Barack Obama the Man - Hope Rises Again The Dream Lives On
Posted: Monday, September 07, 2009
by Yangki Christine Akiteng
The Real People's Love Doctor
I just can't help myself after reading President Obama's Back to School Speech. I'm not American, so please excuse me if I am enthralled by "Barack Obama the Man". Call it cult-worship, naive admiration or whatever makes you sleep at night, I don't look to you for inspiration or as a role model so I don't care one bit about what you think.
I've done well in life mainly because of the inspiration I received from my immediate and extended family, some of my school teachers and church community. They did the best they could with what they knew and what they had. But I wish I had someone like Barack Obama speak to me back in the years...
Back in the years when "I wasn't too happy about getting up that early" in the morning just to go sit at the back of the classroom because my teachers believed girls should have just "enough" education to become good mothers who'd raise "intelligent men".
Back in the years when I silently wept at night because our "mother who struggled at times to pay the bills and wasn't always able to give us things the other kids had. There were times when I missed having a father in my life. There were times when I was lonely and felt like I didn't fit in".
Back in the years when "I wasn't always as focused as I should have been. I did some things I'm not proud of, and got in more trouble than I should have. And my life could have easily taken a turn for the worse".
Back in the days when I needed someone to tell me "Every single one of you has something you're good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That's the opportunity an education can provide". Instead I was told "a university degree is your passport to success". My degree isn't worth much now. I've come this far because I discovered (through lots of pain) what I'm really good at, something I can offer for the good of our collective humanity.
Back in the years when I really, really, really needed to hear the words, "Where you are right now doesn't have to determine where you'll end up. No one's written your destiny for you."
"At the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, and the best schools in the world - and none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities. Unless you show up to those schools; pay attention to those teachers; listen to your parents, grandparents and other adults; and put in the hard work it takes to succeed."
I'm an adult but I am so fired up. I know I can do better. I can be the best of who I can be, but most importantly, I can be the greatest parent I can ever be. My children and grandchildren will read this speech and listen to these words. I have done my best to inspire them as much as I can but I want them to know they can do better in life than I've done with what life handed me. I can point to Barack Obama as a living testimony to the fact that the circumstances of our lives - "what you look like, where you come from, how much money you have, what you've got going on at home" - do not define us, we define ourselves. I want my children and my grandchildren (when I have them) to keep dreaming -- and dreaming BIG! Anything is possible!!!!!
PS: The words in bold are extracts of the speech. Read the entire speech for yourself (if you so wish to).
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Top-level comments on this article: (3 total)I too have read the president's speech, and I've posted an article just before I came across your very vocal piece. Thanks for writing, Madam Yangki. I really enjoyed reading your article...nothing strange there. ~mogama~Please log in to respond to this comment.
What scares me is that no one can say anything bad about Barack Obama.I am glad that so many are inspired, but at what cost?Please log in to respond to this comment.
Thank you Yangki! I think the problem of being able to hear the President, begins with through what translator we use. If I, for example, begin with believing his presidency is illegitimate in some way; that all allusions to his speeches fall under the category of hero-worship or idolatry; if I fervently disagree with his polices and therefore nothing he has to say can be any good, then he CAN"T convince, inspire or reason with me on any level. I have to admit I don't understand it --- because even with people I vehemently disagree with, I try to find something I like or agree with them on --- but I do recognize it. Thanks again for sharing your thoughts.Please log in to respond to this comment.
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