Democratic Activists for Women Now

   The 56th Presidential Inauguration was truly an event like no other inauguration before it had been. It was attended by over a million people, and was watched and celebrated all over the world. Though this enthusiasm may have been due in part to the departure of the previous administration, there was an undeniable sense of excitement about our new leader. Congressional offices all over the country received a record number of ticket requests, and Americans flocked from everywhere just for the honor of being present in the capitol on the day that Barack Obama took the oath of office as the 44th President of the United States. I was lucky enough to be one of these individuals.

   I arrived in Washington D.C. several days before the ceremony, but already the excitement in the city was palpable. Every bar, restaurant, and shop was filled with people, and everyone was discussing the new President: What would his first actions be? What would the ceremony be like? How would the world react? Entrepreneurs set up make-shift stands on every corner, selling Obama clothing, housewares, and accessories. With the temperature outside averaging around 25° during the day, the most popular items were Obama scarfs and beanies, which quickly became the fashion du jour for DC residents and tourists.

   The scarfs and beanies did little to fight the cold though, at least for this California girl. Even with multiple sweaters, a jacket, and several hats gloves, and other accessories to minimize my skin’s exposure to the weather, the cold cut like a knife and made it hard to bear being outside for very long. I spent the days before the ceremony running from the friends house where I stayed to the closest cab or metro stop, and then to the restaurant, shop, or attraction where I was headed, trying to minimize the amount time I spent outside in the cold.

   The day of the ceremony I got up around 5am and bundled myself up in every piece of warm clothing I could find. I walked from my friends’ house on the outskirts of the city to the closest metro station and got in line for the train. Even early in the morning, the trains were already packed. I squeezed on to the first one I could, which was so crowded that I didn’t even need to hold on to anything to keep my balance when it began to move.

   The closest stations to the ceremony were closed for security reasons, so anyone riding on the metro had to get off further out and walk the rest of the way to the National Mall. I pulled out my metro map and tried to figure out where to get off with the guy standing next to me. “We are all going the same place anyway”, he said, laughing and motioning to the hundreds of other passengers. We decided on Judiciary Square, about a mile out from the main gate.

    When the train stopped at our destination the crowd spilled out of the cars and into the station. The streets between out station and the ceremony site had all been shut down for security reasons, and at six in the morning Washington D.C. looked like a ghost town, except for the hundreds of excited people running through the streets towards the Mall.

   When we arrived at the gates the crowd suddenly stopped running. Security seemed to be collecting tickets somewhere up ahead, but nobody could see exactly what was going on, so we all stopped to wait. We seemed to wait there for a long time, and I began to wonder whether or not I would get in before the ceremony started. The crowd was moving very slowly, with tens of thousands of people in the crown creeping through the gate one person at a time.

Finally, around 10:30, I was allowed onto the Mall grounds, and I quickly rushed to find a spot where I could see the stage. Though everyone inside had been standing for several hours by then, and many were struggling not to tremble from the cold, the attitude was cheerful and optimistic. Some of the people around me sang as we waited for the ceremony to begin, and others tried to excite the crowd by periodically initiating chants of “yes we can! Yes we can!”.

   Finally it was time for the ceremony to begin. The million people surrounding me fell almost silent as the blessings were given and Barack Obama took the oath of office, then the crowd broke out into an enormous cheer and everyone began to celebrate. The family in front of me was hugging each other and crying, and two of the people beside me were jumping up and down. I did not really watch President Obama’s inaugural address until several days later, when I pulled it up on YouTube. By the time he began to speak, the crowd was so excited that hardly anyone could pay attention to what he was saying. Everyone was so caught up in the enormity of the moment that the words seemed to get lost, but nobody seemed to mind.

   The energy of that morning continued throughout the city all day. Even the metro stations to leave the ceremony, which had hours-long lines stretching down the street after the inauguration was over, were full of life and enthusiasm, and the balls that night were exhilarating.

   This inauguration was truly like no other in our nation’s history. Though the Democrats did not all agree during the primaries, we, and the rest of the nation, came together in November to elect a Democratic President who supports our values and who will fight to put our country back on track. I am sure that Barack Obama will make us all proud, and I was honored to be there on the day he became the 44th President of the United States.