Where At Least I Know I'm Free

January 20, 2009

It is a day that will go down in history, a "where were you when" kind of event, a moment long anticipated and not soon to be forgotten.

The inauguration of President Barack Obama, the first African American President of the United States of America.

I'll add my story to millions of other Americans and I feel extremely lucky to have been here in Washington, DC for the event. All politics aside, the chance to witness as Senator Feinstein mentioned, "the peaceful transition of power," is an American tradition. It defined this nation from the beginning and will continue on as willing leaders sacrifice 4 years to serve this nation. The office of President is one that I respect.

I don't think I've ever seen so many people in my life; literally millions showed up to support, even in the freezing weather. I found it good to see so many people ready to believe in something new and ready to embrace change. I hope that the hope they feel in Obama will translate into better actions on their part (perhaps I should include myself in that statement but I have yet to measure my hope). America does need a lot of "fixing," but it can't be done solely by a change in government. Each American must change too; we must better our values, better our work ethic, see "America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions," to quote from Obama's speech. 

The difference between former President Bush and President Obama was white and black, not just in the literal sense. One is loved with as much passion and as the other was hated. One deserved to be cheered, but the other did not deserve to be practically booed off the stage, and for that I was disappointed. I may very well have been one in a million who cheered for the former, but I appreciate and respect his service of the past 8 years. 

Yes, it was a historic day. And I am glad I was there.

I was also really glad to have spent the day with some great friends. I hosted an inauguration sleepover at my old office on 16th Street. We got there on Monday night so as to avoid the pandemonium on Tuesday. It was really fun. We woke up on Tuesday, steps away from the National Mall and the main event. I created a video to document the MANY pictures we took (a big thanks to Stephanie for taking the pictures as my fingers were too cold to move). I hope it captures feeling of the event. I will certainly never forget it. 

*Side note - I have tried three times to take away the blurry quality of this video. It has been unsuccessful. Sorry, I am not a master, but I hope you enjoy regardless (It helps if you double click to go to the youtube page so that it's a little larger).