From 2008 to now we have seen the inspiring evolution of an already incredible man to an even more inspiring person. Despite what your political views are, Barack Obama is someone that many people look up to and aspire to be in their lives and not just because he was president.

We see a man who is proud and appreciative of his country, his family, and his friends. A man that knows how to respect women, be the man a woman hopes to have in her life, a friend that everyone needs to have and the type of father that so many men hope to be for their children. Even though Obama’s term is coming to an end, the person that he is cannot be taken away. His final address to the United States showed us just how grateful and amazing he genuinely is.

As an independent girl, a daughter and a friend, I do look up to Obama in many ways. As a girl, you hope that one day you end up with someone who genuinely values you and what you do and what you hope to do. Obama does just that for Michelle Obama. He values the changes that she hopes to and tries to make for the greater good, the mom she is, and the wife and best friend she is to him. He lets everyone know how proud he is of her and how he looks up to her as well.

As a daughter and a young adult, it’s important to have parents or guardians you can look up to and Obama is definitely someone that Malia and Sasha are able to look up to. They have a father that wants the best for them, that speaks highly of them and does whatever it is to keep their family strong and their community strong as well. He cares about their schooling and he cares about their happiness as well which has been seen over the last eight years, especially.

As a friend, I want to be someone that my friends can rely on, have fun with, be productive with and experience life together with. The very well-known and viral bromance of Obama and Joe Biden is one that will always be an inspiration to any set of friends. On both ends of the friendship Obama and Biden are both successful men individually, but as friends they have achieved and experienced so much together. Obama has been able to be an incredible friend to Biden professionally and personally which has been stated by Biden multiple times over the years. He has also shown how proud and thankful he is to have a friend that is able to share so many memories with him and the value he sees in Biden, too.

Overall, if you are looking to find someone to look up to, or inspiration to make a change in your life professionally and personally, Obama is the perfect man to look up to. We all have flaws and we all have different views, but despite the political aspect of the man Obama is, he is a great man all in all.