An unforgettable inspiration

When my alarm rang last Tuesday morning my eyes never struggled to open.

In fact, it was one of those nights where you’re so anxious to do something the next day, you can only fall asleep for an hour at a time before your alarm clock actually goes off: Inauguration Day seemed so surreal, yet so anticipated.
You could basically say I was overwhelmed.

I’m just a normal Midwest kid from small-town Indiana with nothing to lose and everything to prove – not to just everyone I know, but also to myself.

I’ve never really lived in a big city or on my own without any family, so needless to say, standing in the middle of a sardine-packed crowd was a bit of a reality check compared to campus.

And as I stood there in that crowd, I couldn’t help but think about the great people I worked with to help make this happen.

The Campaign for Change and Hoosiers for Hill registered more than 10,000 new Hoosier voters and canvassed and shuttled countless more just to make a change in this election. As a group, we could have cared less if you were rooting for our candidate. We just wanted all potential voters to be given the chance to voice their opinions and take advantage of their rights as Americans.

This moment wasn’t just for them – not the supporters of Barack Obama, not voters altogether. No, last Tuesday was for the whole country.

Regardless of your ethnic background, your sexual orientation or the color of your skin, all Americans were greatly affected as Barack Obama placed his hand on the Lincoln Bible.

You can disagree with me about what will come in the next four (hopefully eight) years in this awesome nation all you want.

But one thing is for certain: You can’t deny me the most inspiring act I – as well as everyone else who was here in DC and probably everyone who watched on TV – have ever witnessed.

Just walking through Chinatown on the eve of the inauguration gave me chills. Thousands of venders and blasting radios counting down until the moment our new president was sworn in were all I needed to solidify my belief that good really can outweigh all else in this nation.

I’m not saying this because I’m happy about the outcome, nor because we are in a so-called honeymoon era before the tough stuff begins. The truth is, no matter how bad this country gets, I feel that with what we’ve learned from the recent past we can help one other for the future.

But what can I say? I’m just this IU student that chose to take the chance of a lifetime.

And I just have this idea that the common good can outweigh even the worst of times and the worst of people.