First Daughter

[Opening narration]: Once upon a time, there was a little girl, just like any other little girl. And like most little girls, she loved collecting beautiful things, always sharing them with her friends. She would throw the most amazing tea parties for her very closest companions. And then it happened, you know that awkward but typical time of life when you feel like every eye is on you? Like you're the main attraction to a three-ring circus? That's right. She became a teenager. But eventually she made it through. And as she blossomed, she became more comfortable with herself. And like most teenagers, she enjoyed parties, and pizza, and like her peers, she often felt as if her every move was scrutinized. But with maturity, she was able to look outside herself and appreciate the wisdom of her elders. In short, she grew up happily, with the love of a father and a mother, who she thought were the center of the world, in an old white house they called home.

Samantha: Let's pretend that tomorrow, I'm heading off to college. I grab my bags, which I packed myself. I throw them into my adorable collegiate car, next to my cooler that has a beer hiding under the baloney sandwiches. My parents cry, their only child is growing up, and so forth. And then I do it, I drive off like the normal, run-of-the-mill kid that I am.

James: Brazil's the only country named after a tree. Bagged lettuce that you buy at the store, they wash it in chlorine.
Samantha: The little parallelogram above your top lip is called a filtrum. Five years, half a decade, is a lustrum.
James: Every state in the Union has a town called Springfield. Male turtles grunt, female turtles hiss.
Samantha: The difference between a fruit and a vegetable - off the vine fruit ripens, a vegetable just rots.
James: Spread your arms just like this, middle finger to middle finger, it's equivalent to your height.
Samantha: Distance from your wrist to your elbow is the length of your foot.
James: Your ears and nose never stop...
James, Samantha: Growing
James: Right.

James: Your face. No no, you're all right. The look you get. It's like... It's like the first time I rode my bike without training wheels. It's like you're experiencing everything for the first time.
Samantha: I am.

Samantha: What are you doing?
James: A chocolate snack must be poured directly over the popcorn. That way you get that delicious salty sweet mixture, and a little melted chocolate. Sometimes you gotta break the rules. You never know when you're gonna get something inspired. Well, go on, Mackenzie. Break the rules.

Samantha: This from a woman who will kiss anyone with lips but will save abstinence for someone she really cares about?

Samantha: The last time I had privacy I was in utero. Imagine what it's like having your whole life picked out for you. Imagine never being alone and always feeling lonely. All I ever wanted was to get my key, get in a beat-up old Volkswagen, and drive off to college. Do you think I'm a silly spoiled kid complete devoid of gratitude?
James: Actually, I think I completely understand what you're going through.
Samantha: You do?
James: This one time, I won the class spelling bee. I couldn't get from point A to point B without people watching my every move. I had to avoid the press, the paparazzi. And the women. My God, the women, Sam. The number of training bras left in my locker could fill the support needs of an entire country.

Samantha: Note to fathers worldwide: In order to keep your daughters from getting any action, become the President.

Samantha: Let's say you do please your father, and you are completely successful and completely self-reliant and you know that he's proud of you. Then what? It's tough to imagine right? Because then you'd have to actually figure out what you want.
James: You've thought about this stuff before.
Samantha: Everyday of my life.

Samantha: What was that?
James: I was just saying goodnight.
Samantha: What is this? Is this some kind of game to you James?
James: No.
Samantha: You don't have to pretend anymore.
James: You're an amazing girl.
Samantha: Would you stop it? Just stop lying to me.
James: What could I have given to you Sam? I don't have anything to offer you. You're the President's daughter for Christ's sake.
Samantha: I have spent, almost my entire life with people smiling at me. And laughing at my jokes. And telling me how special I am, and how great I am, and how nice, and smart. And right now, I don't know if any of that was true. Maybe it was all some kind of an act. I don't know. What if I was different? If I was just like everybody else, James? How would you feel about me then?
James: You just don't get it. Things are different.
Samantha: What if they were? I think you at least owe me this. Forget image. Forget politics. Forget everything else but who I am right now in here. If things were different.
James: If things were different... I'd still follow you around all the time - because I wanted to, not because I had to.

Samantha: I loved who I got to be with him. Even though he didn't do anything amazing, for me it was. I felt like I knew myself for the first time. Love, that too.

Samantha: Dad, one thing you taught me was to make sure I was always at home. No matter what anyone else thinks, it has to include you.

Once upon a time, underneath the magic of the night sky, a brazen little girl grew up in a white house. It wasn't until she left that house however, that she truly found home. College bound til Spring, she'll be back when the cherry blossoms bloom again. With romance in the air, James will be there. But that's another story.