November Synopsis

Because I don't have time for an in-depth post, here are the highlights of my life this November. It always proves to be an exciting month.

• Obama was elected
• I turned 20 and thus became a mature adult
• He called me and wished me a happy birthday, a message I promptly deleted
  
• I went on a retreat and made best friends
• Three Asians (Chinese, specifically) came home with me for Thanksgiving
• I was accepted into the Institute for Political Journalism, Summer 2009
• I am going to D.C. in 6 months!
  

It's a new day... and change has come

I thought I would add this video I just found of Will.i.am's song "It's a New Day", which debuted on Oprah Friday. I find the placement of the pictures behind him just as moving as the words themselves. I've never been a big fan of the Black Eyed Peas, but this song really is an amazing piece.



I woke up this morning
Feeling brand new
Cause the dreams that I've been dreaming
Have finally came true
Yea, I woke up this morning
Feeling alright
'Cause we weren't fighting for nothing
And the soldiers weren't fighting
For nothing
No, Martin was dreaming for nothing
And Lincoln didn't change it for nothing
And children weren't crying for nothing
It's a new day


Now let's compare that to Sam Cooke's song "A Change is Gonna Come," written in 1963, before the passage of the Civil Rights Act. He died several months after the act was passed. I won't even pretend that both of these songs don't give me chills.



I was born by the river in a little tent
And just like the river, I've been running ever since
It's been a long time coming
But I know a change is gonna come

It's been too hard living, but I'm afraid to die
I don't know what's up there beyond the sky
It's been a long time coming
But I know a change is gonna come

I go to the movie, and I go downtown
Somebody keep telling me "Don't hang around"
It's been a long time coming
But I know a change is gonna come

Then I go to my brother and I say, "Brother, help me please"
But he winds up knocking me back down on my knees

There've been times that I've thought I couldn't last for long
But now I think I'm able to carry on
It's been a long time coming
But I know a change is gonna come

Appropriately enough, Obama quoted this song in his victory speech Tuesday night:
"It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America."

Oh Yes, We Did

Well, I'm a little delayed in my response, but better late than never.

Even as I was experiencing the present tense on Tuesday night, I already felt like I was living through a moment in history; like we were all there as actors, recreating a defining election day for our country.

It is as though the mental picture I took of the immense crowd on Franklin Street has already been immortalized in U.S. History textbooks. I don't know, maybe it has.

I'm looking forward to seeing what the future holds. There will be little room for error, but there is also so much room for hope. We lost that hope for awhile, but here it is again. With Obama lies possibility and opportunity, the thought that "if we can do this, than we can do anything."

Already, our president-elect has become an icon. Perhaps with time his face will become synonymous with the red, white and blue of the American flag.

It's time for us to accept a new color anyway.