Aren’t we all bugged by questions like “Am I good enough for this job?”, “Will I be able to do this task efficiently?”, “I really don’t know. I don’t think I am capable”. It is quite common that we face these apprehensions at almost every stage of our lives.
Now, you would be very surprised, if I told you that “Am I good enough?” was one question that followed the Former First Lady Of The United States, the most confident, elegant, and intelligent “Michelle Obama” at every step of her life as well.
How do I know? I read her memoir “Becoming” recently! And this article is going to be all about it.
There’s so much to learn from her story. So I thought it would be nice to have an article discussing all that I took away from that book!
Read on!
The book is the narration of the journey she has been through for 54 years of her life.
Coming from a middle-class, black, American nuclear family in the Southside of Chicago, she did have her fair share of difficulties and challenges that she had to figure out and solve herself. Being a person of color had made doing even normal things quite difficult for her though it was a lot better than how her parents or grandparents had it. She had to work twice more hard to prove her competency and get what she deserved because of all the white supremacy and domination prevalent in society at her time.
We read that her hustle knows no end from her childhood to pretty much for her entire life because of the zeal and dedication with which she worked towards everything that came her way. Isn’t that something we all should imbibe in our lives as well? Giving everything our best shot and being dedicated to every task that we take up!
From having people who hesitated to share dorms with her because she was black to being told that she was not “good enough” to pursue her dreams, there have been so many instances in her life where she had to prove herself over and over again despite excelling in almost everything she did!
Regardless of all these things she saw and experienced, the tone in which she shares all these incidents is so gentle and accommodating. Not once do we see her complaining or being frustrated about them. It’s astonishing how she gracefully owns even the hardest parts of her story.
She describes her husband Barack Obama as a highly intellectual, purpose-driven man who lived like a hermit and always thought of making the world a better place.
She mentions her dislike for politics several times in the book and honestly did not want her husband to get into it. Yet, she decides to stand by him throughout the entire journey even if it meant that she’d have to give up the career that she was so passionate about and put blood, sweat and tears to build.
Her journey to the White House and being the First Lady of United States for close to a decade is an entirely different story in itself and has the most amazing insights and perspectives that one must look out for.
Mrs. Obama shares her concerns about her children being brought up in a place like the White House for the most crucial years of their childhood and the impact it could have on their personalities. She made every effort to give their kids the most normal childhood possible and strived every moment to engrain the ethical values they grew up with into the kids’ young minds.
She, as the wife of the President, could have happily enjoyed the pleasures of the post and need not have done anything to support the change her husband was trying to create. She could have gotten away with just dressing up fancily and plastering a nice smile on her face for all the public events. There were no expectations of her as the First Lady.
However, she chose to make a difference.
She wanted to make the best use of the power that came to her and the influence she could have on the people of her country. And she nailed it!
From introducing nation-wide initiatives to promote healthy eating among kids, to supporting the military families in all ways that they could, she used her power and went out of her way to do all that she could to create change in the world around her.
There are so many wonderful lines in the book that leave an indelible mark on our minds and whose messages would stay on with the reader forever.
She says, “If you don’t get out there and define yourself, you’ll be quickly and inaccurately defined by others.”, and I bet we all cannot agree more!
Another of my favorite lines from the books is “Failure is a feeling long before it becomes an actual result.” throwing light on the fact that it is fear and self-doubt that steer us towards failure.
“Becoming” is a book that everyone should read… not because it is the extraordinary story of Michelle Obama but because of how normal and real her struggles, concerns and questions are. Every one of us would own her as our neighborhood girl and would identify her story as our own. That is the best part of the book.
It has incredible moral values, ethics, and insights that are worth cultivating in our own lives and would greatly help us prosper in life.
As a young, ambitious girl with big dreams who has so many questions about how one person could handle so many responsibilities, this story has inspired me to work harder, dream bigger and work tirelessly to become successful.
It has taught me that “where there is a will, there is a way” no matter how difficult life could get!
I’m sure you all would relate to it, get inspired, and find answers to your questions on life when you read this book. And also, all that I wrote about the book in this article is only the tip of the iceberg, and there’s so much more to learn from it!
So why wait any longer!? Go grab the book now!
Yes, I know that this article is different from what I usually write here, but I felt that you all could really not miss out on this wonderful book!
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