CeCe Marizu, Account Executive 

There are moments in life that are simply unforgettable. Nov. 6, 2012 was one of those nights.  As the red, white, and blue confetti poured down, I stretched out my arms with my hands wide open and closed my eyes.  I couldn’t believe that I was part of history, along with so many other Americans in Chicago.

Whether you were crying tears of joy or shaking your head in frustration, you were part of history too.  America stood as a country waiting for the results of #election2012 by checking twitter posts, Facebook updates, refreshing electoral maps on their cell phones every two seconds, and googling to find out who won certain races.  We voiced our opinions on social media and let our friends and followers know which side we stood on.

As I stood behind the president, I took it all in.  I wanted to take a million pictures and check Twitter, but I just watched and listened to the leader of our country.  I stood there without my phone and appreciated the moment.  I stood there and listened. 

It’s easy to get wrapped up in all the news and opinions that are channeled through social media and news outlets but we should never underestimate the ability to take in a once in a lifetime experience from your own eyes and ears.  These are the moments that pictures and videos can never fully compete with.

President Obama said, “Whether I earned your vote or not, I have listened to you. I have learned from you.” Now, as a country we all will continue to learn from each other.  We will learn from our mistakes and from our successes.  And we will learn to stand together as a country, from everyday occurrences to the once in a  lifetime moments.