While Michelle Obama’s memoir Becoming could have focused on her time as First Lady, it offered far more meaningful insights. Rather than superficial details, she shares her journey of self-discovery and the evolution toward who she is today.
What resonated most was Obama’s relatability and willingness to change over time. Through school, career, marriage, and motherhood, she discovered pivotal moments weren’t always clear. Her ex-boyfriend took an unforeseen path as a mascot, while a friend abandoned stability for travel. Yet Obama’s biggest pivot came unexpectedly through her relationship with Barack.
The book debunks ideas of a single “right” path leading to stability versus a “wrong” one to avoid. Serendipity is real – apps don’t guarantee dream partners, and education/career don’t preclude chances beyond imagination.
As a mixed-race woman, I connected with Obama’s musings on constant labeling and inability to define her ethnicity simply. Questioning if she’s “what she appears” introduces imposter syndrome feelings of being an object for others’ debates.
Quotes resonated as well, like failing being “a feeling long before a result” and “planting a suggestion of failure before trying to succeed.” A powerful reminder discouraged minority women from speaking strongly due to being dismissed as “angry.”
Most inspiring, Obama believes in working “to create the world as it should be,” not accepting limitations of society “as it is.” Her memoir reminds that unexpected turns often define our richest journeys toward self-acceptance.
