I am very proud of our new President, Barack Obama. I believe he, his family, Joe Biden and his family, and all of their colleagues will do a lot of good for our country and help inspire us to become a better people. I have been very excited about Obama’s presidential aspirations since January of 2007 and will gladly offer my support and energy to him and his ideals for many years to come. I know that many people, including some of my very close friends, are concerned about what he and the Democratic Party will do over the coming years but I think no matter what happens our country will be what we make it. The hope and change Barack Obama has spoken of so often are things we each have the power to inspire in others and live out each day in our own lives. Some of you are students in school right now and some of you are in the workplace, but all of you are in communities and live day in and day out with friends, family and neighbors too. We all want to see change for the better, in our country and in our world, and the only way that is ever going to happen is if we are that change ourselves. Gandhi said, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” You may have heard that a lot, but can we really hear that too much? It could very well be one of the most important things we ever think. If we want to see more love in the world, we need to be more loving. If we want to see more justice, strength, courage, honesty, discipline, optimism, honor, and kindness, we need to be just, strong, brave, honest, disciplined, optimistic, honorable and kind. When we do that, I think our communities, our country and our world will be become what we have always dreamed it could be, better.
