Barack Obama, a black man with an immigrant father, will be our next president. I think about how this event will change how people talk about racial barriers,which I hear people talking about all the time. I would like to think that people will have

no more excuses because of their color or background, or accent, language, religion. If Barack can make it to the white house, do minorities or anyone have excuses to say we can’t do something?

I believe that people must have hope in and for the future, but the hope has to be with action from our part. People have really high expectations of Obama’s presidency. I heard that people are hoping Obama is going to change things like he has a magic wand. I understand people’s need for hope, but putting so much of our hope in one elected official keeps us from looking at ourselves for all of the hope and wisdom we could ever need or use. When I talk to groups of people at different events, I try to show them that if they are depending on others for their success or happiness, it won’t happen.

We the people have to do our part and first we have to better tolerate each other and more importantly accept what people in our democracy decide – the majority of people decided to choose Obama as president, we have to accept it. Majority of people decided to ban gay marriage, we have to accept it. Do we have to feel that if people vote different from us it is because of hate or prejudice? I believe that people vote for the thing that is best for their families and their future. People need to tolerate different opinions and values and stop putting labels on other people’s positions.

A recent article in the San Jose Mercury News quoted Andrae Macapinlac, 22, a student at San Jose State University: "We're scared and angry and we see in Obama someone who can make our lives better."

We have to do those things we expect of Obama and government. We don’t have to wait for someone. Obama is not god. He is just a human like you and me. I am putting my hope in Obama’s presidency, but I’m not putting the hope for my future in his hands or anyone else’s hands but my own.