Congrats to our President Elect Barack Obama! Personally, I was an Obama Mama from the get go. I'll never forget the first time I saw Barack Obama. I was just flipping through the channels when I happened to stop on Oprah. Barack, a new senator at the time was being interviewed with his wife. He spoke so eloquently and seemed to have this spirit about him. Oprah went on to say that one day she hoped he would run for president, secretly I hoped so too.
I went to see Obama speak last January. His wife Michelle gave a fantastic speech. She was real; poking fun at her husband and talking about her family. She also was not the typical senators wife; she had brains of her own and was not afraid to show them off. Next to the podium was Mrs. Oprah Winfrey herself. I though Holy Crap I am breathing the same air as Oprah. I was star struck. I am not one to obsess over the stars but honestly it was Oprah! I had not come there specifically to hear her speak (I was there for Obama) but she was amazing. She spoke of her experiences of rags to riches and how great America is. But what she really focused on was what she felt was necessary for America to thrive again. Obviously, Barack Obama.
Now public speakers always amaze me. But Barack Obama blew me out of the water. The way he captivated the crowd and made us all believe in his plans for change. In his speech that night he spoke about teachers and how we deserve more respect. I was sitting with a bunch of my teacher friends who irrupted in applause & caused everyone to look our way. I hoped Barack noticed us! He focus specially on how we should focus more on early childhood education (yay preschool!) and how important it is for early intervention. He talked about bettering the economy, our desperate need to change health care, caring for our environment and needing to come up with more efficient ways to cut down on fossil fuels. I liked what he stood for and how he seemed so down to earth. I was sold! From that point on he had my vote and yesterday I was ecstatic to fill in the little circle next to his name.
Last night I watched the polls come in. I couldn't believe when ABC reported that our little republican state had voted for Obama! Things certainly are changing! I fell asleep soon after that. At 1:30 am I woke up and turned on the TV. I accidentally woke B up when I let out a woohoo! He thought I was nuts.
Politics is one of my things. I almost went into politics but decided to become a teacher instead. When I was younger I did some lobbying for the American Lung Association and the Environmental protection agency. I loved it. I loved going to Washington DC, giving speeches and meeting with different representatives. It made me feel as though I had a voice and what I was saying was important and I couldn't even vote yet. Now given the right to vote I should do more, I should make my voice heard more, its more important now than ever before. Maybe I should do something about that.

-Lula