In a world where the ice caps are melting and oil is both the tool of Satan and the elixir of life, where the economy is wobbling on weak legs and text messaging is one cell phone carrier away from replacing human interaction, I sometimes wonder if it would have been easier to have lived in another era. My generation is the one whose teenage years began with an unprecedented, catastrophic terrorist attack and whose young adulthood has been littered with outrageous fuel prices, a weakening dollar and a seemingly endless war which has tapped our brothers and sisters and best friends. Yet after watching the vice presidential debate tonight, I have concluded that it is a remarkable and fascinating time to be alive, a time which will be illustrated in tomorrow's history books and I'm glad I'm around to see it. This is the first year I am of age to vote and I couldn't have asked to be part of a more spectacular event. The boundaries that have been surpassed in this election are astounding. A black man, a woman running for president and another woman chosen for vice president. Never before were we ready for such a dramatic change but alas my generation, at our impressionable age, has been shown that anything is possible in this country.

I never really thought of myself as much of a feminist but I'm starting to feel more and more inclined to ideology labeled as such. As liberal as I am, I have a new respect for Sarah Palin as of tonight. She really held her own against the aging, white-haired man who has been the prototype of government save for JFK. This country has been dominated by a legion of WASP males and finally the other half is being given a chance to speak, and not only is she doing so, but she's doing it with as much panache and adequacy as her male counterparts. It hasn't even been a hundred years since women gained the right to vote and thanks to those brave feminists who fought for change, we're no longer being subject to claims of irrationality brought on by the cycle of the moon and hormones. Men have been riding high on the hog since this country started and us women have had to raise their kids, clean up after them and sew some quilts while they had all the fun. Tonight, that is all history. Tonight, two genders stood side by side, vying for one of the most powerful positions in the country and perhaps the world. It's taken almost a century to get here and had I lived in another century, I would have missed it all. I'm grateful that women before me were determined to prove that we are smart, we are capable, that there are other options besides staying home and keeping house. Not that there's anything wrong with wanting a family but I'm not about to let some man hand me my spending money for the week, tell me I wouldn't understand or let any man tell anyone that a woman is incapable of running the country and making valid, rational decisions in times of pressure.

Don't get me wrong, I love boys, I'm all for relationships and chivalry and what have you. I'm just very impressed with what my generation has been privy to. We've seen an administration run by a good ol' boy from Texas and now, in the first election we're of age to vote in, we're witnessing every line redrawn, every expectation shattered and every boundary redefined. Certainly a great time to be alive.