A brief reflection of President Obama and how he and his family have impacted my life and influenced a generation.

President Obama was elected when I was in seventh grade. The night of the election I tried to stay up to watch the votes come in but my grandmother told me it was time to go to bed because I still ha school the next day. She woke me up hours later and the first thing I said before I even opened my eyes is, "...did he win?!" and my grandmother said yes.

I always knew that this was a historical election, due to the emphasis that my school placed on it and also my family. We even had a mock election at school and President Obama also won that election too. We also watched the inauguration during class at school as well.

I remember a boy in my science class that year tell me, "the only reason black people are going to vote for Obama is because he's black". Regardless of how you feel politically, some truly don't see the symbolic impact that he has made on African-Americans. President Obama has provided a powerful representation for youths and adults and also someone to look up to. The leader of the free world is a black man. after all the oppression that blacks in this country had and are still facing to this day. It truly showed the change in this country and also showed what we need to do as a nation to improve and progress.

Whatever you may feel about our president-elect, don't let that take away from the accomplishments that President Obama and his family have done and the courage and inspiration that he put in all of us.