A co-worker stopped by my office today to tell me about her and her family’s experience at the Obama rally last evening at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre here in Virginia Beach. She and I have had many political conversations regarding Barack Obama. Due to her experience as an African American woman, she was very skeptical of the possibility that Obama could win the nomination, let alone the election. Because of this, she was hesitant to get involved support him. Our conversations changed a lot of that prior to him winning the nomination, but her experience last night in going and listening to Obama speak solidified that support, and that hope, for her.

I asked her to share her experience with me for this post. This is what she wrote:

After a full day of working, then working out, helping my kids with homework, straightening up the house, paying bills, and making dinner; the last thing I wanted to do was walk for miles with a kids in tow, stand outside in 40 degree weather and listen to a speech. However, that’s what I did and it was one of the best things I have experienced. It was not only exciting for my kids, but enlightening for me. Barack Obama spoke common sense. He spoke of basic needs that every human being has the right to. He did not slide to a certain end of the spectrum, right or left. He challenged the political mold with one common sense statement: we are all in this together. He spoke to the middle class, the poor, and the wealthy. I realized that this is no longer a campaign about race or class. This is a campaign about common sense. We owe it to ourselves to vote what we teach our kids: our convictions. The rally left me with goose bumps as I watched people dancing with each other side by side. White people, people from the Philippines, black people, and Hispanics rejoiced and danced because for the first time in a long time, we felt the void had been filled and there was hope. This was a microcosm society of our nation, and I was proud.

I you, like me, were not able to make it out to the rally last night, you can watch Obama’s speech below:

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