Some of my best memories are sitting on my dad's lap, cheering on Olga and Nadia, Carl Lewis and others for their brilliance and perfection.

In our house we don't take ourselves too seriously, and laughter is the best form of unity, I think, in a marriage.

Throughout my life, I've learned to make choices that make me happy and make sense for me. Even my husband is happier when I'm happy.

Our life before moving to Washington was filled with simple joys...Saturdays at soccer games, Sundays at grandma's house...and a date night for Barack and me was either dinner or a movie, because as an exhausted mom, I couldn't stay awake for both.

We have to remember that it's usually women who are making the health care decisions for their families.... True equality would mean making sure that there's equity in terms of how insurance reimburses certain procedures; making sure that we have preventative care that's covered so women can get their mammograms and Pap screens without extra charges.

During the first campaign, one of my jobs as my husband's spouse was to travel around the country and really listen to women. There were voices that were new to me: the voices of military spouses, many of them women, and veterans.... I was overwhelmed by their challenges, and the notion that we as a country don't even know that these women exist, because we live in a country where one percent of the population protects the rights and freedoms of the other 99 percent of us. I thought that if I had the opportunity to serve as First Lady, I was going to use this platform to be their voice.

If I point to anything that makes me who I am, it's that I have a whole lot of common sense. I've got a good mind and a good ability to read people and situations.