Why Second Inaugurations Are Still Meaningful

I didn’t have any of the fancy ball tickets or VIP access to the events, but being among the masses who cast their vote for a a more permanent type of change than the one we first dared to dream of in the first election. There was something about being among the “ordinary folk,” the pushers and hopers who make each of these inaugurations and affirmation of democracy possible, that makes a moment as momentous as President Obama’s second swearing in something to rest dearly on my heart.

I’ve written about this recently, but it’s worth mentioning again how the second year out of college is that time period, after your first year of wandering, that one truly starts to come into one’s own skin, with a more confident notion of where they might want to go in their life. I imagine the second year of the presidency is much like that. President Obama’s first term was filled with many highlights, but it still left those who so fully embraced his campaign of Change wanting more. Thank goodness we will get the chance to see just that. Obama’s speech and demeanor in these last few months since election has shown that, just like many second year postgraduates, this time around he finds himself more firmly down his path of who he wants to be as a president. This time around Change won’t even be something that is hinted at, it will be the kind of Change that is more permanent. If there is one thing that was proven in this last election is that a large majority of Americans are ready to put their chips all in that reshaping and redefining America is a job that often needs to be done as we forge ahead in the years on this beautiful planet. Standing in the bleachers as the Obamas passed by was less about the people waving at me, but about what they stood for and what I know they can do with these next four years. I am continuously humbled by what the mighty shoves of diligent workers bring about this country every day, and as I make my way back to Miami tomorrow afternoon, I plan to continue my pushes forward too. Change doesn’t happen overnight, but if it weren’t so necessary, we wouldn’t even be celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr today.