Dear Michelle Obama,

I was talking to my girl the other day and she made the comment that she "would kill to be Barak Obama's wife”. I asked her why and she said "girl, imagine being married to the most influential black man in the world right now, what could you not do"? I just smiled to myself and asked her "are you sure you want that job, do you have any idea what that woman has gone through and is about to go through as this man's wife"? She fell silent.

The fact is that we have no idea and we will never really know what it's like to walk in your shoes. Frankly I don't want to know because I'm not sure if I (yet) possess the poise and patience required to deal with what's being thrown your way. They try to dismiss and illegitimatize your position as a WIFE by referring to you as "Obama's Baby Mamma". They fear that you will become the new hero and role model for all young girls (black and white, asian, latina, whatever) so they attempt to confuse your passion for anger and say that you are unpatriotic because you dare to be honest about the state of this country. But through it all, you maintain your composure, and you make me proud to be a woman. While black women continuously fight against the legacy of the "Hottentot Venus", and "the video ho" and "baby mama" stereotypes, you arise as an educated, strong, self aware woman, a loving mother and the supportive, dedicated partner and wife to the next President of the United States. You are a trendsetter, you are fly as a kite and no amount of money could buy your class. Best of all, you are making it difficult for them to dump us all into one large "chicken head" coup. The intangibles that you possess could never be taught in any academic setting (not even Harvard), they can only be modeled, and you do it well.

Women like you and Graca Machel, Daphne Valerius, Oprah Winfrey, and Harriet Tubman inspire me. You are literally saying to every young black girl in America, heck in the world (because they're watching too), "yes you can have it all" (your faith, the education, a successful career/business, a good man, children) and still maintain your integrity and sense of self. Being a strong black woman is tough, I know. I too have been labeled angry, intimidating and was even once told that I would need to “dumb myself down” in order to have a man, play the corporate game, or be well liked. You walk the fine line between femininity and strength, passion and temperance and I doubt that you would have made it this far in your career and personal endeavors or even kept the interest of a man like Barak Obama had you been weak, passive, "only seen and not heard" or anything short of the dynamic woman that you are. I am watching you and taking notes.

For every pimp, mack, hustler, R. Kelly, non-committal, dead beat dad or incarcerated black man image, there is your husband, bucking those stereotypes and for every, baby mamma, hoochie, professional welfare hustler, lazy, uneducated black woman image thrown out there, you're standing up to say "no world, don't believe the hype, we are much more than that". And even for those of us that may have lost our way and fallen victim to certain circumstances or even consciously decided to give in to these stereotypes, you are showing another way.

No matter how broad the strokes of negativity that they try to paint us with, they can't (much to their dismay) ignore you, or silence you, or deny that your presence has forever challenged how we are represented and presented to the world. For that, I just wanted to say "thank you". You intrigue me, you excite me, and you inspire me to continue developing the best of who I am.

With love and admiration,

Another Passionate Black Woman

P.S. When you take your post as first lady, please have someone remodel the White House. I hear that it has not been updated since the Kennedy era. Go figure.