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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.

-Michelle Obama

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The Work-life Balance Is

Michelle Obama

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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.

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Barack Is One Of The Smartest People You Will Ever Encounter Who Will Deign To Enter This Messy Thing Called Politics.

People Want To Feel Hopeful.

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.

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

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

For Me, Being A Mother Made Me A Better Professional, Because Coming Home Every Night To My Girls Reminded Me What I Was Working For. And Being A Professional Made Me A Better Mother, Because By Pursuing My Dreams, I Was Modeling For My Girls How To Pursue Their Dreams.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

I Am Only As Good As My Children Are.

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.

We're Starting To See, As The Economy Improves, That The Unemployment Rate Among Veterans And Military Spouses - We're Seeing Some Improvement In Those Numbers. And That's A Good Thing.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

You Can Be A Good Mom And Still Work Out, Get Your Rest, Have A Career - Or Not. My Mother Encouraged Me To Find That Balance.

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?

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

We Need To Support Mary Burke For Governor!

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

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

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Good Relationship

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

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.

We're Going To Have To Change Our Traditions, Our History.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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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.

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

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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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

Another Suggestion Is To Cook A Meal, Maybe Not Every Night, But A Couple More Times A Week Than You Usually Do. That Way You Have Leftovers, And You Take Your Lunch To Work.

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.

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

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 Happiness Isn't Connected To My Husband's Or My Boss's Or My Children's Behavior. You Have Control Over Your Own Actions, Your Own Well-being.

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.

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.

The Biggest Obstacle Facing Girls Is Education, Education, Education. There Are Too Many Kids Who Think High School Is A Pit Stop To Fame And Fortune. I Want Girls In This Country To Think Education Is The Coolest, Most Important Thing They Could Ever Do In Their Lives.

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

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.

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.

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

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

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...

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 Message To Women: Do What Makes You Feel Good, Because There'll Always Be Someone Who Thinks You Should Do It Differently. Whether Your Choices Are Hits Or Misses, At Least They're Your Own.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Start, As Parents, With Yourselves, Number One.

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.

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

You See, Even Though Back Then Barack Was A Senator And A Presidential Candidate... To Me, He Was Still The Guy Who'd Picked Me Up For Our Dates In A Car That Was So Rusted Out, I Could Actually See The Pavement Going By Through A Hole In The Passenger Side Door... He Was The Guy Whose Proudest Possession Was A Coffee Table He'd Found In A Dumpster, And Whose Only Pair Of Decent Shoes Was Half A Size Too Small.

Choose People Who Lift You Up.

Inspirational Life

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.

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

My Most Important Title Is Mom In Chief

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

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.

The Benefits Of Studying Abroad Are Almost Endless.

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'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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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.

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.

It Wasn't So Long Ago That I Was A Working Mom Myself. And I Know That Sometimes, Much As We All Hate To Admit It, It's Just Easier To Park The Kids In Front Of The Tv For A Few Hours, So We Can Pay The Bills Or Do The Laundry Or Just Have Some Peace And Quiet For A Change.

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

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.

Politics Is A Waste Of Time.

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.

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.

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.

My Goal Has Always Been To Add Value, Not To Be Redundant, Not To Get In The Way, But To Do Things That Lift And Move Things Forward In A Very Strategic And Objective Way So That There Are Real Outcomes.

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

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?

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.

I Am Not Asking Anyone To Take The Fun Out Of Childhood. As We All Know, Treats Are One Of The Best Parts Of Being A Kid. Instead, The Goal Here Is To Empower Parents Instead Of Undermining Them As They Try To Make Healthier Choices For Their Families.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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

Barack Didn't Pledge Riches, Only A Life That Would Be Interesting. On That Promise He Delivered.

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

The President's Job Is A Lot Harder. And That's Why I'm Working Hard To Get Him Re-elected, Because He's Handled Himself With A Level Of Grace And Poise That Not Many People Could Given The Challenges That He's Faced.

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.

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?"

You Work Hard For What You Want In Life.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

Talking Is Good. Conversations Have To Be Forever.

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

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're [president Barack Obama And I] Clear On The Fact That We Have To Stay Humble And Prayerful. We Have To Dig Down Deep To Our Roots. When Things Come Together, We Know Some Of It Is Barack, Some Of It Is Us-but A Lot Of It Has Nothing To Do With Either Of Us.

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

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.

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 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

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.

Because No Matter What Happened, I Had The Peace Of Mind Of Knowing That All Of The Chatter, The Name-calling, The Doubting -- All Of It Was Just Noise. It Did Not Define Me. It Didn’t Change Who I Was. And Most Importantly, It Couldn’t Hold Me Back.

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.

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.

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

One Of The Things That Attracted Me To Barack [obama] Was His Emotional Honesty. Right Off The Bat He Said What He Felt. There Are No Games With Him - He Is Who He Appears To Be.

America Is Just Downright Mean.

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

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

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.

I Have A Very Eclectic Ipod. So I've Got My Cardio People - So It's Anything From Beyonce To Some Jay-z To Janelle Monae, Her Song 'tightrope,' That's A Good Cardio Song. And Then I've Got Sting. I've Got Mary J. Blige. I've Got The Beatles. I've Got Michael Jackson. I Try To Pick The Songs That I Personally Love.

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.

This Year's [2016] White House Holiday Theme Is "the Gift Of The Holidays," And Our Decorations Reflect Some Of Our Greatest Gifts As A Nation: From Our Incredible Military Families, To The Life-changing Impact Of A Great Education.

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

As Women, We Cannot Afford To Neglect Ourselves.

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.

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.

Success Doesn’t Count Unless You Earn It Fair And Square.

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.

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.

Not Everybody Is Going To Run A Marathon Or Do A Triathlon. It's Not Necessary To Do That To Be In Good Health.

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.

Our Kids Didn't Do This To Themselves. They Don't Decide The Sugar Content In Soda Or The Advertising Content Of A Television Show. Kids Don't Choose What's Served To Them For Lunch At School, And Shouldn't Be Deciding What's Served To Them For Dinner At Home. And They Don't Decide Whether There's Time In The Day Or Room In The Budget To Learn About Healthy Eating Or To Spend Time Playing Outside.

I Want To Feel Like The Things I Did Made A Difference. That's One Of The Reasons I Spend Time Greeting People On Rope Lines, Because I'm Always Thinking, 'maybe This Interaction, Particularly If I'm Meeting Kids, Will Change Someone's Life.' That's How I Think About The Work I Do As First Lady. It's A Rare Spotlight. I Want To Make Sure I Don't Waste It.

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

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'

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

Hope And Change Are Hard-fought Things.

Hope And Change

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.

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.

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

Inspirational Life

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.

You May Not Always Have A Comfortable Life And You Will Not Always Be Able To Solve All Of The World's Problems At Once But Don't Ever Underestimate The Importance You Can Have Because History Has Shown Us That Courage Can Be Contagious And Hope Can Take On A Life Of Its Own.

I Always Encourage People To Start In Their Own Personal Universe, Because Sometimes We As Parents Start Thinking About The Big Picture. How Do I Change What's Happening In My Entire School? And How Do I Do It In My Community? And Then You Get Overwhelmed And It's Just Like, "forget It, I'll Just Stay Here In My Kitchen And Wait." But, Start Small.

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Norman Ralph Augustine

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