When you travel with Smithsonian Student Travel, you’ll see all the sights America has to offer. Plus, you’ll have chances to win great prizes when you participate in our educational contests. It’s as simple as sharing your thoughts with us!
In our most recent essay contest, we asked students traveling on our Inauguration 2009 tours: Why is attending the Inauguration important to you?
First Place
Samantha W., 16-years-old, South St. Paul, MN
As a junior in high school, I know the tedious study of history. I’ve been subject to the memorization of lengthy timelines and causes and effects of war, but I have never had such an exciting opportunity to be a part of history. Attending the Inauguration is important to me because I am the voice of a generation who is seemingly apathetic to politics but obsessed with pop culture phenomena. I have the opportunity to witness history in the making and to fully engage in the obscure realm of politics. Let’s face it, regardless of the winner, I will have witnessed a historic moment in the life of America, and for that alone, I am blessed in receiving this chance. I want to be the voice of the youth and similarly, I want to inspire my peers to do so as well. We are, after all, the future of this country, and in attending the Inauguration, one of my ambitions as a leader will have been fulfilled, for I will have the opportunity to witness the magnitude in how relentless hard work and integrity can get one to their hopes and dreams -- regardless of age, gender or race.
Second Place
Elizabeth V., 13-years-old, Temple City, CA
“O-bam-a! O-bam-a! Mc-Cain! Mc-Cain!” are the recognizable chants being chanted by the Obama and McCain campaign fans. Even though it may only seem like the adults are the ones captivated in this election, I am very captivated myself. Once I heard about Obama’s and McCain’s plans for our country, I started getting curious. I wondered, would sending our troops back home and ending the Iraq war be a good decision? Or, would keeping our troops still in Iraq lead us to the same effect that happened with our previous president? Therefore, I suddenly became interested in this campaign. Soon, I was asking my father for more information about the beliefs of each candidate. Then, when my school was taking 8th graders to Washington D.C., for the Inauguration, I rapidly became excited. All I ever wanted to see was our future president giving his inauguration speech. Even if the candidate that I was rooting for wasn’t elected, it would still be a life-changing experience. After adventuring the sights of Washington D.C., and listening to the inauguration speech, I would feel different. Before, all the information I got about our capital and the election was from my history book and radio. Now, being able to see something that’s not printed on history books is very special. It would help me realize all of the work our founding fathers had to go through to make our nation what it is now. For certain, it would increase my interest about history and reading biographies of historical people. Also, it would give me an idea of what the occupation of president of the United States is like. All in all, going to Washington D.C., is a pretty big deal to me. The reason is because not every day does a teenager get to be in the eyes of the reporters, who will be listening with an earnest ear what our new president has to say.