IT CAN’T BE easy becoming teenagers in The White House, your every move watched by Secret Service, and the world’s media, but that’s just what Sasha and Malia Obama are doing.
They have four more years at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue ahead of them, and when they leave Malia will be 18 and Sasha will be 15.
In his celebratory speech on Tuesday President Barack Obama said his daughters were :
… growing up to become two strong, smart beautiful young women.
He has previously warned potential suitors that he is “surrounded by men with guns” and has promised older daughter Malia that she will be able to learn to drive when the time comes.
1. #NOW AND THEN This is the girls pictured yesterday as they arrived back in Washington DC after their father secured four more years. Sasha is 11 and Malia is 14…
… and this is the girls pictured in 2008, when Obama won his first presidential election:
2. #SHORT FOR? Sasha’s actual name is Natasha. Malia’s name is… Malia.
3. #SLEBS They get to hang out with celebs like Bruce Springsteen…
… and Justin Bieber (EYES FORWARD MALIA!)
4. #BOOK SMARTS Both girls attend the exclusive Quaker Sidwell School in Washington DC. Joe Biden’s grandchildren also go to Sidwell, while Chelsea Clinton, Richard Nixon’s daughter Tricia and Al Gore’s son Albert also went there.
5. #LIVING DOLLS In 2009 Ty Inc, the company behind Beanie Babies, made Sweet Sasha and Marvellous Malia dolls in honour of the First Daughters:
6. #YOUNGEST Sasha Obama was the youngest child to live in The White House since JFK junior in 1961. She was seven when she first started hanging out in The West Wing.
7. #WOOF Sasha and Malia’s dog Bo (a Portuguese water dog) was a gift from Senator Ted Kennedy and was chosen because he is hypoallergenic (Malia has allergies). Bo has his own section on the White House website. Obama promised that if he was elected in 2008 he would get the girls a dog, but on Tuesday he said “for now, one dog is probably enough”:
8. #EARLY STARTERS Malia was six-years-old and her sister Sasha was three when their father ran in America’s first Senate race with two black major-party candidates (he won):
9. #NORMAL Michelle Obama has spoken of her eagerness to keep the girls ‘normal’, and so they are rarely seen in the public eye, except for official events. The family often attends sporting occasions together:
11. #NOTHING LIKE KATIE HOLMES We’re guessing their lives are nothing like Katie Holmes’ life in the dubious film First Daughter:
YouTube/AshleyWoods
