Back to streets worth walking

I'm back in Berkeley and I've made it through the week rather unscathed and with high spirits. The promise of a clean slate in my classes and the resolution to focus on building my life have kept me optimistic. Of course there have already been some outrageous moments where I normally might have just lost my head and gotten completely frustrated, but I'm proud of myself for just handling them.

The inauguration Tuesday was amazing on campus. I got stuck behind the columns of the student union in the massive crowd of people, so I had to be moving my head around constantly to see the projection on Sproul. All kinds of people were gathered together to witness a historic event and to feel the hope embodied by our new president. However, I hope with all the inspiring words of the inauguration speech, people will realize securing the future will take much more than a single person to guide us through. I hope they will see beyond the promise of this new leader and realize each person needs to have hope for theirself and the resolution to be a part of the change. Not to just witness history in action, but to believe in their own power and the imperative of personal contribution.

More and more, I believe that the way we people live today cannot continue. Among the problems of modern society, such as the multitude of flaws in wasteful American lifestyles, the bleak degradation of character in today's youth, and the general decay of social values, we are too reliant on others to fix things for us. As if deus ex machina could be counted on to resolve all our self-centered problems, we expect the system and other people to remedy them without inconvenience to, or even action from, ourselves. This is an absurd and stubborn idea. However, there is hope, for I believe most people are capable of a greater social conciousness. It is only a matter of awakening it, and, from this, the fervor to act will naturally follow. I hope our new president will not be a symbol of hope in the sense that he will be the one to "fix" America's problems, for this will only perpetuate our problems and the deeper issues with the country and its people. Instead, I hope he will be the symbol of hope that we all can effect the change we wish to see. Hearing the words of the inauguration speech, I know I share this hope with him.