Michelle Obama has been an inspiration to millions, particularly girls and women, since her days as First Lady of the United States and beyond, and now she is furthering her impact on young girls around the world.
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The best-selling author has collaborated with none other than Amal Clooney and Melinda French Gates to launch a new campaign, through the Obama Foundation's Girls Opportunity Alliance, named Get Her There, "a global call to action to educate and empower adolescent girls around the world to reach their full potential."
The three women hosted an event in New York City, which HELLO! attended, where Michelle advocated for better access to education for young women, and opened up about growing up in the South Side of Chicago, as well as how she overcomes feelings of self-doubt.
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"I find myself as one of the lucky ones," she said when speaking about young women's access to education. She explained: "I came from a community and a family where we didn't have much, but my dad always had a steady job in the city, we had a roof over our heads, we had food to eat… I have two parents, a mother and a father who believed in my possibility, who saw me, who fueled my flame, constantly."
Michelle Obama hosted her Get Her There event in NYC on Tuesday
However, she knows it isn't the same for everyone. In fact, the women made a point to acknowledge that there are over 100,000 million girls without access to the education they deserve, an issue they are determined to improve through the newly-launched campaign.
"Education made the difference in my life… Education has opened my life and my possibilities, and has given me the tools," she said.
Michelle was joined by famous faces including Amal Clooney and Melinda French Gates
Michelle also spoke about how she tries to open herself up to these young girls and inspire them, telling the audience: "I don't want them to know Michelle Obama, former First Lady, I want them to know Michelle Obama the girl from the South Side of Chicago. I want to break down that wall of impossibility, to let them know that I have been there, and yes, every other moment I feel self doubt."
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She said: "The one thing I want young girls to understand is that those feelings are real, they are not crazy, they are indoctrinated in us all and we carry them around with us our entire lives."
Michelle wants to inspire girls
The mom-of-two added: "Society intentionally does that to women and girls, it starts at a very early age. We question our value, our worth, we question how we look, how we talk, where we're from."
"How I combat it is pushing through and living life, one day at a time," she said, adding that: "In order to break these cycles of negativity, you gotta get up everyday and do the work right before you."
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