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8 - The Oakville Beaver, Friday January 16, 2009 www.oakvillebeaver.com Blakelock student off to see Obama By Quinn Durrant GRADE 12, T. A. BLAKELOCK H. S. ith economic times in North America worsening with each passing day, and a seemingly endless Iraq war that has claimed the lives of so many soldiers and civilians, the hope of a better tomorrow is truly diminishing. Unfortunately during the past decade, with a focus on George W. Bush's office, the Republicans, have reduced the chance of positive global change due to their ideologies. "We can't keep doing the same things and trusting the same people expecting a different outcome," said Barack Obama in the speech he made just after becoming president-elect of the United States. W From his approachable demeanor to his superior linguistics, Obama is the change and the hope of a better tomorrow in America and around the world. When Obama was elected to office, he wasn't just given the historic title of becoming the first African-American president, but also a nation in a state of chaos. As a Grade 12 student and an alumnus of The Global Young Leaders Conference, which took place in Austria, Hungary, and Czech Republic this past July, I was invited to the Inauguration of Barack Obama through the Presidential Youth Inaugural Conference in September of 2008. During my time in Europe this summer, there was a large stress placed on correcting global conflicts and helping to maintain an efficient global community. Despite the barriers that Obama needed to overcome to win the election, the most exciting aspect of his presidency, in my opinion, is that his deci- sions will ultimately determine the probability of any other minority becoming an important political figure in the U.S. Obama promised that he would fight for various trade policies that will ultimately open up American jobs, which will help to reduce the effects of the worsening economy. When Obama speaks, one can only get the impression that he really is about change and does sincerely care about current global issues that are occurring. Seeing if Obama will follow through with his word and prove that he is, in fact, what the world needs, will be the most exciting part of this inaugural experience. Up until now, it has Quinn Durrant been hard to believe that a 17-year-old boy like myself is going to be an active member in one of the most unexpected, ironic and historic events the world has seen. The other day I realized that 142 years ago African-American slavery was abolished in the U.S. and now, 142 years later, an African- American is leader of the largest superpower in the world. The most stimulating part of this inauguration is definitely going to be the ability to say that "I was there," the ability to say, "I was there the day the world found hope" and the ability to say " I was there the day the world changed for the better." Obviously, it will be an honour to see the first African-American president sworn into office, but the ability to say I was there, is most important to me. 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