they said things would not change. but they were so very wrong.

here we are, standing at the threshold of something that has been clamored for, something that has been fought for with fortuitous resolve, for hundreds of years. we know that we have arrived at a monumental moment and can tangibly feel it in the electrifying excitement of the entire country.

history has changed us all.

the next step, however, is perhaps the most crucial and the most challenging. where will we go from here? already i have seen my life’s work as an anti-oppression organizer transform in the short months leading up to obama’s victory. the many times i and others have uttered that we are working for a revolution, that we will see change, but we will never see the actualization in our lifetime. it seems it is now at our fingertips, and close enough to attain.

it is impossible to grasp how many areas of our world are gearing up for change. i think the key is for us to run with it. millions of us voted, campaigned, rallied, kept hope, cried, shouted and danced in the streets. and we see, right before our eyes, how the masses have spoken. we are all part of a movement that we can hold in our fists. it is not something we read about in history books, not something we were able to piece together through archives and old photos. we have evidence that we can make it happen, that we can make the dream manifest in our lifetime. we are in it. we are here. we are all part of a movement that we can honor by continuing the struggle.

friends all over the world took the time to remember those who have passed, those we wish could have shared this moment with us. in victory, there was also sadness in memory, sadness of the torture and death of the millions that paved the way. anger and disappointment in the fragmentation of different movements across the country. this is just the beginning.

now we must seriously consider how the millions will carry on from this moment. we took the voting booths and the streets and the next step will also require our active participation in the fights that will come. we did this, and now we must finish it.

the success of obama will be on our shoulders, for he will only be as great as the people that are with him. it is the people that will make this a movement. every item on obama’s agenda is also our agenda. it is OUR fight for different health care and education systems, OUR fight for energy independence, OUR fight for an end to international warfare. these are all OUR fights that we can and must be informed of and work toward.

now is the time to continue organizing, to continue educating ourselves, to volunteer, research and talk to people. now is the moment for real change. yes, we can.

15 years has changed Korea more than I can even imagine. 15 years has changed me more than I can grasp. With the encouragement from my mother to write my story, and a remembrance of things past I look forward to this journey.

Korea made me a strong woman. Independent, stubborn, persevering and LOUD. I feel it also made me unaccustomed to many nuances of what it means to be in the U.S. It also lashed me into many years of anger and feeling uprooted. When I finally returned to the place I felt uprooted from, the States, I realized I was no longer part of that either.

Somehow, though, I have managed to find a community in the U.S., but still struggle with finding a home. I know Korea is not necessarily my home either, but it is part of my community and I hope I will find more of myself that I left behind.

The elections. Indeed, I have been fighting for some kind of a revolution, and in this process have come to understand the many gears that would lead up to a complete re-examination of our political machine.

All of us want change, but we are all fighting with the tools given to us. Unfortunately, even for the radical revolutionaries there are certain boxes we have to check to participate in this moment.

Even if I don’t agree with the way this country is run, how the government is set up, with the way the media really can manipulate and shape our greatest fears and make us cry at credit card commercials.

Even if I believe the party system won’t work the way it has already been set up for hundreds of years. Nothing will come of me not doing anything. So please vote and register if you have not already as the deadline for registering is approaching!