I am 17 years old. I can remember sitting on my couch in front of the tv, while my mother made us dinner, and we watched John Kerry. I was insprired by his speeches, and inspired by the Democratic Party. I was the only 8th grader in my junior high school who had a real opinion on that election and when John Kerry lost, I was devastated. I was 13 and my candidate had lost to a terrible man, George W. Bush.
Tonight, I sat on that same couch in front of the television, this time with my mom, and my dad, and we wacthed Barack Obama deliver that great speech that he just did, and all three of us had tears in our eyes. My dad, who voted for Hillary, my mom, for Obama, and their 17 year old son watched as we became a part of history.
I read the biographies of the Kennedy's, and stay up late on school nights listening to the great speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr., JFK, RFK, FDR and many more. I study these pieces of history with a profound reverance, and envy for the folks who lived those pieces of history. Now, I can say that I have lived, and experienced the life-changing development of Barack Obama's nomination. While I'm not going to be able to tell my children in thirty years that I had the chance to vote for Barack, I will have the privelidge of telling them that I was able to watch his acceptance speech live, and with my parents. This night, is one I will never forget, whether or not we can fight on and beat McSame, We will never forget this night. I know that I have but a mere 17 years to boast, and that many of you will probably tell me that life's got lots more to offer, and that nobody really cares what this night meant to me, but there has never been anything in my life that has touched me so much as experiencing this night.
We can really feel that we are a part of history now. All of us who have donated time and money to this campaign and those of Democrats across the country are a part of this history. As Barack stood on that stage with his family and the Biden's, in front of those magnificent fireworks, surrounded by loving Americans, I have never been more proud to be able to say, "That man is going to be our President." When I was a child, a small child, when Bill Clinton was President, and I had never heard of a "failed presidency" or a "failed foreign policy," and I was 100% positive that I wanted to enlist in the military and serve this great country of ours. In the last 7 and a half years, as I have grown up into a senior in high school and a student of US History and Government, that dream completely evaporated. Completely. Now, once again, during this historic candidacy of Barack Obama, I am proud of my country. And I am proud to be able to say that I have had the privelidge to be born in the USA. My brother and I have been saying throughout this election season, that if Obama succeeds in taking back this country, we vow to serve in his government in some way. At this point, probably not in the military, because he goes to UC Berkeley and I am college bound as well, and we plan to use our college experiences to help the Obama administration as much as possible. This man is so inspiring. I try to point out to all my friends that he is more than just an insprirational candidate, that he is more than qualified. But for me, for my own self, all I need from Obama is this amazing story, this incredible man and his uncanny ability to inspire us and send chills down my spine.
In 2004 John Kerry inspired me. I was a 13 year old activist of sorts in my junior high school. Now, I volunteer for Obama and local Dems, since I live in CA and feel that Obama has our state, I have been spreading the focus of my efforts. But John Kerry's speech last night was my favorite of the convention, before Obama's of course. He kicked John McCain's ass. He seemed to me to be taking out his frustration of the painful '04 election and really stuck it to the Republicans. But his biggest asset was setting it all up for Obama. He was an early supporter, and may have loaned some validity early in the campiagn. For that, I thank him. But what I cannot forget, and what I can't stop text messaging all my friends about, is Barack Obama. Barack Obama is going to be the President of the United States of America. And I'm just glad to be able to jump along for the ride!
Thank You Barack. Thank You for making me love my country again. Thank you for letting me be a part of this history. We are all in your debt Senator Obama. Thank You President Obama.