TRENDING

One of my first real memories of my dad was when I was in preschool and I would be brought to his office until he finished work. At the time, he was a city councilman in Baltimore, Md., and I'd sit waiting for session to be over. I remember feeling proud of him, but at 4, I really didn't know what he was doing. It just seemed like he was important.

My childhood was different from my friends. Both of my parents were really busy with their careers. But my friends' moms didn't work, so they'd be home when they got home from school. Sometimes, I was really envious, like when there were field trips for school. My friends would say, "My mom is going to be a chaperone. Maybe your mom can be one, too!" And I'd be thinking my mom had to go to trial that day--she was a lawyer then and now she's a judge--so that wasn't going to happen. And my dad was pretty busy, too. He was elected mayor of Baltimore when I was 7 and then last year, he became the governor of Maryland. So I guess that's pretty different, too.

KEEPIN' IT REAL ... OR TRYING!

Because of my dad's position, there have been some fairly embarrassing moments for me, like when my teachers in elementary school would go around the class and ask, "What does your dad do for a living?" I'd say, "He's the mayor," and everyone was like, "What?" Then they'd ask a few questions about it and it would blow over and everything would go back to normal. It was pretty hilarious, though.

Fortunately, I've never had any awkward moments with my friends about my dad. They're really supportive, but I think it's that they care about me, not about my father. I mean, I don't think kids really care what your dad does! Maybe some have tried to be friends with me because of who he is, but I've never noticed that. Even so, I guess it's pretty natural that people would be curious. I know I would be.

I had a great childhood with my two younger brothers (William and Jack) and my older sister, Grace. It's surprising to me that my life has been so normal, considering the situation. There have been some hard times though, since my dad is always in the newspaper and on the news. That may sound exciting, but in truth it's weird seeing people on TV criticizing your dad on a daily basis. I feel like saying, "Hey, you don't understand!" I know my dad is trying to help people, because that's the kind of guy he is. But as a kid it gets frustrating because there's nothing you can do about it.

If I was on the outside, I would imagine the life of a politician's daughter to be super glamorous—with limos and private planes—but it's not at all like that. Well, I guess aside from living in a mansion and having our own chef. We don't have a chauffeur, but we do have to have a state trooper that drives us around. So far, I haven't had any problems with the troopers intruding on my dates, but they do have to drive me to the guy's house since I don't have my license. I can imagine it's a little intimidating for guys to have a trooper show up on your date.

There are some nice perks to being the governor's daughter, like I can go on trips. But I don't really like the tons of receptions we constantly have to have at our house. On the positive side, we definitely have good food around all the time.

The best perk, though, is when I'm shopping at a store and they see my last name. The salesperson will get excited and say, "Wait! Is your dad Governor O'Malley? He's so great!" I love hearing that since I think my dad gets too much grief from people. It's good to know people love him and support what he's doing. I just feel so proud of him when that happens.

Since middle school, I put a lot of pressure on myself to do well in subjects like social studies, because I worry that it would look bad for my dad if I screw up in classes like that. My parents have never pressured me though, and they never told us how to behave in public--except I do remember my dad saying, "You have to look people in the eye and shake their hands when I introduce you," but I think it's a really polite thing to do anyway.

THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE FUNNY

There have been times when I wished my dad had a "normal" job, but I really can't see him doing anything else. He's so good at what he does. Since my dad is always in the public eye, I can't help but get a little embarrassed by some of the things he does. For example, he has always been the singer for a local rock band. It's just totally weird seeing my dad onstage in his jeans and his muscle tee and I'm like, "My gosh, Dad! Please!"—especially since I was 13. And it's not even my kind of music! Maybe if he sounded like John Mayer....

What's great about my dad is that he's not always serious. He just loves to kid around. For example, he's unbelievably good at doing impersonations of famous people—although I don't want to say who he does, it might come back to haunt him. But I guess it's safe to say that he does a hilarious Johnny Bravo from the Cartoon Network.

ONWARD AND UPWARD

It's nice to hear that people had suggested that my dad would have made a good vice president, but that was kind of scary to me because it seemed so huge! And honestly, I wouldn't have wanted to move again, because I would have hated missing prom and graduating with my friends. I do think my dad would make a great president one day, but it's already pretty strange living in the governor's mansion and having people around all the time. I can't even imagine what it would be like living in the White House. Even so, if my dad did decide to run for president of the United States, I wouldn't get in the way of that.

I'm really not that different from any other teen. I'm just a normal kid whose dad happens to be in the public eye. Even though our life is kind of hectic, I feel so blessed to have such an amazing family. Still, I don't think I'd ever go into politics, because it's like, "Been there, done that!" But I know that whatever career I choose, my parents will be behind me.

No matter what kind of work they did for a living, I would always love my parents. Being the governor's daughter doesn't make my life better than someone else's—in fact, there are definitely a few downsides. I just think that no matter what your parents do, it's up to each girl to make her life exciting and special all on her own.

by Tara O'Malley as told to Sandy Fertman Ryan | 2/1/2016