I remember in 2008 when President Obama was first elected into the office. I was only in the 5th grade and my mother woke me up late at night to tell me that Barack Obama had won the election. I was ecstatic and very shocked. At that time in my life, I did not know much of anything about politics so I was simply excited that, for the first time in American history, a black man had been elected president of the United States. As his term wore on and I became older and wiser in the ways of politics, I began to admire him beyond the mere fact that he is a black president. It took me a long time to truly educate myself on politics and pay attention to Barack Obama as president but today, I am so glad I did.

From day one of his presidency, every obstacle was put in place for him to fail and to block his policy agenda. I admire the fact that he never engaged in a twitter war because he didn't like something someone said about him. He kept his composure when he was basically told that he would not be allowed to appoint a new member of the supreme court, even with a year left in his term or when he was blocked continuously when suggesting legislation. There was so much that Barack Obama could have done and there was much that he did do, purely to benefit the American people. He made some tough decisions and served as a beacon to bring to light many of the racial injustices still present in America today, which was very much needed during this time period in American history.

It is with much gratitude and admiration that I issue a formal farewell to Barack Obama and thank him for the impact that he has had in my life and many other Americas.