I was blessed throughout my entire career. I had people rooting for me. It started with my parents, but it extended to almost every teacher that I had.

Barack knows that we are going to have to make sacrifices; we are going to have to change our conversation; we're going to have to change our traditions, our history; we're going to have to move into a different place.

To be a good parent, you need to take care of yourself so that you can have the physical and emotional energy to take care of your family.

I was an incredibly devoted student, and I would often wake up at 4 or 5 in the morning to study. But even so, there were still people who thought that a girl like me with a background like mine wasn't really "college material."

I've always tried to make sure that what I do really connects with the broader agenda of what my husband Barack Obama is trying to do.... But I also find that I have to be very passionate myself about the issue to be able to represent it well. One of the big issues that I've talked a lot about...is childhood health, nutrition and obesity.

The beauty of my job is that I get to see more of that America. And that feeds me.

It's all about, you know, continuing to get to know ourselves in a very diverse and complicated country that is America. It is a wonderful place to live. But because it is so diverse, our challenges are complex.