America is For Real

I have seen something that I never thought I would see in my lifetime. America will finally have its first African American president. When all of the news channels finally projected Barack Obama as the winner of this election all I could do is begin to weep. I feel like this win by Obama is something that means more to me than just a man winning an election. This makes me believe that the United States is truly a place where dreams can come true.

I can remember growing up in the suburbs and going to school. More often than not, I was always the only African American in the class. This would be a theme that would continue to be in my life up to this point. I was often the only African American in many of my undergraduate courses, the only African American in my graduate school graduation class, and am currently the only African American in my division at work. It has always bothered me and made me feel uncomfortable, but I always told myself that it was okay because I was being afforded opportunities that many of those before me did not have. People like my grandfather, Ducky, did not have the same opportunities. He grew up in a world where he was not treated equally and was only given the option of going into the military or being a sharecropper. Two generations later I am a successful engineer, like my father, and the U.S. will have an African American president.

I am just so overjoyed to know that when I have a son or daughter I will be able to tell them that they can become president and actually mean it in my heart. This will be a defining moment in my life and for the country and I am glad to witness it. Being a child of the 80s all I've witnessed is a lot of war and terrorism, but now I have something positive that I can tell children about when I am old.

I just want to thank my parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles for helping me become what I am today. I didn't understand why you all pushed me so hard to succeed, but tonight I understand why.