Michelle Obama Thanks Friends For Keeping Her Sane In The White House

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Michelle Obama Talks About The Importance Of Having Friends

Michelle Obama attended the Obama Foundation summit in Chicago on Wednesday, and spoke with poet and close friend Elizabeth Alexander about some of the things that are most important to her. For Mrs. Obama, that conversation revolved around family, friends, and the arts.

Michelle spoke to the audience at the summit saying, “Art is the first language we speak, truly. Every child, before they talk, they’re given some paper, a pencil, some crayons … It’s life that yanks that instinct from them. We’re now living in public school systems where art, music, P.E.—the things that bring life and joy are the first things that are cut. It’s often the hook that gets kids to then understand that math is important, it’s the thing that gets them to school to do reading. We are trying to remind this country, this world, that arts are not a luxury.”

The former First Lady also spoke about how we can all raise our daughters to be strong women. She explained, “We ask [women] to speak up, we ask them to speak their mind, we ask them to just say no, to speak out against sexual harassment, to speak out against inequality—but if we don’t teach our young girls to speak at an early age, that doesn’t just happen. It takes practice to have a voice. You have to use it again and again and again before you can say ‘No’ or ‘Stop. Don’t touch me.’” In the same breath, Michelle also warns those in the audience that they have to be careful with their voice, as well.

Beyond that, Obama also discussed the important of self love, and the role that plays in her life. She said, “I love my husband and he is my rock, but my girlfriends are my sanity. And when you live eight years in the White House, and you can’t even open a window, you can’t walk out on your balcony without notifying three people, your walk outside is you walk around the same circle in the south lawn over and over again, because the thought of you leaving those gates requires 50 people’s attention, and work and convenience. … When you live like that for eight years, you need your girlfriends. And nothing is spontaneous. All our spontaneity was basically taken away from us. I even do this now, like, ‘Can I leave?’ I don’t leave until some 30-year-old tells me ‘Ma’am, you can leave now.’ I had to plan my time with my GFs that kept me grounded and brought me laughter.”

There you have it, we need to raise strong women and use each other as a support system when we grow older.