Obama’s Fourth Of July Message Includes A Special Birthday Wish

I have this friend who has a birthday on December 24th and every year I am just so sad for her. Because honestly, who wants to share their birthday with this big holiday that isn't at all about you? As an inherently self-absorbed person I would definitely hate this a lot. But not everyone is all that self-absorbed, I guess. Also I think it's possible that not all holidays are created equal. Like would it be terrible to share your birthday with Independence Day? Ask Malia Obama. Because Barack Obama's fourth of July message included a special birthday wish to his oldest daughter this year, and now I'm thinking that would be a pretty sweet date to share.

As the rest of the country prepares to celebrate being American (or, considering the current political climate, more likely just celebrating a day off from work instead), one lucky young woman is celebrating her birthday. And not just any regular birthday like your 17th or 22nd or whatever. This year Malia Obama, oldest daughter of 44th President of the United States Barack Obama and bestselling author of Becoming Michelle Obama, turns 21 years old.

And her dear old dad took to Instagram to celebrate his daughter's momentous day on Thursday.

Obama shared a photo of the Obama family, including daughter Malia, wife Michelle, and 17-year-old daughter Sasha, with the caption:

Happy Fourth of July, everybody! This is always a great day in the Obama family: a chance to celebrate America—and Malia’s birthday, too. Hope all of you are able to get some time with friends, family, and fireworks.

I suspect Obama is more emotional about his daughter turning 21 than he is letting on. After all, when he and wife Michelle dropped Malia off for her freshman year at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 2017, he compared the moment to "open-heart surgery," as per CNN:

I was proud that I did not cry in front of her. But on the way back, the Secret Service was off, looking straight ahead, pretending they weren't hearing me as I sniffled and blew my nose. It was rough.

Barack Obama isn't the only one getting emotional about Malia Obama turning 21 on Thursday. After more than a decade of watching her grow up, first in the White House and then as a young woman in her own right, fans are taking to Twitter to celebrate what they call Malia Obama Day.

So why should people want to celebrate Malia Obama's birthday on July 4, you ask? Well, it seems to me that she has managed to grow up to be a normal, nice young woman who loves her family and is just trying to make her way in the world like the rest of us. She grew up in the spotlight as a child of privilege but spent her gap year between high school and Harvard volunteering her time in countries like Bolivia and Peru, as per The Chicago Tribune.

Considering the fact that there doesn't seem like there's much to celebrate in this country at the moment, perhaps Malia Obama's birthday is our best bet, wouldn't you say?