First-Person: Barack Obama Inauguration Events in San Fernando, California

Sylmar, California -- Today was a great day. Students and faculty at Sylmar High School in San Fernando Valley had the opportunity to join the rest of the nation in watching the inauguration of the 44^th president of the United States of America, Barrack Hussein Obama. It was a great day indeed.

I was overcome with tears of joy as I sat with my students in Sylmar's Spartan Hall, watching Obama anxiously and excitedly take the oath to serve as the commander in chief. Prior to this day, the school had to take applications from teachers who were interested in taking their classes to the watching of the inauguration. I applied and was invited to watch it with my second period class.

It was great in every sense of the word. All of my students had never had an experience like this. They are ninth graders most of whom were not born when Bill Clinton was sworn into office in 1993, and they were seven or eight when George W. Bush was first inaugurated in 2001.

As we were in the auditorium, you could hear a pin drop in this capacity crowd of several hundred people. Students and staff alike were highly engaged as we watched the events of the day transpire. Applauds were given when notable tunes were played or sang, and when speeches were made. One could feel the pride, the enthusiasm and the sense of fulfillment in the room. Although the student body at Sylmar is predominantly Hispanics in origin, one could feel the happiness and hope that these students have as they look forward to a new era. It is a hope that Obama's inauguration will lead to more historic ones in the future.

After the viewing, I incorporated the day's events in today's class discussion. We had a heartfelt class discussion on the whole idea of hope and personal responsibility. Hearing President Obama say many times over, the need for each of us to take personal responsibility for our actions, and to be the father, the mother, the child, the teacher, the what ever you are made to be, to be it well. I reminded my students once again about the need to start the change in their own lives by changing their work habits and attitudes towards learning and achieving. I think it sank in, at least for now.

I must say that after the discussion a lot of the students felt like the presidency are now possible for them. If not of the United States, certainly a leader at something. I am so glad I was able to witness this day with my students. The transferring of power form one administration to another is something unique to this great nation.

As the day ends, I am so glad I lived to see this day because there were so many who lived but never made it to see this day. There were so many who fought, who marched, who endured all sorts of torture but didn't make it to this day. For them, we must not waste the opportunity we are given. For them, we must work together as president Obama urged us to make the change we need. We do it for ourselves and for our future generation.

I can now truly tell any child that he or she can become whatever he or she wishes to become, and have it really mean that. We have come a long way, and we have yet more rivers to cross. But we are getting there, and we shall surely get there. Long live president Barrack Hussein Obama, and Long Live the United States of America.