I was in the third grade when President Obama was elected to his first term. I distinctly remember being the only person in my class who didn't have a negative opinion about it.
On Inauguration Day, my mom made me stay home from school to watch his Inauguration. As an eight-year-old, I was fairly uninterested in watching the coverage. I knew that his presidency was extremely important, but I couldn't fully understand why. Still, my grandma made me read books about him, watch his speeches and learn everything there was to know about our new president. He was a beacon of hope to my family, my church, and the entire black community, which was something I didn't realize for many, many years.
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Even when the 2012 election came around, politics still didn't really play a significant role in my life. Just like in 2008, I was still in an environment where my family's support of President Obama was unpopular. I got in arguments with kids at school who said my family's beliefs were "wrong," even though neither of us had any clue about what we were talking about.
It wasn't until I was about 13-years-old when I really began to understand how meaningful Barack Obama's presidency was, and how much I agreed with what he stood for. I learned that a lot of his beliefs matched mine, and how cool he was without even trying. Regardless of how much people in my community talked badly about him and his policies, I was becoming a proud liberal and wasn't afraid to hide my newfound support for him.
Now at 16-years-old, I'm realizing how privileged we were to have him as our president. I sat with my mom, like I did for his inauguration, and watched his farewell address, this time more attentively. Tears welled in my eyes listening to the passion in his voice. I realized while watching his speech that passion and fire with such professionalism and grace are something that we will not see for a very long time.
Something I took away from President Obama as I was growing up is how someone can become successful with so little. Even with a rough childhood, he still went to college and even got a law degree. Not only that, but he married a beautiful, educated woman and had two bright daughters. He worked his way up yet continued to be humble, caring about everyone he met. He showed me that with hard work and perseverance, anything is possible, even becoming president.
I've watched him comfort the country after mass shootings, legalize marriage equality and fought against LGBTQ discrimination, and fight for limiting carbon emissions. There are lists of all of the things that he accomplished over his 8 years, and that list just consists of the top 50. He taught me about the importance of hope and how with hope, the possibilities are endless. There is no such thing as a perfect president or a perfect anything for that matter, but he has definitely made his mark on me.
I couldn't have asked for a better person to look up to. For 8 years, he's been our president. My president. For half of my life, he's been the leader of this great but imperfect nation, something that I will remember until my final days. I can't imagine life without Barack Obama as president of the United States because that's all I've ever known. He's been the most prominent figure during the most prominent part of my life.
All I can say, in all seriousness, is "Thanks, Obama." For he is the reason that I am as politically active as I am today, and am as unapologetic about it as I am. I can only hope that I can become as hopeful, graceful, educated and caring as he is as I continue to grow up and venture out.
