It is a truly unbelievable day today, as Obama becomes president. Historical for many reasons, and gratifying to the lot of us for reasons I won't go into here. Short of going into a political rant and what could quickly turn to something irrelevant of the day (the LAST day of the Bush administration, etc.), I just want to say how moved I am that this is the official first day of our new president. Of THIS president!Before this election, I had been opinionated (and yes I voted in order that I may voice those opinions), but I had never been so moved as I was this time around. Not only because we do in fact need a change from the current administration, and not only because Obama had the potential to become the first African American president, but because since the first time I heard him speak as a senator - long before running for president - I heard someone genuinely passionate and excited to fire American citizens up about being a part of their communities - to be true Americans again, or for the first time. For the first time, I voted in the primaries. For the first time, I proudly plastered a bumper sticker on my car. For the first time, I stood in line to witness the acceptance speech for the Democratic party's nomination.
While out and about this morning, I was so happy to be constantly reminded why I live in the neighborhood I do. I stopped for breakfast at one of my favorite breakfast spots, Common Roots, where they were setting up a projector to show the inauguration. Every person who ordered their food or coffee and took notice of this, commented happily about what an exciting day it is. I stopped at Kowalski's for some crackers, and the woman at the register (by her dress, she seemed to be a manager of sorts) was utterly ecstatic, saying to the gentleman in front of me, "You know what today is, right?! We get a new president today!!". Everywhere I went, there just seemed an air of satisfaction and accomplishment.
Obama inspires me, over and over, each time he speaks to his country, and I'm looking forward to seeing what he does with this great privilege.
