Michelle Obama is going down memory lane.
In anticipation of her memoir, Becoming (out Nov. 13), the former First Lady has been sharing photos of her childhood. On Tuesday, she began by sharing rarely-seen photos of herself as a child with her parents in Chicago.
She later shared a photo of herself as a teen at Princeton University.
“This is me at Princeton in the early 1980s. I know that being a first-generation college student can be scary, because it was scary for me,” she wrote. “I was black and from a working-class neighborhood in Chicago, while Princeton’s student body was generally white and well-to-do.”
Adding, “I’d never stood out in a crowd or a classroom because of the color of my skin before. But I found close friends and a mentor who gave me the confidence to be myself.”
Obama ended her caption with some words of encouragement for 2018 grads.
“Going to college is hard work, but every day I meet people whose lives have been profoundly changed by education, just as mine was,” she wrote. “My advice to students is to be brave and stay with it. Congratulations to the Class of 2018! #ReachHigher”
Earlier this month, Mrs. Obama hosted her annual College Signing Day celebration in Philadelphia for young people pursuing higher education. The star-studded event at Temple University included appearances by Ciara, Janelle Monae, Zendaya, Kelly Rowland, and more.
“We love you so much. We have such high hopes for you,” Obama told the nearly 8000 students in attendance. “I know you have everything it takes to succeed.”
Obama launched the Reach Higher initiative in 2014 while Barack Obama, the nation’s first Black president, was in office.
In addition to giving us all kinds of nostalgic feels, we couldn’t help but notice the beautiful cornrows Obama donned in the throwback picture. It’s hard to make out the exact style she’s wearing, but it does seem to be very similar in kind to Fulani braids — one of our favorite protective styles. While the former First Lady is now known for her bouncy pressed tresses (outside of the one time we spotted her with her natural curls) we love seeing her in a style that we too have worn on so many occasions.
