I woke up on Jan. 20 feeling groggy, just like any other school day. However, it was not a normal morning. That historical day was to hold the inauguration ceremony for our nation’s 44th president.

Throughout the election process, I was a supporter of Senator Barack Obama. I became a fan of his articulate speeches and his talk of change.

To me, it is obvious that the status quo and former president George W. Bush’s policies are not the most beneficial for our country. While I believe Bush has done the best of his ability to do a good job in office and I fully appreciate his dedication and kindheartedness, his tactics were off kilter.

Obama represents change ? something we are in dire need of in this country. The economy is in an alarmingly dangerous downward spiral, leading to hundreds of thousands of lost jobs and foreclosed homes, not to mention tension in numerous countries overseas. We need a strong leader who can balance internal affairs with his confident head held high.

With personal dedication and promises of a better economic situation, President Obama is extremely attractive as a leader. By my way of thinking, if things are not working now we must change something for our economic situation to improve.

During the swearing-in segment of the inauguration ceremony, President Obama made an embarrassing mistake. Rather than listening and letting the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court finish his part of the phrase, Obama cut him off. He then forgot the rest of a later phrase which he was supposed to repeat, and the Chief Justice had to repeat the expression a second time.

While many media sources and individuals will criticize Obama for his blunder, I believe this makes Obama seem more human and less like he is on some political pedestal of perfection.

Mistakes aside, I was heartened by President Obama’s inaugural speech. I thought it was slightly clich