Maybe because I was too excited. Maybe because I was too busy. Maybe because, as Sam said, the title “President-elect” made it feel like there still was a possibility that he wouldn’t actually replace Bush. Whatever the reason why I didn’t write about Obama and my experiences within until now, I don’t know, but I think it’s finally time.

The first point in time I can remember that I got really interested in politics was about nine years ago, when my best friend Sam and I decided to do some phone banking for Gore in 2000. Phone banking was interesting being 14 and obviously not being able to vote. I also raised money to go with my class on a trip to the Inauguration in early 2001. Needless to say, everybody on the trip was pretty disappointed with the outcome and we left the actual swearing-in ceremony early. Four years later, I went door-to-door with a few organizations and did a bit of work here and there and was able to vote myself, but we all know how 2004 turned out.

So, essentially for the entirety of my political interest, Bush has been president. And that’s why it’s been so unbelievably difficult to comprehend what’s just happened. But, I can say that I was there, and Sam was there with me to witness it.

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Sam & I flew into DC on the 19th and spent our time either napping or wandering around the city, trying to find a single place that wasn’t completely full. Our dinner ended up being at a bar which serves four things including “Chiken Tenders,” which I enjoyed thoroughly. We went back to our hotel in Alexandria, preparing ourselves for what was ahead.

On the morning of the 20th, I was raring to go right away in the morning; I wanted a decent place to see the new President from. We packed our bags, left them in the lobby to pick up later, and headed off.

The Metro wasn’t quite overpacked when we first got on it, but by the time we got to the last Metro stop in VA, it was completely full. Young and old. Black and white. Everybody was excited and happy. It was awesome.

We got off at L’Enfant Plaza (as seen by the map), and headed South as almost every other entrance was blocked off. Farther and farther we went, until we hit a bottleneck of sorts in the Southern most part of the mall. We were pushed in so tightly that at times it was difficult to breathe. We literally had no control over where we moved—it was the motion of the crowd that decided where we’d go. This ended up meaning we’d go over a barrier to get into the mall. After getting over it with a bit of difficulty, we were stuck within, overcrowded and not moving anywhere. People realized this, and ended up forcing us right back over the same barrier we had originally jumped over. It was 11:15 by this point; the bands were starting to play, and we were worried that we’d even be able to see his swearing-in.

Finally, we saw the end of the madness: a small opening at the end of the gigantic crowd. We got in, stood still, made a few friends surrounding us, and watched what became a tiny Jumbotron in the distance and saw history made. The feeling was incredible. We were all together in this. We were happy, nervous, scared, excited, and ready to face the future.

Everybody that day was kind. Everybody. People you bumped into accidentally. The police (we made friends with a Chicago policeman!). The US Army, which was called in to help the craziness. Businesses. They even had hot dogs and hot chocolate left after the ceremony (I can’t believe they didn’t sell out).

We spent the rest of the day wandering the streets, looking at extremely kitschy Obama gear, being cold, and being happy. The parade was not a possibility without tickets—we went through one security barrier which brought us into a cordoned-off area which was 200 feet behind the bleachers for the parade.

We left that night, and now I’m back in Boston, but damn, I was happy I was there!