Summer is ending, school is starting back and former First LadyMichelle Obamais reflecting on the value of her own education — and what it means that tens of millions of girls around the world still aren’t getting one.
To mark the International Day of Charity on Thursday, Obama, 55,shared a sweet throwback photo on Instagramfrom her own early school days — complete with bangs and a toothy grin — and encouraged her followers to do the same.
But she also urged them to go further: “It’s so easy for us to take our education for granted, especially here in the United States,” she wrote along with the photo. “Right now, more than 98 million adolescent girls around the world are not in school.”
“I learned a lot in school—how to do my multiplication tables and structure a paragraph, yes, but also how to push myself, be a good friend, and dust myself off after a failure,” Mrs. Obama, who grew up in Chicago, wrote on Instagram.
Courtesy Michelle Obama
Michelle Obama visiting the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Secondary School in London in 2009.Dominic Lipinski/WPA Pool/Getty Images
Michelle Obama (center) with a group of students.Courtesy Obama Foundation
She added, “I believe every girl on the planet deserves the same kind of opportunities that I’ve had …. Girls who go to school have healthier children, higher salaries, lower poverty rates, and they can even help boost their entire nation’s economy.”
“The future of our world is only as bright as our girls,” she wrote.
Celebrities such asVictoria Beckham,Jessica Biel,Jennifer Garner,Elle King,Natalie PortmanandKerry Washingtonsoon joined in. (Biel’s ever-supportive husband,Justin Timberlake, commented on her post with a go-get-’em string of emoji.)
Since leaving the White House in early 2017, Mrs. Obama has continued to focus onthe issues she championedwhile she was first lady, including healthy living and educational access.
She also embarked on ablockbuster international book tourin promotion of her bestselling memoir,Becoming, published last fall.
Ina Mother’s Day essay for PEOPLEthis spring, she looked back the support she received from her own mom,Marian Robinson, and looked forward to raising the next generation of women.
source: people.com
