On pride and history in our time

I am so tired this morning that I can hardly keep my eyes open. Last night was a rocky one for me, and with one great disappointment, I felt crushed and defeated, but then came the realization of one of my greatest hopes. This morning, we are on our way to a totally new era, a time where we, as Americans, in technicolor, will once again blaze a totally new trail into parts unknown, lands unimagined. We will find many hardships, to be sure, and we may find failure before we find success, but last night, history turned its page and began writing a new chapter for us to live in. We stood up, and in one voice, louder than ever before, declared that not only do we have hope for the future, but we believe that we can, that we will make things better. President Obama is the shining light guiding us out of the divisive, hateful, hurtful darkness that we have lived in for too long. We are a great people, and we have great power, in our numbers, in our strength, and in our goodness. As with any power, though, we also shoulder a great responsibility. We must care for our own, and we must reach out to others whenever we can. There is a reason that America is known as the land of opportunity, and it is not because we make more money, or buy more cars, or have bigger houses. It is because, as a nation, we believe that there is ALWAYS something better coming to us. We never stop striving, believing that we can take the next step. For the first time in a very long time, I feel overwhelmingly proud to be an American. I love my country, as always, but now, I am proud of what we stand for again. Yesterday renewed my faith in the American people, and I finally believe that we can, we will make it through these dark times. Today, as our new president said himself, we are no longer red and blue, black and white... We are the UNITED states of America. We have spoken, and he has listened. Now is the time where we begin to take on the challenges of our generation, now is the time where we resuscitate the fallen American dream, and now is the time when anything truly, really can happen. We are lucky to be here for it, and I for one would like to thank the man who stood up when the rest of us could not and said "I still believe." To Mr. Obama, my president, Thank you, from the bottom of my heart for all that you have already done for this nation, and everything that I know you will do.