Raise your hand if you knew, prior to now, that Michelle Obama has a degree from Princeton.
Now, raise your hand if you knew that she is a Harvard Law School graduate.
Again, raise your hand if you were aware that she was the vice president of community and external affairs at the University of Chicago Hospitals?
If you raised your hand all three times, good for you! That means you care enough about the first family-elect (and life, in general) to do your own research. Or you may read the Times. Or MAYBE your cousin is the niece of Michelle's best friend's sister.
If you didn't raise your hand at all, that's ok. Maybe mainstream media has tricked you, once again, into having a one-track mind. Or maybe you don't follow much in the world of politics.
My point is mostly that...who cares if mainstream American media focuses on the fact that Michelle is a mother over the fact that she is a hard-working professional?? Mainstream American media represents a very broad view of America. We already know that...so what's the big deal?
A friend IM'ed me today suggesting, "Women should still be able to be seen as individuals right? For their own qualifications..." Of course they should be. That seems to be a silly question, much like "All individuals deserve healthcare as a natural right, correct?" YES, THEY SHOULD!
My question though is this....Why are women so reluctant to admit that they are WOMEN?? We give birth and contribute to creating life, therefore we must help to maintain that very life. which IN TURN means, we must also sacrifice, to some extent, some aspects that we have previously prioritized. If women don't wanna have to sacrifice financial independence to have a child...you better save up and plan well! If women don't wanna sacrifice their career to have a family, they better find a husband (or baby daddy or significant other) that will! Shooooot.....there's a gazillion people on earth already, so there's yet another option: choose not to have a child--this will allow woman to rule the world! If you are a woman with a career and want to have a child, you are forced to make some very important decisions in life. That's what makes it LIFE. Yeah, I kinda wish I would've stuck it out and went to medical school, but something in me at that time urged me not to. Now I can say I have impacted the lives of several young people in the role of mentor and teacher, instead of having my nose in the books for the past 4 years. I'm still happy.
I admire Michelle Obama for being willing to experience a new life, as first lady and stay-at-home mother. And I respect her for being able to make a sacrifice to her family and to her husband. Historically, Black women have been portrayed as the backbone of the family in multiple ways; and the Black family in America has been broken, and still suffers today, because of the American institution. The opportunity for President-elect Barack Obama to take the spotlight is not only a landmark for Americans or for minorities, but it represents a turning point and provides a role model for the Black family (besides the fictional Huxtable's). A husband and wife must support each other in different ways, and this is one way that Michelle is supporting her husband, even though it means making a career change.
The average person changes careers 4 times during their life, and it's not always because that person initiates the change. Sometimes events happen that we don't plan. That's what makes it LIFE.
You know that Michelle is in no way going to be JUST a mom. I foresee her having plans, big plans, that will make major impacts on how America functions in the area of women, families, and healthcare. She's a hard worker and a fair person, so I just know.
So for all of you who are freakin out about Michelle being a mom....relax. She'll make you proud of her. So now you can each go about your own lives, forget about the how-come's and the what-if's of Michelle and her choices, and trust that in the long run we will all become better off because of them.
