Malia and Sasha, eight years ago
on a cold November day, we greeted you on the steps of the White House.
We saw both the light and wariness in your eyes as you gazed at your
new home. We left our jobs in Baltimore and New York early and traveled
to Washington to show you around. To show you the Lincoln Bedroom, and
the bedrooms that were once ours, to introduce you to all the people—the
florists, the grounds-keepers and the butlers—who dedicate themselves
to making this historic house a home. The four of us wandered the
majestic halls of the house you had no choice but to move in to. When
you slid down the banister of the solarium, just as we had done as
8-year-olds and again as 20-year-olds chasing our youth, your joy and
laughter were contagious.
In eight years, you have done so much. Seen so much. You
stood at the gates of the Robben Island cell where South Africa’s Nelson
Mandela was imprisoned for decades, your arms around your father. You
traveled to Liberia and Morocco with your mom to talk with girls about
the importance of education—girls who saw themselves in you, saw
themselves in your parents, saw who they could become if they continued
to study and learn. You attended state dinners, hiked in national parks,
met international leaders and managed to laugh at your dad’s jokes
during the annual Thanksgiving turkey pardon, all while being kids,
attending school and making friends. We have watched you grow from girls
to impressive young women with grace and ease.
And through it all you had each other. Just like we did.
Now you are about to join another rarified club, one of
former First Children—a position you didn’t seek and one with no
guidelines. But you have so much to look forward to. You will be writing
the story of your lives, beyond the shadow of your famous parents, yet
you will always carry with you the experiences of the past eight years.
Never forget the wonderful people who work at the White House. Our greeter as 7-year-olds at our grandfather’s
Inauguration was Nancy, the White House florist, who ushered us in from
the cold. She helped us make colorful bouquets of winter flowers for
our grandparents’ bedside. Twenty years later, Nancy did the flowers for
Jenna’s wedding. Cherish your own Nancy. We stay in touch with our
Secret Service. They were part of growing up for us: there for first
dates, first days and even an engagement and a honeymoon. We know it
wasn’t always easy—the two of you and the two of us were teenagers
trailed by men in backpacks—but they put their lives on hold for us.
Enjoy college. As most of the world knows, we did. And you
won’t have the weight of the world on your young shoulders anymore.
Explore your passions. Learn who you are. Make mistakes—you are allowed
to. Continue to surround yourself with loyal friends who know you, adore
you and will fiercely protect you. Those who judge you don’t love you,
and their voices shouldn’t hold weight. Rather, it’s your own hearts
that matter.
Take all that you have seen, the people you have met, the
lessons you have learned, and let that help guide you in making positive
change. We have no doubt you will. Traveling with our parents taught us
more than any class could. It opened our eyes to new people as well as
new cultures and ideas. We met factory workers in Michigan, teachers in
California, doctors healing people on the Burmese border, kids who lined
the dusty streets of Kampala to see the American President, and kids
with HIV waiting to get the antiretroviral drugs that would save their
lives. One tiny girl wearing her finest lavender dress looked young,
which she was not. She was little because she was sick. Her mom admitted
that she might not live to see these drugs work, but her brothers and
sisters would. After meeting this girl, Barbara went back to school and
changed her major, and her life’s path.
You have lived through the unbelievable pressure of the
White House. You have listened to harsh criticism of your parents by
people who had never even met them. You stood by as your precious
parents were reduced to headlines. Your parents, who put you first and
who not only showed you but gave you the world. As always, they will be
rooting for you as you begin your next chapter. And so will we.
Barbara Bush is a co-founder and the CEO of Global Health Corps. Jenna Bush Hager is a correspondent for the Today show.
Culled from Time
No comments:
Post a Comment