Published: January 29, 2009

I voted for Barack Obama on Nov. 4, and on Jan. 20, I was one of the two million-plus people who visited Washington, D.C. for his inauguration as the 44th president of the United States.

The day started at 4 a.m. when my girlfriend and I set off from her house in Virginia for the Metro into D.C. When we arrived at the station, the line on the platform was already six- people deep. We waited as full train after full train arrived and departed without us. We eventually got a seat on a packed subway car, surrounded by men, women and children clad in Obama gear. There were Obama T-shirts and scarves, Obama hats and pins, Obama everything. The train ride took about an hour, and when we arrived at the Capitol South Metro station, the crowd assembled and got ready to move.

We made our way through the station like cattle, walked up the stopped escalator and out into the cold weather. We had silver tickets, which gave us access to the first section of the Mall and the lawn behind the Capitol’s reflecting pool. We made our way, following the signs to the silver section until we finally found a line of ticket holders. We looked for the end of the line. We looked. And we looked. We followed the line of patient people up and down blocks and around buildings for what seemed to be years. After about a mile, I spotted a man who I had seen walking alongside me on the line. I figured we were getting closer. And we were getting close—to chaos.

A few minutes after recognizing the man, we followed the line around a corner that we had been around before. It was then we realized that these thousands of people in line were following each other in an endless circle. Luckily we found an inauguration volunteer who informed us, pointing at the mess of people, that “This is all wrong, go that way.” We made our way in the suggested direction and basically found a way to cut about 10,000 people.

After some miscommunication, pushing and prodding, security checkpoints and an argument between me and my girlfriend, we finally made it to our spot. We stood among the mass of people gazing across the center of the reflection pool facing toward the Capitol steps. We stood, anxiously awaiting the arrival of our next president. “Hail to the Chief” swelled, and we were almost fooled until we saw George W. Bush appear on the jumbo screen, making his way toward his seat. We booed and sang “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye.” Although the media criticized us, we stood in a joyous collection, railing against the man and the administration that, in our eyes, had betrayed us all.

The pomp and circumstance continued, and then came this moment. The moment right before the swearing in, when the musical selection was played, marked a stirring of emotion in me. As the collection of music greats—Itzhak Perlman (violin), Yo-Yo Ma (cello), Gabriela Montero (piano) and Anthony McGill (clarinet)—began the selection composed by John Williams, the seagulls flew over the frozen pool and lent their call to the swelling violin. There was something so distinctly American about this moment, the music provided a perfect soundtrack to the anticipation, and as it filled our ears, we knew that something had changed in America.

Obama was sworn in and gave his speech, which we all seemed to have our own opinions about, and then it was over. He is now our president for the next four, or possibly eight, years.

Many people criticized Obama’s speech for not being memorable enough, for not having a “line.” But what I experienced in being there could not be put into words, not even by the president himself. What was said by the sheer display of a black man standing behind the presidential podium was enough. After Obama became president, an older black man standing behind me, whispered to himself, “It is done, it is done.” And the calm in his voice resonated in my ear, as if a battle had finally been won.

As I left the inauguration, I couldn’t help but think that America had truly won this day. With the election of Obama, we see that the idea of America set forth for us in our founding documents is alive and well—that we have taken yet another step in our long journey toward a “more perfect union.” We have been asked constantly through the years to ensure the equality of all mankind, and in this election, and in this president, we further guarantee the right of any man or woman to aim for what it seems he or she cannot reach.