Michelle Obama—everyone’s forever First Lady—teamed up with Refinery 29 to spread some love to her home city of Chicago and around the world for International Women’s Day.
“I wanted to reach out and connect with girls around the world—including in Chicago—to hear their stories and to share some of mine,” Mrs. Obama tells Refinery29. “Working to empower girls across the globe is my passion, and through the Obama Foundation, it will be something I work on for the rest of my life. I hope readers everywhere will be inspired to join me in this effort.”
Michelle Obama interviewed four young women from around the world — Nepal, Ghana, Guatemala, and Chicago — and had an important discussion about issues we all must face for each other worldwide.
–Soledad O’Brien destroyed a CNN reporter on Twitter and we weren’t ready–
Here’s a few things we learned about Michelle Obama:
On defining success:
“On your own terms!” she said. “Success isn’t about how your life looks to others — it’s about how it feels to you. I also think a key measure of success is how you handle adversity. It’s not just about how you act when you’re healthy and happy and everything is going according to plan, but also what you do when life knocks you to the ground and all your plans go right out the window. In those darkest moments, you have a choice: Do you dwell on everything you’ve lost, or do you focus on what you still have and find a way to move forward with passion, determination, and joy?”
On advice she has for girl leaders around the world:
“My best advice to girls, including my own daughters, is do not be afraid to fail. So often, our own fear of failure is the thing that keeps us back. We think we have to be perfect, that if we make even the tiniest mistake, it’s a catastrophe. That’s simply not true! In fact, the only way you succeed in life is by failing and failing well. And by that I mean you cannot let your failures eat you up or make you want to quit. You have to learn from them, let them challenge and inspire you to do more—to take some risks and to step outside of your comfort zone.”
—Oscar voter reveals she didn’t vote for ‘Get Out’ claiming ‘they played the race card’ —
On her academic journey:
“I’m a product of the Chicago public school system,” she proudly said. “I went to the neighborhood elementary school around the corner from my house, and my parents were very clear from the time my brother and I were little that school was our number one priority. So I always put 120 percent into it. I always wanted to be the top student; I wanted to talk, and I wanted to raise my hand.”
“And then I got the chance to go to a magnet high school called Whitney Young, which was a new college prep school that you had to test into,” she continued. “I absolutely knew it was the place for me. I wanted so desperately to be at a school where you weren’t treated like you were strange because you liked to read, study, and strive to succeed.
Obama added, “I would wake up before dawn every day, get on a bus, and ride for an hour and a half to get to school and then ride for another hour and a half to get home at the end of the day. I spent three hours a day commuting because I was determined that this high school was going to be my stepping stone to college. I learned a lot about discipline, perseverance, and time management, and it was absolutely worth it.
—Is Michelle Obama teasing Malia Obama for photos with boyfriend in tabloids?—
“Because of the education I got at Whitney Young, I was able to attend Princeton and Harvard Law School and pursue the career of my dreams.
On her next plans for the future… since we’re clearly not getting that second presidency:
“Back when I was First Lady, we launched Let Girls Learn, an effort to help girls worldwide attend school,” Obama recalled. “And we saw that whether it’s a head of state, a corporate CEO, or a teenage girl, when people hear the stories of girls who are not in school, they’re moved, and they’re outraged. And better yet, they want to help.”
“That was certainly true for me,” Michelle Obama continued. “As I’ve said, I plan to continue this work for the rest of my life, and I’m proud that my husband and I are creating a global adolescent girls’ education program through the Obama Foundation. I want every girl on the planet to have the same kind of opportunities that I’ve had, and that my daughters are having, to fulfill their potential and pursue their dreams. I look forward to sharing more about our work with you soon, and I hope all of you will join us.”
Read the full interview with Michelle Obama here.