She is probably the hero I never knew I needed. Reading Becoming, as my first book of 2019 was by far the best choice I could have made. I am in complete awe of her raw vulnerability. Seeing life on the inside of the presidency gives me goosebumps as I sit here typing this. I think that in our age of screens, and instant communication we often forget that people are human. The things we say and do to others impact them in a negative way. It is an awful world we have created. Where there is only hate for those that don't agree with us. The words that are tossed around on social media especially by so called Christians makes me embarrassed at times to be one.
This book opened up my eyes to see this family in a different way. More than that though I realized as I read how very important it is to stand up to those that want to bring us down. How important it is to be a voice for those that think they are a failure. How very important it is that I fight for equality, of all races, and sexes.
Thank you Michelle Obama for opening my eyes to see behind the scenes of what looks to be a glorious life. Thank you for helping me to understand more about the sacrifices that were made to lead this country so well for 8 years. Maybe I didn't agree with every decision that was made, but I sure am thankful that we were led by people that loved each other and all of those in our nation.
A few of my favorite quotes from this book:
"For me, it revived an old internal call-and-response, one that tracked all the way back to high school, when I'd shown up at Whitney Young and found myself suddenly gripped by doubt. Confidence, I'd learned then, sometimes needs to be called from within. I've repeated the same words to myself many times now, through many climbs. Am I good enough? Yes I am. " page 284
"It's all a process, steps along a path. Becoming requires equal parts patience and rigor. Becoming is never giving up on the idea that there's more growing to be done." -page 419
"I've never been a fan of politics, and my experience over the last ten years has done little to change that. I continue to be put off by the nastiness- the tribal segregation of red and blue, this idea that we're supposed to choose one side and stick to it, unable to listen and compromise, or sometimes even to be civil. I do believe that at its best, politics can be a means for positive change, but this arena is just not for me." -419
"I'm an ordinary person who found herself on an extraordinary journey. In sharing my story I hope to create space for others stories and other voices to widen the pathway for who belongs and why. I've been lucky enough to get to walk into stone castles, urban classrooms, and Iowa kitchens, just trying to be myself, just trying to connect. For every door that's been opened to me, I've tried to open my door to others. And here is what I have to say, finally: Let's invite one another in. Maybe then we can begin to fear less, to make fewer wrong assumptions, to let go of the biases and stereotypes that unnecessarily divide us. Maybe we can better embrace the ways we are the same. It's not about being perfect. It's not about where you get yourself in the end. There's power in allowing yourself to be known and heard, in owning your unique story, in using your authentic voice. And there's grace in being willing to know and hear others. This, for me, is how we become." -421
There was so much to learn in this book. It will be on my shelf for a lifetime. Thankful to be able to live my life as authentically as I can!
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