Free Advice Friday

Dear President Elect,

My first edition of "Free Advice Friday" goes to you.  Today is an enormous day for you.  You will be taking office in a few short hours.  Here are some free words of advice from a twenty-something.

My advice to you, be humble.  You are the leader of the free world, though 44 people have already done the job, none have made it through without mistakes.  They all came from various education, religious, ethnic...backgrounds. They have given you 44 examples of what to do and what not to do. They have lead through war, depression, economic bliss and economic heartache.  Learn from them, reflect on their examples.  Learn from the advisors around you. Listen to the people of your country, take their concerns with as much consideration as a you would that of a billionaire donor.  You have no political experience, use that to your advantage and tell people that you are learning and want as much help from those around you as possible. 

Be kind.  I am going to tell you right now, your campaign was not my cup of tea, but it worked for you, clearly.  You're here now, about to take office.  You don't need that campaign manager anymore, you don't need that bullying image anymore.  So, be kind.  Be kind to the people who still question your appointment to that sacred office.  Be kind to the people who were hurt during your campaign. Be kind to our country's friends and foes because you are no longer campaigning, you have won. 

Protect us. You are now responsible for protecting EVERY citizen in this country.  Those citizens are made up of people who love you and people who hate you.  People who live a lifestyle you agree with and people who don't. They are made up of religions you may or may not understand. They are members of communities you may or may not understand.  Your job is to protect us all.  

Be learned.  Please continue to learn about our country both past and present.  Please find the time to gather all the information you possibly can before making decisions.  You have an enormous job that has life and death consequences every.single.day.  You must take every decision, everyday, with extreme seriousness.

Accept criticism.  To be humble and learned is to be able to accept criticism.  You haven't done the best job with this.  But today is a fresh start for you. There will be people that criticize you and/or your decisions. They may have merit to do so and they may not. You can and will be hurt by comments you hear. Now is the time to learn and grow or just ignore those comments. Prove your critics wrong, not by words but by actions. Twitter is not presidential, please stop.

Eight years ago I was extremely disappointed that President Obama won. I loved Mitt Romney and just knew he would have made an amazing President. Years have passed and I have been infuriated by certain decisions President Obama has made but I have also been extremely proud of others.  I have grown to love and adore him and his family. He is a wonderful example of what a President should be. It is going to be a hard transition for me as well as many others. It will take time to gain our trust and gain our love. My hope is that I can learn to enjoy having you as a President and that you can help to keep our country great.

Sincerely,

Katie Hiatt