Who is Caroline Kennedy?

Caroline Kennedy was recently appointed by Barrack Obama to serve on his committee in search of his Vice-Presidential running mate. But who is Caroline Kennedy?

I remember when I was barely out of diapers watching then President John F. Kennedy on television playing in the Oval Office with his children Caroline and little “John-John,” (as John Jr. was known). Caroline was only three years older than I was at the time. Yet I was fascinated by who she was and how she lived in the White House.

Caroline Kennedy even as a small girl had a kind of quiet presence that made my 3 year old heart leap in awe. Caroline Kennedy was the composed, older sibling setting the proper example as the entire world scrutinized her.

Her younger brother, John-John was often filmed running around the Oval Office and Caroline was always so controlled, mature and reserved for a six year old. As an older sibling, I wanted to emulate Caroline Kennedy’s control and sophisticated attitude.

Caroline Kennedy would carry these grown up traits with her throughout the tragedies and triumphs in her life. I recall seeing young Caroline Kennedy standing stoically and bravely next to the coffin of her assassinated father. I remember seeing Caroline Kennedy as a young woman on her wedding day to Edwin Schlossberg, beautiful and yet dignified. The day of her own mother’s funeral Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg carried through the pain with tremendous courage, by this time a mother herself surrounded by her own children.

I recollect that summer day when again Caroline Kennedy would be called upon to be the mature and quiet presence in public while she privately mourned the loss of her only sibling, John Jr., in a plane crash.

As I watched Caroline Kennedy bury yet another immediate family member, I was impressed by her strength and her serenity when the world once again seemed to be collapsing in front of her. Somehow Caroline Kennedy moved forward from the tragedies that be felled her life and became a role model for the rest of us.

My admiration for Caroline Kennedy has only increased through the years as I have observed her grow into not only a wife and mother to three children, but a successful writer and attorney. She continually represents the Kennedy family with grace, elegance and a serenity that is as strong as steel.

Barrack Obama made the right choice in asking Caroline Kennedy to serve on his committee to select his Vice-Presidential candidate. Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg not only has the Kennedy name but also the respect of many Americans as well as politicians.

Yes, Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg does have the power of the Kennedy name but she has proven herself worthy time and time again. She deserves to be recognized, consulted and appointed to such a position in Barrack Obama’s campaign.

Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg said, “I moved to endorse Barrack Obama due to the fact that so many people told me that they wished they could feel inspired and hopeful about America the way people did when my father was president.”

Yet Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg herself has been and continues to be an inspiration to many people throughout the many phases of her own life. Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg gives each and every person hope that encounters tragedy. We are invigorated by her calm determination and her ability to move forward in the face of disappointment.

Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg’s quiet demeanor hides a deep passion for serving others in her position as Vice Chair of The Fund for Public Schools, member of the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award Committee and President of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation. She is also Director of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and Commission on Presidential Debates.

Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg is not an elected public servant. But she makes it her priority to set the example and serve the public just as she did 44 years ago as the responsible older sister, standing calmly beside her playful younger brother, who was hiding under President Kennedy’s desk in the Oval Office.

As I reflect upon the poise of Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg throughout her own personal tragedies, I am reminded of a quote once written by the Prophet, Kahlil Gibran. The quote said, “Let your bending in the Archer’s hand be for gladness. For even as He loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the arrow that is stable.”

Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg has demonstrated the attributes of a stable arrow, a constant sanity in the middle of an insane world. She is a shining example of the courage and hope that lives within each of us.