Admit that the waters around you have grown

I'm one of those obnoxious people who wakes up on election day with an involuntary skip in their step, a smile on their face, and the ridiculous notion that my vote matters. To vote is to be part of something bigger, and I cannot get enough of it. I love to take it all in- the kindness of the election volunteers, the whirring of the machine as it eats your vote and tallies your decision. The sound of democracy is a beautiful thing.

It's almost as beautiful as the deafening applause coming from Grant Park and the simultaneous silence of four awestruck liberals in a suburban basement as they all watch the new president-elect takes his place onstage. I'm quite sure this is as good as it gets.

The cynics can lessen the blow by saying that we all voted for empty words, but this is more than hype and the pull of impressive rhetoric. It's the beginning of something really, really big. I just know it.

"Don't you know? Talking about a revolution sounds like a whisper. Finally the tables are starting to turn" - Tracy Chapman