Nothing will last forever.

Before I lose the motivation and time to do so, I figured I'd better post a little farewell to 2008. It was an eventful year, not only personally, but culturally as well.
In 2008 we saw a female candidate that had a serious shot at becoming vice president, however disastrous and vomit-inducing the choice may have been. (Thank you, America, for not making me live out the next four years awash in her idiocy.) Our economy has continued to flounder, businesses are closing not only at home, but abroad. The rate of joblessness has skyrocketed. The real estate world has continued to crumble. Automakers needed bailing out. Wall Street needed bailing out. Everyone needed bailing out. Scandal after scandal has come to light, including our own governor being brought down by a newsman's wet dream of prostitution and betrayal. Stars have not just fallen from grace but crashed and burned onto the screens of our televisions. But as tumultuous as 2008 may have seemed, this country did something that surprised even the most skeptical nonbelievers. This year, we saw this country rise up and come together to elect the first black president with the hope that he can actually make the long-awaited change we crave in Washington. To use a trite quote: "It's been a long, a long time coming, but I know a change gon' come. Oh yes it will."
The upcoming year has the possibility of being one of the most historical in a very long time, whether for the good or bad. In January an estimated 1 to 2 million people (depending on what projection you read) will gather in Washington D.C. to be a part of Barack Obama's inauguration. I will be among those and though I didn't win the regional "lottery" for tickets, I will happily stand in whatever spot I can get to be a part of history. Americans made a monumental choice on Nov. 4 and the hopeful energy still teeming from that decision is palpable.
Though times in recent months have seemed dire, I still have hope that this is not the end and that brighter skies are just around the bend. I may be fooling myself by putting my faith in something that seems unreachable or at least very far off, but I have to. And as cheesy as it sounds, I have faith in the people of this country. I have faith that we will not be discouraged so easily, and that perhaps the imperfect situations we are forced into may will us into waking up and demanding a better life. As I type this I can't shake the feeling that it sounds like the idealistic visions of a naive 20-something, but maybe that's what we need. Maybe in 2009 we need to wash ourselves of the dirt that has tainted our dreams and the baggage of cynicism that has weighed down our hopes. Or maybe I'm just feeling unusually hopeful this evening. Either way, I am excited to see what the coming year will bring. Nothing is expected and anything is possible.