Girl of the South Side

 

By: Melina Farahmand 

CEO & Founder of Past Present Future

"There's something so special about a woman who dominates in a man's world. It takes a certain grace, strength, intelligence, fearlessness, and the nerve to never take no for an answer." —Rihanna

      On January 17th, 1964 in Chicago, Illinois, the world gained a girl who would one day grow up and do many incredible things for her country. Little did she know that one day she would become a graduate from Princeton University and Harvard Law, a successful lawyer, author, First Lady of the United States, and mother to two very intelligent girls.Michelle LaVaughn Robinson, “girl of the South side”. The daughter of Marian and Fraser Robinson, and sister to Craig Robinson, grew up in Chicago in a South Shore bungalow. Her father suffered from Multiple Sclerosis, but, despite that, he still worked extremely hard as a pump operator for Chicago’s Water Department, and “hardly ever missed a day of work” (whitehouse.gov). Michelle’s mother, Marian was a secretary at Spiegel’s. She later on decided to stay at home to raise Michelle and her brother Craig. They were a very close family and they often spent time doing activities together. Michelle and her brother, Craig, were both very close, and from a young age, were taught the importance of education. In fact, they had “learned to read at home by age four, and both skipped the second grade” (biography.com). Craig and Michelle lived in their family’s living room with a “sheet serving as a makeshift room divider” (biography.com).While in sixth grade, Michelle was in her school’s advanced/gifted student program. She was taking accelerated courses, specifically in French and biology. Michelle was very involved in her high school, Whitney M. Young Magnet High School, “the city’s first magnet school for gifts children,”— (“Michelle”). Some of the activities she did involved serving as student government treasurer. When Michelle graduated in 1981, she was class salutatorian. Both Michelle and Craig attended Princeton University. Michelle graduated in 1985 “with a B.A in Sociology. She went on to study law at Harvard Law School, where she took part in demonstrations calling for the enrollment and hiring of more minority students and professors. She was awarded her J.D in 1988” (“Michelle”). A year later she was working as an associate in the Chicago branch of Sidley Austin LLP International law firm, specifically in marketing and intellectual property. This is where she would meet her future husband, Barack Obama. Michelle was assigned as a mentor/adviser to Barack who was a summer intern. Barack kept asking Michelle to go on a date with him, but she refused, believing that it would be unprofessional because they had a work relationship. Eventually, Michelle gave in and accepted Barack’s frequent requests to go on a date together. They got married after being together for two years. The wedding was at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago on October 3rd of 1992. In 1998, their daughter Malia was born, and in 2001, their second daughter, Sasha was born.In 2004, the country was introduced to Michelle Obama: mother, lawyer, writer, and wife of  U.S. Senator of the state of Illinois—Senator Barack Obama. Around 2007, Barack Obama decided to run for the highest and most respected office in this nation, President of the United States. Because of this decision, Michelle decided to take a leave of absence from work to help Barack on the campaign. Michelle’s mother, Marian, helped take care of Malia and Sasha while Michelle and Barack were on the campaign trail and during the Democratic National Convention. Following that, on January 20th, 2009, Barack Obama officially became the 44th President of the United States. Michelle again helped on the campaign trail when Barack wanted the American peoples’ votes for a 2012 re-election. She made a number of public appearances around the country, speaking out to the American people. During the Democratic National Convention that year, she “delivered a noteworthy speech” (“Michelle”). Some of her main talking points were about how serving as the nation’s First Lady was an honor and how blessed she was to meet so many incredible people. She stressed the importance of how the administrations work wasn’t finished just yet, and there was still work to be done. However, the main message she was trying to say was that her husband strongly believed in the great American dream, a dream that’s about opportunity, hope, freedom, equality, and working hard to make America a country for everyone regardless of your ethnicity or faith. President Obama eventually won a second term.Michelle will always be remembered for not only for being the first black First Lady, but also for how hard she worked for the women of this country, and how she inspired many people to always reach higher and never settle for less. During Barack Obama’s last year as President of the United States she campaigned for former First Lady of the United States and Secretary of State— Hillary Clinton, the first female Presidential nominee for a major political party. During the 2016 Democratic National Convention, she said something that people will always remember her for saying—    “That is what Barack and I think about every day as we try to guide and protect our girls through the challenges of this unusual life in the spotlight, how we urge them to ignore those who question their father's citizenship or faith. How we insist that the hateful language they hear from public figures on TV does not represent the true spirit of this country. How we explain that when someone is cruel or acts like a bully, you don't stoop to their level. No, our motto is, when they go low, we go high. With every word we utter, with every action we take, we know our kids are watching us. We as parents are their most important role models.” (“Michelle”)“When they go low, we go high,” that is an extremely powerful and impactful statement. In a way, it is kind of like her trademark statement now. I remember listening to that speech and something I remember was how proud I felt when I heard that.“Wow, that’s my First Lady, that is one of my role models, and she is just incredible,” were thoughts that went through my mind.Michelle Obama always has been and continues to be known as a strong woman. While she may no longer be the FLOTUS, she will still work hard alongside the American people, and she and will begin writing her memoir.  

Chapter 2: Contributions to Society

     Michelle has made many contributions to this great nation. Contributions that will have a long lasting effect.During Michelle’s time as First Lady she created many important initiatives, such as: Let’s Move, The School Lunch Program, Joining Forces, Reach Higher, and lastly, Let Girls Learn. For her Let Girls Learn initiative, she traveled to many countries with her daughters to talk about the importance of education for girls, since, when it comes to women, many men in this world prefer not to bother with them and don’t think they deserve the right to receive a good education. Michelle talked about her time as a student and said, “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”, (http://www.history.com). Michelle grew up in a household that stressed the importance of working hard in school, so it makes perfect sense that she spoke about education in many of her speeches.She also reminded a group of female students to focus on their education first rather than worry about relationships. “ There is no boy, at this age, cute enough or interesting enough to stop you from getting an education,” she said. “If I had worried about who liked me and who thought I was cute when I was your age, I wouldn’t be married to the President of the United States.” (history.com)Another way Michelle has made a contribution to this nation is her constant support for programs that empower women. After all, women are the backbone of this nation, and her supporting those types of programs, who's missions are to ensure that women are empowered and educated, is a huge contribution to society. She once said, “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.” While this contribution in not known to most, Mrs. Obama, “created a reading program for the children of the school’s (Princeton) manual laborers” (history.com). Something else that she did while First Lady, was in 2009  when “she worked with local elementary school students to plant a 1,100-square-foot vegetable garden on the South Lawn of the White House” (history.com).  This inspired many people across the country to be more involved in programs that benefit a healthier life style.One thing that Mrs. Obama has greatly influenced is the feminist movement. A movement that is about equality for everyone, and ensuring that women are equal to their male counterparts. She will forever be remembered for her hard work to empower women. She believed strongly that empowering women would greatly benefit not only the country, but the world.  

Chapter 3: Opinions

       After speaking to many people such as my peers at school, family members, teachers, and mentors; I had collected a variety of different opinions on Michelle Obama and on the many contributions she has made to society, and this great nation. I did my best to get opinions from people who are members of different political parties. When I asked my friends who are Democrats, they all agreed that Michelle Obama will go down as one of the most influential and inspiring First Ladies in this nation’s history. Even my Republican friends agreed that she was truly inspiring and did a lot to help society.One person said, “She was and continues to be one of my greatest inspirations. I will forever remember her as a stylish, intelligent, classy lady.”  This comment is just one of many opinions on Michelle Obama. I asked people from different backgrounds, faiths, and political parties and every single person I asked talked about how inspiring she is and how they love Michelle Obama. When I asked one of my peers their honest opinions on her contributions, they were talking about how much she liked the school lunch programs Mrs. Obama pushed for in cafeterias in schools around the country. A mentor of mine agrees with Michelle as well that kids should be eating healthier meals at schools because it’s a step further in raising awareness and ending childhood obesity. Recently, the Trump administration had announced that they were going to cute Michelle’s school lunch program, and in an interview she stated that there must be something wrong with you if you don't want your children to be eating healthy food.Another opinion on Mrs. Obama’s contributions is “she is the epitome of grace and elegance.” Whenever they think of a woman with class they think of Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama.While living in the White House for 8 years, the First Lady made many long lasting relationships with the people she worked with and now considers them family. Many of the staffers commented on how loving and kind Michelle is. They considered it an honor to be able to work with her. As the Obama administration was coming to an end, it was described as an emotional last couple of months for the staffers. Everyone was sad they were leaving a place that was considered a second home to them. However, when reflecting back on the years, the administration was proud of the all the hard work they had achieved in creating an even better United States of America.My personal opinion on Michelle Obama is that she is one of the most incredible women and is the definition of an empowered woman. Her desire to always work hard and never give up is truly inspiring and motivates me to be a better person, a better student, and a better citizen.One of my favorite quotes from the President’s farewell address regarding citizens of the United States was this: “We all share the same proud title: Citizen.” He’s right. We do. But it’s people like Michelle and Barack who make us even prouder to be citizens of this country. They represented this country incredibly and I will forever be grateful for what they have done to make America even better. In his farewell address, President Obama also thanked Michelle for always supporting him.      “Michelle, for the past twenty-five years, you've been not only my wife and mother of my children, but my best friend. You took on a role you didn't ask for and made it your own with grace and grit and style and good humor. You made the White House a place that belongs to everybody. And a new generation sets its sights higher because it has you as a role model. You've made me proud. You've made the country proud.”      Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama, a true role model to all the women not just of our country, but in countries around the world. Her tireless effort and work to ensure that everyone is equal and that everyone receives a good education will not be forgotten or ever go unnoticed. That little girl from the South Side of Chicago grew up to become of the world’s strongest and  most admired women.    Works CitedBiography.com Editors. Michelle Obama Biography.com. A&E Television Networks. May 23, 2017. https://www.biography.com/people/michelle-obama-307592.History.com Staff. Michelle Obama. A+E Networks. May 25, 2017. http://www.history.com/topics/first-ladies/michelle-obama.https://www.whitehouse.gov/1600/first-ladies/michelleobama