And when he was up in the sky, Charles sometimes looked down to see black folks out in thecotton fields not far from here -- the same fields where decades before, their ancestors as slaves.And he knew that he was taking to the skies for them -- to give them and their children somethingmore to hope for, something to aspire to.

　　And in so many ways, that never-failing miracle -- the constant work to rise above the bumps inour path to greater freedom for our brothers and sisters -- that has always been the story ofAfrican Americans here at Tuskegee. (Applause.)

　　Just think about the arc of this university’s history. Back in the late 1800s, the school needed anew dormitory, but there was no money to pay for it. So Booker T. Washington pawned hispocket watch to buy a kiln, and students used their bare hands to make bricks to build that dorm -- and a few other buildings along the way. (Applause.)

　　A few years later, when George Washington Carver first came here for his research, there was nolaboratory. So he dug through trash piles and collected old bottles, and tea cups, and fruit jars touse in his first experiments.

　　Generation after generation, students here have shown that same grit, that same resilience to soarpast obstacles and outrages -- past the threat of countryside lynchings; past the humiliation of JimCrow; past the turmoil of the Civil Rights era. And then they went on to become scientists,engineers, nurses and teachers in communities all across the country -- and continued to lift othersup along the way. (Applause.)

　　And while the history of this campus isn’t perfect, the defining story of Tuskegee is the story ofrising hopes and fortunes for all African Americans.

　　And now, graduates, it’s your turn to take up that cause. And let me tell you, you should feel soproud of making it to this day. And I hope that you’re excited to get started on that nextchapter. But I also imagine that you might think about all that history, all those heroes who camebefore you -- you might also feel a little pressure, you know -- pressure to live up to the legacy ofthose who came before you; pressure to meet the expectations of others.

　　And believe me, I understand that kind of pressure. (Applause.) I’ve experienced a little bit of itmyself. You see, graduates, I didn’t start out as the fully-formed First Lady who stands before youtoday. No, no, I had my share of bumps along the way.

　　Back when my husband first started campaigning for President, folks had all sorts of questions ofme: What kind of First Lady would I be? What kinds of issues would I take on? Would I be morelike Laura Bush, or Hillary Clinton, or Nancy Reagan? And the truth is, those same questions wouldhave been posed to any candidate’s spouse. That’s just the way the process works. But, aspotentially the first African American First Lady, I was also the focus of another set of questions andspeculations; conversations sometimes rooted in the fears and misperceptions of others. Was Itoo loud, or too angry, or too emasculating? (Applause.) Or was I too soft, too much of a mom,not enough of a career woman?

　　Then there was the first time I was on a magazine cover -- it was a cartoon drawing of me with ahuge afro and machine gun. Now, yeah, it was satire, but if I’m really being honest, it knocked meback a bit. It made me wonder, just how are people seeing me.

　　Or you might remember the on-stage celebratory fist bumpbetween me and my husband after a primary win that wasreferred to as a “terrorist fist jab.” And over the years, folkshave used plenty of interesting words to describe me. One saidI exhibited “a little bit of uppity-ism.“ Another noted that I wasone of my husband’s “cronies of color.” Cable news oncecharmingly referred to me as “Obama’s Baby Mama.”

　　And of course, Barack has endured his fair share of insults andslights. Even today, there are still folks questioning his citizenship.

　　And all of this used to really get to me. Back in those days, I had a lot of sleepless nights, worryingabout what people thought of me, wondering if I might be hurting my husband’s chances ofwinning his election, fearing how my girls would feel if they found out what some people weresaying about their mom.

　　But eventually, I realized that if I wanted to keep my sanity and not let others define me, there wasonly one thing I could do, and that was to have faith in God’s plan for me. (Applause.) I had toignore all of the noise and be true to myself -- and the rest would work itself out. (Applause.)

　　So throughout this journey, I have learned to block everything out and focus on my truth. I hadto answer some basic questions for myself: Who am I? No, really, who am I? What do I careabout?

　　And the answers to those questions have resulted in the woman who stands before you today. (Applause.) A woman who is, first and foremost, a mom. (Applause.) Look, I love our daughtersmore than anything in the world, more than life itself. And while that may not be the first thing thatsome folks want to hear from an Ivy-league educated lawyer, it is truly who I am. (Applause.) Sofor me, being Mom-in-Chief is, and always will be, job number one.

　　Next, I’ve always felt a deep sense of obligation to make the biggest impact possible with thisincredible platform. So I took on issues that were personal to me -- issues like helping families raisehealthier kids, honoring the incredible military families I’d met on the campaign trail, inspiring ouryoung people to value their education and finish college. (Applause.)

　　Now, some folks criticized my choices for not being bold enough. But these were my choices, myissues. And I decided to tackle them in the way that felt most authentic to me -- in a way that wasboth substantive and strategic, but also fun and, hopefully, inspiring.

　　So I immersed myself in the policy details. I worked with Congress on legislation, gave speeches toCEOs, military generals and Hollywood executives. But I also worked to ensure that my effortswould resonate with kids and families -- and that meant doing things in a creative andunconventional way. So, yeah, I planted a garden, and hula-hooped on the White House Lawnwith kids. I did some Mom Dancing on TV. I celebrated military kids with Kermit the Frog. I askedfolks across the country to wear their alma mater’s T-shirts for College Signing Day.

　　And at the end of the day, by staying true to the me I’ve always known, I found that this journeyhas been incredibly freeing. Because no matter what happened, I had the peace of mind ofknowing that all of the chatter, the name calling, the doubting -- all of it was just noise. (Applause.) It did not define me. It didn’t change who I was. And most importantly, it couldn’thold me back. I have learned that as long as I hold fast to my beliefs and values -- and follow myown moral compass -- then the only expectations I need to live up to are my own.

　　So, graduates, that’s what I want for all of you. I want you all to stay true to the most real, mostsincere, most authentic parts of yourselves. I want you to ask those basic questions: Who doyou want to be? What inspires you? How do you want to give back? And then I want you totake a deep breath and trust yourselves to chart your own course and make your mark on theworld.

　　Maybe it feels like you’re supposed to go to law school -- but what you really want to do is to teachlittle kids. Maybe your parents are expecting you to come back home after you graduate -- butyou’re feeling a pull to travel the world. I want you to listen to those thoughts. I want you to actwith both your mind, but also your heart. And no matter what path you choose, I want you tomake sure it’s you choosing it, and not someone else. (Applause.)