Becoming — Michelle Obama, a Book Review
5 / 5, readability, enlightening, and entertaining
There is much to digest from the upbringings of the First Lady Michelle Obama, she was an ordinary middle class, and she fought for the right values throughout her life. There is much to respect, no matter where you stand politically.
The most relatable thing she said in the book was the problem that all Blacks face in that they are invisibly uphold to a higher standard in order to be considered ‘good’ or ‘great’. They must do double the work of any non-minority just to come across as not bad or deceitful or be swept over by negativity or defamation, or seen as scandalous. This, I argue, is true more or less for any minority. I, as ethnic Chinese, but Canadian born child, can relate.
Out of the sanctuaries of our educational institutes into the real world, I am hit with reality that my upbringing really determined how ‘high’ I would end up in the ladder. And more or less, you cannot climb any further without scrutiny, seen as overstepping, or just forced to uphold a standard that’s impossibly unfair in comparison to anyone else better off or White.
It’s a sad reality I’m contending with. At least, I am generally respected here, as Canadians are polite and do not openly show their displeasure. There’s more authentic attitudes here, I can respect that.
Michelle continues to highlight her need to provide extra energy from a young age in order to keep up with advantaged peers in a prized institution of college, but wanting so badly to just fall back on her comfort zone. It was exhausting, while the better off did not need to regard this at all. Her being Black and a women, made all this all the more glaring than the already unlikeliness of her financial situation.
I got a small glimpse in Barack Obama’s beginnings in Chicago as a community organizer, constantly bombarded with the small but cumulatively overwhelming burdens, suppression, and difficulties of his local community, having to endure it all and still preach optimism and stepping forward with the audacity of hope.
And lastly, I admire Michelle approach to not fear expressing weakness, to be truthful, no matter where she had gotten in life. Same old same old Michelle.
And that inspiration alone was shallow and hollow, and that all had to be backed up with hard work.
I only wish this is still true today in the new age, where all industries are saturated, and economic powers, capitalist rich that came before us, had become the new Kings of the world. Nothing seems possible these days unless you strike a gold mine of luck with that hard work that most already have, don’t we?
