Posted on 03/23/2014 4:36:08 AM PDT by Liz
In a question and answer session at Stanford Center at Peking University in Beijing, China, First Lady Michelle Obama said that sometimes one needs to do things she's uncomfortable with. She made the comments in response to a question about studying abroad.
"For me, I prefer to -- the relationship -- the commerce relationship between -- and the future. So in this program, I think I cannot only learn about the language, the American cultures, but also I can take some courses on this field. So in this way, I cannot promote myself on this field, but also, what is most important I think is to learn -- to understand -- to make a better understanding on the United States cultureand people.
And I think it’s really important for people, especially young generation, to have some time to go abroad, to live and study there so in this way they can build a deeper understanding with each other," said a graduate student at Peking University.
The first lady responded, "Excellent. And one thing that you pointed out that I think it’s important to consider is not letting fear be your guide. Andthat’s oftentimes what holds many young people back from doing fabulous things.
Let’s take my husband, for example. He has dragged me kicking and screaming into things that I wanted no parts of. (Laughter.) And a lot of it was because of fear -- the fear of making mistakes, the fear of not knowing, the fear of uncertainty, the fear of leaving your comfort zone.
And we’re living in a world where we can no longer afford to let fear keep us apart, because the truth -- what I have learned, coming from the background I come from -- I grew up in a little apartment on the South Side of Chicago. My parents didn’t get a chance to go to college, but they poured everything they had into me. And no one could have envisioned that a kid like me would be sitting here, having given a speech at Peking University as the First Lady of the United States.
But easily, fear could have blocked me at every turn. So I want all of the young people around the world to operate with the freedom that we have all fought for -- the freedom to explore the world, to learn about new cultures, to try hard things, to make mistakes. And I know parents want you to be perfect because we want you to be safe -- (laughter) -- but life is about making mistakes,and maybe saying the wrong thing at the wrong time,and learning that you recover from even some of your worst mistakes, so that that fear doesn’t keep you from being as excellent as you can be.
And that’s what I think study abroad -- it’s that first step of leaving your country, speaking another language, having it come out of your voice, your lips, and having someone here actually understand you. And you think, well, that wasn’t that bad.
So I want you -- first of all, I just want to applaud you all for being that brave, and for being a role model to other young people of what the world needs in you as leaders. So don’t be afraid. Start with your parents.
Michelle Obama is in China with her mother and daughters to talk about education.
She's right about that. I know many people who lead a fear-based lifestyle.
Unfortunately, she doesn't seem to have the ability to go a step further. She seems to lack the understanding that we "walk by faith and not by sight," and that Jesus told us not to worry.
Yeah-—GQ mag rated him nothing but an eloquent hat rack.
No one had to drag her into her lavish lifestyle...paid for by the taxpayers.
Legions of blithering idiots with degrees from similar "institutions of higher learning" have been set loose on the nation, not limited to Mooch & Obozo (apparently), but how about Sheila Jackson Lee, etc. ?
Were I a parent of a college bound child I know a few exorbitantly over-priced institutions that I would see fit to rule out paying tuition.
Jimmie Carter wrote a book entitled, “Why Not The Best?” which apparently was a comedy. Barack and Michelle should write a serious book entitled, “Why Ever Consider Anyone But The Absolute Rock Bottom Worst?”
That is the Chinese students question. English is not the native tongue.
Michelle’s Princeton essay was a harbinger of things to come, and perhaps sheds some light on her troubles with the speech in China:
“Webster’s Dictionary of English offers several key synonyms for “comfort”, some of which are ease, pleasure, and enjoyment. When one speaks of being “comfortable with”someone or something, one often thinks of environments which promote feelings of ease and with which one is familiar, such as being in one’s own home or with one’s family and close friends. More often than not, one finds comfort in things with which one is familiar rather than in unfamiliar things. It is also more likely that one is more attached to to things with which one is familiar than to things with which one is unfamiliar”
I’m guessing that she was not comfortable giving her speech. it was definitely not a familiar thing, but rather a thing that was unfamiliar to which she was not attached — something, perhaps, that Obama dragged her kicking and screaming into doing because he wanted to take her China trip off on his 2014 taxes as an expense.
She is not illiterate.
The confusing quote is a Chinese Peking grad student trying to express herself in a foreign language-English.
That is not Michelle speaking in the first part of the article.
And she will fail. Hillary is stupid and she is stupider than Hillary.
Fear???? Yet no press allowed to accompany h er? She’s an inarticulate woman at best. And that’s the nicest thing I can say in print..
Michelle is not a moron.
The first incomprehnsible quote is from a graduate student at Peking university who is stuttering in English.
It is not Michelle Obama.
We need that nun in ‘Airplane’ to translate this equine scatology for us.
The first part of the article quotes a “peking university grad student”, not Michelle Obama.
The grad student is obviously having trouble speaking in English.
But then I’d like to see you guys try speaking in Chinese.
The poorest, most uneducated Chinese person would undoubtedly speak better English.
These people are the reason I cut off all contact with liberals. And I mean EVERY liberal. It’s dangerous to be around people that are so damned stupid that they would vote for Obama. I’ll live the remainder of my life in peaceful solitude.
Like pretend to salute the flag, love America, care about the Military and their families....
The problem is the liberals have no wish to stop bugging everyone who opposes them in one way or another....if only we could have peaceful solitude.
“My college professor would have failed me and publicly shamed me if I submitted such garbage. Princeton apparently gave her a degree.”
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I’ve had a look at it, my SEVENTH GRADE TEACHER would have publicly shamed me if I submitted such garbage. If there were any way to prove it I would gladly bet one thousand dollars against a stale doughnut that Michelle would flunk the test to ENTER, not to graduate but to ENTER public high school in South Carolina the year I entered high school. She would certainly flunk eighth grade English and History from that year and I doubt she would pass any other course.
It is scary to think that she may actually hold a degree in law from Harvard, if that is true the institution should be shut down. Asking her for an opinion on the law would be like asking a goat to recommend a dinner menu.
I would like to have a chance to ask her a question at a press conference though. “Mrs. Obama, would you please give us your thoughts on the significance of the Magna Charta?”
She would probably start by asking, “Magnum what?”
If you really want to have nightmares focus on the fact that many of the people who think Sarah Palin is so stupid admire Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton. Ask yourself what that really means regarding the pathetic level of thinking of much of America.
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