Becoming

Its tough reading and completing nonfiction for me. Talk about autobiographies. 😖 Autobiographies are not easy to read through. In my view, it’s like reading through their personal life which is neither exciting nor fun. Some find it interesting but after some 30/40 pages I lose it. Becoming is a bit different from my experience. I don’t know if that is because of gender or working mom or because of her honest voice.

Couple of months back one of my good friends in Columbus generously lent me this book. At that time, I was in the middle of a nail-biting fiction book. So, could not drop it and took my time to complete my current reading list and then picked up “Becoming” few weeks later. It was one of the good books I have read in the last few years. I cursed myself for not starting it earlier. Choked reading some of her experiences, liked her wittiness and got inspired in many instances. I decided to list few of my takeaways since everything is fresh in my mind. This will serve as good memoir/boosting talk when I look back at this post after couple of years. Here goes my magic 10!

1.      We all know bullying is common and sometimes, I feel kids experiencing this bit will help them building their strong personality or can help framing “face anything” type mindset. Michelle Robinson is no exception. At a young age as kid, she stood for herself. Probably that’s what made her become stronger in her later years when people started being nastier!

2.      Like many of us she is heavily influenced by her parents. Coming from a middle-class family and her dad dealing with MS, she understood the importance of education and hard work. Believing in these two make her succeed in many situations and face tough situations when things are not so favorable.

3.      Education pays off! Dream came true when she entered the Sidley and Austin office as Associate Consultant. Throughout her life till that point, she has dreamed of having corporate career and the day she entered the corp world, it was her day!! 🙋

4.      Infertility is taboo in 2019 and it might have been worse in 1997. I was in her shoes couple of years back. Reading through her struggle took me back to my days. And indeed, it is tough embarrassing and weird trying to schedule the days, treatments and what not. All in all, it ends up for a good purpose but it takes courage and strength to pass that difficult phase.

5.      Juggling Working Mom: No matter what type of job moms does, you juggle things at home/work to balance the life. Shopping trips during lunch breaks, working on that email late night or early morning when the lights are turned off in your kids room or having some me time… Sounds like a typical working mom tasks. Having home near to work site, I often take a trip home not to have lunch but complete some things. Sometimes it is laundry, sometimes dishes, sometimes prep for dinner. Whatever it is, those trips help me make more efficient. And occasionally, I do groceries in winter months and leave in my car trunk to save some time over the weekend. Reading Michelle’s juggler duties, it gave me kind of comfort how each one of us balance work/life.  

6.      Malia’s illness in Hawaii: Obama’s have to postpone their trip to Chicago from Haiwaii because Malia is running high fever and not capable to take that flight. As a result, Mr. Obama has to miss voting on a key state bill. He ended up facing lashing from many of his peers but what can you do when your kid is sick. I know priorities change throughout our lives. Especially it's before vs after kids. When my kid is sick, he will be my priority. Job or others comes only next to him. This rule is same for everyone! 👪

7.      Mrs. Robinson : Her mom has been her greatest strength through her life. It is seen till date.  Mrs. Robinson has been a great helping hand. Be it in Chicago or Washington, for a Young Lawyer or working mom or First Lady, she was there always supporting Mrs. Obama. My grandma was always there for my mom so that my mom can focus on her work and take care of the family. And now my mom has done the same. As daughters of these hardworking (no retirement) moms, we are highly indebted to them for life. 

8.      Campaigning – I follow the election process and listen to their comments but never knew the brutal process of campaigning until I read her story. 2.5 years of hard work!! Woww it's indeed a difficult journey for her and a lot of commitment. Kudos to her and her team for having it organized. She made sure to travel home every night to meet the kids at the bed time. It might have been toughest part of that 2.5 year journey. She might have struggled in her brain trying to think if she can catch that flight to reach home at the end of the day but at the same time hiding those emotions and meeting/talking with the people each day. 

9.      First lady -  Empathy plays a major role in many things. Realizing this importance on healthy food came as enlightenment to her after Malia’s health(higher BMI) diagnosis. Her dedication to start white house garden and how that influenced all over the country is amazing. We are living in a world where our plates are filled with meat vs vegetables. Eating more vegetables does not only good for health but also for environment.  

10.   Dress Dress Dress!! It's often she felt low when people started talking about her dress instead what she is doing. As first lady she helped with lot of military families or empowering girls through many continents. But if the focus ends up on her dress instead of work, it hurts and it really hurts. I feel like mentioning one of my experience here. I faced many situations with family/friends lot of times asking about my dress or accessories. I might have felt good and elated, if they asked me what I do to buy my stuff instead judging or inquiring on the type of accessories/dress I wore.