Witnessing history in the making is an amazing experience. It is incredible to watch events you have been waiting for all your life. The 50-second speech announcing the departure of Hosni Mubarak from Egypt ended 30 years of oppression, deception, corruption and lack of rights and civil liberties.

The peaceful protest by the Egyptian people in Tahrir Square, and in many other cities, was a political earthquake that shook the pillars of corruption and oppression in Egypt and in many places around the world.

The peak of disappointment in that 18-day roller-coaster of protests was on Thursday night, Feb. 10. Everyone expected Mubarak to resign, but he continued to talk about what he would do to fix the country's problems, about his sacrifices and how he loves Egypt and its youth. Many people just stopped following the 17-minute speech with the ambiguous reference in the 14th minute about transferring powers to the vice-president he had just appointed, after failing to appoint one for 30 years.

To understand our disappointment, one has to look back at the history of promises made by Mubarak.