Essay: Interesting Barack Obama Facts

Interesting Barack Obama Facts
There are lots of interesting Barack Obama facts that you have probably heard. Obama is a man of great accomplishments, he is the 44th president of the United States of America and the first black president. Barack whose name in Swahili means ‘the blessed one’ has always excelled from grade school, all the way to Columbia University for his undergraduate and later at Harvard Law School. Here are some interesting facts about Barack Obama or as he is currently referred to POTUS (President of the United States).
1. He is Bi-Racial
Barack Obama was born in Honolulu Hawaii on August 4th, 1961 to a white American mother and a black African father from Kenya. His father Barack Hussein Obama was a foreign student on scholarship at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa when he met his mother Stanley Ann.
2.   He lived in Indonesia shortly
Obama’s parents separated when he was only 2 years, his mother would later remarry and he would move to Indonesia with his mother and stepfather for 4 years. He learned to speak Indonesian and had the experience of eating  roasted grasshopper, dog, and snake meat,
3. He was the First Black President for the Second Time
Barack Obama is famous for being the first African American to become the president of the USA. However, 20 years ago before winning the 2008 Presidential election, he had previously made history in 1990 by becoming the first black President of the Harvard Law Review a coveted law organization in the nation. No other black student had held that position in the organization’s 104-year history.
4. He is a two-time Grammy Award Winner
Apart from becoming the first black president, Obama is the envy of many aspiring recording artists having won the Grammy Awards a record two times. He bagged his first Grammy in the year 2006 for his personal narration of his best-selling memoir, Dreams from Father – audio book version. His second Grammy Award under the same category was a narration of another bestseller, The Audacity of Hope. Other notable American Presidents to win a Grammy include Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton.
5. He tried Drugs as a Teenager
Barack Obama openly shared his experience having experimented with drugs like marijuana and cocaine as a teenager something he is not proud of. He writes about his struggles with teenage in his book Dreams from My Father.
6. He Struggled With Student Loans
President Obama’s emphasis on the student loans crisis emanates from his own personal experience. He together with his wife Michelle had accumulated a lot of debt in student loans that followed them well into their marriage. It was only after signing a book deal and writing another best seller the Audacity of hope that he managed to clear their debt.
7. He Loves Basketball
President Obama is a passionate basketball fan, whose love for the game is not only limited to spectating but also playing. At 6’1 ½ height, President Obama is a force to be reckoned with on the basketball court. He has made it a tradition ever since he came into office, every year, to invite the winners of the NBA Championship to White Hose for a state banquet. Back in high school he was nicknamed “O’Bomber” because of his exceptional basketball skills.
8. He doesn’t like Coffee and rarely drinks Alcohol
Despite the stress associated with being President Obama does not take coffee and hardly drinks alcohol. His favorite drink is the blackberry iced tea that he sometimes drinks from a coffee mug.
9. He is not a fan of dessert
President Obama doesn’t enjoy eating ice-cream. His distaste for the frozen treat began when he worked at the renowned ice-cream shop, Baskin-Robbins during his teenage years. He must have eaten too much ice-cream.
10. He is a big Fan of Harry Potter
President Obama has read all the Harry Potter books with his other two fans his daughters. The magical seven book series of Harry Potter has over four thousand pages.
11. He is the First Tweeting President
President Obama is the first president of the United States to embrace social media with both Facebook and Twitter official accounts. His Twitter account has over 40 million followers.
12. His Favorite Meal is Shrimp Linguini
President Obama loves eating Shrimp Linguini prepared by his wife Michelle. He also enjoys eating his favorite healthy snack Apples.
13. He was Time Magazine’s “Person of the Year”
In the year 2008, Time Magazine named Obama the “Person of the Year” and he later won the Nobel Peace Prize despite opposition from certain critics. In 2012, he was again named  Time Magazine’s “Person of the Year”.
14. He Quit Smoking in 2010
Obama had made a promise to Michele to quit smoking before contesting for president, he struggled with little success. However, in 2010 there were reports that he finally stopped the habit.
15. He is left Handed
President Obama will go in history as the sixth left-handed president in the post-war era in the United States.
16. His alternative career would be Architecture
According to president Obama, if he had not pursued a career in politics he would probably have become an architect.
17. He has his Good Luck Charms
Aside from basketball, Obama has a Madonna and child statue as well as a bracelet which he got from a soldier in Iraq that he uses as his good luck charms.
Of course, there are a lot more Barack Obama facts to find out. There are those who love him on one hand and the usual critics on the other. However, he will forever remain in the history of America!