Sometimes the issue is about whether families and communities think girls are even worthy of an education in the first place. It's about whether girls are valued only for their labor and reproductive capacities or for their minds as well. And it's about whether women are viewed as second-class citizens or as full human beings entitled to the same rights and opportunities as men.

I was not raised with wealth or resources or any social standing to speak of.

I've seen firsthand that being president doesn't change who you are. It reveals who you are.

One reason we planted the White House vegetable garden was to set an example about what food can mean, but to also begin a broader conversation about how we're feeding our kids, what they know about the food that they eat, how they're taking care of themselves.

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.

I mean, that's the least we should do for these men and women [veterans and military spouses], is to make sure they come back to jobs that pay, to career opportunities, that these spouses are able to add a second income to their households, because these families do not have a lot of resources.

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.