This is the moment

As you sit in Bloomington reading this article, I will be standing somewhere amidst three million people in Washington D.C. I will have crossed four states over the course of 17.5 sleepless hours, to spend only one whirlwind day freezing in the shadow of the Washington Monument.

Come Thursday morning, I will have spent all of the money I managed to save over break. I will be two days behind in my schoolwork, and I will be exhausted and sore from the hours spent trying to get comfortable on a Greyhound bus.

Why, you might ask, would I be willing to sacrifice sleep and savings, for a mere glimpse of the newly elected President Obama?

The answer is: Because of what Obama has come to mean to so many of us – because I couldn’t imagine telling my grandchildren that I was stuck sitting in class the day that President Obama took office.

For those under 25, Barack Obama symbolizes the faith in the American political system that we thought we had all lost for good. He represents a return to the ideals that we lost sight of somewhere between shock and awe and Abu Ghraib. He recognizes that our values extend beyond token moral issues and encompass human rights, environmental concerns and social justice.

Moreover, he is the embodiment of a new multilateral America.

He embodies an America that has moved beyond old prejudices and a country that is ready to tear down lingering ones. He is the living symbol of our generation’s dream of the future.

This promise of a better America that Obama represents is the reason why today means so much to those of us who came of age in the Bush era. It’s the reason why young voters cast 1.9 million more votes in 2008 than they did in 2004. It’s the reason why so many of us spent hours canvassing and registering people to vote. And it’s the reason why I’ll be spending the better part of the next two days freezing in the middle of the national mall: Because deep down, I really do believe in this country.

But more importantly, today marks the beginning of a new era.

Wednesday morning, Barack Obama will wake up as president of the United States, and he will be forced to stop symbolizing change and start enacting it. Yet, as long as Obama can continue to inspire Americans to believe in politics again, he will be in a position to actually make the concrete changes that we are all aching for.

Expectations surrounding his administration are at an all-time high, and tomorrow after the celebration abates and I begin my long trip home, our country will simultaneously embark on a journey that will define the future direction of our nation. This journey will ultimately define the legacy of our generation.

Do I think that President Barack Obama and the youth can live up to the high expectations that we have set for ourselves?

Yes, yes we can.