If you’ve missed Michelle Obama in recent months, since her and husband Barack’s departure from the White House, you’ll be delighted to learn that the former First Lady is sharing childhood snaps of herself while working on her highly anticipated first memoir, Becoming.
Yesterday afternoon, the mother-of-two shared a throwback image of herself with her parents, Marian and Fraser Robinson, with a caption explaining the words of wisdom that were passed down to her over the years.
‘Over the next few days, I’ll be sharing some photos and memories from my book, BECOMING. My father, Fraser, taught me to work hard, laugh often, and keep my word,’ the 54-year-old told her 20.5 million followers.
‘My mother, Marian, showed me how to think for myself and to use my voice. Together, in our cramped apartment on the South Side of Chicago, my family helped me see the value in our story, in my story, and in the larger story of our country.’
With another photo, the lawyer reflected on her ‘scary’ experience as a black student at ‘white and well-to-do’ Princeton University.
‘This is me at Princeton in the early 1980s,’ the icon captioned the photo of herself. ‘I know that being a first-generation college student can be scary, because it was scary for me. I was black and from a working-class neighbourhood in Chicago, while Princeton’s student body was generally white and well-to-do.
‘I’d never stood out in a crowd or a classroom because of the colour of my skin before. But I found close friends and a mentor who gave me the confidence to be myself,” she continued. “Going to college is hard work, but every day I meet people whose lives have been profoundly changed by education, just as mine was.’
Obama, who graduated from Princeton in 1985, also encouraged new university students to ‘be brave and stay with it’ and congratulated the Class of 2018.
Michelle previously recalled the challenged she faced adjusting to life at Princeton in a 2014 video aimed at fellow first-generation college students.
‘Neither of my parents graduated from college, so when I got to campus as a freshman, I’ll admit I was a little overwhelmed,’ she said in the video.
It's so refreshing to hear Obama share her own struggles with university.
'Becoming' is out on 13 November and can be orderer here.
Katie O'Malley is the Site Director on ELLE UK. On a daily basis you’ll find Katie managing all digital workflow, editing site, video and newsletter content, liaising with commercial and sales teams on new partnerships and deals (eg Nike, Tiffany & Co., Cartier etc), implementing new digital strategies and compiling in-depth data traffic, SEO and ecomm reports. In addition to appearing on the radio and on TV, as well as interviewing everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Rishi Sunak PM, Katie enjoys writing about lifestyle, culture, wellness, fitness, fashion, and more.
