In an interview with MTV host Sway Calloway that aired Tuesday evening, first lady Michelle Obama took a few moments to brag about the kind of kid she was in high school.
“I was that kid that wanted to get the A,” Michelle recounted. “I liked doing well, I liked being on time. I was the kid that got upset if I had a to miss a day of school.”
“I always knew I wanted to go to one of the best schools in the country,” she continued, “but I knew it was on me to do it, so I was very focused on keeping my grade point average up, looking at extracurricular activities. I was senior class treasurer. I was engaged in the honor’s society. I was that kid.”
Sway expressed his astonishment, saying simply, “Wow. You were that kid.”
The first lady brought the conversation down to earth a bit by later admitting that she “absolutely” had insecurities. She listed “not wanting to look wrong [and] not wanting to be wrong” as examples.
Michelle then launched into the advice she gives her own children about high school life.
“Growth is about making mistakes, but when you’re in high school you think the world revolves around every shoe you wear and every negative comment somebody says to you,” she explained. “First of all, high school is just a blip on the screen of life, and none of that — none of that — really has any bearing on who you’re going to become.”
“If I had known that, I would have raised my hand even more,” Michelle added, complimenting her own advice.
The “Reach Higher” initiative champion also insisted that kids in high school should be more concerned with learning than the grades that they receive.
“It’s not the grade,” Michelle said. “It’s what you know and how deeply you understand the material and how you relish in the whole process of learning because, as we know, you learn for the rest of your life. And, the better you get at it, the more you can do.”
The interview took place after a “Get Schooled” rally at an Atlanta high school last week, which was part of the White House’s “Reach Higher” initiative.
