it's a nice summer day, and i'm sick. finally, the stress and long work hours of the last few weeks (elections etc.) have caught up with me! i had the privelege of being present at the swearing in ceremony of the Third Convocation of the National Assembly of Armenia on Thursday, and i have to say, that when national anthem sounded off, I felt an immense amount of pride at the moment, and at the sight of dozens of elected representatives taking the oath of office to legislate and represent this nation.

The blemishes from the elections could certainly be seen and felt, but at the same time, it seemed to be a moment of healing, but the old addage of "politics makes for strange bedfellas" certainly applied here completely.

On Friday evening, after work I met a young Armenian American from Columbia University, here on a visit for the first time after his family emigrated 12 years ago, and we discussed some options for him to do a youth leadership project next summer. Although the ideas were raw, and the discussion not too sophisticated, what I loved about it was that there are these new young visionaries in our community who are opening their eyes and seeing opportunities--professionally and personally--to be involved with/in Armenia. This, I think, is one of the most important contributions the post-independence generation can make to Armenia and Armenians.