i've rewritten this a few times now, and i'm having trouble putting my emotions into words. proud, excited, hopeful, elated, calm....emotional. we went to the obama election night rally in grant park last night, with 1,000,000 or so other people. the peaceful excitement that swept grant park was unbelievable, everyone was in such high spirits, laughing, smiling, crying....incredible. the sheer magnitude of the crowd was enough to make my eyes water, but hearing the cheering and the yelling and the chanting made my heart melt. i am so grateful to have been part of such a momentous night in the history of our country. i've never been so proud of america, to be an american. we're not half bad. it was an absolutely incredible experience i will remember forever.

top moments (which greatly outweighed the lows):
1. the moment i realized this would be an expeirence i would tell my children and my grand children about.
2. saying the pledge of allegiance with a million other people. crying while doing so.
3. seeing the throngs of obama supporters smiling and laughing as we crowded the streets leaving grant park. without the cheerful excitement, the scene would have been straight out of an armageddon film, littered pavement and cars unable to move through the crowds overtaking the streets. but everyone was elated. the cops were even smiling.
4. watching virginia turning into a blue state. sorry, dad.
5. buying the "chicago's in the house" t-shirt from a guy on the street. the white house with a chicago flag. awesome.
6. having a near painless commute home. thanks, CTA!
7. seeing a metal detecting security guard stop wanding someone in order to clap for obama getting ohio.
8. realizing that i am still considered a member of the "youth vote".

low moments:
1. hearing the wrong words sung during the national anthem. didn't anyone give the lady a lyrics sheet? that was bad.
2. annoying obama fan shouting "yes, sir!" and "we're behind you!" after EVERY SINGLE SENTENCE our president elect said in his victory speech.
3. porta potties. unavoidable.

my friend trevor took some much better photos.

i voted this morning. i was expecting hours of waiting, annoying ignorant poll volunteers, and grumpy fellow voters. instead i was greeted with the most streamlined voting experience i've ever had in my neighborhood. speedy and intelligent volunteers, cheerful and peppy neighbors waiting in line with me, and only 22 minutes of my time spent on the whole experience. i bounced off to work with a great feeling, the beautiful sunny almost 60 degree day brightening my spirits even more.

and tonight, we will be attending the Obama election night rally in grant park! (special thanks to our friends who are taking us as their guests.) i'm still sort of in a fog about all of this, and as a friend put it, "it will be historic no matter WHERE you are!", but i'm really looking forward to being present during one of the key moments of probably the most amazing election in history.

in other news, i turned 29 a few days ago. it has hit me a little harder than i thought it would...i know i'm still young and still have time to do everything i want to do in my lifetime, but it feels like a turning point. i'm expecting this year to be pretty awesome, and i'm really looking forward to 30, but i can't help feeling like i've forgotten something, left something behind with my 20s. i've got less than a year to figure out what that might be.

happy election day!