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And In My Own Life, In My Own Small Way, I've Tried To Give Back To This Country That Has Given Me So Much. That's Why I Left A Job At A Law Firm For A Career In Public Service, Working To Empower Young People To Volunteer In Their Communities. Because I Believe That Each Of Us - No Matter What Our Age Or Background Or Walk Of Life - Each Of Us Has Something To Contribute To The Life Of This Nation.

-Michelle Obama

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And In My Own

Michelle Obama

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And In My Own Life, In My Own Small Way, I've Tried To Give Back To This Country That Has Given Me So Much. That's Why I Left A Job At A Law Firm For A Career In Public Service, Working To Empower Young People To Volunteer In Their Communities. Because I Believe That Each Of Us - No Matter What Our Age Or Background Or Walk Of Life - Each Of Us Has Something To Contribute To The Life Of This Nation.

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Gardening Has Increased, Community Gardens Have Increased Significantly. There Are 50 Percent More Community Gardens Right Here In Washington Dc.

I Was Out There Meeting With A Lot Of Working Moms And Whenever I Would Gather A Group Of Women, There Was Always A Voice That Was Unfamiliar To Me, And It Was The Voice Of A Military Spouse, Oftentimes A Woman, Oftentimes Working, Many Times In A Position Where They've Had To Move Every Two Or Three Years, Where Their Kids Have Had To Change School Multiple Times, People Dealing - Families Dealing With Multiple Deployments, Dealing With The Stresses Of Reconnection.

I Come Here Today As A Christian, A Person Of Faith Who Believes We've All Been Called To Serve Our Fellow Men And Women And To Honor God's Creation. We Want Our Girls To Know Right From Wrong, To Always Tell The Truth, To Treat People No Matter Who They Are With Dignity And Respect, No Matter How Different They May Seem...because We Want Our Girls To Know We Are All God's Children And There's So Much More That Unites Than Divides Us.

I Love French Fries, I Like A Good Burger, And I Like Pie. And That's Okay. I Would Be Depressed If I Felt I Could Never Eat The Things That I Love. I Also Don't Want My Girls To Be Obsessed About Food. We Don't Have A "no Junk Food" Rule - I Just Want Them To Think About Their Choices.

He’s Always Asking: ‘is That New? I Haven’t Seen That Before.’ It’s Like, Why Don’t You Mind Your Own Business? Solve World Hunger. Get Out Of My Closet.

Mind Your Own Business

For Me Exercise Is More Than Just Physical, It’s Therapeutic.

New Years Resolution

Investing In Girls' Education Is The Very Best Thing We Can Do, Not Just For Our Daughters And Granddaughters, But For Their Families, Their Communities, And Their Countries.

Exercise Is Really Important To Me - It's Therapeutic. So If I'm Ever Feeling Tense Or Stressed Or Like I'm About To Have A Meltdown, I'll Put On My Ipod And Head To The Gym Or Out On A Bike Ride Along Lake Michigan With The Girls.

And I Come Here As A Daughter, Raised On The South Side Of Chicago - By A Father Who Was A Blue-collar City Worker And A Mother Who Stayed At Home With My Brother And Me.

We're All Bombarded With So Many Dietary Messages That It's Hard To Find Time To Sort Through All This Information, But We Do Have Time To Take A Look At Our Kids' Plates.

If Proud Americans Can Be Who They Are And Boldly Stand At The Altar With Who They Love Then Surely, Surely We Can Give Everyone In This Country A Fair Chance At That Great American Dream.

African American Children Are Significantly More Likely To Be Obese Than Are White Children. Nearly Half Of African American Children Will Develop Diabetes At Some Point In Their Lives. People, That's Half Of Our Children. ...we Can Build Our Kids The Best Schools On Earth, But If They Don't Have The Basic Nutrition They Need To Concentrate, They're Still Going To Have A Challenge Learning.

Although The Circumstances Of Our Lives May Seem Very Disengaged, With Me Standing Here As The First Lady Of The United States Of America And You Just Getting Through School, I Want You To Know We Have Very Much In Common. For Nothing In My Life Ever Would Have Predicted That I Would Be Standing Here As The First African-american First Lady.

To Get Kids Involved In Meal Planning And Preparation, Create Games Out Of Trying New Foods, And Provide Ample Opportunities For Physical Activity, Recognizing It May Take Some Time To Find An Activity They Truly Enjoy.

I Try To Be Thoughtful About Spreading The Wealth: Young Designers. Mixing Things Up Is Important To Me.

Cute's Good. But Cute Only Lasts For So Long, And Then It's, 'who Are You As A Person?' Look At The Heart. Look At The Soul. Look At How The Guy Treats His Mother And What He Says About Women. How He Acts With Children He Doesn't Know. And, More Important, How Does He Treat You?

I Can Make Choices That Make Me Happy, And It Will Ripple And Benefit My Kids, My Husband, And My Physical Health. That's Hard For Women To Own; We're Not Taught To Do That.

I Admit It: I Am Louder Than The Average Human Being And Have No Fear Of Speaking My Mind. These Traits Don't Come From The Color Of My Skin But From An Unwavering Belief In My Own Intelligence.

Speaking My Mind

I Know What It Feels Like To Struggle To Get The Education That You Need.

In The 10 Cities With The Nation's Highest Obesity Rates, The Direct Costs Connected With Obesity And Obesity-related Diseases Are Roughly $50 Million Per 100,000 Residents. And If These 10 Cities Just Cut Their Obesity Rates Down To The National Average, All Added Up They Combine To Save Nearly $500 Million In Healthcare Costs Each Year.

Our Job Is, First And Foremost, To Make Sure Our Family Is Whole.

We Can Make A Commitment To Promote Vegetables And Fruits And Whole Grains On Every Part Of Every Menu. We Can Make Portion Sizes Smaller And Emphasize Quality Over Quantity. And We Can Help Create A Culture - Imagine This - Where Our Kids Ask For Healthy Options Instead Of Resisting Them.

You Work Hard For What You Want In Life.

I Don't Have The Stressful Job. Barack Obama Does.

Walk Away From 'friendships' That Make You Feel Small And Insecure, And Seek Out People Who Inspire You And Support You

There's No Expert On This Planet Who Says That The Government Telling People What To Do Actually Does Any Good With This Issue, This Is Going To Require An Effort On Everyone's Part.

As Always, Many Of Our Troops Are Far From Home This [christmas] Time Of Year, And Their Families Are Serving And Sacrificing Right Along With Them. Their Courage And Dedication Allow The Rest Of Us To Enjoy This Season. That's Why We've Tried To Serve Them As Well As They've Served This Country.

Slowly But Surely, We're Beginning To Turn The Tide On Childhood Obesity In America. Together, We Are Inspiring Leaders From Every Sector To Take Ownership Of This Issue.

If My Future Were Determined Just By My Performance On A Standardized Test, I Wouldn't Be Here. I Guarantee You That.

Just Keep Focusing On The Work That You're Doing. Focus On What's In Front Of You Today. And Don't Read The Papers, Just Go Campaign. Just Do Your Thing. Talk To People Directly

You Know, You Have To Start With Hope...you Don't Get Anywhere In This Country Without Hope. So It's A Necessity. What Barack Says Is That People Have To Understand Hope Isn't Just Blind Optimism. It Isn't Passive. It Isn't Just Sitting There Waiting For Things To Get Better. Hope Is The Vision That You Have To Have. It's The Inspiration That Moves People Into Action...there Are More People Engaged In This Political Process In This Year Than We've Seen In My Lifetime. And It Is All Because Of Hope Because People Believe In The Possibility Of Something Unseen.

There Is No Magic To Achievement. It's Really About Hard Work, Choices, And Persistence.

Communities And Countries And Ultimately The World Are Only As Strong As The Health Of Their Women.

To Be Able To Do It In The Warmth And - Of The White House And To Do It Around People Who Do Care About My Kids In A Country That Has Been Respectful Of My Children And Their Privacy, It Has Been Less Stressful Than I Would Have Imagined For Me.

And The First Thing We Have To Do Is Vote. Hey, No, Not Just Once In A While. Not Just When My Husband Or Somebody You Like Is On The Ballot. But In Every Election At Every Level, All Of The Time.

Every Day, Through Engagement In The Arts, Our Children Learn To Open Their Imagination, To Dream Just A Little Bigger And To Strive Every Day To Reach Those Dreams.

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We've Got A Responsibility To Live Up To The Legacy Of Those Who Came Before Us By Doing All That We Can To Help Those Who Come After Us.

We Can All Agree That In The Wealthiest Nation On Earth, All Children Should Have The Basic Nutrition They Need To Learn And Grow And To Pursue Their Dreams, Because In The End, Nothing Is More Important Than The Health And Well-being Of Our Children... These Are The Basic Values That We All Share, Regardless Of Race, Party, Religion. This Is What We Share. These Are The Values That This Bill Embodies.

That's The Advice I Would Give To Women: Don't Look At The Bankbook Or The Title. Look At The Heart. Look At The Soul. Look At How The Guy Treats His Mother And What He Says About Women. How He Acts With Children He Doesn't Know. And, More Important, How Does He Treat You? When You're Dating A Man, You Should Always Feel Good. You Should Never Feel Less Than. You Should Never Doubt Yourself.

I Try To Have No Absolute Nos. I Love French Fries, I Like A Good Burger, And I Like Pie. And That's Okay.

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First And Foremost, I Wear What I Love. That's What Women Have To Focus On: What Makes Them Happy And What Makes Them Feel Comfortable And Beautiful. If I Can Have Any Impact, I Want Women To Feel Good About Themselves And Have Fun With Fashion.

The Physical And Emotional Health Of An Entire Generation And The Economic Health And Security Of Our Nation Is At Stake. This Isn’t The Kind Of Problem That Can Be Solved Overnight, But With Everyone Working Together, It Can Be Solved. So, Let’s Move.

Working Together

I Love That We Can Trust Barack To Do What He Says He's Going To Do, Even When It's Hard - Especially When It's Hard.

I Think In The End, I Want To Make Sure That My Kids Come Out Of This Thing On The Other End In One Piece. But I Also Know That That's How The Rest Of The Country Feels As Well, So For That I Am Grateful.

My View Is That If You Can't Run Your Own House, You Certainly Can't Run The White House. Can't Do It.

Every Elected Official On This Planet Should Understand - Don't Play With Our Children, Don't Do It.

That's Where You Just Have To Get Creative. There Are All These Trampoline Parks And There's Bowling And There's Roller Skating.

I've Always Been A Closet Jock, But When I Got Married And Had Kids, That Fell By The Wayside.

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When I Hear About Negative And False Attacks, I Really Don't Invest Any Energy In Them, Because I Know Who I Am.

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Some Kids Have Never Seen What A Real Tomato Looks Like Off The Vine. They Don't Know Where A Cucumber Comes From. And That Really Affects The Way They View Food. So A Garden Helps Them Really Get Their Hands Dirty, Literally, And Understand The Whole Process Of Where Their Food Comes From. And I Wanted Them To See Just How Challenging And Rewarding It Is To Grow Your Own Food, So That They Would Better Understand What Our Farmers Are Doing Every Single Day Across This Country And Have An Appreciation For ... That American Tradition Of Growing Our Own Food And Feeding Ourselves.

I Think My Mother Taught Me What Not To Do. She Put Us First, Always, Sometimes To The Detriment Of Herself. She Encouraged Me Not To Do That. She'd Say Being A Good Mother Isn't All About Sacrificing; It's Really Investing And Putting Yourself Higher On Your Priority List.

And Then There's This Guy, Barack Obama, Who Lost - I Could Take Up A Whole Afternoon Talking About His Failures, But - He Lost His First Race For Congress, And Now He Gets To Call Himself My Husband.

Hope And Change Are Hard-fought Things.

Hope And Change

We All Grew Up In Communities With Grandmothers Who Cooked Two, Three Vegetables That You Had To Eat. There Was No Ifs, Ands Or Buts About It. But That's Because Many Of Our Grandparents, They Had Community Gardens; There Was The Vegetable Man That Came Around. There Were Many Other Resources That Allowed Them To Have Access. So It's Not That People Don't Know Or Don't Want To Do The Right Thing; They Just Have To Have Access To The Foods That They Know Will Make Their Families Healthier.

While Budgets Are Tight Right Now, There Are Schools Across The Country That Are Showing That It Doesn't Take A Whole Lot Of Money Or Resources To Give Our Kids The Nutrition They Deserve. What It Does Take, However, Is Effort. What It Does Take Is Imagination. What It Does Take Is A Commitment To Our Children's Futures.

Barack And I Have Been In The Public Eye For Many Years Now, And We've Developed A Thick Skin Along The Way. When You're Out Campaigning, There Will Always Be Criticism. I Just Take It In Stride, And At The End Of The Day, I Know That It Comes With The Territory.

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The Only Limit To The Height Of Your Achievements Is The Reach Of Your Dreams And Your Willingness To Work Hard For Them.

I've Seen How The Issues That Come Across A President's Desk Are Always The Hard Ones - The Problems Where No Amount Of Data Or Numbers Will Get You To The Right Answer.

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Childhood Obesity Issue Is Critically Important To Me Because It's Critically Important To The Health And Success Of Our Kids, And Of This Nation, Ultimately.

I Never Thought I'd Be On Sesame Street With Elmo And Big Bird. I'm Still Thrilled. I'm On A High.

Oh, I Can't Play Soccer, And I'm Not A Great Swimmer. I Won't Drown, But You Won't See Me Doing Laps In A Pool.

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Inspirational Life

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It's All About, You Know, Continuing To Get To Know Ourselves In A Very Diverse And Complicated Country That Is America. It Is A Wonderful Place To Live. But Because It Is So Diverse, Our Challenges Are Complex.

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Policies That Support Families Aren't Political Issues. They're Personal. They're The Causes I Carry With Me Every Single Day.

Women In Particular Need To Keep An Eye On Their Physical And Mental Health, Because If We're Scurrying To And From Appointments And Errands, We Don't Have A Lot Of Time To Take Care Of Ourselves. We Need To Do A Better Job Of Putting Ourselves Higher On Our Own 'to Do' List.

I Try To Tell Young People To Get In Shape Now, Because It's Easier. If You're 30 And Want To Drop 10 Pounds, All You Have To Do Is Just Walk.

When Women And Girls Rise, Their Communities And Their Countries Rise With Them

Learning Through The Arts Reinforces Critical Academic Skills In Reading, Language Arts And Math, And Provides Students With The Skills To Creatively Solve Problems.

When I'm Unhappy With Something, People Know, Because I Don't Want To Hold On To It. I'd Rather Deal Immediately With The Stuff That Bothers Me, So Using My Network - My Girlfriends, My Husband, My Mom - I Talk A Lot, I Vent.

You All Have Opportunities And Skills And Education That So Many Folks Who Came Before You Never Could Have Dreamed Of. So Just Imagine The Kind Of Impact That You're Going To Make. Imagine How You Can Inspire Those Around You To Reach Higher And Complete Their Own Education.

Childhood Obesity Isn't About Looks. And It's Not About Weight. It's About How Our Kids Feel. And Those Are Really The Implications Of The Problem And The Words That Tell A Fuller Picture Of The Challenges That We Face; You Know, Kids Struggling In Ways That They Didn't A Generation Ago.

Truly 1 Percent Of This Country Serves And Protects The Freedoms Of The Other 99 Percent Of Us, So Many Of Us Don't Have That Connection. Fortunately, Jill Biden Does. She's A Blue-star Mom. Their Son Was In The National Guard - Or Is In The - In - Is A Reservist.

Today Jazz Music Is Performed & Listened To By People Of All Ethnicity, Backgrounds, Ages & Creeds.

In Our House We Don't Take Ourselves Too Seriously, And Laughter Is The Best Form Of Unity, I Think, In A Marriage.

There Is Nothing More Important To This Nation's Future Than Investing In Our Young People.

I'm Not Asking Any Of You To Make Drastic Changes To Every Single One Of Your Recipes Or To Totally Change The Way You Do Business. But What I Am Asking Is That You Consider Reformulating Your Menu In Pragmatic And Incremental Ways To Create Healthier Versions Of The Foods That We All Love.

Good Relationships Feel Good. They Feel Right. They Don't Hurt.

Good Relationship

No Matter Who You Are, No Matter Where You Come From, You Are Beautiful.

I Hate Diversity Workshops. “real Change Comes From Having Enough Comfort To Be Really Honest And Say Something Very Uncomfortable.

Talking Is Good. Conversations Have To Be Forever.

I Would Be Depressed If I Felt I Could Never Eat The Things That I Love. I Also Don't Want My Girls To Be Obsessed About Food.

You've Got To Make Choices That Make Sense For You Because There's Always Going To Be Somebody Who'll Think You Should Do Something Differently.

For Me, I Look At The Faces Of My Kids And I Think About The Future That Is Going To Await Them And Whether They're Going To Not Just Have The Financial Resources To Be Prepared For The Challenge, But Whether They're Going To Have The Strength And The Stamina To Live Healthier, Longer Lives So That They Can See Their Kids And Grandkids. That's The Legacy I Hope To See, And It Can Have Nothing To Do With Me And I'd Be Perfectly Happy.

When You've Worked Hard, And Done Well, And Walked Through That Doorway Of Opportunity...you Do Not Slam It Shut Behind You...you Reach Back, And You Give Other Folks The Same Chances That Helped You Succeed.

If Farmers And Blacksmiths Could Win Independence From An Empire...if Immigrants Could Leave Behind Everything They Knew For A Better Life On Our Shores...if Women Could Be Dragged To Jail For Seeking The Vote...if A Generation Could Defeat A Depression, And Define Greatness For All Time...if A Young Preacher Could Lift Us To The Mountaintop With His Righteous Dream...and If Proud Americans Can Be Who They Are And Boldly Stand At The Altar With Who They Love...then Surely, Surely We Can Give Everyone In This Country A Fair Chance At That Great American Dream.

You Do Not Keep American Democracy In Suspense. Because, Look, Too Many People Have Marched And Protested And Fought And Died For This Democracy.

If I Point To Anything That Makes Me Who I Am, It's That I Have A Whole Lot Of Common Sense. I've Got A Good Mind And A Good Ability To Read People And Situations.

I Think That Mentoring Is Such A Critical Part Of The Role I Can Play In My Position. I See How Little Bits Of Exposure And Big Bits Of Exposure Really Change My Girls Significantly, And I Want That For More Girls Around The Country And The World.

Over The Years I've Become More Confident In People's Ability To Recognize A Good Thing.

My Priority Will Be Making Sure My Family Is Happy And Settled.

I Come Here Tonight As A Sister, Blessed With A Brother Who Is My Mentor, My Protector And My Lifelong Friend. And I Come Here As A Wife Who Loves My Husband And Believes He Will Be An Extraordinary President.

Elections Aren't Just About Who Votes, But Who Doesn't Vote.

I Am An Example Of What Is Possible When Girls From The Very Beginning Of Their Lives Are Loved And Nurtured By People Around Them. I Was Surrounded By Extraordinary Women In My Life Who Taught Me About Quiet Strength And Dignity.

I Talk About The Food Issue, I'm Really Coming At It From Pre-white House Times, When I Was A Working Mother With A Busy Husband, A Very Demanding Job And Two Little Kids To Feed.... I Had To Learn What It Means To Feed And Care For Your Kids In A Country Where Fast Food Is Abundant, Where Time Is A Rarity, Where Eating Out Is A Trend, Because Families Are So Busy.... Yes, I'm First Lady, But I Know The Struggles.

Good Health Is Multifaceted - It's Physical, It's Internal, It's My Diet, And My Emotional State. It's All Tied In Together.

It's All About Patience And Persistence - You Often Have To Expose A Child To A New Food Numerous Times Before He Or She Will Begin To Like It. So Keep Trying!

It's Important For Us Not To Lose Sight Of The Fact That This Is A Family That's Grieving And There's Been A Tremendous Loss. And We All Have To Rally Around That Piece Of It.

We Should Always Have Three Friends In Our Lives-one Who Walks Ahead Who We Look Up To And Follow; One Who Walks Beside Us, Who Is With Us Every Step Of Our Journey; And Then, One Who We Reach Back For And Bring Along After We've Cleared The Way.

Millions Of Americans Who Know That Barack Understands Their Dreams; That Barack Will Fight For People Like Them; And That Barack Will Finally Bring The Change We Need.

I Believe That Each Of Us-no Matter What Our Age Or Background Or Walk Of Life-each Of Us Has Something To Contribute To The Life Of This Nation.

African American

Fashion Is Not Just About What We Wear, But...fashion Is Also A Business. It Is An Art, It's A Career That Involves Science, Engineering, Accounting And So Much More. People Can Learn About The Math Behind Charles James' Designs, And Think, 'maybe I Should Pay Closer Attention To Geometry This Semester'

I Am Desperate For Change - Now - Not In 8 Years Or 12 Years, But Right Now.

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Being A Healthy Woman Isn't About Getting On A Scale Or Measuring Your Waistline. We Need To Start Focusing On What Matters-on How We Feel, And How We Feel About Ourselves.

The Arts Can Enrich All Of Us In This Nation As Individuals. The Arts Can Enrich All Of Our Communities And The Country. And The Arts Can Connect Us To Each Other Like Nothing Else Can.

Kids, Everybody Can Get Behind. It's A Bipartisan Thing. We Care About Our Kids' Health. But The Truth Is, It's Very Important For Us To Talk To Parents, In Particular Mothers, Because It's Really Our Self-esteem, It's Our Initiative.

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When You Walk Through That Door Of Opportunity You Don't Slam It Shut Behind You.

Don't Let Anyone Speak For You, And Don't Rely On Others To Fight For You.

I Have The Privilege Of Working On The Issues That I Choose And The Issues That I Feel Most Passionate About. It's Been A Privilege.

Do 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.

I Was Blessed Throughout My Entire Career. I Had People Rooting For Me. It Started With My Parents, But It Extended To Almost Every Teacher That I Had. Even When I Was A Young Lawyer, There Were Other Women And Men In The Firm Who Took Me Under Their Wing.

Childhood Obesity Isn't Some Simple, Discrete Issue. There's No One Cause We Can Pinpoint. There's No One Program We Can Fund To Make It Go Away. Rather, It's An Issue That Touches On Every Aspect Of How We Live And How We Work.

No Country Can Ever Truly Flourish If It Stifles The Potential Of Its Women And Deprives Itself Of The Contributions Of Half Of Its Citizens.

One Of The Lessons That I Grew Up With Was To Always Stay True To Yourself And Never Let What Somebody Else Says Distract You From Your Goals. And So When I Hear About Negative And False Attacks, I Really Don't Invest Any Energy In Them, Because I Know Who I Am.

We Are Living In A Time Where We Just Don't Have Enough Time. People Are Rushed. They're Over Worked, Over Scheduled. Not Enough Resources. ...but The Thing That I Want People To Understand In This Campaign Is That Families Can Make Small Manageable Changes In Their Lives That Can Have Pretty Significant Impacts.

It's Always Positive To Hear How Many People Are Willing To Step Up - Whether It Is The Employment Community, Mental Health Community, Or Medical Community.

All We Can Do As Women Is Make The Best Decisions For Us. And That Includes Everything From How You Look To How You Dress To Whether You Choose To Stay At Home Or Work When You Have Kids. All Those Decisions Are So Personal, And We Have To Start With Finding What Brings Us Joy And What Brings Us Our Own Individual Confidence. And If We're Feeling Good With Those Choices, Then It Makes What Everybody Else Has To Say Less Important.

Earlier In My College Career, There Was No Doubt In My Mind That As A Member Of The Black Community I Was Somehow Obligated To This Community And Would Utilize All Of My Present And Future Resources To Benefit This Community First And Foremost.

Barack Knows The American Dream Because He's Lived It...and He Wants Everyone In This Country To Have That Same Opportunity, No Matter Who We Are, Or Where We're From, Or What We Look Like, Or Who We Love.

Just Do What Works For You, Because There Will Always Be Someone Who Think Diffenrently.

Ultimately This Issue Is On Us. We're The Ones Who Make The Decisions About What Our Kids Eat.

Hope Is Necessary. It's A Necessary Concept. And Barack Obama Didn't Just Talk About Hope Because He Thought It Was Just A Nice Slogan To Get Votes.

There Are Many Different Ways That A Military Person's Career Can Be Translated.

Whether You Come From A Council Estate Or A Country Estate, Your Success Will Be Determined By Your Own Confidence And Fortitude.

African American

Let Girls Learn Issue Has Always Been Personal For Me. I Grew Up In A Working-class Neighborhood On The South Side Of Chicago Where Most Folks, Including My Parents, Didn't Have College Degrees. But With A Lot Of Hard Work - And A Lot Of Financial Aid - I Had The Chance To Attend Princeton And Harvard Law School, And That Gave Me The Confidence To Pursue My Ambitions.

I Like To Talk About My Obsession With French Fries Because I Don't Want People To Think That 'let's Move' Is About Complete, Utter Deprivation. It's About Moderation And Real-life Changes And Ideas That Really Work For Families.

The Arts Are Not Just A Nice Thing To Have Or To Do If There Is Free Time Or If One Can Afford It. Rather, Paintings And Poetry, Music And Fashion, Design And Dialogue, They All Define Who We Are As A People And Provide An Account Of Our History For The Next Generation.

I Mean, Hope Doesn't Get Actualized In Three And A Half Years. If That Were The Case, We'd Be Out Of Luck As A Country.

Every Thanksgiving, Barack Sits Down To Call Some Of Our Troops And Thank Them For Their Service. When He Tells Me About These Conversations, It Always Reminds Me Of How Blessed We Are To Live In A Country Where Men And Women Will Stand Up To Protect Our Freedoms And Preserve Our Way Of Life. And Whenever I've Had The Chance To Meet With These Heroes And Their Families, I've Always Walked Away Inspired By Their Courage And In Awe Of Their Strength.

Your Word Is Your Bond, You Do What You Say You're Going To Do.

When I Get Up And Work Out, I'm Working Out Just As Much For My Girls As I Am For Me, Because I Want Them To See A Mother Who Loves Them Dearly, Who Invests In Them, But Who Also Invests In Herself. It's Just As Much About Letting Them Know As Young Women That It Is Okay To Put Yourself A Little Higher On Your Priority List.

When I Was Little, I Wanted To Be A Mother, Because That's Who I Saw. I Saw My Mom Caring For Me. I Didn't Play Doctor. I Didn't Play Lawyer. I Didn't Have Those Visions Until I Was In College, Meeting People Who Were Doing Those Things. That's Why We're Trying To Encourage Moms, Teachers, Fathers, To Be That Presence In Their Children's Lives, In Their Communities, Because It Really Makes A Difference.

Fruits And Vegetables For Some Kids Are Scary And Not Fun.

Barack Obama Was Always Special, You Know? And Not Special, Like, He's Gonna Be Important, He's Gonna Be President. He Was Special In Terms Of His Honesty, His Sincerity, His Compassion For Other People.

I Have Never Felt More Confident In Myself, More Clear On Who I Am As A Woman. But I Am Constantly Thinking About My Own Health And Making Sure That I'm Eating Right And Getting Exercise And Watching The Aches And Pains. I Want To Be This Really Fly 80-90-year Old.

My Happiness Is Tied To How I Feel About Myself.

What I Love About Design Is The Artistic And Scientific Complexity That Also Becomes Useful.

America Is Just Downright Mean.

If I Can Have Any Impact, I Want Women To Feel Good About Themselves And Have Fun With Fashion

We All Need To Start Making Some Changes To How Our Families Eat. Now, Everyone Loves A Good Sunday Dinner. Me Included. And There's Nothing Wrong With That. The Problem Is When We Eat Sunday Dinner Monday Through Saturday.

Don't Worry About What Candidates Have Done Or Said, Just Vote For The Democrats. Then, Afterwards, You Can Go Eat Fried Chicken.

We've Gotten Commitments From Medical Schools, From Nursing Schools, To Step Up And Increase That Pool Of Knowledgeable Individuals.

One Thing I Want To Clarify - That Every Service Member, Veteran, Wants Us To Remember - Is That The Vast Majority Of People Returning From Service Come Back Completely Healthy. But When We Do Come Across Someone Who Is Struggling. We Have To Develop A Culture Of Open Arms And Acceptance So That They Feel Comfortable Saying, "i'm A Veteran. And By The Way, I Need Little Help." This Is Something We Need To Do In This Country Around Mental Health As A Whole - Destigmatizing Mental Health.

These Are Things That We Hear From Military Families Everywhere We Go. But It - On Ptsd, The Thing That I Want To Make Sure People Understand Is That The Vast Majority Of Veterans And Military Families Aren't Dealing With Any Kind Of Mental Health. But There Are - These Are What Are Called The Invisible Wounds Of This War. And Many Times They Don't Present.

I Felt, As A Lawyer, When I Was Mentoring And Working With Kids, That I Gained A Level Of Groundedness That I Just Couldn't Get Sitting On The Forty-seventh Floor Of A Fancy Firm. Selfishly, It Gives Me Joy - It Makes Me Feel Like My Life Has A Purpose.

Even If We Give Parents All The Information They Need And We Improve School Meals And Build Brand New Supermarkets On Every Corner, None Of That Matters If When Families Step Into A Restaurant, They Can't Make A Healthy Choice.

Healthy Choices

I Love That For Barack, There Is No Such Thing As 'us' And 'them' - He Doesn't Care Whether You're A Democrat, A Republican, Or None Of The Above... He Knows That We All Love Our Country... And He's Always Ready To Listen To Good Ideas... He's Always Looking For The Very Best In Everyone He Meets.

I've Always Tried To Make Sure That What I Do Really Connects With The Broader Agenda Of What My Husband Is Trying To Do.

My Most Important Title Is Mom In Chief

The Work-life Balance Is A Harsh Reality For So Many Women, Who Are Forced Every Day To Make Impossible Choices. Do They Take Their Kids To The Doctor...and Risk Getting Fired? Do They Work Weekends So They Can Afford To Send Their Kids To Better Childcare...even Though It Means Even Less Time With Their Families? Do They Take Another Shift At Work, So They Can Pay For Piano Lessons For Their Kids...even Though It Means They Have To Stop Volunteering For The Pta? It Just Shouldn't Be This Difficult To Raise Healthy Families.

Style Helps Distinguish You . . . It's A Great Potential Opportunity That People Tend To Leave By The Wayside

I Always Want To Be On The Cusp Of Being In The Best Shape That I Can Be.

It Is Our Fundamental Belief In The Power Of Hope That Has Allowed Us To Rise Above The Voices Of Doubt And Division, Of Anger And Fear That We Have Faced In Our Own Lives And In The Life Of America.

My Husband And I Make Physical Activity A Priority In Our Lives, And Our Daughters Love Being Active As Well. And While We Each Have Sports And Activities We Enjoy, We Try To Go For Hikes Or Bike Rides Together Whenever We Get The Chance. We've Found That The Best Way To Help Our Girls Be Active Is To Find Activities They Truly Enjoy.

I Mean, Let's Take The Average Spouse. You Know, You Show Up In An Employer's, You Know, Office, And It's Shown That You've Changed Jobs Every Two Years. Well, To Many Employers That Could Be Viewed As A Red Flag. But The Truth Is, Is That You've Made Those Moves Because You're Serving Your Country, And Each Time You've Found A Career, And You've Been Able To Provide For Your Family, And You've Continued To Volunteer, And On And On And On.

I Mean, That's The Least We Should Do For These Men And Women [veterans And Military Spouses], Is To Make Sure They Come Back To Jobs That Pay, To Career Opportunities, That These Spouses Are Able To Add A Second Income To Their Households, Because These Families Do Not Have A Lot Of Resources.

Discriminating Against Same-sex Couples Just Isn't Right.

There Are So Many Really Good Role Models Out There, We Just Have To Make Sure That We Don't Glorify Just One Type. We Have The First Latina Supreme Court Justice, Sonia Sotomayor, Who Is Ready To Be A Force In Kids' Lives. I Could Name Hundreds Of People Like Her.

But, As Potentially The First African American First Lady, I Was Also The Focus Of Another Set Of Questions And Speculations; Conversations Sometimes Rooted In The Fears And Misperceptions Of Others. Was I Too Loud, Or Too Angry, Or Too Emasculating? Or Was I Too Soft, Too Much Of A Mom, Not Enough Of A Career Woman?

We're Gathering A Group Of Women Around The Administration To Serve Over A Longer Period Of Time As Mentors To Girls In Need. If We Can Have That Kind Of Impact In One Night, Just Imagine If We Were Working With Girls Over The Course Of A Year Or Two.... We Can Change Lives.

Believe It Or Not, When We Were First Married, Our Combined Monthly Student Loan Bills Were Actually Higher Than Our Mortgage.

Barack And I Were Both Raised By Families Who Didn't Have Much In The Way Of Money Or Material Possessions But Who Had Given Us Something Far More Valuable - Their Unconditional Love, Their Unflinching Sacrifice, And The Chance To Go Places They Had Never Imagined For Themselves.

Unconditional Love

The Arts And Humanities Define Who We Are As A People. That Is Their Power -- To Remind Us Of What We Each Have To Offer, And What We All Have In Common. To Help Us Understand Our History And Imagine Our Future. To Give Us Hope In The Moments Of Struggle And To Bring Us Together When Nothing Else Will.

Women Should Have The Freedom To Do Whatever They Need To Do To Feel Good About Themselves.

Value Everyone's Contribution And Treat Everyone With Respect.

One Of The Things I Want ... All The Kids Here To Remember, Is That These [major League Soccer] Stars Were Not Born Superstar Athletes ... Many Of Them Started Out Just Like Many Of You-playing On A Team At School, Or Just Kicking A Ball Around On The Playground With Their Friends. But They Stuck With It. And I Tell This To My Girls All The Time. I Mean, You Get To The Point When ... Things You Enjoy ... Start Getting Hard-that's When You Know You're Getting Good, And You Have To Stick Through It.

I Think That People Are Tired. They're Tired Of The Same Old Kind Of Politics. People Want A New Tone To Politics.

I Hate Fund-raising. Haaaaate It. Hate, Hate It.

I Was Too Worried About The Grades And I Should Have Been More Worried About Learning.

My Ability To Get Through My Day Greatly Depends On The Relationship That I Have With Other Women...we Have To Be Able To Champion Other Women. We Have To Root For Each Other's Successes And Not Delight In One Another's Failures.

I Want The Young People To Pay Attention Because, See, Back When I First Met Barack, We Started Dating, He Had Everything Going For Him. All Right, Ladies, Listen To This. This Is What I Want You To Be Looking For. Yes, He Was Handsome-still Is. I Think So. He Was Charming, Talented, And Oh-so Smart, Truly. But That Is Not Why I Married Him. Now, See, I Want The Fellas To Pay Attention To This. You All Listening? What Truly Made Me Fall In Love With Barack Obama Was His Character. You Hear Me? It Was His Character. It Was His Decency, His Honesty, His Compassion And Conviction.

Falling In Love

And Barack And I Were Raised With So Many Of The Same Values, Like You Work Hard For What You Want In Life. That Your Word Is Your Bond; That You Do What You Say You're Going To Do. That You Treat People With Dignity And Respect, Even If You Don't Know Them And Even If You Don't Agree With Them.

Barack Obama Was A Black Man That Lived On The South Side Of Chicago, Who Had His Share Of Troubles Catching Cabs.

Politics Is A Waste Of Time.

Sometimes, It's Just Easier To Say Yes To That Extra Snack Or Dessert, Because Frankly, It Is Exhausting To Keep Saying No. It's Exhausting To Plead With Our Kids To Eat Just One More Bite Of Vegetables.

Being Healthy Isn't About Inches, Pounds, Or How Kids Look - It's About How They Feel And Making Sure They Feel Good About Themselves. So Rather Than Focusing On Appearance, It's Important To Emphasize To Kids That When We Eat Healthy Food And Stay Active, We Feel Better, And We Can Perform Better In Everything We Do, From Athletics To Academics.

My Children Are Very Blessed.... That's Why I Think That Mentoring Is Such A Critical Part Of The Role I Can Play In This Position. I See How Little Bits Of Exposure And Big Bits Of Exposure Really Change My Girls Significantly, And I Want That For More Girls Around The Country And The World.

Every Girl, No Matter Where She Lives, Deserves The Opportunity To Develop The Promise Inside Of Her.

Service Is A Limitless Opportunity, It Is The Reason Why We Breathe.

I Didn't Just Start With ...local City Officials Because I Knew That They Would Understand The Problem. I Started With Them Because I Knew That Our Cities, Towns And Counties Would Be A Key Part Of The Solution To This Issue. ...there Is No One-size-fits All Policy Or Program That Can Solve This Problem. And Washington Certainly Does Not Have All The Answers. Instead, Many Of The Best, Most Innovative, Most Effective Solutions Start In Our City Halls And Our Towns And Our County Councils.

I Look At How My Kids View Exercise. They Have A Complete Understanding That Nutrition And Exercise Go Hand In Hand. I Didn't Think Like That When I Was A Kid. But They Have A Real Consciousness About It That I'd Like To Think Comes From The Years Of Attention We've Put Into This.

The Beauty Of My Job Is That I Get To See More Of That America. And That Feeds Me.

But We Need A Medical Community That's Trained And Knowledgeable And Working On Advancement.

Like So Many American Families, Our Families Weren't Asking For Much. They Didn't Begrudge Anyone Else's Success Or Care That Others Had Much More Than They Did, In Fact, They Admired It.

I Joke That I Stick With The Job Because It Covers My Insurance, But The Reality Is That My Career Has Always Been Very Important To Me.

I've Always Been A Closet Jock. With Exercising, The More You Do It, The More You Get Into It. And The More You See Results, The More You're Pushing For The Next Level.

Fortunately, We Have Help From The Media. I Have To Say This: I'm Very Grateful For The Support And Kindness That We've Gotten. People Have Respected Their Privacy And In That Way, I Think, You Know, No Matter What People May Feel About My Husband's Policies Or What Have You, They Care About Children And That's Been Good To See.

We As Parents Are Our Children's First And Best Role Models, And This Is Particularly True When It Comes To Their Health. ...we Can't Lie Around On The Couch Eating French Fries And Candy Bars And Expect Our Kids To Eat Carrots And Run Around The Block.

When It Comes To The Health Of Our Families, Barack Refused To Listen To All Those Folks Who Told Him To Leave Health Reform For Another Day, Another President. He Didn't Care Whether It Was The Easy Thing To Do Politically - That's Not How He Was Raised - He Cared That It Was The Right Thing To Do.

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