I mentioned a few days ago that I wanted to be President when I was younger. If you asked me now as an adult "What do you want to be when you grow up?" and if you let me answer with the same childlike naiveté, I would say without hesitation "When I grow up, I want to be The First Lady." I might even say "When I grow up, I want to be Michelle Obama." Since she hit the campaign trail alongside her husband and appeared on my limited radar, she has been the role model I had not realized I was missing.
As a young black girl, even in a time as "progressive" as ours, I did not have a lot of current black female role models (that is to say role models living in my time rather than resting in the past or in the pages of a textbook). I had them in my home and my church, but not on a public stage where my peers and the rest of the world could also admire them. It seemed to me that there were two kinds of current black female role models. There were those who were in a position of power and were admired for success related to their intelligence, like Condoleezza Rice, who inspired a certain type of girl, but not every girl. Then there were those who held the unique popularity that comes with entertainment and were admired for success related to their artistic talent, who seemed to inspire more girls, but did not necessarily offer the type of impact that I hoped to have one day. Where were the crossovers who could inspire every girl with every kind of gift in her arsenal?
*Enter Michelle Obama* Here was a beautiful black woman (arguably the most beautiful woman to occupy the White House) who was as affable as she was accomplished, as "hip" as she was intelligent, and as fun as she was impactful. In addition to unique initiatives that she led as First Lady, she made time to engage our generation, appearing on the television shows that we watched and in the magazines that we read, and sharing in our interests, from social change to music and pop culture. This incredible strong black woman was standing on the most public stage of all and inspiring the heck out of black girls like me and girls everywhere - inspiring the heck out of everyone everywhere. Her husband summed it up beautifully when he addressed her in his farewell address last night:
"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."
Even as she gracefully bows out of her role as First Lady, I have no doubt that Michelle Obama will remain in the spotlight, inspiring everyday people and impacting change in our society.