Now I think it’s one of the most useless questions an adult can ask a child – What do you want to be when you grow up? As if growing up is finite. As if at some point you become something and that’s the end.
MICHELLE OBAMANow I think it’s one of the most useless questions an adult can ask a child – What do you want to be when you grow up? As if growing up is finite. As if at some point you become something and that’s the end.
MICHELLE OBAMAFulfillment, I’m sure, struck her as a rich person’s conceit.
MICHELLE OBAMAAm I good enough? Yes, I am.
MICHELLE OBAMAThis may be the fundamental problem with caring a lot about what others think: It can put you on the established path—the my-isn’t-that-impressive path—and keep you there for a long time.
MICHELLE OBAMAPeople who are truly strong lift others up. People who are truly powerful bring others together.
MICHELLE OBAMAI wanted Americans to understand that words matter—that the hateful language they heard coming from their TVs did not reflect the true spirit of our country and that we could vote against it.
MICHELLE OBAMABullies were scared people hiding inside scary people.
MICHELLE OBAMAThey didn’t own a house. We were their investment, me and Craig. Everything went into us.
MICHELLE OBAMAAmerica, our moment is now, Barack said. Our moment is now.
MICHELLE OBAMADo not bring people in your life who weigh you down. And trust your instincts, good relationships feel good. They feel right. They don’t hurt. They’re not painful. That’s not just with somebody you want to marry, but it’s with the friends that you choose. It’s with the people you surround yourselves with.
MICHELLE OBAMAEven if we didn’t know the context, we were instructed to remember that context existed. Everyone on earth, they’d tell us, was carrying around an unseen history, and that alone deserved some tolerance.
MICHELLE OBAMAI like the idea of being rigorous about friendship.
MICHELLE OBAMAI hate diversity workshops. Real change comes from having enough comfort to be really honest and say something very uncomfortable.
MICHELLE OBAMAEverything was not lost. This was the message we needed to carry forward. It’s what I truly believed. It wasn’t ideal, but it was our reality—the world as it is. We needed now to be resolute, to keep our feet pointed in the direction of progress.
MICHELLE OBAMAI have had to learn that my voice has value. And if I don’t use it, what’s the point of being in the room?
MICHELLE OBAMAIt felt perverse, how the world just carried on. How everyone was still here, except for my Suzanne.
MICHELLE OBAMA