M A I N   N E W S

Michelle Obama talks of her humble beginnings
‘Never dreamt of being First Lady’
Shiv Kumar
Tribune News Service

TRIP TO HISTORY: President Obama with Michelle at Humayun’s Tomb in New Delhi on Sunday. — AFP

Mumbai, November 7
First Lady Michelle Obama who interacted with students in Mumbai here today spoke of her humble beginnings in working-class America. “When I was your age, I never dreamt of travelling to countries like this and meeting young people like you. I never dreamt of serving as the First Lady,” Michelle Obama told students here.

“I grew up in a working class neighbourhood of Chicago. My parents worked hard. Even though they could not give us material things, they gave us something more precious; they gave me and my brother strong values. They taught us to push for excellence in every single thing we did,” the US President’s wife said.

She attributed her position to her parents’ insistence on education. “They taught us that our circumstances cannot define us. That if we believe in ourselves, we could make our own destiny. I have tried every single day to take these lessons to heart,” Michelle said. She went on to say that students should learn to “dream big”. “I want to encourage you to keep dreaming big, gigantic dreams, not just for yourself but for your communities,” Michelle said.

“Pretty soon, responsibilities for building our future will fall on you. We will be looking to you to protect our planet, to lift up our vulnerable citizens. I believe you and your peers around the world are more than up to the challenge because I have seen it first hand in India,” she added. “As the First Lady, I try my best to engage young people not just in the US but around the world. We need them to solve the great challenges of our times,” Michelle said.

On Saturday evening, she mingled with children from a disadvantaged background. Apart from dancing to Bollywood music, Michelle Obama played hopscotch with children besides some spelling games.