Becoming by Michelle Obama is this Monday’s Must-Read book selection. I was so excited to get to know our first Black first lady of the United States.
“Now I think it’s one of the most useless questions an adult can ask a child—What do you want to be when you grow up? As if growing up is finite. As if at some point you become something and that’s the end.”
Michelle Obama
This quote I felt like was the foundation of the book. I loved the wisdom that is wrapped around it because when I was asked this question growing up it never sat well with me. I wanted to “be” many things and try many things so being asked this question I felt like maybe my thinking was incorrect and that I should only want to “be” one thing in life. This led to me being fearful to try anything for many years because I didn’t want to make the wrong choice. I thought that if I made the wrong choice then I would be deemed a failure. I am so glad that I realized that trying many things and experiencing the many facets of myself is perfectly fine. This could be why librarianship appeals to me, I am not just one thing and I can dabble in many areas of interest. Now the tricky part about our profession is that many times the powers that be want us to dabble in everything without compensation but that’s another post. I appreciated Michelle for reminding us that becoming is infinite in its possibilities and that we should continue to evolve throughout our lives.
This book was great to listen to on Audible, I listened to Michelle’s voice while she told her life story. She brought up so many topics like racism, “white flight”, motherhood, career choices, marriage, fertility, and so much more. I appreciated her transparency and honesty in discussing such difficult topics. The only thing that I wished she did discuss was her journey of being apart of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. I did not agree with Michelle on two things that she discussed but overall I think it was a good read. These two things have been discussed within many Black folks circles so I do not see the need to bring it up here. I appreciate her taking the time out to let us into her world which she did not have to do so for that I am grateful.
If you read the book, what did you think? I look forward to reading your thoughts.
“Do we settle for the world as it is, or do we work for the world as it should be?”
Michelle Obama
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