I want our young people to know that they matter, that they belong. So don't be afraid—you hear me, young people? Don't be afraid. Be focused. Be det… - Michelle Obama

Don’t be afraid. Be focused. Be determined. Be hopeful. Be empowered.

Empower yourselves with a good education, then get out there and use that education to build a country worthy of your boundless promise.

And there’s grace in being willing to know and hear others. This, for me, is how we become.

My father was a pump operator at the city water plant, and he was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis when my brother and I were young. And even as a kid, I knew there were plenty of days when he was in pain...I knew there were plenty of mornings when it was a struggle for him to simply get out of bed.

I tried not to feel intimidated when classroom conversation was dominated by male students, which it often was. Hearing them, I realized that they weren’t at all smarter than the rest of us. They were simply emboldened, floating on an ancient tide of superiority, buoyed by the fact that history had never told them anything different.