As the months wind down toward the November presidential election I am feeling an impeding sadness that that the First Lady, Michelle Obama, will be soon leaving the White House.
As an (almost) 18-year-old girl living in Los Angeles, it is hard to find positive role models in this day and age of social media and reality television. But, Mrs. Obama has been someone I have been able to look up to for years. This is my farewell to the most hilarious, vivacious, smart, and beautiful First Lady this country has ever seen.
As you should know, Mrs. Obama attended Princeton and Harvard. She was the first in her family to attend college. She proves that females can work hard to achieve higher education. Even more impressive is that she did so despite color barriers. Subsequently, Mrs. Obama has inspired me to work hard in school, and I hope to one day go to a school as wonderful as she. In fact, she is who inspired me to really start focusing on school and my future education my freshman year of high school.
But, what truly inspires me about The First Lady is her undeniable passion for others, and the world around her. This is evident in her extensive work for LGBTQIA rights, feminism, education and health. For instance, Mrs. Obama inspires kids around the world to be who they are, and be healthy. In her spirited and humorous manner, she did a video in which she used the song “Turn Down for What,” but she held up a turnip and said, “Turnip for what”. I bet this caused a lot of people to go and eat some vegetables!
In addition, she is a leader that is in touch with the pulse of the nation, including millennials. Her Instagram is amazing. Not only does she post beautiful pictures, but she uses this platform to point out the importance of health, fitness, education, etc. with each post. And, I love that she gives people the chance to take over her Instagram at times
Finally, my favorite agenda that the First Lady has put forth is her advocacy in support of education. In 2014, The First Lady launched The Reach Higher Initiative, whose goals is to “inspire every student in America to take charge of their future by completing their education past high school, whether at a professional training program, a community college, or a four-year college or university.” Her efforts are not just domestic as she additionally advocates for education for girls worldwide with the Let Girls Learn initiative, a U.S. government-wide initiative to help girls around the world go to school and stay in school. In fact, she has brought to the forefront the statistic that today #62MillionGirls around the world are not in school. Because Mrs. Obama’s has created awareness around education and her #62MillionGirls campaign, I realized how lucky I am to attend a great public school. Copious are not offered the education I receive, and I take advantage of my education because Mrs. Obama showed me all that it can do for me.
Michelle Obama, we are going to miss you. You were the first First Lady that I grew up with. You are influential and amazing, and I hope that one day you will run for president!
