MICHELLE OBAMA ( by: Ashwini and Chloe)

Michelle LaVaughn Robinson or more famously known as Michelle Obama is an amazing woman. Not only is she the wife of the USA's first African American president but she is also an inspiring role model and an American icon.

Michelle was born on the 17th of January 1964 in Chicago, USA. She was the second of two children born to

Fraser Robinson III and Marian Shields Robinson. In his famous speech on race relations during the 2008 presidential campaign, Barack Obama noted at one point that,

'He was married to a black American who carries within her blood of slaves and slave workers'.

Indeed, Michelle's roots lie in the soil of South America where Jim Robinson, her great,great grandfather was one of thousands of black slaves who worked in the rice fields.

The neighborhood where the Robinson's lived was blue collar and largely black. Michelle's

father worked in the Windy City's Water Department. He also suffered multiple sclerosis which eventually forced him to walk on two canes. In 1991, on the way to work despite not feeling

well, he died along the way at the age of 55.

At that time the two siblings were already old enough to appreciate their father's contributions.

Michelle said

"Both parents poured everything they had to me and

Craig. It was the greatest gift a child could receive : never doubting for a single minute that you're loved and cherished and have a place in this world."

Michelle spent her junior years in Whitney.M Young Magnet High School, a public high school in Chicago. There she and her brother were exceptional students. They were said to have excelled in academics, extracurricular activities and also community service.

Michelle was also very,very involved in private efforts such as volunteering to be a notetaker for hearing impaired students.

Not long after that, Michelle graduated high school and joined her basketball-star brother, Craig in Princeton University, New Jersey.

Craig was happy to see his strong-minded sister arrive and reported back to his folks in Chicago that she hadn't changed a bit.

"Mom, Michelle's here telling people they're not teaching French right," he complained at one point to Marian, who offered this sage 'motherly' advice.

"Just pretend you don't know her."

After graduating with honors, Michelle made a decision to continue her education at Harvard Law School. Michelle distinguished herself as a diligent worker of quiet resolve and as a person who gave generously of what little spare time she had. She also helped Black Law Students Association round up black Harvard Law alumni to share their real world experiences with students.

There, of course Michelle graduated in 1988 and to mark the occasion, her parents paid to have a message printed in the back of her yearbook. It was short and semisweet:

"We knew you would do this fifteen years ago when we could never

make you shut up."

Several months later, on a rainy day in mid-1989 was when she finally met the young man who recently made history.

"Who names their kid Barack Obama?!"

That was among the skeptical thoughts that passed through her mind when she heard the news of a bright, young and yes, cute Harvard Law student who would be in her charge as a summer intern. Turns out he was a nice guy. He made her laugh. Naturally, they married the following year.

MICHELLE Obama potrays a modern woman. She is strong, intelligent, determined, sophisticated

and not to mention down-to-Earth.

She, alongside her husband have revolutionized people's perspective on the non-whites. She also played an important role in increasing the support of women for Senator Obama's election as president through most of his campaigns.

Moreover, she has even gone to the extent to take an HIV test in Kibera (the largest slum in Africa) with her husband hoping to set an example for the tens of thousands of Africans who fear the stigma of AIDS, a disease ravaging the sub-Saharan Africa.

ON the other hand, Michelle

strives to live an ordinary life despite having the luxury of living in the White House etc. For example, she makes it a point for her two daughters Malia (older) and Sasha ( younger) to make

their own beds and not having to rely on servants. She even takes her daughters for classes, playdates, birthday parties, tennis lessons and many other activities just like an other mother would do.

Michelle is President Obama's shoulder to lean on. She was there by his side from the start until now. She helped him fulfill his dream.

Finally, Michelle Obama has inspired lives of many women. We chose her not because of her fame and fortune but because of how she believed, how she faced obstacles and hardships with strength , how she never gave up despite of her appearance, how she succeeded thanks to all the effort and love she had put in to achieve her goal and how she was so driven to make a change. Her journey to success inspired us.