obamalicious

Honestly, I was a little worried about writing this, since I didn’t actually pay that much attention to the speech in class. You see, I had some math homework to finish up before my next hour, and it seemed like the more important thing. So you can imagine my relief when I found a link to the video in the prompt, and after clicking it and listening to the speech, I couldn’t help but think that finishing my math homework had been the right thing to do. That was, after all, one of Obama’s main points, was it not? To work hard, study hard, and do your homework?
His other main points were that we were the future of America, and that America needed us, that we can’t be successful without hard work, and that no matter what we’re going through, there are no excuses for not working hard in school. He organized his speech by fully reviewing one point before smoothly moving on the next, telling us inspiring anecdotes for each point on the way.
Like even the greatest of speeches, it did have its flaws. One of these flaws was his apparent lack of facial expressions. I don’t think I ever saw any part of his face move other than his jaw, up and down as his “inspiring” words flowed forward. Another flaw was how he seemed to suggest that the chances of us being successful through sports or music or even writing were slim, while in almost the same breath he told us that “you can’t let your failures define you- you have to let them teach you”, citing famous athletes and writers as examples.
Contradictions and apathy aside, it made me very happy to hear the president talking directly to his students. It was a great idea, the speech was well organized, well delivered, and you know what?
I actually feel inspired.