As we prepare for the presidency of Donald Trump and say goodbye to current president Barack Obama, I have found myself reflecting back on the last eight years and what his time means to me.

When I first saw then Senator Barack Obama on the news in 2008 as news channels showed clips of him passionately campaigning in front of large crowds all across America, I saw his determination and passion for changing the country. When my mom took me to a rally in Brooklyn at the age of 8 to see him speak, I saw the passion up close. He repeated the phrase “fired up, ready to go!” so many times that as I grew up I adopted it as a motivator for myself. I was young when I saw him but I was motivated. I couldn’t vote but I wanted every adult I knew to vote for him.

U.S politics and how they work was a mystery to me until the eleventh grade. I could finally understand the headlines on newspapers and websites and on television. I understood the differences between Republicans and Democrats, the use of the electoral college and how important it is for government to represent and respect all. I believe that President Obama’s presidency succeeded in some parts of making this a reality for Americans. During his eight years, we saw same-sex marriage ruled constitutional by the Supreme Court, an effort for affordable healthcare for millions of americans, pushes for gun control laws to decrease the number of public shootings, pushes against LGBT discrimination laws and countless other events.

And then there’s the obvious...he’s the first black president.

I see myself in him. We are both biracial, with a white mother and a black father. For the last eight years of my life, I saw myself in the man leading our country. It gave me hope for my future and what I could accomplish in the future. Despite opposition from Republicans and resistance in both the House and Senate, he stayed optimistic and proactive. He was doubted and not trusted due to his race and he stayed above it.

Yes We Can has stayed with me until the very end. Tears came to my eyes this past week when Obama delivered his farewell address and ended with “Yes We Can. Yes We Did. Yes We Can.”

Those words have inspired me to continue to do work to ensure the rights of others. The path to positive change and progress is not over and the legacy of President has motivated me even more.