Before sharing the letter titled "I'm in", Barrack shared a short note to accompany it. He wrote;
“When Michelle and I came back from vacation, we found this note from a woman named Sindhu waiting for us. I’m proud of Michelle for the difference she made in this young woman’s life, and I’m inspired by Sindhu’s story — so I thought I’d share it with you today.”
In her letter, Sindhu wrote about the very first time she met Michelle, Twenty-one years ago, and how Michelle got her fired up to make something out of her life. At the time she did not know Michelle and never guessed the same woman would go on to become the First Lady of the United States.
“One day in Fall 1996, an idealistic 17-year old Indian girl was inspired while sitting in a chapel. She didn’t remember the name of the woman who spoke. But she will never forget the fire that was lit to make something of her life, and to use that life to serve others. That week, she signed up to be a volunteer at the hospital and signed up for an after-school program teaching creative writing and literature for underserved children in the community," Sidhu wrote.
She continued: “Twenty-one years later, that girl is now a 38-year old woman, a bit older in body, sometimes a bit jaded, but much younger in spirit. That woman fires up medical students to be passionate about behavioral sciences and psychiatry, serves children and adults struggling with mental illness, and continues an after-school outreach program to teach 6th graders about how to care for their mental health. That torch lit as a freshman at the University of Chicago continues to be ablaze.”
“That 17-year old was me,” Sindhu added. “I later found out that the inspirational powerhouse of a woman who spoke was Michelle Obama.”Sindhu went on to thank the Michelle for helping her evolve from an obedient teenager to a strong woman with high standards who advocates for herself. Today, Sindhu is married to an “Indian feminist man” and the couple is raising a feminist 3-year-old son “whose middle name is Atticus and who thinks he is actually Thomas the train.”
She concluded the letter with:
“The events from this week, this amazing Women’s March, echoed globally that the expectations I have are not ones I hold in isolation. I want a different world. I need a different world. So when you get back from your vacation, I wanted to let you know. I’m in.”Michelle Obama spent International Women's Day 2017 visiting female students at a Washington, D.C., middle and high school. The students were surprised by her presence and some of them gasped
“Oh my God!” when they saw her and Michelle replied in her usual cheerful manner, saying;
Did you know? You didn’t know,”
She shared a photo of herself with the excited girls and captioned it;
"Celebrating the beauty and diversity of our country on this #InternationalWomensDay with some of the many fierce and promising girls here at DC's Cardozo Education Campus. I loved visiting this school because it tells the American story in so many ways. Three years ago, Cardozo established its International Academy with only 150 students, but today it boasts nearly 400 who are thriving in and out of the classroom. By embracing young immigrants and their diverse cultures and contributions, Cardozo is a model for our entire country. The girls I met with today are ready to take on the world. We’ve just got to make sure that the world is ready for them."
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