For the first time probably since 9/11 on tuesday, november 4th, 2008 I felt a love for my country that I never had before. When I was younger I used to think I hated the US. Thought the government was corrupt (which of course it is), thought the people who lived here were horrible (a lot of them are), used to laugh at sporting events when people would sing the national anthem and take off their hats, all in all thought it was "un-cool" to love my country. Now that I'm a little older, and don't think I know everything their is to know about life I've since changed my ways. The first thing that changed that for me was leaving the country for the REAL first time. I had gone down to Puerto Rico with my family when i was a teenager, but even though it's different, it's still the US and my mom lived there for so long it wasn't like seeing another world. I had also gone to Canada as a kid, and right after September 11th when I was 20, I went to Amsterdam, London and Dublin. Europe was amazing, a fucking phenomenal time but over there, they seemed to live better than we do (I mean come on, legal weed in amsterdam? pubs on every corner in london? drunks running wild in dublin? not to mention the history and culture and beauty of those places? they have it great!). So I still had my notion that the US was the most horrible place on earth.
Then the summer of 2006 happened. I had just graduated from community college and I wanted to take at least a month long vacation somewhere. Me and Sonny (my best friend for life and travel partner) had been talking about renting a car, driving across country for old times sake, and then trekking it up to Alaska. Soon gas prices became a factor and plus it was something we had both done before a couple of times (minus Alaska). Then my friend Lou who I went to school with mentioned that he was going to Thailand, and that if we could afford the price of the plane ticket, we could afford to spend a month there. EASY. Turns out my old friend Marco was living there and was eager for us to come visit him. So we said screw the cross country trip and lets go to Asia! And we did. And it changed my life more than any other event ever has. It was amazing, beautiful, wonderful, poor, sad, humbling, peaceful, dirty, crazy....every adjective you can come up with. We also went to Cambodia which was amazing as well, but so horribly poor and depressing. I realized upon flying home that where I lived was not so bad at all. In fact--it was pretty damn good.
So getting back to Tuesday night was just an unbelievable feeling for me. Who knows if Obama will make a good president. He talks a good-no GREAT-game, he promises a lot (not to mention he's kind of sexy), he gives hope for SO many things. It makes me teary eyed EVERY time i think about the fact that our country which unfortunately has a huge racist population elected a black man by a LANDSLIDE to be the leader of our country. A country that still votes against gay marriage (the bastards in arizona, arkansas, florida and seriously cali? shame on you) still prefers a young, and not so experienced black man to be the leader of the free world!! Its amazing to me. Even if you don't agree with his political policies this is a huge step in the right direction. I am proud to be an American.
