hopeful.

You may not know this about me. I'm completely happy that Barack Obama was elected president.

Everyone's already blogged about this. This is old news now. But I can't stop thinking about it. I'm not one to chat about politics. I can wrap my mind around things but cannot always articulate. So I usually listen. To everyone. And keep quiet overall.

I am full of hope. I am ready for change. And I am actually excited about a president. In my 31 years of life I have never been excited about a president. Never been excited about an election. I was the one in high school who protested dance and school elections by withholding my vote. (What good did that do, you ask? I have no clue. But at the time I felt empowered by the choice.)

And Now? I'm ready to join in. I'm ready to work towards change. I'm ready to make things happen.

Watching Obama's speech on the 4th? I was moved. It takes a lot to move me. To get me excited. And the faces of the many people in the audience that night were on fire. And I knew how they felt.

History in the making. And I experienced it. And I am part of something that will influence cohort effects for years to come.

I could watch that speech a million times over.

"I will listen to you, especially when we disagree."

"So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other."

"This is our time -- to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth -- that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes We Can."