Oh my goodness gracious.

This book only confirms the testament that representation matters. When Barak Obama was elected for the first time in 2008, I was twelve years old. As I watched the Obamas walking across the stage in celebration, I found myself sobbing. Did I understand the complexities of politics? No. Not at all. However, I found myself crying because I could feel it. I could feel the weight of the moment. I remember reflecting in my journal that night about how I felt like I was observing history in a way that I never had before. History was changing, and the focus of that change was a family that looked like my own. I will never be able to forget that moment.

As a child, I grew up in the suburbs of Boise, Idaho. It was not an outrageous experience for me to be the only person of color in large gatherings. Lack of racial diversity was my normal. In being somewhat deprived of the experience of being around people who looked like me, my family and I set out to find others who looked like us in mainstream media. On Thanksgiving during the Thanksgiving Day Parade, my sister and I would scan the screen during the Rockette's performance, looking for black Rockettes. We would watch reruns of Oprah religiously. We did this because these women looked like us and were doing amazing things. They were our representation. So, how do you think we felt when it was revealed that Michelle Obama was to be the first lady of the United States? Yeah, it was a pretty big deal.

For myself, as it did with all instances like this, Michelle Obama inspired me simply because she was a black woman thriving in a place of power. However, as time went on in the Obama presidency, she became much more than that to me. Her words motivated me, her actions energized me, and her refusal to apologize for being who she was moved me to feel the same way. The entirety of my teenage years were lived with her as a role model. I cannot begin to imagine who or where I would be if I had not had that.

Listening to the audiobook of this memoir was the best decision I have ever made. (Thank you, Kanda for recommending it!) It felt like Michelle Obama was in my room telling me her story, which is an event I only thought was possible in dreams. It was an absolute pleasure and privilege to be given the opportunity to hear Michelle's story. Yes, some of it was familiar, however, a lot of it was refreshingly new. All of it was told in her words, unhindered or altered by the words of others. Did I cry while listening to this? Yes, many times. I may or may not be crying as I am writing this review.

Michelle may not be the first lady anymore, but she is MY first lady. I was born into this life as a black woman and I have lived in a time where my first lady looked like me. This is an experience that I will tell my children and grandchildren about. I will tell them about where I was when Obama was elected. I will tell them how Michelle and the Obama family inspired me to be my best self. I will share this book with them I’m with the hopes that it will motivate them in the way that it has motivated me. What an amazing read!