There’s a lot of speculation about what the Obama family will look to occupy themselves with upon their departure from the White House on January 20th, 2017. Most of the focus has been on what avenues President Obama will look to take in his post-presidential career – his White House Correspondents Dinner “mic-drop” just about solidified him as a shoo-in for entertainment of some sort- though I doubt he’ll be hard pressed to finding a place in whatever industry he chooses. The First Lady seems just as poised for an easy transition when it comes to her post-Capitol life, but many people seem to have forgotten the Obamas’ two daughters, Malia and Sasha.
As far as presidencies are concerned, the selection of secondary education for the Presidential progeny has always been a highly intriguing matter amongst the general public, but Malia Obama’s post-primary process seems to have brought about more speculation and interest than the likes of Chelsea Clinton, Barbara Bush, and Jenna Bush-Hager. Perhaps the increased speculation was brought about by the confluence of social media and twenty-four hour celebrity culture; whatever it was, the First Family has managed to play their hand well, remaining tight-lipped over where Malia Obama planned to attend university, until recently.
Being a president’s child, Malia undoubtedly had her pick of universities across the country, but as one might expect, she (rather predictably) chose the cream of the crop – Harvard. That being said, the eldest Obama daughter’s college decision did have a twist; Malia Obama plans to attend Harvard in the Fall of 2017, taking a gap year between her senior year of high school and freshman year in Cambridge, Massachusetts. While the details of Malia Obama’s gap year intentions remain unknown, she joins a growing contention of Millennials electing to forgo immediate enrollment at an institution of higher learning. Older generations tend to scoff at and label “Gappers” as lazy and unmotivated, but as the country has seen over the past near-decade of her father’s presidency, Malia Obama is an exemplary student more-than-qualified for admission to the top universities.
That being said, Malia’s decision to experience a gap-year has raised its fair share of detractors, though most derision is based off of lack of familiarity of the advantages of why a gap-year can be useful for young people while still in the most formative stage of their lives. What most may not realize, is that Harvard actually encourages its students to partake in the gap year experience before arriving on campus. Granted, gap years have been vilified through film and pop culture as extended periods of epicurean journeys around the world, instances for young people to “sow the raw oats,” when in reality, the gap year can be a useful and expansive opportunity to best orient one’s sense of self amongst many other things.
Historically, when one graduates from high school, they jump right into the world of college and higher education, which can leave little time for recharging, or decompressing after the stressors that are the college admissions process. A gap year can allow young people to explore interests in the arts and other cultures without the hovering pressure of needing to perform at a certain level academically.
With that in mind, not all students take a gap year as a means to decompress. Many students – and I have a hunch Malia Obama may be included in this group – look to work with many non-profit charities or get involved with government programs to experience personal growth. As long as the student has some sort of purpose or orientation to their gap year, the opportunity for personal fulfillment and enrichment is more than capable of attaining. The Obama family is far too driven, motivated, and well-intentioned for Malia to simply take a leisurely year off from her academics in order to “find herself,” if anything, Malia Obama’s gap year could (and probably should) become the poster-child for the ideal gap year scenario. And besides, after 8 years of having to be one of the best behaved children in the world, it might be kind of nice for Malia to get out and stretch the legs of being herself.
