The principle still sticks; our heritage is mixed. So any kid could be the president.

Bird and Deal are first generation Americans. It's a pretty momentous hallmark in our family tree, and they'll be remembered as such generations from now when their children's grandchildren research the crazy, mixed up lineage it will surely become. My parents are naturalized citizens, which means they took a test of American history and likely know more about the electoral process than most people who are born citizens.

When I was six years old I got the Dr. Seuss My Book About Me. I clearly remember counting all the spoons and buttons in my house so I could complete the book with utter precision. One of the questions was about what I wanted to be when I grew up. In my childish chicken scratch I wrote "President," only the S was backwards. You have no idea how disheartened I was when my teacher told me that I would never be President because I wasn't born in America. I was heart broken. Sad. Infuriated. Bummed out worse than any forlorn lover in a billboard topper country music ditty. What else was an ambitious six year old to aspire to? I crossed out "President" and wrote "Pediatrician." And um, that didn't come to fruition either. I could secure a spot in the record books as the only Indian in the world who's bad at math and science.

In any case, I'm not suggesting we change the Constitution. I applaud our forefathers (and the unmentioned, uncredited foremothers) for the ingenious framework they created for this fair country I call home. I was watching some Schoolhouse Rock with Bird and Deal and explained to them that America was founded on the principle of embracing the similarities of all who tend and walk its soil versus fighting over the differences.

My, how times have changed.

So pummel me for being an Idealist. You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one...

Something struck a chord in me when we were watching The Great American Melting Pot. Why can't a black man with roots in Kenya, Kansas, and Waikiki be our next president? Read the lyrics and you're sure to see what I mean. I'm living vicariously through Obama. After all, my teacher didn't say I couldn't be President because I'm a girl.