Well, Barack Obama unofficially became the democratic nominee today. Thank god. The six month long march to this point has been excruciating. From his win in Iowa to open things off to his win in Montana to symbolically bring things to a close, it has been a bumpy road for the first African American nominee for president.

Obama is the first candidate of my lifetime where I feel like he is MY candidate. Sure, I supported John Kerry even before his win in Iowa in 2004 and voted for him on Election Day, but that wasn’t the same as this. Obama has been my guy from the beginning. Since before the beginning, even.

Four years ago, at the Democratic National Convention he was the keynote speaker. I had no idea who he was or even what he was all about. But after I saw his speech, talking about how there should be no division between red states and blue states… that we are the UNITED States of America, I was instantly hooked on his powerful words. Before that moment I didn’t know who he was, but after that I had just one thought: this guy is going to be president someday. Now, he just has one more step to go to achieve that predication.

So for Obama and his ability to capture the hearts of young voters everywhere, here is what I believe was the ultimate turning point toward his victory. After losing in New Hampshire, he gave the speech that I think will be the defining moment of this race. Even though he lost that day, he gave us one simple thought: Yes we can! And now, nearly six months later I can say this: Yes he did!

Yes we can:

“We have been told we cannot do this by a chorus of cynics. And they will only grow louder and more dissonant in the weeks and months to come.

We’ve been asked to pause for a reality check. We’ve been warned against offering the people of this nation false hope. But in the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope.

For when we have faced down impossible odds, when we’ve been told we’re not ready or that we shouldn’t try or that we can’t, generations of Americans have responded with a simple creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can. Yes, we can. Yes, we can.

It was a creed written into the founding documents that declared the destiny of a nation: Yes, we can.

It was whispered by slaves and abolitionists as they blazed a trail towards freedom through the darkest of nights: Yes, we can.

It was sung by immigrants as they struck out from distant shores and pioneers who pushed westward against an unforgiving wilderness: Yes, we can.

It was the call of workers who organized, women who reached for the ballot, a president who chose the moon as our new frontier, and a king who took us to the mountaintop and pointed the way to the promised land: Yes, we can, to justice and equality.

Yes, we can, to opportunity and prosperity. Yes, we can heal this nation. Yes, we can repair this world. Yes, we can.” — Barack Obama