Just after noon on Tuesday , Jan . 20 , the eyes of the world turned to the west steps of the United States Capitol Building , as Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44 th president of the United States .

I joined a record crowd of more than 2 million people who came to Washington , D . C . – many from long distances – to bear witness to the history-making event .

The words of President Obama’s Inaugural Address , in which he called for a new era of responsibility , resonated across the Capitol lawn and National Mall , seemingly hushing a crowd which stretched as far as the Lincoln Memorial . In the address , the new president called on all Americans to renew the promise of their citizenship .

As important as Obama’s story is – a tale of humble beginnings in a divided family to a rapid ascension through Illinois politics and , just four yearsago , on the national scene – so too are the stories of those who came to Washington to experience his inauguration . Amid the masses , it became clear that many had not traveled those long distances and waited for hours in frigid conditions just because of one man ; they did so to signify the strength of and their pride in our country . In one of the nation’s must trying economic times , it was as if each observer became an ambassador of a renewal of America’s promise , which was the theme for the 56 th Presidential Inaugural .

Waiting in a crowd early on Tuesday morning to gain entrance to the Silver Section of the Capitol lawn , I noticed an elderly African-American gentleman being pushed in a wheelchair by his family . The 92-year-old grandfather from California was brought to Washington by his son . “ I never thought that I would see this day , ” he said from behind a mask which covered his aged face from the extreme January cold . As he talked , tears began to well in his eyes . Those eyes had seen the injustices of racial inequality , and now were about to witness an African-American sworn in as president .

At the inauguration opening ceremony on Sunday at the Lincoln Memorial – where crowds of people filled both sides of the Reflecting Pool as far back as the Washington Monument – a group of students from high schools across the country , many from Connecticut , gathered as part of a youthleadership conference . They joined thousands in waiting more than six hours for a free concert featuring musical artists Bruce Springsteen , U 2 , John Mellencamp , will . i . am and others , in addition to appearances by President-elect Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden . “ We wanted to be a part of this and get as close as we can , ” one student said . The attraction of the inaugural festivities seemed to extend across generations .

As exciting and historic as the events that took place on Tuesday were , a memorable experience for me came after standing in a receiving line at the White House open house on Wednesday , the first full day of the Obama administration . There , I had the privilege to meet the president and first lady Michelle Obama .

As an eyewitness to this historic inauguration , I find it humbling to reflect upon the awesomeness of the occasion . Attending the inauguration was a deeply communal experience , perhaps more than any other moment in the life of an American citizen . As the nation peacefully transferred power from one administration to another , the country reaffirmed the solvency of its Constitution in a ceremony which reflected the greatest of American traditions .

In an age when new technologies are changing the way people communicate , the events showed the unyielding desire people still have for physically experiencing and witnessing a historical moment with their own eyes .