Barack Obama leaves with a grand finale

Standing at the podium, our president was moments away from delivering his farewell address. He stared into the hearts and eyes of a vast sea of people filled with sorrow and tears as they chanted, “four more years.”
As expected, Barack Obama’s farewell address was fantastic and charming. One of the many things I will miss and continue to miss about Obama during the new year is his demonstration of respect: how even while the crowd boo’ed at the mention of President-elect Trump’s inauguration, he discouraged it.
His administration was one with a cooperative and team oriented mindset. Even with a Republican Congress against him, his decisions were always in check with the beliefs of the common citizen.
“We can argue about how to best achieve these goals, but we can’t be complacent about the goals themselves,” President Obama said. “For if we don’t create opportunity for all people, the disaffection and division that has stalled our progress will only sharpen in years to come.”
In such a dark period when our country is so divided regarding political affiliations, I can see his intent to unify people. Deliberately, he repeats the word “democracy” to remind us what our country is and what its foundation was built on, also making an allusion to To Kill A Mockingbird’s Atticus Finch.
I have grown up during Obama’s administration, witnessing what his administration has done. At the beginning of his term, I was too young to understand. Now, at this point in my life, I have fully acknowledged the positive changes he has brought to the country: the Affordable Care Act, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Act and improving foreign relations, specifically with Cuba. Not to mention, reversing the recession under George W. Bush’s administration by lowering unemployment to 5%.
I find it to be such a virtue in his humility and appreciation for others and their support. For instance, thanking his wife Michelle for always being at his side, offering Joe Biden the Presidential Medal of Freedom or even when he said we ellicited change, instead of claiming all the glory. Obama’s demonstration of his elegant character as a president, a husband and a father will always hold a nostaligic and special place in my heart. His administration had some questionability along the way concerning foreign policy and his methods of tackling ISIS, but I truly beleive he will go down in history as an influential presi