hope.

So tomorrow is a HUGE HUGE HUGE HUGELY important day. We are going to have not only a NEW President, but the FIRST Black President. Amazing. I was on pins and needles all through this last year or so. I was (and still am!) a big fan of Hillary. I saw her give a lecture in Syracuse while I was in college, and she is impressive. Very intelligent. Large and in charge. Knows what she’s talking about. Then, when I heard about Obama and everything he was standing for, I was swayed. He amazed me. His confidence and presence- everything about him was so charismatic. For the first time, really, I was excited to see how this would all pan out- either way, we had the possibility of a first female President or the first Black President. That fact alone was epic. As I thought about it, though, I got kind of scared. I honestly was not hopeful that America was ready to see either a woman or a Black man in charge. How far have we REALLY come? We’ve all heard the jokes and the talk about Hillary- people like to talk about how much of a “bitch” she is, and how she wears the pants, etc.…..thinly veiled defensiveness on the part of the American public towards a strong, intelligent female. Instead of teaching our daughters that a powerful, educated, take-charge woman is someone to emulate, we are teaching them that she is someone to HATE- and not only hate, but FEAR. We need to change this. Not to go off on a feminist tangent, but we have GOT TO STOP teaching little girls to hate themselves and who they are. We need to break the cycle. Same holds true for Black boys. I taught elementary school in Newark, a very rough inner city here in Jersey, and I have NEVER seen anything like the anger and scorn these little boys have toward themselves and their peers. It’s real. I’m hopeful that our new President will show them that there is a way out…there are positive things you can do with your life….there is hope. Hope. There is an air in America right now of hope, almost on the brink of desperation. Things have gotten REALLY, REALLY bad- the economy, the military, the war….I think we are placing a lot on Obama’s shoulders. I almost fear that we’re setting him up for a little bit of failure- there is no way that he can possibly undo all the terrible things that have happened with this last administration. However, I have to believe that he will do all he can to make a change in the right direction for us as a country and will lead us all towards a positive rebuilding, and a heightened morale for all of us. I am super excited to be able to say that I was a (tiny!) part in making this all happen, and I am looking up, up, up….not back. Here’s to better times for all of us ahead. It feels like tomorrow should be New Year’s!
Sending out lots of blessings and good vibes to all………lord knows I need some of that positivity to come back to me! : )


Let’s start making changes…………right now.