When I was standing in a crowd of more then a million people yesterday at
the inauguration concert on the National mall it then hit me that this is
an experience that I will never forget. I have gotten the privilege to
meet many very prominent political figures through The Washington Center
Inauguration Seminar Series. This is an extremely powerful experience for
me seeing that I am an African American and being able to whiteness our
first African American President get sworn into the highest office of the
land. I could not even imagine some of the racial issues that Obama has
had to put up with during his campaign. When I ran for Student Body
President this past year, I had to deal with my campaign signs being
vandalized and defaced with racial slurs such as the "N" word. I believe
that Obama's smooth reactions to these types of situations during his
campaign have sent a strong message to the nation. For example, when Obama
called today for a day of service, one day before his inauguration, showed
me that this is not about him being President, but rather about us, the
people, and our country as a whole. A policy that I am most excited about
is his "new new deal." A program of this magnitude dealing with restoring
the economy through making large advancements towards the environment,
infrastructure, health care, and education will bring a new perspective
and is something that our country needs despite the price tag. I believe
that this is the way to secure jobs here in America.
Ultimately people see
a special quality in Obama, which has created an unprecedented amount
passion for people to become involved in what is going on in our country
as well as the future of our nation. The passion and energy here in
Washington DC is outrageous with thousands of people roaming the streets
at all hours of the day and night talking about this great time. This is
truly a once in a lifetime opportunity to be a part of the atmosphere here
in DC.