day one

Since I don't really need this for school anymore, and I can't remember my password for emily-faith.blogspot.com (because the last time I posted there was Nov 6, 2006), I'm going to publish a bit here for a while.

Today is the first day of Obama's administration, and if you read my last post on emily-faith.blogspot.com, I've been waiting for this for over two years. Going to the inauguration is the absolute best thing I have ever done. Oprah keeps saying that Washington is vibrating, and she's not kidding. The entire city seemed so much more vibrant and alive than it did when I was there for a month this summer. People were shouting Obama's name from the top of tour buses, staring at the capitol with tears in their eyes, and singing "Lean on Me" on the metro. People all around are not just talking about what Obama will do for them, but how he has changed and inspired them. With CHANGE being the major theme, it's refreshing that people seem to understand that his call is for us to take control and be part of the change that he will work to bring.

CNN is doing a special on Obama's first 100 days... probably trying desperately to hang onto the viewers they had over the last few days. Today, Obama froze salaries of staffers making over $100,000 dollars a year and issued ethics rules restricting lobbyists and creating more transparency in government.

I almost hate the focus of the first 100 days because of its limited time frame and its blatent reference to FDR (and it is ridiculous... obviously CNN will report on the president's actions after that). However, the focus on the first 100 days provides a good challenge to the American people as well. Obama and Biden have promised to work tirelessly every day for our country... but what are we all doing? Right now, I'm watching Oprah on DVR and getting excited about Carolina v. Clemson and the LOST premeire tonight. There's nothing wrong with that, but I have exactly decided how I'm going to be part of all of this change. All of us, all 300 million, need to be actively considering how to incorporate change into our lives. We need to be more conscious of our decisions and how they impact our world.

So, for the next 100 days, I will pick something to do that will help bring change. It does not have to be something huge, but it does have to be something. Today I unplugged my cell phone charger after it charged last night. Although it will be a slight annoyance to plug it back in every night, doing this will decrease my consumption of energy.