I had recently arrived in London and had spent most of my days with a friend- racing about from his home in Hackney to see public lectures and performances at LSE.

On that day I can't remember exactly what we saw, but I do remember we were late finishing and we needed to hurry.

We sped off toward Westminster.

Eventually after sprinting through the frozen streets past New Scotland Yard we arrived at a beautiful old pub, bursting through the doors just in time.

The room was already packed.

People stared intently at televisions- most with either shocked, relieved or absolutely elated expressions etched on their faces.

None of them seemed to notice us.

Quietly moving toward the front, we quickly joined them.

My heart was beating with anticipation as I realised it was actually happening.

Finally, after a seeming eternal winter of discontent, change was actually upon us.

I can remember grinning- cheek to cheek- as he began to speak, cheering as the rest of the room cheered and feeling so communal as the bar hissed at the sight of the vanquished.

We were here as one, watching as the best of us stood- ready to lead the world away from the darkness, ignorance and the debilitating stupidity we'd grown up with.

Sometimes I still feel that optimism.

Sometimes I still feel that tremendous sense that maybe the world could unite to save itself.

Then the crushing reality hits.

When we were looking at those televisions we were looking at a personification of hope, change and redemption.

We might have seen a man, but what we really saw was what we knew the world could be if we united with one vision to make it better.

And now it finally hit's me.

On that day, the day of Obama's innauguration- we elected a man and expected a God.

It can scarcely be conceived ('scuse the pun) how much the pill has changed women's lives. It has allowed women (and men) to choose when they have a family without pain or embarrassment. Yet, for the world's first global student newspaper, a question must be asked; I wonder how many kids aren't here to be reading this article because of the ease of taking the pill and the way it separates you from the awkward questions of unwanted preganancies?  

I want you to travel somewhere in the world, but not anywhere, I want you to go to the cruelly cold cities of London and New York, where for a Sydneysider it will seem like life is on steroids. Things are going to move quicker, people are going to do more and the cities will never seem to sleep. And then just to sting our reputation as a great drinking and partying nation the people will go out harder than us, for longer and on more substances. How embarrassing.

But really this is just the beginning. You’ll start to notice how complacent Australia as a country is, and how much we love to rest on our very mediocre laurels. There just isn’t a sense of urgency with Australians. All of us seem content to live the Australian dream, basically a state of life as it sounds, achieved nearly asleep, with the smallest possible level of consciousness required to avoid dropping down dead.- by Sean Maguire