condoleezza rice.

after coming back from hearing her speak a woman i worked with asked,
"if she ran for president would you vote for her?"
yes. yes i would.
i was fortunate enough to hear her speak today.
and it was incredible.

on national challenges:
"we need to remember that our efforts can have effect on much of the future.  you are creating history."
"we are so blessed in this country for the men and women who volunteer at the front lines of battle for our freedom."
"democracy is morally right."
"we are based on creativity and innovation."
"China is not our enemy.  the United States is its own enemy.  when we forget who we are and what we represent we set our self up for disaster."

on families:
"i applaud you because of your focus on families."
"families are the basis of all good things.  they can be our heroes.  they can provide a life better for us than we ever thought possible."  

on education:
"our most disastrous nation threat is the k-12 education system.  we need to educate our people.  we are held together by the promise of education and not all of our people are receiving that."
"we are admired because of the 'log cabin idea'.  it matters not where we came from, but where we are going."
"you have special responsibilities because of your education.  take advantage of your education. find your passion while you are here.  what will make you want to get up in the morning and make you excited for the day."
"as you get an education worlds will open up to you that you might never thought possible."
"challenge yourself, study abroad, learn languages." 
"you might not be able to control your circumstances, but you can control your response to your circumstances."
"when you get discouraged think of the founding fathers and how they overcame impossible things.
think of your own religion - how much your church as grown since it began in a small colony on the east coast.
think of the pioneers who came across the continental divide in covered wagons.
they had hope because they didn't even know what was on the other side."


"most importantly, keep your optimism.
if you can't be optimistic with all the opportunities you have, who can be?"

i left feeling so inspired.  what a wonderful woman she is.
she stands for amazing things.
and she let us know that we too have great futures ahead of us,
that we can look forward to the future with our heads held high.
we have a lot to work for.