An Open Letter to President Barack Obama

Dear President Barack Obama,

First, let me say thank you from the bottom of my heart. I was blessed to have you in the White House for the majority of my teen years. In 2008, you inspired me, a little Mexican girl whose daily skyline was the city of Chicago, to do better things and be an example of change. I feel that your presence throughout the years helped me become the woman I am proud to call myself today. The core values of being humble and kind, and to always stand up for what you believe in was shown through your incredible actions: pushing towards a better higher education system, immigration form, and healthcare system. From the long Youtube videos of White House events to the Snapchat stories, you kept me laughing and proud to be a supporter for the rest of my life. 

At ten years old I didn’t know anything about foreign policy or the economy, but I knew that my family and people around me were being negatively affected, and I knew I could trust you. Being so young, I just had a feeling about you and in my school wide “election” I campaigned hard for you and told all of my friends how you were going to win and make everything better. I truly believed those words then, and eight years later, you kept your word. 

Around that time, I watched my dad take a pay cut at work and remember him coming home emotionally drained, especially on the day he was laid off. I watched my family struggle to put food on the table and pay for me and my sister’s private school education. I watched my mom take on a part time job and work the third shift at a call center and when that company closed down, she was forced to get a job an hour away from home. We lived paycheck to paycheck, hoping something expensive wouldn’t come up. My family and I never lost hope and we always figured it out. So thank you for keeping us inspired and hopeful for our future. 

Thanks to your work, my family is steady and I am a college student studying to be a journalist with the hopes of bringing light to the human and women’s rights across the world. A career that I would never have thought of without seeing yours and Mrs. Obama’s work over the years, creating and helping organizations that have reached millions of people. 

With your pose and elegance, I believe you helped frame America and inspired millions of citizens to become better people. You reminded us that with a little bit of hard work and grace that we, too, can achieve our dreams and make a great impact on this nation. 

Thank you again for an amazing eight years; I cannot wait to see what you do out of office.  

Sincerely, 

Julie Reyes 

These views expressed are that of the writer and not of the chapter as a whole.

Photos courtesy of giphy.com

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