Last night I had the opportunity to be a part of history.  I will never forget being in Grant Park when Barack Obama was announced the elected 44th President of the United States and went on to address the crowd.  I will never forget how many times I had chills down my back and tears in my eyes.  I can’t stop thinking of all the smiles, hugs, tears and faces that were present.  I have never seen so many jubilant people entrenched in excitement, optimism, passion, hope, and what appeared to me to be a heightened sense of involvement and personal responsibility for the future of this great country.  I was impressed with the words of both Obama and McCain in the face of disappointment, relief, and victory.  Humility, forward progress and a down to business mindset rang true as Barack spoke.  A couple of my favorite lines were as follow:

“let us ask ourselves — if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?”

“This victory alone is not the change we seek. It is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were.”

—Barack Obama

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