There's so much going on in the healthcare system that makes it difficult for women to really have a strong economic hold if insurance is always an issue.

I want to feel like the things I did made a difference. That's one of the reasons I spend time greeting people on rope lines, because I'm always thinking, 'Maybe this interaction, particularly if I'm meeting kids, will change someone's life.' That's how I think about the work I do as First Lady. It's a rare spotlight. I want to make sure I don't waste it.

We have had with Barack Obama some just amazing experiences traveling abroad, being able to introduce our children to the world.... I'm also humbled by the response and the receptiveness, not just here in America, but around the world. There's a part of that warmth and enthusiasm and hope that is surprising and humbling.

I am an example of what is possible when girls from the very beginning of their lives are loved and nurtured by people around them. I was surrounded by extraordinary women in my life who taught me about quiet strength and dignity.

My goal has always been to add value, not to be redundant, not to get in the way, but to do things that lift and move things forward in a very strategic and objective way so that there are real outcomes.

I hate fund-raising. Haaaaate it. Hate, hate it.

There is no magic to achievement. It's really about hard work, choices, and persistence.