Obama inspires politicians at all levels

"Yes we can," the campaign slogan of Barack Obama, became a household slogan for all of America. Yes we can; a black man born to a Kenyan, raised in Hawaii becomes the first black Commander-in-Chief. Yes we can; millions of people gather in freezing weather, witnessing history that is bound to be the talk of the century. Yes we can; Barack Obama became the 44th President of the United States of America and he also becomes the first African-American to do so.

The obvious response to something so great would be one of sentimentality and hope.

Mine was no different. A presidential hopeful myself, I knew exactly how President Obama felt.

Yes, I once held a position being the first of my kind. In 5th grade at William Hammerschmidt Elementary School in Lombard, I was elected the president of my school's student council, being the first and only non-Caucasian student ever to do so. I know what Barack Obama felt, and because of that, this inauguration was much more special to me than it would have been otherwise.

As I saw the history being made before my eyes, I thought about how great of a country America is. America, in which liberty is not only an aspiration, but it is a right to all Americans. America, in which inspiration can become ideas, and ideas truly can become actions. I thought to myself that no other country in the world could accommodate the freedom that America does.

I am proud to be an American, and I always have been. But on Jan. 20, 2009, when I saw a black man stand up to take the oath of office for the president of the United States of America, I felt proud to be alive. This really was the inauguration of a lifetime.

Shaan Khan

8th Grade

Lombard