Becoming (Audio Book Review +First Time Experience)
Audiobook Report Title of the Audiobook: Becoming Author: Michelle Obama Date started/ Date completed: 04/18/2020/04/21/2020 Duration: 19 hours and 3 minutes English Level: Advanced Audiobook Score: 9/10
Author
Michelle Obama is a
lawyer, writer and wife of former U.S. President Barack Obama. Before her
role as first lady, she was a lawyer, Chicago city administrator and
community-outreach worker.
Who Is Michelle Obama?
Michelle Obama is a
lawyer and writer who was the First Lady of the United States from 2009 to
2017. She is the wife of the 44th U.S. president, Barack Obama. As first lady,
Michelle focused her attention on social issues such as poverty, healthy living
and education. Her 2018 memoir, Becoming, discusses the experiences that shaped
her, from her childhood in Chicago to her years living in the White House.
Michelle Obama was
born Michelle LaVaughn Robinson on January 17, 1964, in Chicago, Illinois.
Michelle's father, Fraser Robinson, was a city-pump operator and a Democratic
precinct captain. Her mother, Marian, was a secretary at Spiegel's but later
stayed home to raise Michelle and her older brother, Craig. At just 21 months
apart in age, Craig and Michelle were often mistaken for twins.
The Robinson family
lived in a small bungalow on Chicago's South Side. Michelle and Craig shared
quarters, sleeping in the living room with a sheet serving as a makeshift room
divider. They were a close-knit family, typically sharing meals, reading and
playing games together.
Michelle Obama's
Education
Raised with an
emphasis on education, both Michelle and her brother learned to read at home by
age four. Both skipped the second grade. By the sixth grade, Michelle was
taking classes in her school's gifted program, where she learned French and
completed accelerated courses in biology.
Michelle went on to
attend Whitney M. Young Magnet High School, the city's first magnet high school
for gifted children, where, among other activities, she served as the student
government treasurer. In 1981, she graduated from the school as class
salutatorian.
College and Law School
Following in her older
brother's footsteps, Michelle attended Princeton University, graduating cum
laude in 1985 with a B.A. in Sociology. She went on to study law at Harvard Law
School, where she took part in demonstrations calling for the enrollment and
hiring of more minority students and professors. She was awarded her J.D. in
1988.
Michelle Obama: First Lady and Fashion Icon
Marriage to Barack
Obama
Michelle and Barack
married at Trinity United Church of Christ on October 3, 1992. They met in
1989, at Michelle's first job as a lawyer at the Chicago firm Sidley Austin.
Her future husband, Barack, was a summer intern to whom Michelle was assigned
as an adviser.
Initially, Michelle
refused to date Barack, believing that their work relationship would make the
romance improper. She eventually relented, however, and the couple soon fell in
love. After two years of dating, Barack proposed.
Career in Lawyer and
Public Service
After graduating law
school in 1988, Michelle worked as an associate in the Chicago branch of the
firm Sidley Austin in the area of marketing and intellectual property.
In 1991, she left
corporate law to pursue a career in public service, working as an assistant to
Mayor Richard Daley and then as the assistant commissioner of planning and
development for the City of Chicago.
In 1993, Michelle
became executive director for the Chicago office of Public Allies, a nonprofit
leadership-training program that helped young adults develop skills for future
careers in the public sector.
In 1996, Michelle
joined the University of Chicago as associate dean of student services,
developing the school’s first community-service program. Beginning in 2002, she
worked for the University of Chicago Hospitals, as executive director of
community relations and external affairs.
In May 2005, Michelle
was appointed vice president for community and external affairs at the
University of Chicago Medical Center, where she continued to work part-time
until shortly before her husband's inauguration as president. She also served
as a board member for the prestigious Chicago Council on Global Affairs.
Campaigning for
President Obama
Michelle first caught
the eye of a national audience while at her husband's side when he delivered a
high-profile speech at the Democratic National Convention in 2004. Barack was
elected as U.S. Senator from Illinois that November.
In 2007, Michelle
scaled back her own professional work to attend to family and campaign
obligations during Barack's run for the Democratic presidential nomination.
When they were out on the trail, they would leave their daughters with their
grandmother Marian, Michelle's mother.
Barack eventually won
the nomination and was elected the 44th President of the United States. He was
inaugurated on January 20, 2009.
When her husband
sought reelection in 2012, facing a challenging race against Republican
presidential nominee Mitt Romney, Michelle diligently campaigned on his behalf.
She traveled the country, giving talks and making public appearances.
On November 6, 2012,
Barack was re-elected for a second term as U.S. president. After Mitt Romney
conceded defeat, Michelle accompanied her husband with their two daughters,
Malia and Sasha, onto the stage at McCormick Place in Chicago, where President
Obama delivered his victory speech.
Michelle Obama's Most
Notable Speeches
Throughout her career,
Michelle has given several powerful speeches. A few of the most notable
include:
2012 Democratic
National Convention, September 4, 2017
In September 2012,
Michelle delivered a noteworthy speech at the Democratic National Convention.
"Every day, the people I meet inspire me, every day they make me proud,
every day they remind me how blessed we are to live in the greatest nation on
earth," she said. "Serving as your first lady is an honor and a
privilege."
She went on to praise
the Latino community for supporting President Obama and stated that her
husband—"the same man [she] fell in love with all those years
ago"—understands the American Dream, as well as the everyday struggles of
American families, and cares deeply about making a difference in people's
lives. Michelle won both public and critical praise for her narrative, called a
"shining moment" by The Washington Post.
2016 Democratic
National Convention, July 25, 2016
In July 2016, Michelle
campaigned in support of former first lady, senator, and secretary of state
Hillary Clinton, who became the official Democratic nominee for the American
presidency and the first woman in the U.S. to win a major political party's presidential
nomination. On the first night of the Democratic National Convention, Michelle
spoke in support of Clinton, who had previously run against Barack during the
2008 primaries, and her vision of a progressive America.
"...I wake up
every morning in a house that was built by slaves, and I watch my daughters,
two beautiful, intelligent, black young women, playing with their dogs on the
White House lawn," she said. "And because of Hillary Clinton, my
daughters, and all our sons and daughters, now take for granted that a woman
can be president of the United States."
Michelle continued to
campaign for Clinton, speaking out forcefully against the campaign of
Republican candidate Donald Trump, who went on to win the presidential
election.
Final Speech as First
Lady, January 13, 2017
On January 13, 2017,
Michelle made her final speech as first lady at the White House, saying
"being your first lady has been the greatest honor of my life and I hope
I've made you proud."
In an emotional
moment, she addressed young Americans: ”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 determined. Be hopeful. Be empowered. Empower
yourself with a good education. Then get out there and use that education to
build a country worthy of your boundless promise. Lead by example with hope;
never fear."
Obama Foundation
Summit, November 18-19, 2018
During a conversation
with poet Elizabeth Alexander at the Obama Foundation's inaugural youth
leadership summit in Chicago, in November 2018, the former First Lady spoke
about the problems with impulsively firing off thoughts on social media.
"When you have a
voice, you can't just use it any kind of way, you know?" she said.
"You don't just say what's on your mind. You don't tweet every thought.
Most of your first initial thoughts are not worthy of the light of day."
It was believed to be a rebuke of President Trump, a notorious Twitter devotee,
though Michelle clarified that she was "talking about all of us."
Michelle also
addressed the topic of protecting women from sexual harassment, a hot-button
issue stemming from recent accusations made against Hollywood producer Harvey
Weinstein and others in position of power.
"When we think
about women in particular we ask them to speak up. We ask them to speak their
mind. We ask them to just say no, to speak out against sexual harassment,"
Michelle said. "But if we don't teach our young girls to speak at an early
age, that doesn't just happen. It takes practice to have a voice. You have to
use it again, and again, and again before you can say 'no.' Or 'stop.' 'Don't
touch me.'"
Briefly summarize the
audiobook 
Michelle Obama tells about her childhood, she was born in Southern Chicago, and she lived with her father Fraiser Robison and her mother. She also had a brother, Craig who is two years older than her. She described him as optimistic when he was a child. She also told that when she was a child she lived in Robbie s’ house and she didn’t used to interact with other kids. When she got into second grade there was a teacher who didn’t know how to teach and she and the other 20 students, got transferred into an advanced class. She was a very good student. Her brother became more anxious as he grew up, he was afraid of the fire. Then one of her classmates died in a fire incident, with his 3 brothers and sisters. Only his parents survived. She faced a lot of discrimination since she was a kid, but she didn’t understand why. When she got in high school, her college advisor told her that she wasn’t Princeton material. Her brother was a good baseball player and he was admitted to Princeton. After that she decided to find another person to be her college counselor, and she was admitted to Princeton. She decided to study a major in Sociology, she met new friends, and had new experiences, and also faced a lot of racism because most of the students were white. Four years later, she attended Harvard s’ Law School and three years later, she worked in an office as a lawyer in Chicago, and there is the moment she met Barack Obama, he was in his first year at Harvard Law School and he was also African American. They became friends and then started to have feelings towards one another. The author said that the difference that had Barack with other guys that she had dated is that Barack read a newspaper each day and he thinks about the people, not only about himself. Meanwhile, Michelle s’ father was suffering from multiple sclerosis and he was found unconscious. He was taken from the hospital. Next her father died of a heart attack. She, her brother, and her mother were devastated. Barack and Michelle had two years of distance relationship and when Barack Obama came back, he decided to take her to a restaurant and profuse her marriage. She accepted. Suddenly, Barack s mother died from ovarian cancer. Barack felt sad but that didn’t stop him from being a politician. He became active in politics since they moved to Chicago. They also wanted a family, but they failed at the first try. Michelle had a miscarriage, and after that they decided to go to a doctor. In July 4th, 1998 Malia Obama was born and three years later on June 10th, 2001 Natasha (Sasha) Obama was born. Barack won the U.S Senate and later asked Malia if she wanted that her dad can become president. She said yes and Barack started to form a campaign to aspire for president. He won and later, the Obamas moved into the White House. Malia and Sasha had to change schools and after winter break they were enrolled at Sidney Friends School, the same school that Chelsea attended during his father's stance in the White House. Malia was 10 years old and Sasha seven. Malia was enrolled in dancing, acting, soccer, and tennis while Natasha was in swimming, gymnastics and dance. They were happy with the new school and made new friends. At one time, when she delivered a speech when she was the First Lady, she was accused of being angry all the time so she decided to contract a speechwriter and express her real feelings. The president decided to have a second them in 2012. He won again. In that time Sandy Hook School shooting happened, he decided to regulate gun laws and to provide kids a more healthy meal to reduce the obesity of the United States. In the following year Hadiya Pennington, a 15-year-old girl died in a shooting incident trying to regulate gun laws. Malala met Michelle and told her story. Then in 2014 the Orlando shooting. In 2016 Hilary Clinton was aspiring for president and Michelle decided to support her, and was against Trump because she thought that he was a misogynist and he was going to expose the minorities. Next, Trump won the presidency and The Obamas decided to move to Washington so Sasha could finish her studies and Malia was traveling before returning and decided to attend Harvard University. At the end, Michelle talked of how her experiences changed her as a person and she also said that she was proud of the women her daughters had become
Describe the
character/person who changed the most from the beginning to the end of the
book. Explain the change and what caused it.
Michelle Obama, before
she was shy and interacted only with her dolls, but now she needs the interaction
of other people and became confident. What caused the change was the
discrimination that she received from a white girl.
Describe a minor
character/person in the book who had major importance. Explain
Robbie because she was
the piano teacher of Michelle and she lived in her house since she was a little
kid
Describe one major
external conflict and one major internal conflict found in this book
The mayor external
conflict is the discrimination that Michelle faced because she is an African
American woman and also has a strong character and one mayor internal conflict
is the insecurities of Michelle.
Above you rated this audiobook.
Explain the detail why you gave the audiobook that score
I rated it a nine because I really the fact
that Michelle Obama told her story herself, also her voice sounded clear and
confident. Also because the story wasn’t told in order. But despite that I
liked Michelle Obama autobiography a lot, because she talked about the
difficulties she had faced and the discrimination she suffered and how she
became the First Afro-American Lady.
If this book had gone
one more chapter, what would have happened? Explain
The author will count
her life after the White House and will talk about Malia s life at University
and Natasha s’ prom and graduation.
Choose five (5) of the
following sentence starters and write a brief reflection for each noticed ...
I wonder if Barack
continued being a politician
I was reminded of my own experiences in life
I think Malia is a
strong person
I'm surprised that
Trump won the 2016 elections
I'd like to know what is the work of Michelle Obama
Unknown words
Rattled: to give out
or cause a rapid succession of short, sharp sounds, as in consequence of
agitation and repeated concussions:
The windows rattled in
their frames.
Ambushed: an act or
instance of lying concealed to attack by surprise:
The highwaymen waited
in ambush near the road.
Bibliography
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/
https://www.biography.com/us-first-lady/michelle-obama
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