A Letter of Thanks to Michelle Obama

by Amber Wright

Dear Mrs. Obama,

We have never met, but I feel like I know you. After all, I see your face every day on my vision board that's pinned up at my desk at work. The picture I cut out of you is strategically placed in the center of my board, for you represent the heart of all that I aspire to be.


When I see you, it makes me feel the way I did the night your husband won the election in 2008. I was proud beyond measure of him and you. I raced home from class (I was in graduate school), so as not to miss the profundity of that historic moment. That night, as I sat and watched with my husband, I was brought to tears from the overwhelming sense of pride I felt. I was proud of what you both stood for and represented. And today, nearly six years later, I am still so very proud.
I remember watching a rousing speech you gave on the first night of the 2012 Democratic National Convention. My then two-year-old daughter played in my lap as I listened intently to what you had to say. That sense of pride washed over me yet again in that moment, as I talked to her about who you were to me. She won’t remember that day, but I always will. To know that she was born during the era of Barack and Michelle Obama is a thought that brings me joy and fills me with hope for her future.

There are myriad of things I can say about you. About how beautiful you are. How poised, graceful, and elegant you always seem to be. About how intelligent you are. What a great role model you are for me, my daughter, my friends, and so many other women I know. You embody all that I endeavor to be as a loving woman, wife and mother, striving to do all she can to give those around her, her very best self.

To say you are an inspiration just isn't enough to describe what you mean to me. So before I spend the rest of this letter rambling on about all of the wonder that is you, I simply want to say...thank you.

Thank you for not being afraid to be who you are and who you were meant to be.

Thank you for modernizing the elusive Jackie O archetype of what a First Lady should be.

Thank you for showing the world how excellent it is to be a Black woman. For challenging and shattering the stereotypes people have about us.

Thank you for modeling what a good wife and mother that loves, cares for, and protects her family looks like.

Thank for always displaying such effortless beauty and style.

Thank you for serving our military families and working hard to get our country, especially our children, healthy and active.

Thank you for sharing your husband with the world and for being a source of strength and comfort for him.

Thank you for the sacrifices I'm sure you've made that brought you to this very moment. They have not been in vain.

Thank you for being exactly what I've always thought Clair Huxtable would be, if she were a real person.

Thank for you mentoring me from afar and setting such a high example of all that I can achieve with hard work and perseverance.
Thank for being fun, approachable, and charming.

Thank you for being an example for ALL women, from all walks of life.

Thank you, Mrs. Obama. Thank you for being you!

Your legacy shall be one we can all share in for so many years to come.

Sincerely,

Amber L. Wright, M.A.

Photo credit: Getty

Amber L. Wright, M.A.  is an adjunct professor, writer, communication coach and creator of TalktoAmber.com. Her personal mission is to teach you how to hear and be heard in every area of your life - from the boardroom to the bedroom. Wright’s areas of interest and expertise are in communication, relationships, marriage and popular culture.