the inauguration of barack obama

i know that this happened six months ago, but i never really shared my inauguration experience with the masses. so i'm sharing it now!

about two weeks before the inauguration, i decided to hop on a bus so that i could be there for this pivotal moment in our country's history. i used to live in d.c. and still have good friends there, so i had a place to stay and great friends to attend events with.

on the first full day i was there, my friend and i went to the "we are one" concert on the national mall and heard all sorts of great music - stevie wonder, bruce springsteen, renee fleming, beyonce, james taylor and lots of others performed. it was freezing and a very long day, but an exciting one. it was pretty incredible to be there with so many other excited people.

the next night, i went with another group of friends to the black cat (my favorite place to see music in d.c.) for andrew bird's "big shoulders inaugural ball". it was awesome. andrew bird, ted leo, tortoise and a bunch of other bands performed and it was a lot of fun. i wish i had some pictures from it - a friend and i did meet andrew bird, but he wasn't feeling well so we didn't get a picture. sad. i do, however, have a picture of what happened after the show. JUMBO SLICE!!! :)

the next day was the inaguration, which i was lucky enough to have a ticket for. so i got up around 4 am and went downtown where i joined the huge crowd of my fellow purple ticket holders. the crowd got larger by the minute and by 7 am we were all packed in so tightly that we literally couldn't move. even though everyone was frozen solid, we were all so happy to be there. but when we hadn't moved an inch by 10 am, the mood shifted. there was mass confusion and everyone started getting angry because there was no one there to give any updates on what was going on or why we weren't moving. and then, by some miracle, at 11:00 am, the crowds mysteriously parted. since i was alone, i started running for the purple gate. i got pretty near the front when they said they weren't letting anyone else in. everyone who was shut out was so devastated and angry...it was pretty horrible. but then the most amazing thing i've ever witnessed happened. the canons went off announcing that barack obama was our new president. and at that moment, everyone stopped yelling and started crying. complete strangers started hugging each other and jumping up and down. it was so beautiful.

after that, i walked back down the street where i had spent the morning waiting and had another incredible moment. all of the vendors that had been lining the street turned on their radios and all of the displaced people (myself included) stood together and listened to obama's address in the street. so, while it wasn't at all the experience i had hoped for, it was amazing in its own way.

i was supposed to take the bus back to new york the next morning, but my friend called and told me that i needed to stay one more day. she had worked for obama's campaign and had an extra ticket to his staff ball at the d.c. armory the next night and wanted to know if i wanted to go with her. it was amazing...arcade fire and jay-z performed and kal penn, david plouffe, the bidens, and the obamas all spoke. and because my friend shoved me into the front row, not only did i get some really great pictures, i was also lucky enough to shake the hands of both of the bidens and the obamas. in fact, i said to barack obama, "congratulations, mr. president." and he thanked me while shaking my hand!!! it was the most surreal experience of my life and i will never, ever forget it.

and now my jay-z photos...i LOVE how these came out.

it was a truly awesome experience that i will always be grateful i had. thanks so much to all of my friends for helping to make this all happen.

click here to see more pictures.

kate