January 18th, 2009

I am only slightly tired today. After getting up at 4:15am, navigating crowds of thousands, and walking for around three hours total, to be honest, I am exhausted. The first thing on the agenda was going to hear Colin Powell speak at the University of Maryland. There were about 15,000 students in the auditorium (actually a converted fieldhouse) and I was lucky enough to sit on the fourth row – about thirty-forty feet away from him. He was actually a great speaker; he recounted his experience as a young black man training for the military in the South and gave advice on how to be a leader. He emphasized that a true leader recognizes that followers are more important than him/herself. Basically, a leader must put followers in the right place, give them the tools they need, and make his/her passion infectious enough to inspire. He also explained that he graduated from the Community College of New York with a 2.0 GPA and that he fails at something everyday, but that doesn’t mean he can’t still be successful. It made me think about how much pressure our generation puts on ourselves, and made me realize that if I leave my plans open while working hard, I will hopefully end up in the right place for me.

Some of my favorite one-liners from Powell:
“Live lives of moral and physical courage.”
“Maintain the highest standards of integrity and trust.”
“People don’t want to hear about the troubles you had in the past, they want to know what you are doing now and what you can do in the future.”
“You can do anything you want to as long as you’re willing to work hard and believe in yourself.”

After that, we rushed to a panel with Tucker Carlson and Paul Begala, both political correspondents for CNN and hosts of previous political debate shows. They talked, similarly to Luke Russert, on how the youth have made a difference in the recent election and political climate. They were both really funny and personable.

Favorite quotes:
Paul Begala, referring to George W. Bush: “Anybody can lose an election – it takes talent to lose a generation.”
Tucker Carlson: “Hillary Clinton is THE toughest person on the face of the earth.”

Following that, we attended a panel of Mary Matalin and James Carville, a married couple who simultaneously ran campaigns for presidential candidates against each other. It wasn’t as controversial as I would have liked – they are notorious for getting into arguments over politics, but they both said about the same thing as the other panelists – you don’t have to be perfect or find what you want to do immediately after school, but if you work hard and are willing to start from scratch, you can still do great things.


Right out of that panel discussion, we grabbed a box lunch to eat on the shuttle on our way to the Inaugural Opening Celebration. It was AWESOME. Ballpark guess: 750,000 people, at least. The concert was held on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, but the section by the reflecting pool was completely full when we got there. We started out by the Washington Monument and ended up much closer by the middle of the concert by continually following passing groups and filling in gaps. I’ve learned to be aggressive when it comes to events like this. ☺ I also think I may have been on MSNBC – they had a station set up and we walked right up behind it while they were on the air!

Tons of celebrities/performers were there, including Bono, Usher, Beyonce, Tom Hanks, Jack Black, Stevie Wonder, James Taylor, Josh Groban, Cheryl Crow, and Garth Brooks. And, of course, Joe Biden and OBAMA! I only really saw him on the jumbotron, but I could see his outline and heard his voice. It seems so unreal that I’m here, but I am definitely grateful for every minute of it. It was a huge crowd, but everyone acted like they were friends, dancing and singing together – we sang American Pie, Shout, and America the Beautiful together. It made me feel a part of something bigger – maybe the first time I really have felt like a part of a nation in a real way. I am meeting people from across the country who are hoping for the future and coming together to be the change we want to see in ourselves. It is truly inspiring. When Obama gave a short speech, I found myself wiping away a few tears because of the power of his words and the power of the belief in the people around me.

At the end of the concert, we began to walk back to the other side of the Mall, but caught up in the crowd and were basically swept up in the crush and shuffled shoulder-to-shoulder basically until after we were past the White House. I felt like I was in China again (only I wasn’t the tallest person there)! It was great. As we walked by the White House, the whole crowd started singing, “Hey, hey, hey, goodbye.” I joined in, but half-heartedly, because even though I am excited for a new administration to begin to change the mess we are in now, I still respect the work and agony that I am sure Bush has gone through these past eight years. It is a heavy responsibility, and I can’t say that I’m not grateful that it wasn’t me.

That’s all for now. Have a great Martin Luther King, Jr. Day! If there is one continual theme here right now, it is remembering the freedoms and rights that MLK fought for.