I remember waiting for the election results in 2000. Rob and I were sitting on the futon in my dorm room watching the numbers come in on my 14" TV. We are registered independents, and had both voted for Al Gore, although perhaps for different reasons. The environment was one of the issues that Rob cared most about, and he felt strongly that Gore was the right leader for that cause. And I felt strongly that George W. Bush was a pompous moron. For me, intelligence was a key issue in that election.

It was the first presidential election in which I'd been old enough to vote. Watching the results roll in, I had absolute confidence that the rest of America felt as I did, that no way would a man who could not properly put sentences together be voted President of the United States. I didn't follow polls, or politics, but I remember thinking he didn't have a chance, that his candidacy was a joke.

And I remember watching, dumbfounded and horrified, as he won. (Or at least was believed to have won, pending recounts.) There is no word strong enough for my disbelief at that moment.

A sense of unease settled over me, and what I remember most clearly from that evening is turning to Rob and saying, "What happens if we go to war?" That was my first thought. I don't know why that came to mind, except that I was so certain of his inability to lead that my mind jumped to the implications of a worst-case scenario. And I remember Rob scoffing at the notion of going to war, assuring me that wouldn't happen.

We were naive. We had no idea what could happen. And I mean all of us, not just Rob and me. Although certainly Rob and me. I was not a well-informed citizen. I paid no attention to the workings of our government or the issues in this country. I was a junior in college with other preoccupations.

Four years later, I voted against Bush again. This time I was more informed and better understood what was at stake, that there was more at stake than before. And this time, as I watched the results roll in, I knew better than to assume that the rest of America felt the same way I did. But I suspected, and hoped, that after the lies we'd been told and the mess we were in, this country would not re-elect the same man. And yet he won. There is no word strong enough for my dismay at that moment. And if I'm being honest, I'll admit to feeling disappointment in this country ever since.

In fact, I have pondered whether or not I belong here. Strong words, I know. But it has seemed clear that my views are not shared by the majority of citizens in this country. I've wondered if rather than living under certain laws and beliefs that I strongly don't support, I should move to a place that's a better fit for me. This is a great country, but it's not the only great country. It's blindly patriotic to think that it is. But I could never really consider leaving, at least not now, because being near family is more important to me than living in a country in which I feel understood and represented. And so I stay. And hope for change.

Which brings us to this election. I have supported Barack Obama since the primary season. I've donated money and volunteered time to his campaign, neither of which I ever considered doing in past elections. I believe in this man, fervently. He is not a savior, but he is the one for this moment, this dot on the global time line. His leadership at this pivotal point seems inevitable, ordained by history.

And so on Tuesday I voted for Barack Obama as emphatically and enthusiastically as a person possibly can. He represents what I believe in and where I want to see this nation go. His vision of our future is the America I have been waiting for.

This time, as the results came in, I had no expectation of winning. Any real hope in that regard had been squelched by the last two elections. And yet as I watched state after state, including my own always-red state, turn blue on the map, this country's choice was clear. And there is no word strong enough for my elation.

We have risen to the occasion. It's a characteristic for which we were once known, but not a reputation we have earned in recent history. In the next four years, there will be many occasions for rising. Rising up, rising above. And with our joining of voices, and a leader whose faith in this nation has repeatedly brought me to tears, I believe we can.

Yes we can.

"If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer....It’s the answer that led those who have been told for so long by so many to be cynical, and fearful, and doubtful of what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day."