Former First Lady Michelle Obama was busy dropping gems during her first post-White House speech. She is also cooking up something special for college signing day. Deets inside…
She’s back!
Days after her husband/former President Barack Obama returned to the limelight, former First Lady Michelle Obama makes her first post-White House appearance.
FLOTUS hit the stage for a conversation at the AIA Conference on Architecture 2017 yesterday in Orlando, FL. And she’s looking well rested and beautiful. Those much-needed vacations just gave her more of that glow that we love.
And her fashion is still A1.
The 53-year-old -- above alongside AIA Executive Vice President Robert A. Ivy and AIA President Thomas Vonier -- rocked a black, white and beige Lafayette 148 NY for her first public speaking engagement.
Mrs. Obama opened up about closing the gender gap in the workforce, explaining women need to start asking for what we need instead of accepting what’s given to us.
“If you have leverage, you have to push for the women who don’t,” she said. “We have to start asking for what we need, and then we need to employers to be more open to what work-life balance can actually look like.”
She continued, “It’s not easy and it’s never going to be. The one thing I can say to working mothers out there: Don’t beat up on yourselves. What you are doing is hard, and we still don’t live in a society that supports it.”
FLOTUS also shot down the notion of running for political office…again.
“Politics is tough, and it’s hard on a family. I wouldn’t ask my children to do this again because when you run for higher office, it’s not just you, it’s your whole family. Plus, there’s just so much more we can outside of the office, because we won’t have the burden of political baggage.”
We're definitely not mad at her for putting her family first.
On Inauguration Day, she revealed she wanted to cry, but she fought back tears because she didn’t want to send out the wrong message."I didn't want to have tears in my eyes because people would swear I was crying because of the new president.”
Peep a clip from her speech below:
Love her!
In other news...
Mrs. Obama is cooking up something special for College Signing Day! Mrs. Obama will be teaming up with MTV to celebrate hundreds of high school students pursuing higher education. We all know Mrs. O is passionate about education, so it comes as no surprise that she's continuing the work she started while in the White House.
She'll be front and center at this year's event, which will be held at New York City's Public Theater on May 5th with hundreds of NYC high school students. In the clip, she says, "You are working to create a life you can be proud of. And I want you to know I'm rooting for you every step o the way. Trust me, you've got this."
Peep the full clip above.
Photos: Getty
