Hope...

Hey everyone! I'm back today with a special post.

If you haven't already, please like the Origins social media for updates (It's on the side of this page). I normally post on Thursdays but, if you follow my social media, you will get updates for special posts like this one.

Today I want to talk about Obama's legacy. I've seen a lot of people talk about Obama, during his last few days as president. Upworthy wrote an article yesterday (Click here to check it out!) and, one of my favorite youtubers, Kendall Rae made a video earlier this week on Obama.

Check out Kendall's video down below (All credit goes to Kendall herself):

I think Obama's biggest legacy is that he became the first African - American president to be elected. That is huge and his story shows how minorities can. Minorities can be at the top of the totem pole, not just a certain kind of person/group of people.

He also passed laws that legalized same -sex marriage. He gave the LGBTQ community a voice.

Regardless of what you think about Obama, throughout the last 8 years, he has turned the hopes of the American people into change (some changes/actions better and some worst than others). That change led to many voices be heard and represented.

He was instrumental in moving the country forward and became an inspiring/influential role model to some. Obama is leaving the White House with a 58% approval rating, according to Kendall, which is not bad.

Despite moving forward in the last 8 years, the future of the U.S. is still a huge question mark. After what happened during the last election, our future is filled with a cloud of uncertainty instead of having that continued hope that things will be better.

I'll be honest; November 8, 2016 was the day that forever changed my life but not in the way you would expect. On the day of the election, I was appalled at how the votes were stacking up. The day after was worse - when the the reality and magnitude of the situation set in. My heart immediately went out to the individuals and the different communities of individuals that were attacked during this vicious campaign. So many people were attacked and dehumanized.

But, despite it all, I saw something else.

During my shuttle ride to school, it was a tense ride, as news of so and so's victory blasted through the intercom, but I looked around and I soaked in the diversity of everyone around me. I saw the people that filled the shuttle as individuals - individuals with dreams and aspirations. I didn't see these people by the labels that were constructed during this campaign that had only one purpose - divide and dehumanize.

Later that day, I saw people sharing the microwave at the marketplace dining area of my school. People were waiting patiently as this Muslim female was taking her time using the microwave. Some people reassured her to take her time. A couple minutes later, two other females came up, used the microwave and complimented each other.

Despite that tense day after the election, I was reminded of that one thing we had when Obama became president.

Credit to Shepard Fairey

I hope, with Origins, I can make this world a more inspiring, positive and accepting place! Thanks for reading!