On January 21st, 2013, Barack Obama was sworn into his second four years of presidency on the National Mall in Washington D.C. It began as all inaugurations do, with the walk down Pennsylvania Avenue. The Obama family traveled down the supporter-lined street in style- surrounded by security guards. The crowd that came to watch the inauguration was of course large, but not as big as last year. There were an estimated 1 million people, coming in smaller than 2009’s presidential celebration.

This year, the inauguration shared the date with Martin Luther King Jr. Day. As soon as President Obama reached the place of the inauguration, he almost immediately took the oath of office, with his wife, Michelle, and two daughters, Malia and Sasha, watching proudly. Very soon after being sworn in to presidency, he signed the appointment documents of his new members to his Cabinet. These people included Sen. John Kerry for senator of state, White House chief of staff Jacob Lew for treasury secretary, former Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel for defense secretary and White House advisor John Brennan to lead the CIA. His inaugural speech was about 18 minutes long. It was the first inaugural speech ever that touched on gay rights. He said, “our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law.”  He also talked about improving the economy and the lives of the poor. He stated, “A decade of war has ended. Economic recovery has just begun.”

As always the inaugural ball took place after the actual inauguration. Obama started the ball by thanking a troop of soldiers via video chat, and then he introduced his date, Michelle Obama. The famous First Wife was wearing a ruby red chiffon gown, looking stunning as usual. The couple shared the first dance as Jennifer Hudson sang “Let’s Stay Together.” The inaugural ball was enjoyed by all who attended.