Julio's Musings

Barack Obama has been elected President of the United States. Living in Chicago, it was definitely hard to not get into the excitement that was going around the city all day. Walking down Michigan Avenue, you could see people selling Obama shirts and buttons, people wearing their own shirts and buttons, many lined up across the street from my school so they could get into the rally, and just a general excitement all over.

I remember years ago when I saw Barack Obama give a speech at South Suburban College. He was doing the commencement speech at my friend’s graduation. I was really impressed with how eloquently he spoke. This was back in May of 2004. Fast forward to now and this person is now the President-elect of the United States. 

Obviously he is still well known for his great speeches. But his rise didn’t happen because he can simply speak well. He has risen to this place because he inspires hope in so many. 

I wasn’t there (obviously), but just seeing how large the crowd was at Grant Park was amazing. The excitement that Chicago has shown for this is something I’ve never seen before. Getting reports through Twitter, you could just feel how many people had renewed hope in the direction that this country is now headed.

I’m not entirely sure if Obama can bring about change. But perhaps it’s not the entire point. Perhaps he’s really just the start of change. We have, for the first time, elected an African American to the highest office in this country. Prejudice still exists, but now we can see that it’s not as loud of a voice as it once was. He is just one man, but by becoming President, he has shown that we can truly overcome the burdens and obstacles in our way and become great people.