Michelle Obama She's an Ivy League-educated lawyer, a passionate advocate for women's and family issues, and the first Black First Lady of the United States — but, as she recently told Melinda French Gates, she considers one of her most important jobs to be being a mother.
The former first lady appeared on the July 25 episode. Gates' “Moments that Make Us” On the podcast, she talks about how she raised her daughters, Malia and Sasha, to be “people who are valued and valued in the world.”
The girls moved into the White House in 2009 when Malia was 10 and Sasha was 7, and spent most of their childhood in public. Mrs. Obama has made it her mission to nurture their independence and prepare them for life on their own after they leave home.
Obama said she owes much of her personality to her mother, Marian Robinson. He died on May 31st at the age of 86.
“She was wise in raising her children.” President Obama told Gates:“And it began with our mother intentionally starting to see us not as babies she owned, but as human beings that she was raising as independent beings in the world.”
Obama said part of raising her daughters was allowing them to make mistakes, setting boundaries and sometimes letting them do or say things they didn't like — including some of the same things many black children have heard over and over again from their parents.
“My daughters always joked about it, but my favorite line was, 'I'm not one of your little friends,'” she said. She said: “I think it would make parenting so much easier. It doesn't matter if you like me or not. I just want you to respect yourself and know what works for you.”
“As I was raising my kids, I was thinking, 'You're not going to live here with me forever, so I need to immediately hand your life over to you and let you manage it yourself,'” she said. She added:
Obama's hard work has paid off, and her daughters are now adults living their best lives in Los Angeles.
Sasha, now 23, graduated from the University of Southern California in 2023. Malia, now 26, graduated from Harvard University in 2021 and is making a name for herself in the film and television industry. Short film debut It will be screened at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.
