photo: Getty

Philadelphia, PA — Everyone buckle up for the election season, because if Hillary Clinton's first historical speech as the democratic nominee at the Democratic National Convention was any indication, she's R.E.A.D.Y. — and you, me, and Donald Trump should be, too.

Taking the stage to cheers of 50,000+ people waving America flags inside of the Wells Fargo Center — after a stellar introduction from her daughter Chelsea and she greeted every single section of the arena with a wave and hand to her heart while "Fight Song" played — Clinton delivered a passionate address that men, women, and little girls watching everywhere, will never forget.

First, she thanked Joe Biden, Barack and Michelle Obama, her husband Bill, her daughter, Chelsea, and everyone who helped her get to this moment — but silence overtook the arena when she thanked Bernie Sanders.

She commended the hard work of her former primary opponent, who had a big hand in shaping the current democratic platform.

"Bernie, your campaign inspired millions of Americans, particularly," she said. "The young people who threw their hearts and souls into the primary. You put economic and social justice issues to the front and center where they belong."

Because of Sanders, democrats have adopted the "Fight for $15" campaign as part of their platform, which will fight to get fast food employees adequate minimum wage. 

Earlier this month, they also announced an updated college tuition plan that promises free tuition for families making under $125,000 a year — an update from her previous "The New College" plan that focused on refinancing loans and graduating with lower debt.

The arena fell silent when she addressed his supporters personally.

"To all of your supporters, I want you to know. I heard you. Your cause is our cause," she said to a round of applause.

In her speech, she promised to work with Sanders to make public college free, help those already with student loans, and help those learn or practice a skill.  

It's clear to see now why Sanders gave a speech this Monday thanking his followers, but encouraging them to vote for Clinton.

"If you don't believe that this election is important, if you think that you can sit it out, take a moment to think about the Supreme Court justices that Donald Trump would nominate," the Vermont senator said. "Based on her ideas and leadership, Hillary Clinton must become president."

Clinton then pivoted, stressing the importance of working together, a complete 180 from the fear-mongering that overtook Donald Trump's Republican National Convention speech.

While Trump spoke about our unsafe country, overrun by killer undocumented immigrants, and radical Muslims, Clinton used her speech to explain why Trump is flat out wrong.

"This is the legacy of Hillary Clinton: death, destruction, and weakness," Trump said during his speech in Cleveland, OH. "The problems we face now — poverty and violence at home, war and destruction abroad — will last only as long as we continue relying on the same politicians who created them."

Clinton disagrees:

"He wants us to fear the future and fear each other," she said. "Well you know a great Democratic president Franklin Delano Roosevelt, came up with a perfect rebuke to Trump: 'The only thing we have to fear is fear itself,'" she said.

Instead of gloom and doom, and amid a few protests heard from the upper part of the arena, she spoke about the changes she hoped to make as president.

"We will rise to the challenge. We will not build a wall. We will build an economy where everyone who wants a good job will get one. And we'll build a path to millions of immigrants who are already contributing," she said. "We will not ban a religion, we will work with all Americans and our allies to fights and defeat terrorism."

She laid out exactly what she stands for, including supporting immigrants, because "it will be self-degrading and inhumane to try to keep them out."

She also talked about her plan for defeating ISIS, which includes air-strikes and working with forces on the ground; overturning Citizens United; helping small businesses; ensuring women equal pay and paid family leave; combatting climate change; and working with police to reform the system from the inside out while still respecting the job they do.

Of course, she also played the "woman card."

"You know, nothing truly prepares you for the demands of the Oval Office. You can read about it, you can study it, but until you’ve sat at that desk, you don’t know what it’s like to manage a global crisis, or send young people to war. But Hillary’s been in the room; she’s been part of those decisions. She knows what’s at stake in the decisions our government makes...for the working family, the senior citizen, the small business owner, the soldier, for the veteran. Even in the midst of crisis, she listens to people, and keeps her cool, and treats everybody with respect. And no matter how daunting the odds; no matter how much people try to knock her down, she never, ever quits. That’s the Hillary I know. That’s the Hillary I’ve come to admire. And that’s why I can say with confidence there has never been a man or a woman—not me, not Bill—more qualified than Hillary Clinton." —President Obama

A photo posted by Hillary Clinton (@hillaryclinton) on

"I'm so happy this day has come. For little girls, for grandmothers and mothers," she said. "I'm happy for boys and men because when any barrier falls in America it clears the way for everyone."

"When there are no ceilings the sky is the limit."

Humanizing herself and calling out Trump's hypocrisy is by far her smartest and most strategic move.

"I get it, some people don't know what to make of me," she said. "The family where I'm from, where no one had their name on big buildings."

She spoke of her father who worked in the steel mills in Pennsylvania and her mother who was abandoned at 14. And she shared her mother's Methodist inspired motto, which she said is at the core of everything she does: "Do all the good you can for all the people you can for as long as ever you can."

For Clinton that includes stopping Trump, who mocked the Democratic email hack that led to the resignation of DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz by encouraging Russia to hack into her personal emails. He's currently leading Clinton among the preliminary polls 44% to 39%, a bump he earned his RNC speech.

But Clinton doesn't seem too concerned. She isn't taking her eyes off the prize, and will do whatever it takes to make sure American voters don't allow Trump to win the presidency.

"Here's what Donald doesn't get: America is great, because America is good," she said. "The choice is clear my friends. If we do this, America will be greater than ever."

There will a whole lot of shattered ceilings too.