On the last day of your Presidency.

Barack Hussein Obama, born August 4, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii, was inaugurated into the Office of the President of the United States of America on January 20, 2009, where he held office until January 20, 2017 at 12:00 p.m. ET.

He married Michelle LaVaughn Robinson on October 3, 1992, and had two daughters, Malia Ann, born July 4, 1998, and Natasha (Sasha), born June 10, 2001. While President Obama was in office,  the following things were achieved: 

1. Passed health care reform, ensuring that over twenty million Americans received health services that they could previously not receive. 
2. Won a Nobel Peace Prize.
3. Boosted fuel efficiency standards. 
4. Nominated (and obtained confirmation) two women for open seats on the United States Supreme Court.
5. Revived the American auto industry.
6. Rejected the Keystone XL pipeline. 
7. Regulated Wall Street (and saved their collective asses)
8. Lessened American oil dependency 
9. Protected voter rights 
10. Reopened Cuba 
11. Eliminated Osama bin Laden as a threat.
12. Eliminated Gaddafi as a threat. 
13. Signed the Stimulus to help end the recession. 
14. Repealed Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. 
15. Led the charge for marriage equality.

President Obama was the biggest job-creating President in American history- there are currently more than 10.5 million more jobs than when he took office. He saved lives by pushing the Affordable Care Act. He protected the Supreme Court. And he did it with hate thrown at him from every direction.  

The 44th President of the United States, and the first African-American President, President Obama broke barriers in every way imaginable. A Constitutional Law professor, civil rights attorney, Illinois state senator, United States Senator, U.S. President. 

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Dear President Obama:

It’s always hard to begin a goodbye letter, but it’s even worse when you know what’s coming. Even though you said we’d be okay, I’m less confident than you are. I’m ashamed that America chose that man as your successor. I’m scared that the eight years you spent righting wrongs will be overturned and we’ll be back at square one. 

More than anything, I hate that the man who will be sworn into office tomorrow, your successor, led the hateful, bigoted birth certificate campaign against you, calling you, in essence, a secret Kenyan assassin who planned to replace the Constitution with Sharia law. To say it was for any other reason than the color of your skin would be a lie. 

But you handled it with grace. And with honor. And with dignity. 

That is your legacy. Grace and honor and dignity.

You revived my faith in the Office of the President. You made an effort to relate to me. You were available, inasmuch as a President could be. You talked less, you listened more, and you had no time for bullshit. You injected humor and likability in politics. You played (horrible) basketball. You read mean tweets. You slow jammed with Jimmy. Your bromance with Vice President Biden is my new relationship goal. You tweeted. You made dad jokes in dad jeans. You made yourself available to us, and even as the most powerful man in the world, you related to us in ways that mattered. You were the leader of the free world, but never forgot that you were a husband and a father first. Your family embodies love and respect, and I’m so happy that you shared them with us. 

Hope and change.

Almost a decade ago, you sold me, and millions of other Americans, on hope and change. We were in the midst of the worst recession in sixty years, fighting two wars that we didn’t quite understand. We were aching for hope and change.

I bought in because you were the first candidate that I felt ever took me and my generation seriously. You valued us and you cared about the things we had to say and the lives we valued. I went all in. And it worked.

It worked because you worked.

Less troops are deployed than when you took office. It is now legal to love whomever you choose. We have more jobs, less violent crime, more eco-friendly regulation. We are able to obtain safe, affordable healthcare when we once could not. Millions of children now believe that they too can grow up to be important people because they’ve seen someone who looks like them in the highest office in the country. Representation matters, Mr. President, but I certainly don’t have to tell you that.

You championed for change, you believed in the American people, and you inspired a generation of fighters who refuse to settle for anything less than what America deserves.

We have better lives because of your leadership. Because of your perseverance. 

Because of you. 

And I will be forever grateful that for eight years, you were my captain. It has been an honor to call you my President.

For the last time as our President-

thanks, Obama.