Four years (and two agencies ago) I was in Boston, Massachusetts, on the evening of the last presidential election. I had voted early that morning and hopped a flight to travel half a country away for a client meeting, pre-planning for an event that never happened. My client and I proceeded to have a pretty fat dinner that night, enjoying a number of drinks and a lively but friendly debate regarding our personal politics. We walked around Copley Square that evening and took in the sights and sounds of John Kerry’s watch party. The highlight was a performance by the Black Eyed Peas. After that, not much. My disappointment at the results that night were only outweighed by my hangover the next morning.

Tonight I’m speechless. In this historic moment, I find myself nervous for the future but optimistic on what it could bring. I voted for Barack Obama, yes. But in the process I also promised myself to take a more active role in my community moving forward, to give what I could on a personal level to make my chosen corner of the world a little better. That’s a promise I intend to keep. 

So there’s a smile on my face and a bit of a knot in my stomach, but it’s a mixed feeling that I recognize.

This is what the beginnings of change feels likes. And it starts with me.