Becoming

One of Michelle’s biggest initiatives as the First Lady of the United States is to start a White House garden where children can learn to grow and appreciate healthy foods. At first, Michelle receives pushback against planting the garden, because it will mean disrupting the status quo of the White House grounds. However, Michelle and her team feel strongly about the project and push forward. Michelle confesses that she doesn’t know what, if anything, will come from the garden, but she hopes that with some hard work and a little faith, “something half-decent would push up through the dirt” (322). Michelle’s efforts with the garden symbolize the larger impact she and Barack are trying to make on the country. None of their efforts guarantee results, and it often seems as though the change they’re striving for is impossible to reach.

However, Michelle learns that, like watching seeds grow into plants, “progress and change happen slowly” (369). Many years can pass without knowing if their efforts have been in vain, but Michelle takes hope in the fact that, “We were planting seeds of change, the fruit of which we might never see. We had to be patient” (369). As Barack and Michelle leave the White House, Michelle takes stock of everything they have accomplished.