Election day

Today is a very important day not only here in the US, but for the future of the whole world. I have been thinking about politics and about my life in the US a lot lately, and I just realized that it's been almost exactly 8 years since I moved here, and that coincides with the the beginning of the Bush administration. In 2000, when he was first elected, I was too young to know or care much about politics. I witnessed the craze after the elections from Kansas, and at the time, didn't understand what was at stake. I don't think many people did. Of course, it's very easy to judge from 8 years later, knowing everything that has happened since. Except for the first few months I lived in the US, my whole time here was spent under the Bush administration. It is similar for a lot of Americans in my generation who had turned 18 around 2000. It is understandable why these elections are so exciting and important for so many young people.

This morning I was out and about in the city, and walked by several polling locations, all of which had lines outside on the street. People looked so excited and didn't seem to mind the waiting. I really wished I could go stand in line with them and go vote. Since I can't, all I can do is wear my opinion on my jacket: I was pretty much forced to put on an Obama sticker this weekend when I encountered some last-minute campaigners in Cambridge, MA near the Harvard campus - not that I had to be forced too much, I am happy to wear it, if it makes just a single person stop and think, then it was already worth it. I have to say that since having the sticker on, I have been smiled at much more frequently on the streets of New York than anytime before this.


In Cambridge, sporting my new sticker


The line outside of a polling station on Columbus Ave.


My friends Rachel and Albert voting this morning

The city is extremely vibrant today. After work I went to the grocery store to buy some ingredients for brownies to take to the election party I am going to later. There were more people in the store than I had seen at this hour before. It looked like many people were going to or hosting parties. People looked excited, they were more upbeat than they usually are in New York. The atmosphere on the streets is different too. People are excited and hopeful. Walking down the street, I want to skip and sing and smile. I just hope it'll stay this way come tomorrow.

Some people are worried about the future already: what if someone tries to assassinate Obama? What if he becomes a scapegoat after the economy plummeting even deeper in the upcoming years? What if he isn't going to be a strong president? etc... Well, first, we should worry about tonight and the outcome of the election. Already there's going to be change, we wil just have to see what happens. It's exciting to see democracy at work, even if I can't fully be part of it. Go Obama!