Background Image

...

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.

-Michelle Obama

...

Please Wait....
Translating....

One Of The Things

Michelle Obama

...

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.

Views: 5

Topic

More From Michelle Obama

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.

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

It Is My Hope That Our Garden's Story-and The Stories Of Gardens Across America-will Inspire Families, Schools, And Communities To Try Their Own Hand At Gardening And Enjoy All The Gifts Of Health, Discovery, And Connection A Garden Can Bring.

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.

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

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?

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.

At The End Of The Day, When It Comes Time To Make That Decision, As President, All You Have To Guide You Are Your Values, And Your Vision, And The Life Experiences That Make You Who You Are.

The End Of The Day

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 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.

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

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

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

Good Relationship

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.

Countries Are Stronger And More Prosperous When The Voices And Opinions Of All Their Citizens Can Be Heard.

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

I Am Only As Good As My Children Are.

You Look At All The Sporting Companies Out There. I Won't Name Names, But We Know Who They Are. Good Brands And Logos And Things Like That, And They Have To Start Catering To Real Women. Even In How Their Sports Apparel Is Designed, And The Commercials - You Want To Look At A Commercial And See Yourself.

Selfishly, Working With Kids Gives Me Joy - It Makes Me Feel Like My Life Has A Purpose. And I Thought, Imagine What We Can Do In The White House, Particularly With The Kids In The D.c. Area, Many Of Whom Have Never Set Foot On The White House Lawn.

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.

Now, A Good Education Is About So Much More Than Just Learning Geometry Or Memorizing Dates In History. All Of That Is Important, But An Education Is Also About Exploring New Things -- Discovering What Makes You Come Alive, And Then Being Your Best At Whatever You Choose

Child Hunger And Child Obesity Are Really Just Two Sides Of The Same Coin. Both Rob Our Children Of The Energy, The Strength And The Stamina They Need To Succeed In School And In Life. And That, In Turn, Robs Our Country Of So Much Of Their Promise.

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.

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.

To Be A Good Parent, You Need To Take Care Of Yourself So That You Can Have The Physical And Emotional Energy To Take Care Of Your Family.

We're Our Kids' First And Best Role Models. So The First Question Is, What Are You As A Mom Or A Dad Doing Every Day, Or Every Week, To Start Getting Into The Good Habits?

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

Education Is The Single-most Important Civil Rights Issue That We Face Today.

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

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.

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.

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.

The Benefits Of Studying Abroad Are Almost Endless.

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.

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.

To Me, With Age, Everything Has Gotten Better. You Have Way More Control; You Know Yourself Better.

Kids Who Participate In School Meal Programs Get Roughly Half Of Their Calories Each Day At School. ... This Is An Extraordinary Responsibility. But It's Also An Opportunity. And It's Why One Of The Single Most Important Things We Can Do To Fight Childhood Obesity Is To Make Those Meals At School As Healthy And Nutritious As Possible.

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?

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

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.

Barack Puts On His Suit And Tie [and] He's Out The Door — I'm Getting My Hair, Makeup, The Kids, I Gotta Brush Their Hair. You Know, He's Always Looking Like 'where Are You? Where Are You Going?' But Yeah, You Know — It's Fun To Look Pretty.

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

Stay True To Yourself

Some Of My Best Memories Are Sitting On My Dad's Lap, Cheering On Olga And Nadia, Carl Lewis And Others For Their Brilliance And Perfection.

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

One Of The Things I've Done Personally Is Bring My Girlfriends Into My Health And Fitness Journeys.

Success Isn't About How Much Money You Make, It's About The Difference You Make In People's Lives.

Inspirational Life

I'm Trolling Through The Recesses Of My Mind For The Things I Did With My Kids When They Used To Like To Do Things With Me. They Don't Want To Be Around Me Now. I Look Back On These Times - All Those Little Funny Pottery Dishes That You'd Pay For, And They'd Paint, And They Were Ugly, And You Glazed Them, And You'd Go Back, Pick Them Up, And It's Like, "oh, Now I've Got To Put This On My Desk." There's All That Kind Of Stuff.

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.

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.

My Experiences At Princeton Have Made Me Far More Aware Of My 'blackness' Than Ever Before.

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.

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.

You Have To Practice Success. Success Doesn't Just Show Up. If You Aren't Practicing Success Today, You Won't Wake Up In 20 Years And Be Successful, Because You Won't Have Developed The Habits Of Success, Which Are Small Things Like Finishing What You Start, Putting A Lot Of Effort Into Everything You Do, Being On Time, Treating People Well.

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

How Hard You Work Matters More Than How Much You Make.

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.

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 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 Know What Makes Me Happy. I Pick The Clothes That Make Me Happy - Sometimes People Like Them, Sometimes They Don't. I Try To Listen To My Own Internal Guide.

Choose People Who Lift You Up.

Inspirational Life

Talking Is Good. Conversations Have To Be Forever.

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.

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

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

If We Truly Believe That Every Girl In Every Corner Of The Globe Is Worthy Of An Education As Our Own Daughters And Granddaughters Are, Then We Need To Deepen Our Commitment To These Efforts.

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.

It's Hard To Change Adults, And It's Hard To Change It From A Political Position Or A Perceived Political Position.

Barack, Like Any Leader, Is Human. And, You Know, Our Challenges In This Country Isn't Finding The Next Person Who's Gonna Deliver Us From Our Own Evil. Because Our Challenges Are Us. The Challenges That This Country Faces Is How Are We As Individuals In This Society Gonna Change? What Are We Gonna Do Differently?

Do Not Die In The History Of Your Past Hurts And Past Experiences, But Live In The Now And Future Of Your Destiny.

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.

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.

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.

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'

The Issues Facing Working Women And Their Families Are Closest To My Heart. I Decided To Focus Intently On The Challenges Military Wives Face Because They Juggle The Same Pressures As Their Nonmilitary Peers, All While Coping As Single Parents While Their Loved Ones Are Overseas. I Wanted To Help Make Their Voices Heard.

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

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.

I'm Not A Big Fan Of Young Kids Having Facebook. It's Not Something They Need. It's Not Necessary.

We Learned About Honesty And Integrity - That The Truth Matters... That You Don't Take Shortcuts Or Play By Your Own Set Of Rules... And Success Doesn't Count Unless You Earn It Fair And Square.

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

Even My Husband Is Happier When I'm Happy. He Has Always Said, "you Figure Out What You Want To Do," Because He's Discovered That Personal Happiness Is Connected To Everything.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

Find People Who Will Make You Better.

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.

A Lot Of Young People Think They're Invincible, But The Truth Is Young People Are Knuckleheads... Now Young People Can Get Insurance For As Little As $50 A Month, Less Than The Cost Of Gym Shoes.

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.

My Experiences At Princeton Have Made Me Far More Aware Of My 'blackness' Than Ever Before. I Have Found That At Princeton, No Matter How Liberal And Open-minded Some Of My White Professors And Classmates Try To Be Toward Me, I Sometimes Feel Like A Visitor On Campus; As If I Really Don't Belong.

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.

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.

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.

I Never Cut Class. I Loved Getting A's, I Liked Being Smart. I Liked Being On Time. I Thought Being Smart Is Cooler Than Anything In The World.

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.

We Need To Fix Our Souls. Our Souls Are Broken In This Nation. We Have Lost Our Way. And It Begins With Inspiration. It Begins With Leadership.

My First Job In All Honesty Is Going To Continue To Be Mom-in-chief. Making Sure That In This Transition, Which Will Be Even More Of A Transition For The Girls... That They Are Settled And That They Know They Will Continue To Be The Center Of Our Universe.

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

I Had The Honor Of Meeting A Young Pakistani Woman Named Malala Yousafzai, Who Was Shot And Nearly Killed Just For Trying To Go To School. I Also Heard About How Nearly 300 Girls In Nigeria Were Kidnapped From Their School Dorms In The Middle Of The Night. There Are Girls Like This In Every Corner Of The Globe. In Fact, There Are More Than 62 Million Girls Worldwide Not Attending School, And That's An Outrage.

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

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

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.

Doing The Impossible Is The History Of This Nation. It Is How This Country Was Built

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.

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.

We Need All Hands On Deck, And That Means Clearing Hurdles For Women And Girls As They Navigate Careers In Science, Technology, Engineering, And Math.

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

After I Got Out Of Law School And Worked In A Big Law Firm, I Thought, There Are So Many Kids Like Me, In My Neighborhood, That Could Be Here If They Had More Support From Their Families, Better Financial Aid. But The Gap Is So Wide Once You Miss That Opportunity. So I Was Always Interested In Figuring Out, How Do You Bridge That? 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.

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.

Politics Is A Waste Of Time.

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...

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.

We Need To Support Mary Burke For Governor!

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.

The Realities Are That, You Know, As A Black Man, You Know, Barack Can Get Shot Going To The Gas Station, You Know.

The Problem Is When That Fun Stuff Becomes The Habit. And I Think That's What's Happened In Our Culture. Fast Food Has Become The Everyday Meal.

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.

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.

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.

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

New Years Resolution

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

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.

Start, As Parents, With Yourselves, Number One.

As A Mom, I Know It Is My Responsibility, And No One Else's, To Raise My Kids. But We Have To Ask Ourselves, What Does It Mean When So Many Parents Are Finding Their Best Efforts Undermined By An Avalanche Of Advertisements Aimed At Our Kids.

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.

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

One Thing That I've Learned From Male Role Models Is That They Don't Hesitate To Invest In Themselves, With The View That, If I'm Healthy And Happy, I'm Going To Be A Better Support To My Spouse And Children. And I've Found That To Be The Case: Once My Kids Were Settled, The Next Thing I Did Was Take Care Of My Own Health And Sanity. And Made Sure That I Was Exercising And Felt Good About Myself. I'd Bring That Energy To Everything Else That I Did, The Career, Relationship, On And On And On.

See, That's Why Barack's Running: To End The War In Iraq Responsibly - To Build An Economy That Lifts Every Family, To Make Sure Health Care Is Available For Every American - And To Make Sure That Every Child In This Nation Has A World-class Education All The Way From Preschool To College.

As Women, We Cannot Afford To Neglect Ourselves.

Hope And Change Are Hard-fought Things.

Hope And Change

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.

I Am So Tired Of Fear. And I Don't Want My Girls To Live In A Country, In A World, Based On Fear.

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.

We Have To Make Sure That Our Kids Still Feel Good About Themselves No Matter What Their Weight, No Matter How They Feel. We Need To Make Sure That Our Kids Know That We Love Them No Matter Who They Are, What They Look Like, What They're Eating.

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

The Truth Is, In Order To Get Things Like Universal Health Care And A Revamped Education System, Then Someone Is Going To Have To Give Up A Piece Of Their Pie So That Someone Else Can Have More.

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

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.

In Fact, In The Last Job I Had Before Coming To The White House - I Remember This Clearly - I Was On Maternity Leave With Sasha, Still Trying To Figure Out What To Do With My Life, And I Got A Call For An Interview For This Position, A Senior Position At The Hospitals. And I Thought, Okay, Here We Go. So I Had To Scramble To Look For Babysitting, And Couldn't Find One.

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.

For The First Time, The Nation Will Have Goals, Benchmarks, And Measureable Outcomes That Will Help Us Tackle The Childhood Obesity Epidemic One Child, One Family, And One Community At A Time.

Obesity Epidemic

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

What I Tell My Kids Is, I’m Preparing You For College And For Life. So, Having Independence, Knowing How To Set Your Own Boundaries, Figuring Out How To Make That Balance. We Still Have Screen Time Rules.

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.

You Shouldn't Be In A Relationship With Somebody Who Doesn't Make You Completely Happy And Make You Feel Whole. And If You're In That Relationship And You're Dating, Then My Advice Is, Don't Get Married.

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.

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.

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.

All Of Us Are Driven By A Simple Belief That The World As It Is Just Won't Do - That We Have An Obligation To Fight For The World As It Should Be.

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.

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

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

I've Always Tried To Make Sure That What I Do Really Connects With The Broader Agenda Of What My Husband Barack Obama Is Trying To Do.... But I Also Find That I Have To Be Very Passionate Myself About The Issue To Be Able To Represent It Well. One Of The Big Issues That I've Talked A Lot About...is Childhood Health, Nutrition And Obesity.

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.

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

No, I Think That If He Had Known He Would Be President, He Would Have Started Dying His Hair, Like, 10 Years Ago. Now It's Too Late.

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.

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.

When You're Really Trying To Make Serious Change, You Don't Want People To Get Caught Up In Emotion Because Change Isn't Emotion. Because Change Isn't Emotion. Its Real Work And Organization And Strategy - That's Just The Truth Of It. I Mean, You Pull People In With Inspiration, But Then You Have To Roll Up Your Sleeves And You've Got To Make Sacrifices And You Have Got To Have Structure.

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.

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

The President [barack Obama] Asked For A Commitment Of, I Think, 100,000 Jobs For Veterans And Military Spouses Over The Next Couple Of Years. And We Announced During The Tour Last Week That We Have Gotten More Than 60,000 Jobs, And We're Well On Our Way To Just Crashing That Goal Out Of The Water, Because What Businesses Are Understanding Is That These Men And Women Are Some Of The Most Highly Trained Resources That We Have In This Country.

And What Has Been Just Completely Heart Warming Is To See That People Are Really Hungry For Something Different.

I Think Employers Need Help In Understanding How To Translate A Military Career.

I'm Varying My Workouts So It's Not Just Cardio But Also Includes Moves To Maintain My Flexibility.

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.

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

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've Got To Keep Your Body Active, Even If That Means Just Turning On Some Music And Dancing For An Hour. ...that's How You;ll Prepare Your Bodies And Your Minds For Greatness.

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.

People Want To Feel Hopeful.

I Think If I Weren't Married To [barack Obama], I'd Want Him To Be In There.

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

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.

My Goal Is To Be A Great-looking 70-year-old! I Won't Mind Being 70, But I Want People To Say, "you're 70?"

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.

And That's My Message To Voters, This Isn't About Barack, It's Not About Person On That Ballot -- Its About You. And For Most Of The People We Are Talking To [blacks], A Democratic Ticket Is The Clear Ticket That We Should Be Voting On, Regardless Of Who Said What Or Did This -- That Shouldn't Even Come Into The Equation.

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

You See, At The End Of The Day, My Most Important Title Is Still 'mom-in-chief.' My Daughters Are Still The Heart Of My Heart And The Center Of My World.

For Me, As A Mother, I Am Just, You Know, I Just Can't Put Into Words How Important It Is For Every American, For Every Mother, For Every Person In This Country, To Have Healthcare.

It's Not About Government Telling People What To Do. It's About Each Of Us, In Our Own Families, In Our Own Communities, Standing Up And Demanding More For Our Kids. And It's About Companies Like Walmart Answering That Call.

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.

I Don't, As My Mom Would Say, Sweat The Small Stuff In Our Relationship. Because When I Think Of Day-to-day Irritations That You Might Have With The One You Love, They're Nothing Compared To The Bigger Task At Hand.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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

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.

Together, We Can Help Make Sure That Every Family That Walks Into A Restaurant Can Make An Easy, Healthy Choice.

Together We Can

Healthy Choices

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.

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.

Wounded Warriors Tell Me They're Not Just Going To Walk Again, They're Going To Run, And They're Going To Run Marathons!

Trending Author

Category