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

-Michelle Obama

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We've Got A Responsibility

Michelle Obama

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

Much Of What We Do With Our Kids Is Social And That's Good, And We Shouldn't Stop All That. I Mean, How Boring Would It Be That, No, We Can't Eat Anything Out So We're Just Going To Go Home And Sit In The Closet And Wait To The Next Day.

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

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

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.

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

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?

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

Hope And Change Are Hard-fought Things.

Hope And Change

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

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.

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

Good Relationship

Value Everyone's Contribution And Treat Everyone With Respect.

We Need To Support Mary Burke For Governor!

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

Treat People With Dignity And Respect.

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.

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.

And I Love That Even In The Toughest Moments, When We're All Sweating It - When We're Worried That The Bill Won't Pass, And It Seems Like All Is Lost - Barack Never Lets Himself Get Distracted By The Chatter And The Noise. Just Like His Grandmother, He Just Keeps Getting Up And Moving Forward... With Patience And Wisdom, And Courage And Grace.

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.

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.

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.

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.

So We Know That It's Not Enough For Us To Simply Encourage More People To Study Abroad. We Also Need To Make Sure That They Can Actually Afford It.

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.

Women And Girls Can Do Whatever They Want. There Is No Limit To What We As Women Can Accomplish.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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.

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.

You Work Hard For What You Want In Life.

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 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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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...

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

Politics Is A Waste Of Time.

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.

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

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

Healthy Choices

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

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.

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 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.

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

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.

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

As Women, We Cannot Afford To Neglect Ourselves.

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?

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.

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.

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

America Is Just Downright Mean.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

Find People Who Will Make You Better.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

Stay True To Yourself

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

My Dad Was A Pump Operator At The City Water Plant, And He Didn't Earn Much Money. But He Was Determined To Pay Whatever Tiny Part He Owed For My Tuition On Time Every Month. So Even Though He Had Multiple Sclerosis And Often Struggled Just To Get Dressed In The Morning, He Hardly Ever Missed A Day Of Work. His Determination And Love Are An Inspiration To Me Every Day.

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 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.

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.

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

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.

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

Be Passionate About Something And Lean To That Strength.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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 Tell This To My Girls All The Time: This Journey We're On Is A Once - In - A - Lifetime Opportunity.

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.

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?"

People Are Always Going To Have Opinions, And People Have A Right To Their Opinions.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

Do Not Ever Let Anyone Make You Feel Like You Don't Matter, Or Like You Don't Have A Place In Our American Story - Because You Do.

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

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

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 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.

People Want To Feel Hopeful.

Barack Knows That We Are Going To Have To Make Sacrifices; We Are Going To Have To Change Our Conversation; We're Going To Have To Change Our Traditions, Our History; We're Going To Have To Move Into A Different Place.

You Can't Make Decisions Based On Fear And The Possibility Of What Might Happen.

Decisions You Make

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

What I Know For Sure Is That All The Sacrifice And Challenges We Face Are Worth It If We're Creating A Better Future For Our Kids. I Just Think If The Adults Are Always Thinking About The World We Want To Leave For Our Kids, We're Going To Make The Right Choices Every Single Time.

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

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.

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

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

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.

My Most Important Title Is Mom In Chief

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.

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.

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

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.

Choose People Who Lift You Up.

Inspirational Life

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.

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.

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

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.

I Think Any Family Would, Any Mother Would Their Children.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

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