Four Years Down, Four Years To Go

January 2009: I was a junior in high school.  The Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals were making their way to the Super Bowl.  We were all dealing with economic crisis in some way or another.  Osama Bin Laden was still alive.  “Love Story” by Taylor Swift was topping the charts.  And did I forget to mention that America had our first African-American president sworn into office, Mr. Barack Obama?

Fast-forward four years to January 2013 and things are a little bit different.  I am a junior at my dream school (BC, obviously).  The NFL is seeing two brothers coach against each other in the first time in Super Bowl history.  We are building up our economy and expanding the job market.  Osama Bin Laden is dead and we are trying to end the War on Terrorism.  Taylor Swift has moved on to yet another man.  These notable changes have occurred as well as many others, both positive and negative, over the course of four years.  What we do see again though is Barack Obama, a little grayer and more pragmatic this time around, being sworn into office as President of the United States of America.

Obama’s daughters Sasha and Malia stand a lot taller and more mature, and his wife Michelle has captured our hearts with her personality and our eyes with her fashion.  The Obama family has transformed over the past four years right before our eyes and if we all truly reflect on our past four years I am sure we can agree that every family in America has transformed. 

Tragic events such as public shootings of innocent children and movie watchers have put security into question.  The ratification of gay marriage rights in some states but not others have put the definition of marriage into question.  Contrasting platforms within our own Congress has put the meaning of democratic cohesion into question.  Four years ago we may have grown in several areas but are still left with unanswered questions from the past and new ones arising.

One can look at a new term of office with two views when there is an incumbent president.  Is it a time of continuation where one works to complete what they have been striving for over the past four years?  Or is it a blank slate where we start anew and move in a different direction? These are tough questions for me because sometimes I think depending on the context it could be a combination of both.  I ask these questions not only in light of the politics occurring in our country but also in light of our every day lives and the direction we ourselves are moving towards in the next four years.

I have fallen into the hopeful trap both times President Obama has given his mesmerizing inaugural addresses, becoming truly hopeful in the future in our US of A.  We all may have hopes but we cannot yet truly grasp how issues relating to nuclear war, our economy, health insurance, social security, gun rights, gay marriage, education for all, and the environment will pan out over the next four years.  We can only put trust in our government and make sure our voices are heard.

What we do have control over, though is how we want our own lives to go over the next four years.  We have to try to have faith in the decisions we make just like we try to have faith in the decisions our government makes.  So is up to you, do you want to continue your life how it has been over the past four years or see this as a time to inaugurate a new “you,” going towards a new path in life?

Photo Sources:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/barackobama/9792381/1-million-for-VIP-treatment-at-Barack-Obamas-inauguration.html

http://www.mercurynews.com/nation-world/ci_22417938/inauguration-day-starts-prayer-pledges-and-parties

http://hrrrthrrr.com/

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