the start of something great.

Yesterday was truly a historical day for our country—Barack Obama was elected as the 44th president of the United States of America.
I tend not to be the biggest fan of politics as I feel that Republican or Democrat, no candidate shares my liberal ideals. This year though, a candidate gave me a glimpse of hope that seemed just a tad more to the left than others. For the first time I became engaged in politics which luckily corresponded with the first year I could vote in a Presidential election.
The primaries came and the battle between Hillary and Barack was on (creating a slight rift in my family). And after too many months, Obama came out victorious and my hopes for a change in this country seemed that much closer. The only thing in its way: John McCain and his wisely-chosen vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. And for three more months, the battles continued, growing harsher each day. My optimism, however, could not be shattered. I refused to believe that this country would accept another conservative reign. Living in this little liberal bubble of Madison also did not help my naivety that people would actually vote for McCain.
After what seemed like years of bickering, bashing, and campaigning, November 4th finally came yesterday. I voted on Monday, so I was slightly removed from the spirit of the actual Election Day but when 5 p.m. approached my friend Maeve and I sat impatiently in our Material Culture class watching boring presentations. When class ended at 6:30 (I cannot believe they kept us the whole 2 ½ hours!), I ran home and turned on CNN and MSNBC. Not much had happened yet, but Obama was winning by a few. Over the next three hours, my roommates—both of whom are insane Obama maniacs—watched the coverage and got increasingly more excited as the projected winnings kept coming in as blue.
At about 9:30, we decided to get off our couch and head over to Brats to meet all of our friends to watch this possibly historic moment. We got to the door a little after 10 p.m. and my roommates rushed in quickly but I, unfortunately, was badgered by the bouncer who claimed that my legitimate Wisconsin “over 21 years old” ID was not me. As he finally let me in, the whole bar erupted in cheers. I ran up to my group of friends—the majority in tears—and realized that Barack Obama was CNN’s projected president elect. I truly do not have the words to describe my excitement at the moment. The remainder of the night was amazing. McCain’s concession speech and Obama’s acceptance speech were both overwhelmingly powerful and the whole bar sat in quite awe as they were delivered. Thousands of young adults ran around State Street singing praises for change, for hope, for our future.
When I woke up this morning, it truly felt like the dawn of a new age—as corny or cliché as that sounds—and for the first time in a very long time, I was actually proud to call myself an American.