When I was six years old, my family and I traveled to Washington, D.C. At the time, Mrs. Kennedy had recently refreshed the White House interior, and much more of it was open to the public. The Rose Garden had also been updated—it was a peaceful, elegant space, destined to remain the backdrop for countless historic moments.
I fell in love with the city instantly and vowed I would live there one day. You might wonder how a six-year-old could possibly know something like that—but for me, it was a spiritual connection. I just knew.
Fast forward twelve years: I applied to Cornell University and received a letter from admissions saying that, unfortunately, pieces of my application had gotten separated. The fall semester was full, but they invited me to consider attending in the spring instead.
Eager to start my college journey and be out on my own, I quickly applied to the University of Maryland and was accepted right away. The rest, as they say, is history. I never lived in New York again—most of my life has been spent in the Maryland and D.C. area, just as that younger version of me somehow sensed it would.
Donald Trump is now in the White House. For some reason he decided to pave the Rose Garden. His justification for this in his own words:
"You know, we use [the Rose Garden] for press conferences, and it doesn’t work because the people fall,” he said at the time.
"The terrain can be wet, and the soft ground can be an issue for some," Trump added. "Women, with the high heels, it just didn’t work.”
The Rose Garden holds deep historical and emotional significance for many, especially for someone who has spent so much of their life in the DC area and has a personal connection to its beauty. It is a jarring transformation. It is more than just landscaping, it is a shift in how we honor Our past. To take away such a treasure and replace it with gravel is so wrong on so many levels. All I can say is that I am heartbroken.
Please tell me what you think.
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