Junior prom, 1959.

Obama's win is bittersweet for me since gay marriage is on its way or already there to getting banned in the state of California. I've been thinking about my posting from a couple of days ago in which I recollected all the elections I can remember-- specifically about my memory of the one when I was in 11th grade. It's true that it felt like I didn't care-- but I think the feeling could be better described as it felt hard to care or I didn't know how to care. I was 16 and had just started dating Becca but most certainly was not gay. The past president had seemed to do a pretty good job playing his saxophone with a daughter around my age and a cat named Socks. I was awkward as the girl in this picture, minus the light blue taffeta and pumps, plus a huge red messy backpack. I also didn't realize that being dorky (like Al Gore, and myself) doesn't equate someone with being a loser. Because, you know, in retrospect, Al Gore is pretty freaking cool. I think the switch from not caring to caring probably happened when I really started knowing what I was supposed to be caring about in my life, which was clarified when it seemed in danger of being taken away. My junior year of college, the year of the first election I voted in, happened right after a summer of helping Seth work for GLAD (Gay and Lesbian Advocacy Defenders) in Boston. This morning I spoke to Rebecca briefly at the studios before getting to work-- she was optimistic that things would turn around, that the ban would be challenged and dropped. I'm still confused about what 'Yes on Prop 8' really means and what will happen now. It's time to do some research! To the books!