Being your First Lady has been the greatest honor of my life, and I hope I've made you proud.

I enjoyed my life as I played the role of first lady to the fullest. I learnt a lot and, through the Freedom Foundation, I was able to help a lot of needy people. When I was the first lady I was able to interact with people at all levels.

Even while her husband was Head of State, she was so committed and dedicated to her job as a lawyer that she never left the legal profession. This is very impressive as some other women see the ‘First Ladyship’ as a role of glamour and wanton frivolities.

She was a blessing to us and to the nation? and a lesson to the world on how to do things right, how to be a mother, how to appreciate history, how to be courageous. No one else looked like her, spoke like her, wrote like her, or was so original in the way she did things. No one we knew ever had a better sense of self. ... No one ever gave more meaning to the title of first lady.

Being a First Lady, I do not see it as an avenue to be arrogant. First Lady is just another form of public office … I see this opportunity as a call to service not for personal aggrandizement at all.

And in the meantime, Michelle has had a chance to greet the incoming First Lady. And we had an excellent conversation with her as well. And we want to make sure that they feel welcome as they prepare to make this transition.

So far in my life, I’ve been a lawyer. I’ve been a vice president at a hospital and the director of a nonprofit that helps young people build meaningful careers. I’ve been a working-class black student at a fancy mostly white college. I’ve been the only woman, the only African American, in all sorts of rooms. I’ve been a bride, a stressed-out new mother, a daughter torn up by grief. And until recently, I was the First Lady of the United States of America — a job that’s not officially a job, but that nonetheless has given me a platform like nothing I could have imagined. It challenged me and humbled me, lifted me up and shrank me down, sometimes all at once. I’m just beginning to process what took place over these last years — from the moment in 2006 when my husband first started talking about running for president to the cold morning this winter when I climbed into a limo with Melania Trump, accompanying her to her husband’s inauguration. It’s been quite a ride.

Serving as your First Lady is an honor and a privilege...but back when we first came together four years ago, I still had some concerns about this journey we'd begun. While I believed deeply in my husband's vision for this country...and I was certain he would make an extraordinary President...like any mother, I was worried about what it would mean for our girls if he got that chance.

No washing, no sweeping, no cooking—just turn on the water to bathe," reflecting on my time as First Lady. "I really enjoyed it. It was wonderful."

History tells us that our first woman head of state was far more than a "mere housewife," but an uplifting figure who inspired her countrymen to begin the arduous task of rebuilding our nation. Experience shows us that an honorable and virtuous president who leads by example will always enjoy the respect of her fellow leaders and her people. And Cory's life teaches us that with an unwavering faith and a sincere desire to serve the nation, any Filipino can make a difference.

She’s incredible. Her talent and her body of work is incredible. She’s one of the most incredibly generous people I’ve ever met in everyday life.

And I hope you will join me — I hope you will join me in expressing thanks to one American for the strength and calm and comfort she brings to our nation in crisis, our First Lady, Laura Bush.

I do not believe that being First Lady should prevent me from expressing my ideas. I spoke out on this important issue because of my deep personal convictions. Why should my husband's job, or yours, prevent us from being ourselves. Being ladylike does not require silence.

To me, the role of a first lady, and any powerful woman for that matter, in helping the generation beneath us to come up, is not to stand in the way, it's not to compete, it's to facilitate, it's to provide a bridge.