In the News

Seven Scranton High School students were in Washington, D.C., visiting monuments, touring museums and witnessing Monday's inauguration of President Barack Obama.

Once in a lifetime

After about eight months of planning and fundraising, our big day finally came. We were going to the inauguration of the president of the United States. Now, our teachers told us that it was going to be a long day and that it would be extremely crowded, but I didn't anticipate how busy it would actually be. We woke up this morning by 5:30 to get ready and eat breakfast. We left the hotel by 7 and went to the subway. It was so crowded on the first train that came by that the doors were closing on other people trying to fight their way through. At that moment, I knew that our teachers really weren't exaggerating.

When we finally arrived downtown, the lines were crazy. First, we had to wait in a huge line to go through security. Then, we had a second line just to get to the "Green" section. When we finally got through the lines, we had yet another hold-up: a man was in a tree protesting. Once we found our final destination, it was surreal when we looked around us and saw how many people were there. This was truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I am so happy that I got to experience this amazing journey with my classmates.

Man in the tree

One thing that I found interesting, other than the inauguration, was a certain gentleman who had climbed up into one of the trees on the grounds of the Capitol - right in the middle of our section. Now, don't get me wrong here, the inauguration itself was amazing, but this guy made the time go by just a little bit faster.

As we walked through our section (Green), we started to make our way toward the center, in perfect view of the balcony where the president would take the oath of office. As we came around a large pine tree, we came to an abrupt halt. The Capitol Police had found a protester had climbed high up into the tree with a pro-life sign, and he was screaming. With smaller limbs breaking and falling dangerously close to the crowd, he worked his way up to the top of this tree. The police eventually got a ladder, leaned it up against the tree and waited. They apparently decided not to go up after him; they were going to wait him out. There were a few instances that we all thought he was going to fall, but he did not. He continued to scream his viewpoint throughout the program, at times making it difficult to hear what was going on. When the ceremony was over, he finally came down, and the police arrested him.

Making new friends

Today was the 2013 inauguration. There were hundreds of thousands of people from so many different ethnic groups, religions and ages everywhere we looked. As we searched to find the perfect spot, squeezing and weaving in all directions, we heard a woman warn us that her little girl was sitting on the ground below us. We turned and saw little Olivia. Realizing how this could be overwhelming for someone so small, we crouched down to talk to her. She was showing us game after game on her mom's iPad. She told us that she was 8 years old and in the third grade. It was really special for us to be able to share this opportunity with someone so young, who was experiencing this overwhelming and historic moment for the first time with us.

We had prepared to be warm and nourished. We had packed plenty of food and were willing to share. To our right was a young black woman. We offered her some of our food, and we all quickly began talking as if we had known each other for years. Tammie informed us that she had traveled since 6 in the morning all by herself to see Obama's inauguration for the second time. She explained many of the differences and similarities between the two ceremonies and also about her life in Washington, D.C. After snapping a few pictures with our new friend, we said our farewells and hugged. These two strangers really made an impact on our day at the Capitol and will remain as part of our memory of this historic day forever.

'Faith in America'

The inauguration ceremony of 2013 is one of those events that we will never forget. First of all, Barack Obama was sworn into office for the second time. His speech was short but right on point. The theme of his speech was "Faith in America's Future." He said that we, as Americans, have to make hard choices, move forward together, and to make sure our voice is heard.

As Obama's ceremony came to an end, we were fortunate to see performances by James Taylor, Kelly Clarkson and Beyonce. It was incredible to see these great artists perform classic patriotic American songs rather than their typical genres. It was a miraculous feeling to look right next to you and see many others singing along.

Everyone standing in front of the president was participating in their own ways - reacting to the speeches, clapping and cheering together, or singing with the musicians - making all of us a part of history in support of the president of the United States.

Freshman meets students

Congressman Matt Cartwright is our freshman Congressional representative. After hearing about our trip, he was very interested and kind enough to provide us with tickets for the inauguration. The tickets were in a section closer than our teachers had ever been in the past three inaugurations they attended. We were so fortunate to be as close as we were, especially when we looked back and saw the hundreds of thousands of people who were behind us. This realization helped make our once-in-a-lifetime experience better than we ever expected. We all were able to catch a glimpse of President Obama, Vice President Biden and all of the other speakers and performers.

After the inauguration, we were invited to attend Rep. Cartwright's reception in his office. We had the great opportunity to meet him, his wife and some of his staff. We quickly saw how welcoming and down to earth he is. Without our congressman's helpfulness, we would not have had the experience that we did, and we are very appreciative. We are all looking forward to meeting with him for a formal picture Tuesday.