Obama relaunches campaign, too many questions remain.

     President Obama officially re-lauched his campaign early today. He sent out emails, urging his supporters to help continue the same fight, fought in the 2008 elections. He stated: "We've always known that lasting change wouldn't come quickly or easily. It never does..."But as my administration and folks across the country fight to protect the progress we've made — and make more — we also need to begin mobilizing for 2012, long before the time comes for me to begin campaigning in earnest."

     Over two years has passed since President Obama took office, and honestly, I am still waiting for change to come. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate was 8.5% when Obama took office in January of 2008. 6 months later the rate was 9.7%. A year later, in Jan of '10, the rate 10.6, culminating with the highest rate of 10.4% in February 2011. The unemployment rate in January of this year was 9.8%. Unemployment is argue-ably the biggest concern on the mind of American Voters. Combine unemployment rates with the sky high gas prices and I am pissed, you are pissed, most of America is pissed.
     Our government is also facing a possible shutdown. Democrats do not want to cut the budget. Republicans are simply asking for 2.6 cents off every dollar spent. 2.6 cents is nothing, yet the Democrats are not willing to compromise. 
    Do not get me wrong, I too hoped Obama would bring change, but two years later, not many positive changes have emerged out of Washington DC. Looking forward to the 2012 elections, the Republican Party has a chance to reclaim DC once again. There are promising candidates expected to announce their bid later this month. Personally, I am currently crossing my fingers for Mitt Romney. He seems to have all the characteristics to make a great president. But I guess only time will tell.... as we have learned, promising change does not guarantee change.

A Reflection on Life and Politics

     As long as I can remember I was always taunted by the question "Who do you want to be when you grow up?" I never had any clear ideas about what and who I actually wanted to be. In Kindergarden and first grade I wanted to be a bus driver. I always heard kids around me talking about how cranky and mean their bus drivers were and I wanted to be the coolest bus driver ever so that kids who had to take the bus home wouldn't feel bummed that they had to spend 2 hours getting home every day instead being picked up by a car like all the other cool kids. In 2nd grade I decided I wanted to be a teacher, but that didn't last long because I had finally decided what I wanted to be.. a dolphin trainer! Yes, that was it and I was finally content and at ease.

      As I transitioned from childhood to the preteen years, it dawned on me that my desire to train dolphins probably wouldn't pay many of my bills. And so the never ending quest to answer the horrifying question began. I couldn't figure out why nothing was coming to me. Somehow most of the people around me had some idea of their likes and dislikes while I was stuck. I knew I had grown a dislike to science and math and a like for history, reading and writing but other then that I was stuck. I yearned for something that would spark a fire in me. And I wanted something that would not only please and satisfy my desires but ultimately satisfy God and bring glory to him.

      When the college application process began, i wanted an answer more then ever. I mean I felt pressure, a lot of pressure.. people kept telling me I had time, but I felt like I needed to know sooner then later and at times I was confused and a bit irritated on why God wasn't give me an answer. I mean here I was, trying to follow His will, but nothing was happening. Senior year I was fortunate to take a Government class with a really inspiring teacher. And the more I learned, the more I wanted to learn even more. It was exciting to go to class, I might have skipped math every other day but American government, now that was worth coming to. I was also able to write for my high school newspaper and for the best section, Opinion. Some days I would walk up in the middle of the night and sit down to type out all my thoughts and ideas that were forming and circling. 

      Finally, one day, after all the stress, tears and prayers, it all clicked and somehow the answer had been there all along. I proudly declared Political Sciences on my college applications. Politics to me is so exciting and yet frustrating and complex and yet so simple. It brings me to life.

     The 4 days leading up to the elections in November, I have watched and listened to over 20 hours of news... and to answer a question I was asked recently, people do in fact still watch the news for fun and I applaud all of you who do. Nothing is worse then to be uniformed. Here in CA only 55% of people came out to vote. 55? Those brave men and women who fought long and hard for the right to vote would be ashamed to see that we are not using such a priceless and wonderful gift. Regardless of whether you are a Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Green Party, etc, its better to stand for something then for nothing. Adolf Hitler once said "How fortunate for governments that the people they administer don't think," and sadly he has a point. Sometimes the government gets away with things because we let them. We find time to go to the movies, yet not the polls; we find time to watch Jersey Shore yet not the news; we find time to read People magazine, yet dont even pick up the newspaper laying in our driveway. 

     The more I learn about politics, the more I realize how much respect I have for politicians. I can only imagine how much pain, stress and hate mail they go through on a daily basis. I couldn't have a bumper sticker last on my car for more then a few days without getting stolen and that was regarding only one issue. They have to deal with anger on thousands of issues and yet know that no matter how hard they work to find a solution, no solution will ever please everyone. I am not saying that we should let politicians get away with their actions and they should always be held accountable but we should have some level of respect. You don't have to agree or support the policies but at least recognize that being a politician is one of the hardest jobs in the world because in the world of politics there will always be problems and there is absolutely no breaks or time outs; as long as the world keeps turning, politics will live.

      I am still full of emotion after all the election stuff. Election Day is honestly one of my favorite days of the year. I am glued to the the TV. People go crazy over the Superbowl, I go crazy over election broadcasting (oh and the World Cup). So many emotions and the suspense of what will happen and the "what ifs" and the "should've, could've, would've." Everything comes out, majestical gains and devastating losses. As my education continues, I grow more and more excited every day. I cannot wait to see what will happen in our government and our world, the good and the bad, the ugly and the pretty. Every day, a mystery unfolds and at the same time starts again. However, I owe a great thank you for my amazing family, friends and leaders who pushed me in the right direction and for their never-ending prayers but I owe my greatest gratitude to my heavenly father, for answering my prayers and guiding me on this crazy journey called life.