IT'S A NEW DAY

Having been inspired by President Obama's (doesn't that sound cool?) inauguration and the multiple Obama songs by Will.I.Am, I'm getting into this "it's a new day" thing. I actually did a lot of my homework before I needed to, I've already ran over two 7 mile runs this week, I'm at 23.8 miles with two more days of running to go, and I got a new haircut that I actually like. And I talked to my coach this morning and have been thinking about my schedule next year instead of ignoring it.

Of course, I've done all this great stuff this week but nobody seems to care. All any adult seems to be concerned with now is the future. Not that I'm not concerned with the future, I do support President Obama, but it just seems so far away. I like being a kid. I like my school, my friends, my xc and track team, sometimes even my coach. I like my meets, my classes, my teachers, my new haircut, and playing the sims. I even like being told what to do. It seems like when I make the "big move" and go to college, I'll have to give it all up. I'm not sure I want that kind of change though. I don't like making all these big decisions and trying to find a career while everyone still treats you like a kid. It's just so.....overwhelming.

Adults seem to be keeping everything a secret. I still am confused about next year's classes not to mention the whole college/find your major thing. I don't know what college I want to go to or what I want to major in. I ask people for suggestions but they all say something like "it's your decision". But the reason I ask is that there are so many jobs out there, so much stuff I could do. It's an important decision that nobody seems to tell you anything about. It's not an easy decision either.

I like math. At least I thought I did until we began learning calculus. Imaginary numbers now seem easy compared to this. I like history. A.P. World History was so much fun and it was very interesting. U.S. History isn't as fun but I really like learning all these little facts about the people who made the world the way it is now. But do you suppose you could find a major dealing with history and math? If you like math, you're supposed to like science. I do not like science. Possible because every science teacher but one, I've disliked, but also because it's just so.....boring. It also has to do with the fact that I kind of get it, but no one ever forces me to really know the information, so then again I don't get it. I don't want a career in science, but math and science go hand in hand it seems.

I've thought about engineering because that's obviously math related. I even looked up the different kinds of engineering on wikipedia and various other sites. Most sites just give you a basic overview of what engineering involves. Nobody seems to answer my question of what engineers really do. Does anybody know or do they just avoid answering the question? I can't decide on a college major if I don't even know what half of them are about. It's such a confusing process.

Now I've rambled on and not really solved anything, but I have figured out that I will figure this out somehow. Because "it's a new day" and I just need to take advantage of that. Maybe I'm getting ahead of myself anyways. I'm still a kid, no matter what adults are trying to convince me of. This realization calls for some kind of youthful activity. Sledding and playing computer games are now more appealing than they have been.

MR. PRESIDENT

"Can you imagine, what would happen, if we could have any dream."

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. DAY

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."



Tomorrow Barack Obama will be sworn in as the 44th president of the United States of America. Today we celebrate a man who helped make tomorrow possible. Martin Luther King Jr. was a great Civil Rights leader and an even greater man. The accidental leader helped accomplish many advances in the Civil Rights Movement to establish racial equality.

A special on MLK came on the History Channel as my dad was watching it last night. Although I wasn't able to watch all of it, most of it was celebrating all MLK had done. There was a comment at the beginning of the show that slightly bothered me. King's daughter told the interviewer that she thinks her father would be disappointed by the world today. I happen to disagree with this statement. True, there are many bad things going on in the world, but there are also many good things. I think MLK would be proud to know that the majority of Americans do not think of skin color when they first meet someone. That people of all different races work together side by side for the good of this country. There is not perfect racial equality yet but we're closer now than we have been. I believe a smile would be on King's 80 year old face if he could be there at Obama's inaguration. His smile would match the hundreds of thousands of faces next to his, and he would be able to look around and see that his dream for a better America was finally in motion.

YES WE DID

I am now the proud owner of a HOPE sign. I am also a proud member of this country who have decided they want change and have elected Barack Obama for president. The front page in our newspaper was way better than the major newspapers however.

The HOPE sign is sitting in my living room and I didn't even have to steal one. My lovely mother asked one of the neighbors if I could have it and that wonderful neighbor gave it to me. She had two HOPE signs and was even willing to give them both to me. What nice ladies my mom and neighbor are. I am so excited that I finally have a HOPE sign. That way I won't have to rely on others to keep their campaign signs up.

Also I am really excited that Obama won. I still don't really believe it. I guess I knew that he probably would but I am still kind of shocked that so many people voted for him. Others must agree that he's the right candidate at the right time. We are taking a chance electing him president, but I think it's a chance we need to take. The U.S. has a history of taking chances and of change so maybe it is what we need.

I thought McCain's concession speech was very good. I think that when he said that it was not our but his fault he lost, he was wrong. It wasn't his fault he lost, he probably could have been elected at a different time, but he just wasn't right for this election. I respect him a great deal and agree that what he went through as a POW makes him an American hero. That doesn't qualify you to be president but it does make you admire him. True, his choice of Palin for VP was a terrible decision and I didn't agree with many of his policies, but I admired the grace he had while admitting defeat. I also admired him for stopping the rude booing during his speech. (Although even McCain was cheered in Chicago.)

I think Obama's speech rocked. It was one of his best and watching him speak in front of the American flags made me love my country. I liked how he referenced the 106 year old lady and what events she had lived through; it made me realize how much we have changed. I also liked the "yes we can" part, I was chanting right along with the crowd. Obama really is an amazing speaker. I am also proud of helping support Obama in this historical election that helped break one of the final racial barriers. I would have loved to be standing in that crowd in Chicago or in DC or in any other place where they had Obama parties. But most of all, I'm proud to support Obama and want to thank him for supporting me by giving out those HOPE signs.

YAY OBAMA WON!!!

Congratulations Mr. Barack Obama on becoming the 44th president of the United States of America. You achieved what all your supporters knew you could. Thank you for giving us hope and inspiring us to become involved. Good luck on your new job.

ELECTION DAY!!

It's finally here. Election day. I don't have an Obama shirt to wear unfortunately but I've seen many so far. The McCain shirts seem to be missing though, or maybe they are just lost among the sea of Obama clothing. I have a big peace sign on my shirt to represent the peace that Obama stands for and it's blue so I'm representing the Democrat part. Since it says Philadelphia, I'm also encouraging Pennsylvania to vote for Obama.

It really seems like it's gone by fast. Like only a couple weeks ago, a bunch of possible nominees were walking through the snow trying to get our votes. As much as it can be annoying (especially those stupid phonecalls where McCain tries to spread lies), I think I'm going to miss it. There will be nothing to bet on at Hubdub, nothing to argue about, no more inspirational HOPE signs. I'll have to find something else to occupy my time.

Election day is very important. Everyone should fufill their duty to this country and vote. The candidate you vote for is only the second most important part, the most important is getting out and voting. Even Starbucks wants you to vote. Go get yourself a free coffee if you like that kind of stuff, although I don't happen to like Starbucks (I feel like the only person sometimes),

I hope Obama wins and I wish him the best of luck. He has shown that he has what it takes and is ready to lead this country. So good luck Mr. Obama.

I did however go running yesterday. I only ran for 19:05 but I was very tired afterwards. After doing some ab workouts, I was about to fall over. It's weird what only a week and a half off can do to your fitness. Today my calves are extremely sore and tight. I really need to stretch them against a wall, but I don't want anyone looking at me strangely. I already walked down a hill backwards and received looks from the 2 or 3 people out raking their leaves. I wanted to tell them that it was good for my hamstrings but by focusing on that I ran into a pile of leaves and almost fell over. My neighbors were all watching me do crunches in my front yard too.

WHY I LOVE OBAMA

I am going running today! For the first time in more than a week. It's been strange to have all this energy and to be able to run up and down the stairs countless times (not that I did this repetitively because I was bored or anything....). My hamstring only hurts when I twist my leg so I think I'm going to finally start running again even though its incredibly warm at 74 degrees. It's NOVEMBER, it's not meant to feel like spring. But apparently we're supposed to have snow on Friday so it's all good.

What I'm really excited about is election day. I'm going to make all my last minute Hubdub bets and finalize my election day outfit. Sure, I'm not a real American because I'm supporting Obama but I can still get excited. I'm also going to watch SNL tonight because it's one of the greatest things about this election (all presidential SNL skits can be found on Huffington Post, which is the only reason I go to that site).

But this post is really about why I love Obama. Or why I support him. So here is five reasons I love and support Barack Obama for president.

1. Obama will lead us into the future. He supports clean alternative energy instead of offshore drilling. I think that we need more hybrid vehicles and alternative energy like wind, solar, etc. power. He and Joe Biden also agree that global warming is man made and needs to be reversed. I think that Obama has the right ideas to help fix global warming. We won't need to worry about other things for the future if we don't have a planet.

2. Obama represents the American dream. I think we all know his story now, just like John McCains. He grew up on the south side of Chicago being the son of a single parent.....eventually going to Harvard and becoming a lawyer to fight for the less unfortunate....etc. etc. He came from the bottom and now he's almost at the top. Obama worked for what he is now and didn't have any connections or special privileges. That is the American dream. By becoming president, he would be an example of how there still is an American dream and it still happens. Many immigrants and people of other countries would look at our country and see that we still are a good country and that you can still achieve things here. Obama actually represents the hope of immigrants and people everywhere.

3. He has the coolest campaign slogans and yard signs. They are way cooler than McCain's and possibly the best ever. How can you go against "Hope" or "Change". No wonder McCain's beginning to steal it. Those words are even more important now, because hope and change are what people want and need. Plus those HOPE signs inspire people, like me while running.

4. Obama is willing to talk. He has stated before that he will talk to the leaders of other countries personally. McCain thinks that this is wrong. I don't really know why, I've seen pictures in my old history book of Reagan hanging out with Mikhail Gorbachav (who has an awesome name). Reagan achieved a lot in foreign countries. I think that lack of talking is part of what got us in to this huge mess. By actually sitting down and talking there will be less misunderstandings, more agreements and compromises, and more getting stuff done.

5. I got to shake his hand. This is not the greatest reason but I think it would be pretty awesome. I didn't actually shake his hand, the shake part wasn't there but my hand was in his hand. Granted he was just reached out his hands and whoever was there took it (I took some else's handshake) but I also go to here him talk. There wasn't crowds of 100,000, we didn't chant, and no one was holding up signs. This was in the beginning of his campaign but it was still very inspiring.

I do have more and I was going to write more and possibly make it 10 reasons but in the midst of writing this I found out Barack Obama's grandmother had died of cancer. Now I think cancer is a terrible disease, it's one reason I wear my LiveSTRONG wristband. But this is Obama's grandmother who raised him and was very close to him and supportive of what he has done. It makes me very upset with her not able to live until at least Tuesday or Wednesday and be able to see the results of the election (when I heard she broke her hip, I was hoping that she would make it until her birthday at least). I think that this shouldn't happen to either one of the candidates, McCain or Obama. If Obama wins, what a bittersweet victory it will be. How will he even be able to concentrate on the election without one of his closest family members. If I could was able to talk to Obama right now I wouldn't ask him about the election, I would give him a hug and tell him how incredibly sorry I am. Because he doesn't deserve this. Even McCain realizes this. I think many other people feel sorry for him too, I was getting teary eyed while reading this article. So I offer Obama my condolences and wish him the very best in this election. We need his leadership, guidance, and most of all, hope.

MY HOPE SIGN

I really can't believe it's less than a week until the election. It seems like all the candidates vying for the presidential nomination were just here trudging through the snow. What will everyone talk and argue about once it is over? This presidential election has done more than affecting people's conversation, it has also affected my running. Not directly affected the actual running part but I have been inspired to run fast. So this is the story of how Obama has helped me run fast. (This story has a total bias because I love Obama. Now if McCain did the same thing as Obama, I still wouldn't support him but I'd like him a lot more.)

Obama has supported my running since February when track started. To get on the trail we usually run on, my team has to run about 3/4 mile to actually reach the trail. During this 3/4 mile there is a large hill. it doesn't seem too big when you drive over it or when you run up it on the way to the trail, but on the way back, especially after a long run, it seems huge. It is longer and possibly steeper on that side, but after 6 miles a huge hill isn't very fun. If you are running to the trail, at the bottom of this hill is an Obama sign. It's one of the inspirational HOPE signs. That means that when you are almost done with your long run and you see this big hill when you are tired, you also see a HOPE sign. Beginning in February, when this HOPE sign when only half this sign appeared over the snow, I was inspired by this sign. Before that track season I used to sometimes walk up parts of the hill because I was tired. When that campaign sign was there, I looked at it and hoped that I could make it all the way up the hill.

I began making a wish on the sign every time we passed it on the way back from our run. It was always running related, something like "I hope I can finish this run strong" or "I hope I can make it up this hill". This might sound sort of creepy because I was making "hope" wishes on a campaign sign in someones yard but I didn't walk up that hill during track season. When I made it to the state meet only a year after I wasn't able to run 6 miles without walking, my mom gave me a picture of a HOPE sign in part of her good luck wish.

During the summer I only ran by the sign once but the sign was there for me in other places. When the great floods came and the water went down, I found a flooded house that had a HOPE sign out front. They had to have put it up after the water came because there was no way that the flood could move a house but not a flimsy sign. To see this house all dirty on the outside, it was sad to see the HOPE sign sitting next to flood debris.

When cross country started this year, I had improved a lot and gotten a lot faster, but the HOPE sign was still there. I was so happy to pass that on the first day at practice because I had missed it. During the summer I had ran a route that had at least 10 signs along it, but since it was all flat it just didn't have the same feeling. Seeing the sign at the bottom of that hill made me charge up the hill and finish my workout strong just as I hoped I would. I walked up the hill once when my shins were hurting but I walked on the other side of the street, on the less steep side, on the other sidewalk because I would not walk past my sign or that side of the hill. I didn't walk up that hill for 2 seasons. Seeing the HOPE sign made me believe that I if I hoped and tried hard enough, I could run up that hill and finish practice strong. That inspiration always worked even as I passed the McCain/Palin sign towards the top of the hill.

At the beginning of October, the sign was just gone one day. I noticed it on the way there and for the rest of the run I was upset. On the way back while passing the spot were the sign once stood I made a "hope" wish. For the rest of the season, I made a wish when passing by the spot were the sign once stood. I don't know what happened to it, if the people who lived in the house no longer were Obama supporters, if it was stolen, or if it just went away one day. No sign replaced it's spot but you can still see where the HOPE sign once was. I know it wasn't always going to be there; after the election it would probably be taken out no matter who won, but I wanted that sign to finish the season with me. It had watched me improve and I had grown attached to my HOPE sign.

I know I could have gotten a sign to put in my own yard, but once Obama chose Biden, the HOPE signs kind of disappeared. I still want one even though the election is almost over. I probably wouldn't put in in my yard, but instead hang it in my room as inspiration. I always told myself that after the election I would steal that campaign sign, although that is very unlikely because I'm not that type of person, but it was MY sign. It had helped me run fast, faster than I have ever run before. I don't think they make them anymore because almost no one has them in their yards and I can't find one, but I still want one.

Not only has Obama inspired me with his campaign signs, but because he inspired the "Yes We Can" video, he has indirectly inspired me again. During hard sprint workouts in the heat, I would chant to myself "Yes we can, yes you can" as I ran the repetitive route. It helped get me through many workouts and after watching it yesterday, I find it still inspires me.




Even though elections don't always bring out the best side in people, they can still be inspiring in the most unusual ways. I am an Obama supporter but not only because of his campaign signs or his videos. That is part of the reason though. He has helped teach me that you achieving something great starts with a little hope. (Sorry for this incredibly long post that's the size of a small research paper, but I can't help it. Obama has just given me so much inspiration.)