michelle obama self doubt inspiring message© Photo: Getty Images

Michelle Obama reveals she hopes to share more of who she really is in an effort to inspire young girls

The former First Lady shared a moving message about facing self-doubt

Beatriz Colon - New York
New York WriterNew York
October 28, 2022

Michelle Obama is ready to share more of herself with the world, and really connect with her fans.

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The former First Lady has led a more private life since leaving the White House in January of 2017, but now she wants those who admire her to get to know the real her, rather than the former First Lady.

Speaking at an Obama Foundation event in New York City, which HELLO! attended, she opened up about facing self-doubt, and wanting to share more of the aspects about her that young girls can relate to.

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"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," she told the audience, speaking of how she hopes to inspire women facing hardships, particularly when it comes to getting access to proper education.

She said: "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."

In an answer full of inspiration and encouragement, she stated: "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."

© Obama Foundation

She spoke alongside Melinda French Gates and Amal Clooney

Still, she maintained: "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."

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She added: "You are constantly batting away those negative messages of being not enough, and yes, I deal with that too."

The mother-of-two has a new book out, The Light We Carry

"How I combat it is pushing through and living life, one day at a time," she explained, adding that: "In order to break these cycles of negativity, you gotta get up everyday and do the work right before you."

The event, which was on 25 October, served as the launch of the Obama Foundation's Girls Opportunity Alliance Get Her There campaign, an effort between Michelle alongside Amal Clooney and Melinda French Gates, which is "a global call to action to educate and empower adolescent girls around the world to reach their full potential."

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