Today we celebrate the inauguration of our 44th president, Barack Obama. I am lucky enough to be in Washington D.C. for this momentous occasion, and I wouldn’t trade the experience for the world.

I arrived in D.C. late Saturday afternoon, after 18 hours in a car with Daily photographers Rashah McChesney and Jon Lemons, Daily copy editor Heather Johnson, and her sister, Danielle. I had been to Washington once before, but from the moment we stepped out of the car, I felt a palpable difference in the energy of the city. Maybe this happens before every presidential inauguration — maybe it’s just the feeling that comes before a major change, the excitement of people from across the country gathering in one place.

But I don’t think this is just like every other presidential inauguration. I think this energy is unlike any this city has ever experienced.

As if it isn’t already completely overwhelming to see the monuments in person that we’ve come to recognize as symbols of our nation — with all the events taking place in celebration of Barack Obama’s inauguration, Washington D.C. is a sensory overload right now.

Keep your eyes peeled as you walk down the National Mall, you just might end up in the background shot of CNN’s coverage as you’re walking away from the gigantic MSNBC trailer. As you look ahead, you can see a carousel — but look up, past the colorful lights, and you’ll be staring at the Washington Monument.

Couples take pictures together, using the Capitol building as a backdrop.

A young girl bundled in a purple snowsuit runs around, arms out like an airplane, as her father chases after her.

Wander a little farther down the Mall toward the Lincoln Memorial, which is being transformed with the addition of stages, bleachers and an orchestra pit, and you will discover that the Reflecting Pool is frozen. The daring and mischievous take a few steps onto the ice to say they walked on the Reflecting Pool — cautious and terrified steps, hoping they won’t have to add that they also fell into the Reflecting Pool. Jon, Danielle and I give it a try.

Everyone has a cell phone, camera or video recorder out, trying desperately to document this incredible moment in time. I do the same, at the same time wondering — how can I put this feeling into words?

It’s clear as we explore the city that the people who have traveled here didn’t do so just to witness a presidential inauguration. They are here because Barack Obama is going to be the president of this great nation, the United States of America. Some have tickets and will stand in lines wrapped around Congressional office buildings to pick them up. Others have come without tickets, simply wanting to be in our nation’s capital on the day Obama is sworn in.

With this many visitors to the city, it’s almost impossible not to meet a few interesting people.

On our first morning here, we just happened to run into the Iowa National Guard. You see, they just happen to be patrolling the street on which we’re staying.

Today I spoke with a father and son from Cincinnati, who were eager to show me the packet their Congressman had given them upon picking up their tickets. Earlier, Rashah, Jon and I had the pleasure of meeting the director of a cultural arts center in North Carolina, who dabbles in blues radio DJing from time to time.

While I waited in line to pick up my ticket from Sen. Tom Harkin’s office, I met a lovely couple from West Virginia. After making introductions and small talk about the cold, they were excited to hear that I was from Iowa.

“That’s where all of this started! It’s because of you that we’re here for this right now,” they marveled.

The couple went on to tell me West Virginia had been as important for John F. Kennedy in 1960 as Iowa was for Obama in this election. Their pride in the comparison was evident, and I could sense their excitement in being present for the inauguration of a president who has often been compared to Kennedy.

It would be easy to feel insignificant and lost amid the chaos of so many people from so many places across the country. Surprisingly, that’s not the case. When I picked up my ticket from Harkin’s office, I was made to feel not only welcome, but like they were personally happy I could be here.

That feeling continued as I hit the streets. As a family excitedly asked if I had just picked up my ticket while we waited to cross the street, I felt a connection to them — and to everyone else who is here to witness this moment in history.

We are here because we voted for Barack Obama — or if we didn’t, because we still want to see him into office.

We are here because this nation is inaugurating its first black president.

We are here because Barack Obama has filled so many people with a sense of hope that no other politician has been able to ignite.

We are here because we are Americans.

Please, if you can’t witness it in person, turn on your TV or your computer to watch as our next president is inaugurated. This moment is too important to let it pass by.

Jessica Opoien is a freshman in English and pre-journalism and mass communication from Marinette, Wisc.