A beautifully written and inspiring essay by Global Village homeschool 9th grader Maryanna Newton:
When I found out I was going to get to go to the 2009 presidential inauguration, I freaked, and I couldn’t wait! Then I found out that two of my very best friends were going to go with me and it made it even better. I couldn’t believe I was going to get to see Obama get sworn into office! Everyone knew it was going to be one of the biggest moments in America’s history. I found out that I was going by bus with the school that I used to attend. We would meet at the school at 9 P.M. and we would be on the buses ready to roll at 10:00 P.M. only to arrive in Washington D.C. at 4:00 A.M.! As planned we pulled into D.C. at 4:00 A.M. and nobody had slept at all on the buses, but the adrenalin was enough for most everyone.
It was by far, the brightest night I had ever seen, bus and car lights were everywhere, the city looked amazing. We pulled in with a few hundred other buses to an already half full parking lot and got our metro tickets. Then we walked with a huge crowd down a gated walkway to the shuttles. All along the path there were people— girl scouts, boy scouts, adults, vendors—everyone was welcoming us with energy, asking us where we were from, greeting us with smiles, all at 4:00 A.M. Everybody seemed so much more alive than usual.
We got on a shuttle that took us closer to the National Mall where we walked down the crowded streets with cops directing traffic and little orange cones everywhere and lighted signs, buses, cop cars, ambulances, fire trucks, all in the middle of the roads.
We got to the Mall and filled in behind the crowd and found a good spot close to a screen projector that showed what was going on on the capitol steps. It was cold, but it was perfect. Everyone was pushing and shoving trying to catch up with others, there were moms and group leaders running around looking for teenagers that got separated. It was chaos.
Everything was decorated beautifully and the marine band and girls and boys chorus of San Francisco was performed very well. The crowd was all hyped up and very positive, the happiness was felt all around; strangers were talking peacefully, and hugging after the first couple of hours. It was a peaceful gathering of the nation. The cold was also felt all around, we had hand and foot warmers with us, but we used them anywhere they would fit, our coats, pants, socks, hats, gloves, scarves, anywhere! At 4:30 A.M. it was about 15 degrees, then the sun came up and it warmed to a “toasty” 25, maybe 30 if we were warmer than we thought.
Hours passed as we waited, and waited, and waited, and waited. They showed the inauguration concert from Sunday night that was held on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on the screens, but it was rather difficult to watch while we were jumping up and down to keep warm.
Finally the Inauguration ceremony started, as well as the tears. Just thinking of how the Obama family must have felt, to feel the energy of two-million people together in one place, peaceful and happy, and so positive was amazing. It was like all my body had gone numb; no longer could I feel the cold, the tears on my face, the weight of my extra clothes, all I could feel was a smile on my face and the chills throughout my body. The moment was happening. Martin Luther King’s dream wasn’t a dream anymore, it was reality.
After President Obama spoke, our group had to get back to the buses. It sounds a lot easier then it was though. The bus was 3 miles away and we weren’t going to take the metro with two million people. That was the other issue, there were no directions, there was one way: with the crowd. We finally got to a clear area and looked at a map, but the streets we had planned on walking were down for the parade, along with all public transportation except for the metro station.
We finally found out way back to the buses, asking army guards and bus drivers where to go. When we got back on the bus it was about 5:30-6:00 P.M. and we were all exhausted after walking about 6-8 miles. On the way home we all had some time to think and reflect on what we had just witnessed, and that’s when I realized, anyone can be someone, and anyone can make a difference and Barack Obama is proof. Also that people tell me “You’re the youth of America, therefore you are the nation’s future.” But I’m not, as America’s youth, I am not the future, I am now.
Posted under Politics, Students and Alumni
This post was written by Sally Carless on June 23, 2009
Beautiful. The last line gave me goosebumps, and a big infusion of hope. Thank you.