Becoming

Michelle shows compassion for many different types of people during her role as First Lady, focusing on military families, as well as artists, designers, and small-business owners from diverse backgrounds. However, Chapter 21 makes clear that Michelle’s biggest soft spot is reserved for children. Most of the issues that Michelle fights for as the First Lady impact children in some way. Michelle’s garden, the Let’s Move! initiative, and the parties and activities that Michelle hosts at the White House, are all designed to help, enrich, and benefit children. Even Michelle’s new dedication to fashion has an underlying connection to children; as she explains, “If people flipped through a magazine primarily to see the clothes I was wearing, I hoped they’d also see the military spouse standing next to me or read what I had to say about children’s health” (332).

Conscious of being seen as an image or a figure and not a real person by many of the adults she encounters, Michelle gravitates toward the honesty and candor of the children who come to play and learn at the White House. Adults often have many preconceived notions about the Obamas that might be hard to shake, but children respond purely to the person before them. Michelle also knows that, while she is often criticized for many of the choices she makes, most people can agree that helping children succeed is a worthy endeavor. Not wanting to detract from Barack’s work, Michelle knows that focusing on children will keep her role as First Lady from being a distraction to what Barack is doing. These factors, combined with her long-time love of working with children, show Michelle overcoming her feeling of being out of place and embracing her strengths to fulfill her role as First Lady.

In Chapter 22, Michelle foreshadows events that will occur in the years to follow. Though at the time, Michelle couldn’t have known how important these events would prove to be, her readers looking back from many years later will understand their significance. One incident that Michelle rather humorously references is the performance by Lin-Manuel Miranda at a 2009 spoken-word and poetry event. Miranda describes his work as a “concept album about the life of someone I think embodies hip-hop…Treasury secretary Alexander Hamilton” (357). At the time, Miranda was a relatively lesser known composer, and the concept of rapping about a mostly forgotten Revolutionary War hero and politician seemed absurd.

However, Hamilton went on to become a phenomenon on Broadway, winning awards, selling out shows, and becoming one of the most acclaimed musicals in Broadway’s history. Michelle’s joke about telling Miranda “good luck with the Hamilton thing” humorously shows her own ignorance about how popular the show would become (357). More seriously, Michelle also foreshadows Donald Trump’s campaign against Barack and his bid for presidency. Michelle suggests that many of Trump’s actions with promoting the Birther movement were “crazy and mean-spirited,” hinting at an “underlying bigotry and xenophobia” (352). Throughout Trump’s presidential campaign, he continued to target Barack Obama and said things in the media that have been termed as bigoted and offensive. Michelle believes that Trump put her family at risk “with his loud and reckless innuendos” and states that she will “never forgive him” (352). By incorporating these past events with the perspective of the future, Michelle shows that there was a time when no one knew that these seemingly small incidences would go on to have significance in years to come.

By the time Barack begins his second term as President—and Michelle, by extension, begins her second term as First Lady—Michelle has learned some important lessons about how to utilize her role for good. Though Michelle can still feel hurt by some of the negative attention she receives, she decides to use the focus on her to direct attention to issues that matter: “If reporters and television cameras wanted to follow me, then I was going to take them places” (372). Michelle has long directed her energies toward improving the lives of children and military veterans, and she uses the public interest in her to highlight issues that affect both. Though Michelle sees herself as a typical person, she knows that the role of the First Lady gives her a prestige and impact that can matter to people. Recognizing this, Michelle visits injured veterans and their families, offering solace and trying to find solutions to help better their lives.

Michelle also offers her encouragement to young people who might otherwise not recognize their full potential. Focusing primarily on young women from diverse and underprivileged backgrounds, Michelle organizes activities, internships, and other activities designed to help these girls realize they don’t have to be limited by their circumstances: “I felt it was important to reach out to kids multiple times in multiple ways in order for them to feel it was all real” (382). Michelle believes her success in life didn’t come from being particularly special, but from being surrounded by adults who advocated for her. Michelle wants to be that voice for others who might not yet know how to speak for themselves: “I was determined to be someone who told the truth, using my voice to lift up the voiceless when I could, and to not disappear on people in need” (381).

Putting her words into action, Michelle does things like organize a trip for underperforming students from the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson School in London to go to Oxford University and see where life can take them if they apply themselves: “[…] kids will invest more when they feel they’re being invested in” (383). After hearing about the tragic death of Hadiya Pendleton, Michelle is particularly moved because Hadiya has such a similar background and could have gone on to great things if given the chance. Michelle can’t save Hadiya, but she tries to make a difference in the lives of her classmates, encouraging them and giving them “some glimpse of the way forward” toward a life away from violence and tragedy (387).