Barack Obama, our president for two terms (2008-2016), recently announced his farewell address in Chicago, which changed reality for us.

There was one point during his speech where the crowd said, “…one more term,” and he said, “I can’t do that”, and at that point we knew he was really leaving. The first black president we’ve had in history is gone just like that. To kids in school, he’s the only president we really remember, we experienced his campaigning. He’s the president we’ll talk about to our kids when we’re older.

His running and winning was a milestone for African American & American history. I remember when I was younger and found out he was the first African American president we’ve had, I was surprised. He was one of the most influential president’s we’ve had in history. He started Obamacare, he dealt with immigration issues, he did the work no one wanted to.

Although his run is over, he says that shouldn’t stop our hope for a new influential leader. He wants us to believe because he believes in us. A part of his speech is heart wrenching, “For blacks and other minorities, it means tying our own struggles for justice to the challenges that a lot of people in this country face – the refugee, the immigrant, the rural poor, the transgender American, and also the middle-aged white man who from the outside may seem like he’s got all the advantages, but who’s seen his world upended by economic, cultural, and technological change. For white Americans, it means acknowledging that the effects of slavery and Jim Crow didn’t suddenly vanish in the ‘60s; that when minority groups voice discontent, they’re not just engaging in reverse racism or practicing political correctness; that when they wage peaceful protest, they’re not demanding special treatment, but the equal treatment our Founders promised.”

There is no perfect president, but Barack Obama was far from imperfect. For kids my age, he was the change. He lit the fire that expanded our thinking of the world. Personally, he has influenced me with his intelligent word phrasing and humble attitude.

“Thank you. God bless you. And may God continue to bless the Unites States of America.”