(29 Sep 2015) MICHELLE OBAMA: GIRLS DON'T HOLD BACK IN SCHOOL
First lady Michelle Obama has some advice for teenage girls: Don't shy from being the smartest kid in the class. And never mind what the boys think.
"Compete with the boys. Beat the boys," she told about 1,000 schoolgirls and young women Tuesday (29 SEPT. 2015) at an event aimed at publicizing her "Let Girls Learn" campaign to expand girls' access to education in developing countries and encourage American girls to take advantage of their opportunities. But the first lady also gave some impromptu, personal pep talks on handling the pressures of adolescence.
And on whether being brainy comes at a social cost: "There is no boy, at this age, that is cute enough or interesting enough to stop you from getting your education," the water pump operator's daughter-turned-Harvard-trained lawyer said. "If I had worried about who liked me and who thought I was cute when I was your age, I wouldn't be married to the president of the United States."
(To her point, the Obamas met well after high school, while both were working at a law firm.)
Mrs. Obama has made girls' schooling one of her signature issues during her husband's second term, particularly after the Islamic extremist group Boko Haram kidnapped more than 200 Nigerian schoolgirls in April 2014.
Joined at Tuesday's discussion at Harlem's Apollo Theater was Academy Award-winning actress Charlize Theron, who founded an AIDS-prevention charity in Africa.
"We aim so much lower than what we're really valued and what we're worth and I just want to leave you all with this. You are worth it and you are valued," said Theron. "So aim big and dream big because I'm sitting on this stage today a farm girl, from a small farm community in South Africa and the fact that I am here today is witness that if you dream big, no matter how ridiculous it is, it can happen so why not?"
The event was also attended by former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard joined in the discussion.
It was sponsored by Glamour magazine.
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