My name is Janine and I am from West Michigan. When I was scrolling through the list of what this message was going to be about, there were really too many that I could have chosen from.

I am a teacher about to start my ninth year teaching art in a local middle school. I am originally from Flint, and I come from parents who are still married after more than 40 years. My mother is from Israel and immigrated to this country when she was 14; my dad has lived on the same street in Flint for pretty much his whole life. They met in their Catholic high school and married after graduating. When I think about our country, like you, I realize that my story is not possible anywhere else.

I also think about how much my family has been directly and positively impacted by the result of your decisions in the White House. When the recession hit in 2008, I was incredibly worried. As a teacher, I was pink-slipped and called back multiple times. My dad, who has worked for GM for a good part of his life, was also looking at an uncertain situation. My husband was unemployed since graduating with his Master's, and my mother had always been a stay-at-home figure. My dad and I were both in a situation where we were breadwinners looking at a real possibility of our jobs being in flux. With your leadership and decisions to pass the Recovery Act and help GM restructure (rather than having them go bankrupt), I know that you have had a direct impact on me as a teacher and my dad as an employee.

Within the last year, my husband has earned employment with a technology company, and both my dad and I are doing well in our areas of employment. If someone asks me if I am better off now than I was four years ago, the answer is yes. Thank you for that. I think the government has the power to do great things for people's lives and I hope our country can move to a place where that is realized.

Take care and good luck!

Janine, Michigan