On June 20th 2012, I joined a couple of friends to go listen to First Lady Michelle Obama. Arapahoe High School is located in my attendance area. My two oldest children graduated from Arapahoe and my youngest will be a senior there next year. Arapahoe High School is one of the top high schools in the Denver metro area. This is the number one reason we moved to the area back in 1989.
The school’s gym was packed like sardines, but we managed to get a decent seat and I even shook Michelle’s hand. I wanted to share the post I wrote with all of you. Enjoy! I would love to hear your comments. I was able to take a close up picture of Michelle after she shook my hand.
Inspirations come in all shapes and sizes. Today, I listened to first lady Michelle Obama give a speech that hugely inspired me. Her speech made me stop to think about my current situation. Her words resonated well with me because it was as if she was talking to me directly.
I sat a few feet away from the first lady as she said, “President Obama wants to help make college affordable for all Americans.” As fate would have it, the first lady gave her speech at Arapahoe High School, which is the high school my daughter graduated from in 2008. My daughter just graduated from Pepperdine University in last April, and I am very proud of her accomplishments, but even with a substantial scholarship, she still has a large number of loans she has to pay back. Honestly, I felt very bad because I encouraged her to attend Pepperdine, but after listening to first lady Michelle Obama, I realized I should not feel guilty for encouraging my daughter to attend a top notch university. I agree with Ms.Obama: as Americans we should not have to go into a huge amount of debt to send our children to college. College should be affordable for all who want to attend. I also think students who have completed their college in a reasonable amount of time should not have to incur a high interest rate on their student loans.
Ms.Obama made a second profound statement that jolted my thinking. This time around, I had to hold back tears as memories of my youngest son flashed back to me like neon lights. She said, “President Obama wants every American to have health insurance. No family should have to go bankrupt in order to provide emergency health care for their family.”
Again, for a second time, I concur with first lady Michelle Obama. There is nothing more terrifying than for a mother to watch her child come near death because of a medical emergency. My son’s illness was the worst curve ball ever thrown my way. If I had not had health insurance, the one night my son had to spend in the ICU would have been enough to bankrupt me. I am sure the total of nine days he was in the hospital added up very quickly.
I am glad president Obama is relentless in his desire to help make health insurance available for all Americans. The naysayers may label him a socialist, but he is only doing what should have been done a long time ago.
The words of Michelle Obama will reside in my heart and soul for a very long time. I am very fortunate that it took me five minutes to drive from my house to go listen to such inspirational words.
Melange of Cultures 
Posted by Christine on June 21, 2012 at 11:12 pm
Health insurance and college educations are not the job of the government. Glad you had a good time though.
Posted by melangeofcultures on June 21, 2012 at 11:51 pm
I am well aware health insurance and college education are not the job of the government,but with the amount of corporate greed going on something must be done to regulate things. It is a shame that students are charged an arm and a leg in interests for loans. The same is true for health care benefits, these insurance companies are making a killing on the backs of the middle class. Thanks for your input.
Posted by jp on June 22, 2012 at 5:26 am
Christine, if it is not the governments job, then who’s is it?
Posted by terrysthoughtsandthreads on June 21, 2012 at 11:36 pm
I wish I might have had the opportunity to be there to here the First Lady speak. I, like you, would have agreed with her on the American Dream of a college education and health insurance. My son, a 24 year old Fire Fighter (per diem) and Paramedic (working part time for three ambulance companies) has health insurance only because President Obama’s extension of dependent health care to age 26. Thank you for sharing your appreciation and respect for Michelle Obama here.
Posted by melangeofcultures on June 22, 2012 at 12:01 am
Yep! The same is true for my 24 and 22 years old son and daughter. My husband is able to carry them on his health plan. I am very thankful for the extension of dependent. It really makes a lot of sense to give these young people a chance to get financially stable before embarking on paying a high price for medical insurance. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, much appreciated.
Posted by Create With Joy on June 30, 2012 at 4:41 am
How fortunate you are to have heard the first lady speak! Thanks for sharing your inspiring post with us at Inspire Me Monday at Create With Joy!