Light that spark fire nation JLD here with a commencement address by Michelle Obama at King College Prep High School back in 2015.

I can tell you her words were so powerful I enjoyed this thoroughly I hope you do too and we'll be diving in as soon as we get back from think in our sponsor.

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All right fire nation let's dive into Michelle Obama's commencement address from back in 2015.

So graduates tonight I am feeling proud of you I'm feeling so excited for you I'm feeling so inspired by you but there is one thing I'm not feeling right now and that is surprised.

I am not surprised by how accomplished you all are I'm not all surprised by the dedication your teachers have shown or by the sacrifices your family have made to carry you to this day.

I'm not surprised because I know this community I was born and raised here on the cell side in cell shore and I am who I am today because of this community.

I know the struggles many of you face how you walk the long way home to avoid the gangs how you fight to concentrate on your homework when there's so much noise at home how you keep it together when your families are having hard times and making ends meet.

But more importantly I also know the strengths of this community I know the families on the cell side and while they may come in all different shapes and sizes most families here are tight bound together by the kind of love they get stronger when it's tested.

I know the folks here on the cell side work hard the kind of hard where you forget about yourself and you just worry about your kids doing everything it takes juggling two and three jobs taking long bus rides to get to the night shift.

Scraping pennies together to sign up those kids for every activity you can afford park district program the praise dance ministries whatever it takes to keep them safe and on the right track and I know the in this community folks have a deep faith a powerful faith and folks are there for each other when times get hard because we understand that they're but for the grace of God I go.

And over the past six years as first lady I visited communities just like this one across this country communities that face plenty of challenges and crisis but where folks have the same strong work ethic those same good values and same big dreams for their kids but unfortunately all those positive things hardly ever make the evening news instead the places where we've grown up only make headlines when something tragic happens when someone gets shot when they drop out rate climbs when some new drug is ruining people's lives.

So too often we hear a skewed story about our communities a narrative that says that a stable hardworking family in a neighborhood like wood long or chat him or bronzeville is somehow remarkable that a young person who graduates from high school and goes to college is a beat the odds kind of hero look I can't tell you how many times people have met my mother and asked her well how on earth did you ever raise kids like Michelle and Craig in a place like sell short and my mom looks at these folks like they're crazy and she says Michelle and Craig are.

Nothing special there are millions of crags and Michelle's out there and I do the same thing that all those other parents did she says I loved them I believe in them and I didn't take any nonsense from them and I'm here tonight because I want people across this country to know that story the real story of the cell side the story of that quiet majority of good folks families like mine and young people like all of you who face real challenges but make good choices every single day I'm here tonight because I want you all to know

graduates with your roots in this community and your education from this school you have everything you hear me everything you need to succeed and I'm here tonight because I want to share with you just two fundamental lessons that I've learned in my own life lessons grounded in the courage love and faith that defined this community and that I continue to live by to this day now the first lesson is very simple and that is don't ever be afraid to ask for help and I cannot stress that enough during your four years here at King College Prep

you are all surrounded by folks who were determined to help you as Jade said teachers who stayed after class to explain an assignment counselors who push you to apply to college coaches who saw something special in you that no one had seen before and as you had to college or the military or whatever else comes next you will face plenty of obstacles there will be times you find yourself struggling and at first you might not know where to turn to for help or maybe you might be too embarrassed to ask and trust me I know how that feels see when I started my freshman year

Princeton I felt totally overwhelmed and out of place I had never spent any meaningful time on a college campus I had never been away from home for an extended period of time I had no idea how to choose my classes how to take notes in a large lecture and then I looked around on my classmates and they all seemed so happy and comfortable and confidence they never seemed to question whether they belonged at a school like Princeton so at first I didn't tell a soul how anxious and lonely insecure I was feeling but as I got to know my classmates I realized something important

I realized that they were all struggling with something but instead of hiding their struggles and trying to deal with them alone they reached out they asked for help if they didn't understand something in class they would raise their hands and ask a question and then they go to a professor's office hours and ask even more questions and they were never embarrassed about it not one bit because they knew that's how you succeed in life see growing up they had the expectation that they would succeed and that they would have the resources they needed to achieve their goals so whether taking an SAT prep class getting a math to

their seeking advice from a teacher or counselor they took advantage of every opportunity they had so I decided to follow their lead I found an advisor who helped me choose my classes I went to the Multicultural Student Center and met older students who became my mentor and soon enough I felt like I had this college thing all figured out in graduates wherever you are headed I guarantee you that there will be all kinds of folks who are happy and eager to help you but they are not going to come knocking on your door to find you you have to take responsibility to find them

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