I promised a piece about names is coming (and also one about hair which I've been dying to do) but today, on my caffeine induced rush, I absolutely have to talk about today's inauguration!
You all probably saw it (and if you didn't go find it online please), so I won't describe it for you. But let me describe the scene in which I saw it in. They crammed a little of 1/4 of my school of 2000 into the auditorium, while the rest huddled around tiny antennaed out dated tvs in homerooms. Now, I fully expected it to be loud and rowdy, as many school functions are; because, well, we ignore guest speakers, a tv projection, even something so momentous would be a sitting duck. But I was so pleasantly surprised! We stood and sat with Washington, we let out our cheers, we went wild with applause, we screamed that we had a black president. And we were quiet. You couldn't have heard a pin drop by any means but we listened.
This inauguration will always mean something to me. But it will mean more because of where I was and the atmosphere I was in. The shared joy and hope made it all the more special.
Marlees, I can share your joy at the momentous occasion that this Inauguration is, and I loved it. It was the first Inauguration I watched (I was in 3rd grade when Bush was reelected, and in preschool the election before), and it was fantastic. I clapped for President Obama, I clapped for former President Bush, I clapped for Rick Warren, I clapped for everyone. It was an amazing moment for this country. And I absolutely loved when Malia Obama mouthed to her father, "That was a good speech!" It was so endearing and so sweet.
ReplyDeleteI only wish I could agree with you about the atmosphere I watched it in. I also watched it at school, but the kids at my school had trouble understanding that it wasn't exactly the best time to have a conversation. Almost all my friends were talking the whole time, hence making it quite difficult for me to hear and concentrate. This frustrated me, because we owe a certain amount of respect to President Obama and to everyone else who was speaking. I mean, some kids were talking during the swearing in!! That's so inappropriate. All in all, though, it was a fabulous event. I wish I could have been there! Maybe some people think conservatives didn't rejoice on January 20th, but I disagree. Maybe I didn't put a bumper sticker on the back of my car marking the end of Bush's term, but I am unbelievably proud of our country -for being able to elect an African-American president, and so thankful for having a ceremony where we hand off power as opposed to a revolution.
It was amazing, and being surrounded by other American teens was really really fabulous. We only booed bush a little... :)
ReplyDeleteOh, hell yes, we were quiet. I mean, we CRLS kids fuck around plenty, but we're not morons. We know when something is happening that we'll want to remember when we're eighty. Also, the loud ones got sort of SHHHHHHHHed. Intensely.
ReplyDelete