It's been eight years since Barbara Bush and Jenna Bush Hager offered President Obama's daughters tips on life in the White House and taught them to slide down the solarium's banister. Since then, Sasha and Malia Obama have endured "unbelievable pressure" and seen their parents "reduced to headlines," yet they've grown "from girls to impressive young women with grace and ease," George W. Bush's daughters write in an open letter in Time. The next chapter as former First Children will bring new challenges and there are "no guidelines," they add, but there is "much to look forward to."
"You won't have the weight of the world on your young shoulders anymore. Explore your passions. Learn who you are. Make mistakes—you are allowed to," the twins say. Loyal friends are important, too, including favorite White House staffers who "put their lives on hold for us." Most importantly, "take all that you have seen, the people you have met, the lessons you have learned, and let that help guide you in making positive change," the twins write. "You will be writing the story of your lives, beyond the shadow of your famous parents," who "will be rooting for you," they say. "And so will we." (The Bush daughters penned a similar letter in 2009.)