If Michelle Obama can in Becoming?

So can I !

If my Mum is doing great and can ?

Then I have the gene and can as well!!

This book came in handy at the right time after I had longed to be gifted the book or find a way to purchase the book but couldn’t and at a point in a week I got some shocking revelations about somethings done by a group of fellas I considered friends.

I was literally on the verge of giving in to some kind of pressure, making adjustments that I know I would have regretted later .

Luckily I met one of my inner circle of friends and I was baring out my unspoken words, my hidden feelings and ofcourse my frustrations at the revelation and she was as well shocked and said there’s  no way peeps won’t say stuff .

She went further to say that’s what Michelle mentioned in her book that she read- which I got to read for myself that unnice things were said about her including calling her Ape by a fellow woman who internet made me to know that she’s been arrested abi jailed for money issues.

You know what they say about Karma?

Well at that point, I didn’t know she was referring to this book neither could I guess in my once arranged, calculated and ambitious life that she was referring to Michelle Obama.

I just said, send me a copy of the book and I could flip through and see what comes out of it for me.

And that’s how I got Becoming and my joy knew no bound. It was all I needed to place my life back on track and be able to face my exams with no iota of worry or resentment towards anyone.

I read the book like I was eating my favourite meal with no desire of it finishing fast.  All I wanted was to absorb, relate and understand every word like my subsequent existence depended on it.

It’s a book, I will definitely recommend to any lady out there who wants to live a meaningful life amongst other books I have read.

It gave meaning and hope that I, Chimnaza can sail through anything sent my way and I am writing this to give hope to someone out there who will ever come across this post that together we can achieve anything.

Becoming

It’s a 24 chaptered Memoir that gave me a different insight on who Michelle Obama is. Created a different view about her for she wrote out herself in it and made folks like myself see her not just as the American one time first lady she was but Mrs. Michelle Obama she is.

She related to every aspect of a woman from a little piggy tailed hair girl, to an ambitious girl to a focused lawyer to a wife , a mother and the first lady.

For every stage of her life due to her being so detailed to the core in the book, I let my imagination run it’s course creating an image of what she was describing and yes I picked up alot of new vocabularies while I read through and it reminded me of my younger self that loved to learn new vocabularies daily which I picked up as I was and can say still a voracious reader.

Reading novels, books was one way I got myself hidden in this noisy world, a way of life that kept me out of trouble and kept me abreast of things. It equally helped in forming my life the way it is right now!

No wonder Malcolm X said, if you want to hide something from a black put it in a book, though I feel it’s derogatory but there could be sense there afterall for I found some hidden treasures in books I read.

My lessons from Becoming

She changed my perception about words, grammar and vocabulary like I already said.

This was when one of the girls asked her why she spoke like a white girl while being a black and she explained that her parents had drilled them on the importance of using proper diction, finishing up their words and went ahead to get them a dictionary plus full encyclopedia Britannia set reminding me of one big light brown coloured dictionary that used to lie somewhere in family library at home which I enjoyed consulting at some point in my life.

The idea was to transcend and get themselves further, she- Michelle said and sure I think it did .

Thinking about it, imagine being in a working environment, take for example our health sector which I am hoping to make an impact in and one is trying to say something important in a room filled with intellectuals using  words like “goin or wanna”. One would probably look lame and dumb, so unprofessional.

Reminds me that as of when I was writing this post, one of the doctors I know asked me ” Chimnaza, which is more appropriate to say, I wanna do or I wantch ya to do” .

I almost wanted to be savagery in my reply but quietly said, I wantch ya or I wanna is more like a street language. It should be used only among peers but more appropriate to say I want to…

For Pete sake we are doctors and should atleast be distinct in our choice of words, grammar and vocabulary not like I was being judgemental but for the fact I admire her for her young accomplishments, she should atleast not create doubt in my head about somethings.

If Michelle was rebellious and hadn’t listened to her parents, picked up those Street language and words, who knows it probably would have been a disaster.

I pinched myself to reality and decided to make conscious effort not to use short hands, street language anymore even while chatting with buddies.

Finish up words and improve in areas where necessary though I used to back up my grammer inadequacies with English isn’t my first language which ofcourse I got pained when I was asked to defend my proficiency in English by sitting for IELTS when I wanted to apply for a short course program after my beautiful great country being colonised at some point by British.

Secondly,  I figured out that once she attained her set goals she set another which for me made alot of sense . I would normally bask in the euphoria of having met my goals and most times not set new ones but after this, I am setting a new goal once I get to this last 5 year goal I had set for myself in 2014.

A higher goal and working better than before at getting there, never settling for less. I felt I could see my life pattern in her, the way she was and is still ambitious but the difference being she’s in legal sector and my interest lies in health sector.

The third isn’t entirely a lesson but something I could relate to, her upbringing!  Her family setting made it more easy to say if she can then I can. It’s not a nonsense or loose family setting but a disciplined setting that gave you all needed to be better out there. Gave you room to make your decisions while believing you wouldn’t make a wrong decision.

I was and will always be grateful for my family! They haven’t stopped believing and pushing each and every one of us further.

Becoming

Fourth was how she made it a conscious effort to mix along with cool heads. Her clique of friends from day one till her adult life are friend goals.

Age wasn’t and still isn’t a limit in her clique of friends for some were either older or younger than her with most older, no wonder they gave her heads up each time better job opportunities came up.

It wasn’t a case of I don’t want my friends to be better than me or what if she outshines me or some unhealthy competition, it was a scenario of friends having each others back no matter where they were at every point in their life.

Such friends are rare to come by especially with what I had to go through in the hands of some so called friends but I believe they- true friends exist and glad that I still know some true heads in my small circle.

I can’t wait till when we all graduate into the real world and begin to look out for each other in any area including job opportunities.  I envisage vacations with my circle of friends once in a while and so expectant of it.

Fifth was how she juggled with being a mother and a career woman which is something most working class women face daily. This is a part I am silently wry of whenever topics relating to it comes up.

I don’t want to bring up kids that would be neglected because of work neither would I want my career to suffer adversely because of my cute babies, I just want a balance in the two.

I have at some point joked with my mum about sending them(my wonderful cuties)to her or MIL (which equally reminds me, I am definitely not part of those ladies that want their MIL dead. Mba!

Far from it, Mama you need to be alive and come for omugwo, I need you, my little cuties will need you and I am equally sure you will need us all, it’s going to be fun though we’ve not met) .

When they come forth and I know it is a joke I might have to be serious about it someday sooner or later no matter how perfectly laid up plans I might have. I want to be there every second of their life while they grow up but how?

It literally caused rift between a friend and I but reflecting back now on it, I can only laugh at how I thought it would be possible to shove my reckless opinion down someone’s throat and expect it to be welcomed with open arms.

Reading Becoming and reflecting on how my mum has been doing it has made me think that I can.

If MY Mum and Michelle did and still performed excellently well at both mother and career women duties then I can!

Just a little more time is all I need (p.s: hoping my parents see this post alittle late, so that I don’t get called for family meeting).

Sixth, not like I am a presiding judge over people’s life but I will admit, I must have at some point judged Michelle wrongly even though she doesn’t know I exist neither have I met her before.

How funny it is for us to be quick at judging people from afar till we get to see, read their own side of story or wear their shoes.

Now, I feel like for unexplainable reason I owe her some form of apology for what I don’t even know or can fathom just like some jackass owe me some apologies.

She’s definitely among the women who have laid their prints on earth that I would want to meet.

So if anyone knows how I can meet Michelle LaVaughn Obama (nee Robinson) let me know, I am up for it.

I love the ” don’t pick your nose part” which Obama himself told his girls while prepping them for first day at Sidwell Friends. It was hilarious for me and same time surreal for I get appalled when people pick their nose comfortably in public.

Then with no sense of decency greet someone, shake someone with those dirty hands.

Wow!

Hold up, must we all share from the fruit of your nose and lack of conscience?

Please if you are guilty of this kindly desist,  it’s wrong and unfair in all form to humanity.

Seventh, was ofcourse how supportive she was of her husband’s campaign that she literally plunged herself into it earning her some unpleasant remarks from the media.

My friend who gave me the book, said nah she’s not sure if she’s up for fame and I absent mindlessly said not like I have a problem with it and up until I read the memoir that I understood her own point.

So Amira if you are reading this, just know you can handle fame et popularity if it comes, I have seen you do well in most things, so I know you can.

Michelle did what some people may not have done, allowing her arranged, properly balanced up private life to be invaded because she fell in love with her man and not just that, she stood by him through it all with no major scandal of any sort.

These days I hear and cringe when ladies just want already made men not like I don’t understand the cool reasons they give but errm have you thought about the joy that comes with building and supporting your man in his dreams which ofcourse he should support yours.

If Michelle had bulked out and said MBA Obama you are not done with law school while she was done and was even working, so errm no we wouldn’t date when he asked her out, just maybe things would not have turned out as it did.

Let’s support each other- some Igbo adage says “igwebuike” and yes it is actually.

Yea, It was equally funny when I read from the memoir about a sitting U.S congressman who had made fun of her butt. But man, seriously did he have to go that far even if he was dumb about human anatomy and genetics.

Well, I could relate for not once or twice I have gotten such remarks. Initially I would pick offence but not anymore, though from time to time I become savagery to people that do that especially if we are in no way close to get such jokes from them.

If you can’t create a living human, you have no right to make fun of any part of another person’s body. It can be quite annoying and Depressing too, what if they joke about some parts of yours in such manner too, would you be happy?

I, sometimes end such jokes with he who lives in glass house shouldn’t throw stones for I am always certain I know what to say to such people but just don’t want to.

I have a very Dear uncle that uses his height to crack jokes. The first time I heard it from him was in one of his sermon interludes on pulpit.

I was petrified but got to know later, it’s his own defense mechanism so it’s like taking the weapon you would have used against him, so you can’t get him feeling bad with his height anymore.

Body shaming of any sort isn’t right but can people stop that? Not sure….

Having gone through the memoir,  I had asked and asking again if someone might be interested in starting a book club with me, where we pick our brains on books we’ve read. Got good responses but if anyone knows of book clubs they can add me to, or how a book club is run kindly let me know.

Becoming is a thrill and I implore people to read.

Yes I had fun reading it.

Till my next post stay happy and impactful!!

Xoxo!!!