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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.

-Michelle Obama

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When The Average Child

Michelle Obama

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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.

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More From Michelle Obama

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

My Most Important Title Is Mom In Chief

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?

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.

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

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

My Happiness Is Tied To How I Feel About Myself.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

Sometimes The Issue Is About Whether Families And Communities Think Girls Are Even Worthy Of An Education In The First Place. It's About Whether Girls Are Valued Only For Their Labor And Reproductive Capacities Or For Their Minds As Well. And It's About Whether Women Are Viewed As Second-class Citizens Or As Full Human Beings Entitled To The Same Rights And Opportunities As Men.

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

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 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.

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.

Be Passionate About Something And Lean To That Strength.

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.

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.

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

I Am Only As Good As My Children Are.

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

Choose People Who Lift You Up.

Inspirational Life

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.

One Reason We Planted The White House Vegetable Garden Was To Set An Example About What Food Can Mean, But To Also Begin A Broader Conversation About How We're Feeding Our Kids, What They Know About The Food That They Eat, How They're Taking Care Of Themselves.

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

African American

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?

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.

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

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

As Women, We Cannot Afford To Neglect Ourselves.

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.

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

Inspirational Life

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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

Decisions You Make

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

There Are Still Many Causes Worth Sacrificing For, So Much History Yet To Be Made.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

Healthy Choices

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

I'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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Know That America Belongs To You, To All Of You.

Find People Who Will Make You Better.

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

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.

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.

We Can Aim To Create A Culture, Where Kids Ask For Healthy Options Instead Of Resisting Them.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

This Year, 1.7 Million Young People Will Be Participating In Olympic And Paralympic Sports In Their Communities-many Of Them For The Very First Time. And That Is So Important, Because Sometimes All It Takes Is That First Lesson, Or Clinic, Or Class To Get A Child Excited About A New Sport. This Summer, Together With Our Children, We Can Support Team Usa Not Just By Cheering Them On, But By Striving To Live Up To The Example They Set.

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

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

Politics Is A Waste Of Time.

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

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

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 Work Hard For What You Want In Life.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

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 Think Any Family Would, Any Mother Would Their Children.

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

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

Since We Started The Let's Move! Initiative, I've Been Looking For As Many Ways As Possible To Help Families And Kids Lead Healthier Lives. And I've Come To Realize That If We Were Going To Take Just One Step To Make Ourselves And Our Families Healthier, Probably The Single Best Thing We Could Do Is To Simply Drink More Water. It's As Simple As That. Drink More Water.

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.

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.

Our Life Before Moving To Washington Was Filled With Simple Joys...saturdays At Soccer Games, Sundays At Grandma's House...and A Date Night For Barack And Me Was Either Dinner Or A Movie, Because As An Exhausted Mom, I Couldn't Stay Awake For Both.

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

Clearly This Is A Tough Economic Time, And A Lot Of Families Are Hurting. So When We Talk To Parents, We Talk About Small Changes For Kids And Things That Don't Cost Extra Money. Like Adding Water And Eliminating Sugary Drinks And Sodas. That's Going To Save Money Right There. Or Adding A Few More Vegetables.

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

Good Relationship

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.

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

Talking Is Good. Conversations Have To Be Forever.

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 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.

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

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.

The One Thing I Believe Is That Families Are Off-limits. And I Think My Husband Said It, And He Was Clear On That. And I Totally Agree With Him.

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.

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?

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

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