When you take on the great honors and responsibilities of being the President of the United States, there is a lot of weight to carry. You and your family are always in the spotlight from before the election to long after. Everything you do, say, buy, is being inspected under a microscope. You must make decisions for the greater good of all citizens, rather than a select few, and always lead by example.
I have admired the work of many presidents in the past, on both the left and right. Recently, I had to say goodbye to one of the most amazing, influential, eloquent, history-making, families who has ever set foot in the White House.
Here are a few things we will miss the most…
Barack Obama and Joe Biden’s adorable friendship
Politicians have a bad reputation for being robotic, unfriendly, out of touch…the list goes on and on. We are also led to believe politicians generally dislike one another, are competitive and have no room in their busy lives for fun - especially genuine friendships with one another. The Obama-Biden duo has become the political friendship of the century. Everyone will miss their friendship bracelets and ice cream memes.
The speeches
I know many people favored President-Elect Donald Trump because of his uncensored, “tell it like it is" rhetoric; however, one thing we will miss most about the Obama family is their eloquence. Barack, Michelle and their daughters have always been able to rally a crowd and bring a certain tone of optimism to any speech. Listening to good speeches is the aspect of politics that originally peaked my interest in the topic. Martin Luther King Jr., JFK, Kennedy and Obama, are all people who will go down in history as people who captivated others with their public speaking skills and invoked change during difficult times.
Our beautiful (inside and out) first lady
Young women and girls around the world do not always have it easy. It is vital that the young women in America have a strong female role model to look up to and aspire to be like one day. Michelle always stood for equality, as well as Barack. Our president always fought for women’s equal rights stating he wants his daughters to have the same advantages and opportunities as anyone else’s son. Michelle tackled some of the health issues in America and urged us all to be our most healthy selves. She spoke out against what was going wrong and had a very strong voice as First Lady. Not to mention, she may have the most amazing dance moves of any First Lady in history.
Their desire to connect with citizens
The Obama family has always gone above and beyond to get involved in the community and connect with citizens. Not all presidents truly care about the people as much as they claim to, but Obama did not drop the ball on keeping in touch.
Their light-hearted spirit
Sometimes turning on the news, scrolling through Facebook and reading the paper can be really depressing. No matter how many things are going right in the world, something is always going wrong. Often, these can get a lot more publicity than the good things. The First Family always cracked jokes and kept a light-hearted spirit going, while remaining professional and composed.
It is the end of an era; we cannot thank you and your family enough for your service. You will be missed.
