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I Think The Most Moving Part Of My Trip [to Africa] So Far Was Seeing 92-year-old Nelson Mandela, And Just Thinking About His Life. This Man Has Lived Through A Struggle That Few Nations Have Known.

-Michelle Obama

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I Think The Most

Michelle Obama

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I Think The Most Moving Part Of My Trip [to Africa] So Far Was Seeing 92-year-old Nelson Mandela, And Just Thinking About His Life. This Man Has Lived Through A Struggle That Few Nations Have Known.

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

I Feel Fortunate As A Woman To Have A Husband Who Loves Me And Shows Me In Every Way.

There's So Much Going On In The Healthcare System That Makes It Difficult For Women To Really Have A Strong Economic Hold If Insurance Is Always An Issue.

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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.

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I Was Not Raised With Wealth Or Resources Or Any Social Standing To Speak Of.

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It Should Be Fun Introducing Kids To Fruits And Vegetables. If You Start Young, It Will Be Something That They'll Attach To Really Quickly.

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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.

Every Day, The People I Meet Inspire Me... Every Day, They Make Me Proud... Every Day They Remind Me How Blessed We Are To Live In The Greatest Nation On Earth.

For The First Time In My Adult Lifetime, I Am Really Proud Of My Country. And Not Just Because Barack Has Done Well, But Because I Think People Are Hungry For Change. And I Have Been Desperate To See Our Country Moving In That Direction.

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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.

The Idea That We Are Our Brother's Keeper And Our Sister's Keeper. That We Should Treat Others As We Would Want To Be Treated. And That We Care For The Sick... Feed The Hungry... And Welcome The Stranger... No Matter Where They Come From, Or How They Practice Their Faith.

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.

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

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It's Been So Important That The Chamber Of Commerce, For Example, Has Hosted Hiring Fairs That Are Specifically Targeted To Military Communities.

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Unconditional Love

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When I Was Younger, I Could Eat Whatever I Wanted, As Long As I Exercised; Or If I Didn't Exercise And Just Watched What I Ate, I'd Maintain. Now I Have To Do Both.

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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.

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.

During The First Campaign, One Of My Jobs As My Husband's Spouse Was To Travel Around The Country And Really Listen To Women. There Were Voices That Were New To Me: The Voices Of Military Spouses, Many Of Them Women, And Veterans.... I Was Overwhelmed By Their Challenges, And The Notion That We As A Country Don't Even Know That These Women Exist, Because We Live In A Country Where One Percent Of The Population Protects The Rights And Freedoms Of The Other 99 Percent Of Us. I Thought That If I Had The Opportunity To Serve As First Lady, I Was Going To Use This Platform To Be Their Voice.

I've Seen Firsthand That Being President Doesn't Change Who You Are. It Reveals Who You Are.

We Don't Need New Discoveries Or New Inventions To Reverse This Trend. We Have The Tools At Our Disposal To Reverse It. All We Need Is The Motivation, The Opportunity And The Willpower To Do What Needs To Be Done. ...with This Report, We Have A Very Solid Road Map That We Need To Make These Goals Real, To Solve This Problem Within A Generation.

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

An Educational Foundation Is Only Part Of The Equation. In Order For Creativity To Flourish And Imagination To Take Hold, We Also Need To Expose Our Children To The Arts From A Very Young Age.

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.

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.

Always Stay True To Yourself And Never Let What Somebody Says Distract You From Your Goals.

Stay True To Yourself

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.

Fashion Is About So Much More Than Just A Pretty Pair Of Pumps Or The Perfect Hemline. For So Many People Across The Country, It Is A Calling, It Is A Career, And It's A Way They Feed Their Families.

Value Everyone's Contribution And Treat Everyone With Respect.

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.

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

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.

My Mother's Love Has Always Been A Sustaining Force For Our Family, And One Of My Greatest Joys Is Seeing Her Integrity, Her Compassion, Her Intelligence Reflected In My Daughters.

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.

We Learned About Gratitude And Humility - That So Many People Had A Hand In Our Success, From The Teachers Who Inspired Us To The Janitors Who Kept Our School Clean... And We Were Taught To Value Everyone's Contribution And Treat Everyone With Respect.

I Want To Send A Very Clear Message To The Men And Women Who Are Wearing - Or Who Have Worn - Our Country's Uniform And To Their Spouses: When You Have Finished Your Service To Our Nation, You've Got 2,000 Great American Companies Ready And Waiting To Bring You On Board

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.

And That's Why The President Has Asked The Entire Government To Step Up, On His Part. I Mean, There's - There Are Things That The Private Sector Needs To Do; There Are Things That The Government Needs To Do.

People Are Always Going To Have Opinions, And People Have A Right To Their Opinions, Particularly When You're The First Lady; You're Representing The Nation. I've Tried To Be At Peace With The Choices That I Make First, And Then Be Open To Everyone Else's Reflection.

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.

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

Parents Have A Right To Expect That Their Efforts At Home Won't Be Undone Each Day In The School Cafeteria Or In The Vending Machine In The Hallway. ...parents Have A Right To Expect That Their Kids Will Be Served Fresh, Healthy Food That Meets High Nutritional Standards.

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

We Have To Remember That It's Usually Women Who Are Making The Health Care Decisions For Their Families.... True Equality Would Mean Making Sure That There's Equity In Terms Of How Insurance Reimburses Certain Procedures; Making Sure That We Have Preventative Care That's Covered So Women Can Get Their Mammograms And Pap Screens Without Extra Charges.

We Have To Design Policies That Have Meaningful Impacts On The Quality Of Life Of Women And Families. And That's Something That I Know I Can Speak Passionately About Because Whether I'm In The White House As First Lady, As Long As I Have Kids And I'm Trying To Have A Life, I'm Gonna Be Trying To Make This Balance Work...

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.

We Need To Do A Better Job Of Putting Ourselves Higher On Our Own 'to Do' List.

When I Was A Young Lawyer, There Were Other Women And Men In The Firm Who Took Me Under Their Wing. Sometimes Mentors Don't Find You - Sometimes You Seek Them Out. You Shouldn't Hesitate To Plop Herself In Someone's Office And Ask Them To Be That Support.... Oftentimes, They're Flattered And Glad To Lend A Hand. So I Would Encourage Any Reader To Seek Out A Mentor, Then Follow Through And Be Very Focused And Persistent.

This Is Really What The White House Is All About. It’s The “people’s House.” It’s A Place That Is Steeped In History, But It’s Also A Place Where Everyone Should Feel Welcome. And That's Why My Husband And I Have Made It Our Mission To Open Up The House To As Many People As We Can.

I Think I'm Probably More Typical Of The Average American Who Doesn't Have A Connection To A Military Community.

I Tell My Kids, 'i Am Thinking About You Every Other Minute Of My Day.'

My Role Models Were The People In My Life. My Mom, For Sure. My Dad. The Teachers. For Me, Role-modeling Was Immediate, It Was Touchable. It Was Rare For Me To Idolize A Movie Star Or A Singer...because, Truly, Children Connect With Who Is In Their Lives, Present And Accounted For.

And Let's Be Clear: It's Not Enough Just To Limit Ads For Foods That Aren't Healthy. It's Also Going To Be Critical To Increase Marketing For Foods That Are Healthy.

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

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.

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

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

With This New Initiative, Disney Is Doing What No Major Media Company Has Ever Done Before In The United States. And What I Hope Every Company Will Do Going Forward When It Comes To The Ads They Show And The Food They Sell They're Asking Themselves One Simple Question: Is This Good For Our Kids?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Start, As Parents, With Yourselves, Number One.

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

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.

As Women, We Cannot Afford To Neglect Ourselves.

We Were So Young, So In Love, And So In Debt.

When The Average Child Is Now Spending Nearly Eight Hours A Day In Front Of Some Kind Of Screen, Many Of Their Opinions And Preferences Are Being Shaped By The Marketing Campaigns You All Create. And That’s Where The Problem Comes In.. ... And I’m Here Today With One Simple Request - And That Is To Do Even More And Move Even Faster To Market Responsibly To Our Kids.

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.

Let Me Tell You Something: For The First Time In My Adult Life, I Am Proud Of My Country, Because It Feels Like Hope Is Finally Making A Comeback.

The Fact Is, With Every Friendship You Make, And Every Bond Of Trust You Establish, You Are Shaping The Image Of America Projected To The Rest Of The World. That Is So Important. So When You Study Abroad, You're Actually Helping To Make America Stronger.

My Sense Is That Being A First Lady Is A Full-time Job, But I'll Know More When The Time Comes.

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

I Always Want To Be On The Cusp Of Being In The Best Shape That I Can Be. What I'm Discovering Is That The Older You Get, The More Work You Have To Do To Stay There.

As Women, We Must Stand Up For Ourselves. We Must Stand Up For Each Other. We Must Stand Up For Justice For All.

Justice For All

My Happiness Is Measured Against My Kids' Happiness - When They're In A Good Place, I Feel Really Good.

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.

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.

I Am Only As Good As My Children Are.

I Was An Incredibly Devoted Student, And I Would Often Wake Up At 4 Or 5 In The Morning To Study. But Even So, There Were Still People Who Thought That A Girl Like Me With A Background Like Mine Wasn't Really "college Material."

I Am A Sleeper. When You Wake Up At 4:30 In The Morning To Do A Workout, You're Sleepy At 8 In The Evening. By 10 O'clock At The Latest, I'm In Bed.

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.

My Kids Are Normal. If They Could Eat Burgers And Fries And Ice Cream Every Day, They Would. And So Would I. But That Doesn't Sustain Us.

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.

We Got A Commitment That 3 Million Nurses Are Going To Be Trained To Better Identify These Signs [of Ptsd], Because, You Know, When These Troops Come Home And They Become Veterans And They Go Back Into The Civilian Community, They're Not Always Going Through The Va System For Medical Care. They're Going To Show Up At Community Hospitals And Clinics.

Cute's Good. But Cute Only Lasts For So Long, And Then It's, 'who Are You As A Person?' Don't Look At The Bankbook Or The Title. Look At The Heart. Look At The Soul. When You're Dating A Man, You Should Always Feel Good. ... You Shouldn't Be In A Relationship With Somebody Who Doesn't Make You Completely Happy And Make You Feel Whole.

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.

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

People Have Notions Of What A Wife's Role Should Be In This Process, And It's Been A Traditional One Of Blind Adoration. My Model Is A Little Different - I Think Most Real Marriages Are.

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

Whether An Illness Affects Your Heart, Your Leg Or Your Brain, It's Still An Illness, And There Should Be No Distinction.

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