Today is the day!

When I got to work today and MSNBC was already on the tube, I felt more emotional than I had expected I would feel today. Not that I thought I wouldn't feel that hopeful, almost overwheleming feeling, but I didn't think I would feel it so deeply.

Everyone is talking about the changes that will happen, the dawning of a new era for our country, and the history that is being made today. It's true our children and grandchildren will ask where we were when the first African-American president of the United States, Barack Obama, was sworn in. I hope by then it won't be as miraculous or surprising as it is today. By then, I hope there will have been a female president, a Jewish president, a Latino president, or heaven forbid it, a GAY president.

New possibilities and hopes for the future have been flooding my mind all morning and afternoon. However, the most poignant thing for me is seeing all of the faces in the crowd--everyone that traveled to Washington DC to witness something we never thought could happen in our lifetime. The smiles, tears, hopeful stares up at our new president were truly something amazing. The vision of the 2 million people that showed up at the Mall was one of the most spectacular thing I've ever seen.


I have definitely become more political since I began investing my free time to fighting homophobia. I think if you're part of a minority-- whether it's race, religion, ethnicity, or sexuality--this inauguration means more than just a change for the nation as a whole.

Barack Obama represents everything that is new and different. And for all of us who feel, or have felt, different inside, today is the day to let those insecure feelings slip away. Today we should embrace everything that has been branded, "different," because definitions are beginning to change. Difference is a GREAT thing; without it, no progress would be made. I think everyone is slowly beginning to see that.

I am proud of what we all have accomplished as a nation and as individuals. I hope that this inauguration will prompt people who are in the closet to come out proudly. Barack Obama has shown us that inclusion and fairness are the ways of the future. So let's all be proud of our country today, but more importantly, let's be proud of ourselves for being different, however scary that may be.