I wanted to be President when I grew up.
I was born a political junkie. My parents said that, when I was a baby, I would crawl to the TV screen and kiss it whenever President Kennedy was on. I've collected political buttons since I was old enough to walk into campaign offices and ask for them. Whenever people asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I always answered "President."
That usually got a laugh. 
They weren't mean laughs, just the laughs of people who, even in the '60's, couldn't imagine a woman as President. By the 70's, some people, mostly women, would say "well maybe there will be a woman president when you grow up." There was never any real encouragement though and, perhaps more importantly, there was no one I could look to as a role model for that ambition. No one talked to me about the importance of good grades or getting into a good college. When I did go to college, a not terribly impressive state college, my mother couldn't understand why I didn't want to be a stewardess. She would honestly say-"But, you're so pretty, you could be a stewardess!"-like that was the highest complement you could give a young woman.
So, yes, there are tears here today. Happy tears. I hope somewhere in America today, some little political junkie girl is watching this who WILL grow up to be President-our fourth or fifth woman president-and will never know that there was a time when that was unthinkable, even laughable.
This, today? This is a big fucking deal.
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that young women like you can dream, and have those dreams come true through hard work and a little bit of luck.
