As a mother of two daughters, I am fiercely protective of my girls. Everyone should understand that. That’s what mother’s do – we love, care for, nurture, listen to, fight for, provide for, love (did I say that already) our children and so much more. There is nothing that I would not do for my girls. Nothing! It’s also made me empathetic to other women, so when I kept hearing about – let’s just call them – people “outing” Malia Obama for kissing a boy and smoking a cigarette as a freshman in college, I did not understand.
My first thoughts were whoever is trying to make this a story must have never been a teenager and certainly did not attend college. The average college student pushes the boundaries as a freshman. You are no longer living with your parents, learning to be more independent, make decisions without constant supervision and developing into an adult. So, as a teenager, you might kiss a person that you like; you might smoke a cigarette; you might do a lot of new and exciting things; you might do a lot of stupid things. So what is the big deal?
Oh that’s right! Her last name is Obama, and her parents are Michelle and Barack. She is a lovely young lady who deserves to be left alone. Let her live her life. Let her grow and develop and become the great young woman that she is destined to be. She lived through 8 years in the most high profile household in America, and she did so without scandal! She went to school everyday, did well, hung out with her sister, family and friends. If she’s anything like my teenager, she’s discovering her style, working toward her life’s goals, learning to develop relationships with teachers, friends, other students and the community. She’s doing what she has to do and learning what she loves to do.
Her mother committed to allowing her girls live as normal a life as possible (given their Dad was president), and she kept that promise. Now, you want to create a scandal out of normal teenage activities. Let me say this. LEAVE HER ALONE!!! You are out of bounds, flag on the play… Anyone who goes after Malia or Sasha Obama needs to think twice before they do it. She is a child. She is the child of one of the most beloved families in America. She is not to be maligned, no child should. I know what do and have done when people go after my girls. I can only imagine what the woman who taught us, “When they go low, we go high” would do. That’s a mother not to be reckoned with.
One thing I know for sure. If ‘people’ continue to go after this young woman, it won’t be pretty. Women like me will fight not only for our children, our girls. We will fight for the children, the young ladies, of mothers just like us. She may or may not need it, but Michelle Obama and her girls will always have my back! Our children have enough to live up to, they should NOT be the subject of shallow, empty people with nothing more to do than pick on someone else’s kids. As my aunt might say, “That could get you cut” LOL!!!
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And for those of you who need references to this story, check your twitter feed from Thanksgiving 2017 weekend or read these related articles:
http://www.newsweek.com/malia-obama-smoke-rings-video-harvard-721456
Monica Briggs Anderson 