Just five days after coming back to the ‘bier after winter break, I found myself on the twisting Ohio roads, heading home for the 57th Presidential Inauguration. After months of canvassing in the freezing rain, phone banking during dinner, and spending countless hours in the KAC distributing tickets for the Michelle Obama event, I was joining my fellow Kenyon Dems to see President Barack Obama begin his second term.
We left Gambier on Friday afternoon and after a couple of detours through the woods, we made it to DC early Saturday morning. It was a long journey with no stops for Chipotle, and we were so, so glad to get there. Since I’m from the DC area, I was able to stay at my house during our five-day trip, which made the arrival that much better. I coaxed my dog into not peeing all over everyone when they came in, and was able to sleep in my own bed, which I had missed desperately in those five days back at Kenyon. We woke up early on Saturday to pick up our tickets, an event that turned out to take the entire day, our moods shifting between the standing, waiting, and dehydration. But there was nothing to complain about, because on Monday, we watched President Obama sworn into office.
Monday was an even earlier day, and we made it downtown by 8:30 in the morning. We stood in a crowd for hours, bouncing up and down, singing to Beyonce, and telling everyone we could that we had come from Ohio to see the inauguration. As it turned out, we were not the only ones. There were people from all over the country, including Cleveland, and we shared nightmarish driving stories with smiles plastered on our faces.
Also, this happened. Dems pose with Allison Williams, of GIRLS fame.
Eventually, we decided to try to move closer. After being yelled at by the Secret Service, climbing over a wall, and under some stairs, we found ourselves stuck in a bush. When the President came on to give his speech, we watched him through the branches. Children crawled up the sides, and people kept moving the leaves, but a silence fell over all of us when he spoke. He called for unity, he called for equality, and he made us proud. The values we had hailed throughout his campaign were clearly articulated, clearly upheld. When the speech was over, there was a beat before anyone moved. I think everyone wanted to keep the moment with them, wanted it to linger over the crowd.
Later, when we all went to eat, we stayed quiet. The restaurant was bustling, but we were still in a sort of stupor. Besides, we had to save our energy for the ball.
That night, we put on our best prom wear and took to the metro, heading back downtown to celebrate the inauguration. Performers of all sorts were at the ball, Jamie Foxx, Fun., Jennifer Hudson, Stevie Wonder, John Legend, Soundgarden, and, strangely, Piers Morgan and Chris Tucker. But I won’t remember the performers when I look back on our trip. I’ll remember Abe’s GPS getting us through rural Ohio at 10 at night. I’ll remember Sydney being told that crossing a police line is an arrest-able offence. I’ll remember us, all together, finally seeing our president. And I’ll remember Barack Obama’s words: “We are made for this moment, and we will seize it – so long as we seize it together.”