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.
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.
Find people who will make you better.
Don't worry about what candidates have done or said, just vote for the Democrats. Then, afterwards, you can go eat fried chicken.
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.
You work hard for what you want in life.
Don't let anyone speak for you, and don't rely on others to fight for you.
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.
You can't make decisions based on fear and the possibility of what might happen.
Elections aren't just about who votes, but who doesn't vote.
Hope and change are hard-fought things.
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 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.
We have an obligation to fight for the world as it should be.
Barack is one of the smartest people you will ever encounter who will deign to enter this messy thing called politics.
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.
I was not raised with wealth or resources or any social standing to speak of.
I come here today as a Christian, a person of faith who believes we've all been called to serve our fellow men and women and to honor God's creation. We want our girls to know right from wrong, to always tell the truth, to treat people no matter who they are with dignity and respect, no matter how different they may seem...because we want our girls to know we are all God's children and there's so much more that unites than divides us.
I was too worried about the grades and I should have been more worried about learning.
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.
Service is a limitless opportunity, it is the reason why we breathe.
To me, with age, everything has gotten better. You have way more control; you know yourself better.
Countries are stronger and more prosperous when the voices and opinions of all their citizens can be heard.
Success is only meaningful - and enjoyable - if it feels like your own.
Walk away from 'friendships' that make you feel small and insecure, and seek out people who inspire you and support you
Policies that support families aren't political issues. They're personal. They're the causes I carry with me every single day.
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.
Just do what works for you, because there will always be someone who think diffenrently.
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.
Whether an illness affects your heart, your leg or your brain, it's still an illness, and there should be no distinction.
For me exercise is more than just physical, it’s therapeutic.
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 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.
There is nothing more important to this nation's future than investing in our young people.
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?
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.
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 happiness is tied to how I feel about myself.
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.
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.
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.
Our job is, first and foremost, to make sure our family is whole.
The only limit to the height of your achievements is the reach of your dreams and your willingness to work hard for them.
Communities and countries and ultimately the world are only as strong as the health of their women.
How hard you work matters more than how much you make.
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.
Women and girls can do whatever they want. There is no limit to what we as women can accomplish.
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.
Always stay true to yourself and never let what somebody says distract you from your goals.
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 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.
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.
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.
When you walk through that door of opportunity you don't slam it shut behind you.
I love that for Barack, there is no such thing as 'us' and 'them' - he doesn't care whether you're a Democrat, a Republican, or none of the above... he knows that we all love our country... and he's always ready to listen to good ideas... he's always looking for the very best in everyone he meets.
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 tell this to my girls all the time: This journey we're on is a once - in - a - lifetime opportunity.
As women, we must stand up for ourselves. We must stand up for each other. We must stand up for justice for all.
When women and girls rise, their communities and their countries rise with them
We can aim to create a culture, where kids ask for healthy options instead of resisting them.
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.
We need to do a better job of putting ourselves higher on our own 'to do' list.
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.
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.
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.
No matter who you are, no matter where you come from, you are beautiful.
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.
Talking is good. Conversations have to be forever.
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.
I hate diversity workshops. “Real change comes from having enough comfort to be really honest and say something very uncomfortable.
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.
Treat people with dignity and respect.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
There is no magic to achievement. It's really about hard work, choices, and persistence.
If I can have any impact, I want women to feel good about themselves and have fun with fashion
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.
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.
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.
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 am so tired of fear. And I don't want my girls to live in a country, in a world, based on fear.
The arts are not just a nice thing to have or to do if there is free time or if one can afford it. Rather, paintings and poetry, music and fashion, design and dialogue, they all define who we are as a people and provide an account of our history for the next generation.
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.
Learning through the arts reinforces critical academic skills in reading, language arts and math, and provides students with the skills to creatively solve problems.
I've seen firsthand that being president doesn't change who you are. It reveals who you are.
Be passionate about something and lean to that strength.
Together, we can help make sure that every family that walks into a restaurant can make an easy, healthy choice.
Do not die in the history of your past hurts and past experiences, but live in the now and future of your destiny.
Education is the single-most important civil rights issue that we face today.
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.
Women should have the freedom to do whatever they need to do to feel good about themselves.
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.
People are always going to have opinions, and people have a right to their opinions.
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.
Value everyone's contribution and treat everyone with respect.
Success doesn’t count unless you earn it fair and square.
I'm not a big fan of young kids having Facebook. It's not something they need. It's not necessary.
I'm not asking any of you to make drastic changes to every single one of your recipes or to totally change the way you do business. But what I am asking is that you consider reformulating your menu in pragmatic and incremental ways to create healthier versions of the foods that we all love.
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.
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.
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.
I grew up on the south side of Chicago in a working class community. There were no miracles in my life, there's nothing miraculous about how I grew up, and I want people to know when they look at me, to be clear that they see what an investment in public education can look like.
There are still many causes worth sacrificing for, so much history yet to be made.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Your word is your bond, you do what you say you're going to do.
In our house we don't take ourselves too seriously, and laughter is the best form of unity, I think, in a marriage.
We learned about dignity and decency - that how hard you work matters more than how much you make... that helping others means more than just getting ahead yourself.
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.
Choose people who lift you up.
Success isn't about how much money you make, it's about the difference you make in people's 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.
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.
Every girl, no matter where she lives, deserves the opportunity to develop the promise inside of her.
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.
Good relationships feel good. They feel right. They don't hurt.
I am desperate for change - now - not in 8 years or 12 years, but right now.
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.
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.
