Sweet Land of Liberty

Last night was the first night that I remember staying awake to find out who had won an election-ever. I remember when Clinton was elected in 1992, I was in 5th grade and had just moved from Idaho to Maryland where politics were more widely talked about. But still, I was too young to really care about who won or what it meant. I remember voting in 2000 and 2004, and yet I wasn't interested enough to actually stay up and watch.

Then there was this election...one that I found myself disinterested in after hearing so much about. But there I was at 10:00 last night, sitting by the TV, waiting to hear what would happen. I was moved by the speeches that both McCain and Obama gave. And I couldn't help but feel excited that this would go down in history. This is something that will be widely talked about for years and years and I was here to witness it. I think that no matter who you voted for, you were still able to recognize what an exciting time it is in American history.

And it was a reminder to me that I'm proud to be American. I'm grateful to live in a country where we have so many freedoms and where dreaming big is not only acceptable but encouraged. And I'm excited about where we are headed...we may have started with slavery and persecution but maybe we will end with tolerance and acceptance.