What is a legend? A warrior? An activist? Throughout history, a legend has been a man who was strong, in both their muscle and their ideas. But times are changing. And with, that, our culture, too. We owe many of the tremendous strides America, and the word has made, in women’s rights, environmental protection, children’s health, racial justice, and so many more to Michelle Obama. Michelle Obama is changing what we think of when we hear words; influencer, doyen, bellwether. No longer do our minds jump to the latest president; no. Now, we are more likely to jump to the president’s wife. Well, at least some of the presidents’ wives.
Obama’s message reaches far from the White House or her office. It spreads, trickles-scratch that- rushes forth to all around the country, and the world. Her hope, her plans, her love, and her passion reach all those who need a light in their life; who need a light to follow.
And that light just became a lot brighter for forty-two GALA students, eight GALA teachers, and the residents of the lucky ten-city book tour of Michelle Obama’s new memoir, Becoming.
What follows is a recollection of GALA becoming:
From the moment we stepped into the Forum, scratch that, the bus, where girls took it upon themselves to blast Hamilton and Cardi B and made our way to our seats to a blasted playlist of the type of song you would expect at a Michelle Obama book tour-feminist themed, empowering, and loud. Very loud, in words, message, and of course, volume.
Right off the bat, it was clear that the night would be full of uplifting spirits, pursuing and renewing hope, and creating a lifetime’s worth of memories and Instagram posts.
The screams were apparent from the beginning, but GALA’s goddesses took over the loud department when the first person to enter the stage, and speak, was GALA’s very own Ms. Raggozino, who spoke of empowering young girls and being physically fit, lining up with Michelle Obama’s 8-year, and counting, goal.
And who should follow in Ms. Raggozino’s footsteps but Jesse Tyler Ferguson who spoke of becoming an advocate; a girl scout who spoke of becoming interested in social justice; an English teacher who spoke of becoming an influencer who educated all no matter their background or status. The overall theme that these changers spoke to was that you can never stop; whether that be changing, caring, loving, helping, becoming. It never ends.
As the night went on, the momentum continued to build, with anecdotes and testimonials, regarding everything from hiding the largeness of the situation from her daughters, to personal struggles, from marital counseling to infertility, Michelle Obama achieved the ultimate feat, making her audience weep, laugh, and smile from ear-to-ear, and of course be the recipient to an ongoing standing-ovation after wails of defiance when Obama announced it was time to end; only to give in to a lightning round with Ross, where we learned that the eight-year resident of the Oval Office’s favorite alcoholic beverage is vodka.
No matter the subject, Michelle Obama managed to speak to each and every one of the audience members in the packed Forum, through not only her speech, but her voice, wit, open-heartedness, tell all, and the overall intimacy of the event that touched hearts. Michelle Obama truly is that special, so unique, so becometh, so herself.
Because as Tracee Ellis Ross so beautifully said in regards to the First Lady, “The White House didn’t make her who she is; she is who she is,” and this couldn’t be any more true for the girls at Girls Academic Leadership Academy. GALA is shaping who we are becoming, but we are who we are becoming.
Maya Henry, 2024- GALA News Writer
Here is what some of the Gala audience members took away from this phenomenal talk:
Ava McQueen, 2024, GALA News Writer-
There is no word to describe the feeling I have for Michelle Obama. Yes, it’s love, it’s respect, it’s admiration- all of those and everything in between- but it’s also shock. Simply being stunned. How has this young girl who came from a small family and Barbies have become the gorgeous, amazing, inspiring person she is today? What is her secret, and how could I find it?
After her talking at the forum when we saw here, I began to grasp the subject of it, and it was only two words because only two words can capture everything she is; Michelle Obama. M for masterful, i for inspirational, and so on, everything she is and everything in between. And even though many may think she’s only famous because the b in Obama stands for Barack- no, no way is she famous just because of her marriage. She would have the amazing figure she is today without that B. Not only did seeing her reach deep into my heart and give it a push into the right direction, seeing Michelle Obama has changed my life. She spoke about everything from parenting to street fights, and it was engaging the whole time. Michelle Obama is what every girl aspires and hopes to become one day, and seeing her speak let me know that every girl, including herself, was once a little girl who always dreamed of being a princess. And Michelle Obama became the closest thing to a princess you can be without being a princess. This experience changed my life, and I cannot describe how largely impacting is was or I would be stealing this whole article.
Quincy Rane, 2024, GALA News Writer-
After writing a long thought out application I was so incredibly thrilled to be seeing Michelle Obama speak live. I never thought that I would get a chance as big as this. It didn’t even seem real until Michelle Obama walked out onto the stage herself. Tracee Ellis Ross and Michelle Obama bounce off of each other very well, and it just seems like friends talking to each other.
The most surprising part of the evening was when one of our physical education teachers appeared on stage. The other teachers that went knew but had left out that little part of the evening. Re watching the clip I had filmed, I began laughing at our GALA students. Once we heard a voice we recognized, and it kicked in that it was our own teacher, Ms. Ragozzino we all started screaming hysterically. The other teachers laughed at how excited we were, and then eventually, we calmed down.
It was very interesting learning about Michelle Obama’s life. Her husband, her kids, her parents, her brother, no matter what it was always good to hear. She talked about how she made sure that her kids had lives of normalcy so that if there were security guards on the roofs of buildings, she would tell her kids it was normal or that they weren’t for them. She talked about her family when she was younger. She discussed how good of a person her father was, and how her mother pushed her to be the woman she is today.
This was probably one of the best opportunities I will get in my life, and I am so grateful.
Makena Ramirez, 2024- GALA News Writer-
Inspiration. That was the one of the many things I felt flowing through everything that night. From the Forum, to that glorious stage, to the audience, the overpowering energy just screamed inspiration. This energy fueled the whole event and gave the audience the joyful reassuring feeling that they can do anything that they put their heart and mind to. Even before we reached our destination, I was excited and eager to receive and be a part of this group of people, united under the eloquent words of Michelle Obama.
The night was kicked was initially kicked off at school, surprisingly! Everyone met up with friends and chatted about how excited they were to see this once in a lifetime performance. And this cannot be denied! This exhilaration was further shown in the Broadcast segment in which everyone jumped up and down and screamed as loud as they could. The bus was mostly the same, except for the addition of very tasteful music that could be heard blasting from phones from every angle.
The main event was kicked off with speakers from all over L.A, including GALA’s own Ms. Ragozzino! After that, the host, Tracee Ellis Ross walked out on stage. She then proceeded to introduce the wonderful past first lady, Michelle Obama.
The room was quiet, the echoes of silence and people intently listening seep all over the room, except for when she made a remark about women’s’ rights, equality, or even about women and our role in politics. Michelle Obama had many knowledgeable and inspiring things to say. Her and Ross, in my opinion, were a magnificent combo. After they had fun going back and forth with each other and sharing funny stories or memories one of my favorite things were said. One of my favorite pieces of advice that I took away from her speech was,”We as women need to talk to each other more.” And our first lady really is right. We need to be more united and trust each other to accomplish our goals, hopes, and dreams. Many other things were said that night, but as anyone can imagine, it’s hard to take in that speech and take notes.
My overall takeaway from this wonderful exploit was that women are one united force and can do anything that we put our minds to. Don’t let anyone push you down or stop you from achieving your dreams because everyone has their own goal and we need to work hard to make our dreams come true. And as the night was ending everyone got back onto the bus, I walked away standing a little bit taller, feeling a little bit prouder, and overall, truly inspired.
Thank you, Michelle Obama and GALA both, for this amazing gift of tickets to this inspiring event that has influenced us all to keep becoming and becoming.
Maya Henry, 2024, Quincy Rane, 2024, Ava McQueen, 2024, & Makena Ramirez, 2024- GALA News Writers
Photo Credit: Mashable
A reverberation of GALA student voices 