Applause from the audience rose as the man of the hour presented himself with, nice suit, blue tie, and grayish hair that serves as a reminder of the difficulties of taking on a most important job as commander of chief differing from the full-on black hair he had when he first started.

After 8 years serving as the 44th President of the United States of America, Barack Obama delivers his final hour-long public speech and farewell address to the American people in front of a large crowd at McCormick Place in his hometown of Chicago in the state of Illinois at 6 p.m pacific time on Tuesday evening.

Through his speech, Obama’s overarching theme was change and how it was the people who helped bring about certain change throughout his presidency.

“You were the change.”

He emphasized the importance of our nation’s democracy, noting that “it’s always been hard,” and that we should all strive to keep moving forward, citing the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Enlightenment as the building blocks of the nation long ago.

He touched on citizenship in our nation, voting rights, and discussed about a post-racial America and how we as a nation must continue to encourage diversity.

Obama also reminded his audience that he and his administration are working on having a peaceful transition with our next President, Donald Trump.

Lastly, he thanked his wife, family, Vice President Joe Biden, and his staff for sticking with him.

But most of all, he expresses what an honor it is to serve as the nation’s president and ended his speech with words that echoed memorable ones during his run for office 8 years ago: “Yes We Can.” Followed by words that defined his presidency. “Yes We Did.”