve you. I won’t stop; in fact, I will be right there with you.” While Obama may no longer be leading us, he’ll be right next to us, his fellow Americans, while we continue to work toward an ever better democracy.

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