Dear President Obama,

Before you leave office, I would like to say a few things to you.

When you were elected, I was 11 years old. I was in 5^th grade and things were far different than they are now. I voted for you in my mock election at school. It was still legal to talk on the phone and drive. We were in the middle of the worst of the Great Recession. Unemployment was becoming something I heard every single day. Times were changing and the world was a different place than it is now. Crazy right? We didn’t really have social media yet and the first iPhone was still the phone that everyone had to have.

I didn’t know what it meant when you were elected into office. A black man in office was something that people told me would never happen. I knew watching your election speech that history was being made in that very moment. The importance was evident to me. I watched you speak about the country and watched you thank everyone who helped you. I watched Michelle, Sasha and Malia hug you and I could see how excited they were for you.

Flash forward to now, it’s illegal to talk and text on the phone in the car, the Great Recession is, for the most part over, and the unemployment rate is far lower. I’m 19 and I’m a college student. Times are different and you adjusted to that in such a graceful way. You did what needed to be done for our country and helped many people, including myself and people I love. You have inspired me to not resist change and believe in myself to go about making change happen against any odds.

As I watched your election speech 8 years ago, I watched your farewell address. It was an interesting time for me because it gave me time to reflect on this country and how much has changed. I just voted in my first election. I read up on the many issues we face and had to put some deep thought on who I genuinely thought would help our cause.

I never got the privilege to vote for you because of my age, but I want to say that if I could have I would have.

Thank you so much for all you have done to help this nation. Please say hi to your dogs for me. And your family too.

Sincerely,

Dakota