Where were you when Obama was elected?

It really depends on where you live in the world. For East Coasters, probably they were at home, or maybe at a party if they're young. West Coasters were probably with friends and family. People in Europe and Israel were up all through the night. In Asia, we got to wake up in the morning as the stations started reporting. We are now 13 hours ahead of NY.

This morning I was up at 6:15, out the door by 6:45, at school by 7:45 (did a small bit of work for my club which I will talk about in another posting), and sat to watch the first polls report until class at 10:15. Let me tell you that figuring out how to value puts and calls (two year puts and calls - not just one year) was difficult. My brain was freaking out about the fact that Obama was ahead.

Immediately after class, we found out that Obama had 207 votes. The dean of INSEAD spoke to us at noon, and at 12:02 I got a text from Matt that said that McCain conceded and it was over. I felt blood rushing through my body, and I couldn't stop smiling - HARD. I hoped the dean didn't look at me too much, because I was smiling so inappropriately to his speech (the world is in turmoil...INSEAD could be doing better in the ranks...and I'm freaking out smiling).

Immediately after I had a meeting about a carbon finance project I'm working on with some other club members, but Obama was going to speak. I quickly plugged in my computer, logged into my parents' television in Michigan, and Tahira and I watched Obama's amazing speech. We both cried at parts, and we were just so excited. At some point, our friend Adonai came in, and he and I were on the floor, crouched to be able to see the whole thing.

Clearly my favorite part was when he mentioned the "people beyond the borders, huddling around radios listening to his speech." Okay, computers, but still! It was totally like that. We were so connected, and yet we're so far away.

Obviously Obama has to actually achieve things before this is "the best thing to happen to America," but I do NOT play down the racial aspect. I know the libs are sick of hearing about it, and people think the race thing is totally overplayed, but I believe it is the biggest deal about this election. I absolutely cannot believe that a black man will be our president. I am only 30 years old, and I never thought this would happen in my life time. I really feel proud.

I feel excited, because I have faith in Obama, and part of my faith is due to the way he ran his campaign. I feel that he showed America that he can absolutely maximize the use of the resources he has, and he does it in the most thoughtful way. He is going to be scrutinized more than most, but I believe because he is so conscious of what he says and does (and he has a wonderful intellect), he will succeed.

I also believe that he will not cause the change that we are seeing in America. It is not because of Obama that people are interested in volunteering more and interested in social justice. People are looking at CSR and sustainability. These were all things that were growing before Obama came to the forefront. He came at a perfect time, and he will take our country that is ready to accept more responsibility and ownership to a better place.

12 years ago was my first voting election. I voted for Clinton at Markley, where I lived.

Eight years ago I voted absentee. I was living in Israel and woke up to find out the results of the election. I was headed that day with the other girls from Detroit, on Otzma, to Migdal HaEmek, where we were going to live starting in three weeks. The taxi driver (whom I later "dated") told me that the election wasn't determined because of Florida. I did not understand.

Four years ago I voted absentee. I went over to Liba and Ethan's in the middle of the night. I sat on a cot in their living room and watched CNN with a bunch of Rabbis to be and Jewish scholars at Pardes. I felt a horrible pit in my stomach. I was literally to the point of tears and did not understand why our country, after living the previous four years, could re-elect this man. I was furious, and I felt sick. I remember it took a while to call Ohio, and it just dragged out the process longer. It was miserable, and I vowed to not really live in the US.

Finally - today, I really feel proud. I feel like we now at least have the opportunity to move in a good direction, and I am really excited to see how it all plays out.