Dear Mr. President,
"There are years that ask questions and years that answer."
- Zora Neale Hurston.
There are periods of time that mark our lives in such distinguishable patterns. Four years render a first term, four more mark a second, and eight remarkable years were your presidency. You entered my story in 2008 when I was a twelve-year-old seventh grader inspired by democracy. The spark and tenacity of your mission seized my attention and took my budding political views by storm.
I was enthralled by the prospect of a young, black, beautiful family entering the White House and making history. My best friend, the daughter of immigrants, joined me in my excitement and hope for your movement, both of us supplicating our parents to let us join in the experience of your campaign. I remember how ecstatic my classmates and I were when we came to school with Obama-Biden 2008 t-shirts tucked furtively under our uniforms and buttons on our backpacks bearing a monosyllabic rally cry: “hope.”
On Tuesday, November 4th, I went to the polls with my parents. I was thirteen then and five years short of participating in your victory myself, but I relished the experience of watching my mother and father cast their ballots for you. I will never forget the night that I saw so many Americans erupt in celebration as you won the presidency, and I was so proud to be a small part of that.
On a frosty morning in January, I watched your inauguration with more reverence and joy than I had ever experienced. History. Unprecedented news. Complete and utter pride. Since that day, I have known no greater leader than you Mr. President.
That same year, my parents sent me off on my eighth-grade class field trip to Washington D.C. and told me to tell you that you were doing a good job. Despite this hopeful repartee, the closest I found myself to meeting you was standing outside the gates of the White House in happy, flowing tears. My classmates teased me gently for being so emotional, but I paid no mind. I was overcome with feeling to be in a place of such great history, newly christened with the import of housing a president and first family who I so greatly admired.
As your time in office comes to a close, I have found such joy recounting the memories of a young girl so enthralled with your first presidential moments. Since those days of my early adolescence, you have not let me down. Your presidency marked in moments of time for me years that asked questions. The eight years that you spent in the White House were for me, the most formative of my adolescence.
From ages thirteen to twenty-one I questioned who I wanted to be, what my purpose in life was, and what my values were, but I also found many answers in those years. I have grown into an adult who cares deeply about her country, works to support herself, has found a passion in the arts, theatre specifically, and studies hard in college, hoping to attend graduate school in the coming years.
My best friend and I never lost our zeal for democracy, and celebrated our first election as citizens of voting age this past year as we cast our ballots for a woman. These moments have been unforgettable for me and marked by your presence. It’s astounding to me when I realize how seminal the years of your presidency were for me. I appreciate you deeply for being so staunchly present in the surroundings of my life.
I want to thank you for so many things, Mr. President. I want to thank you for being the one who truly inspired me to become interested and invested in politics. Were it not for your first presidential campaign, I can be assured that I would not have the passion for seeking our country’s best interest that I do today.
I want to tell you how grateful I am that you and Mrs. Obama are the parents that we grew up with on a national stage. It has been the greatest gift to me to experience your leadership as a couple as you encouraged but more importantly set an example for those of us so lucky to grow into young adulthood with both of you in the White House.
When I look at Mr. and Mrs. Obama, I see so clearly reflected in the two of you the values that my parents have instilled in me. The two of you want for your constituency what my parents want for and expect from me, and I cannot tell you how deep-rooted and lasting that legacy is.
You faced enormous adversity and overcame so much difficulty in order to be the president you were for us. I feel undeserving of your service to this country and ill-equipped to properly express my gratitude to you for your steadfastness in battling everything that you have challenged in order to be our president.
It is with an enormously heavy heart that I say my goodbye to you as commander in chief. I wish you and your family so many beautifully happy, well-deserved, peaceful years ahead and I excitedly anticipate your continued successes.
I wish you years that answer. You are an incredible family to whom I am so grateful to have experienced in the White House.
Farewell to you, my president.
Your mark on my life has been and will remain indelible.
