Michelle Obama reminds young girls: Put boys aside, focus on education

The First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama, has some words of wisdom for young girls: Choose books before boys.

"There is no boy at this age that is cute enough or interesting enough to stop you from getting your education," she stressed in a video uploaded by NowThisPolitics on Facebook. "If I had worried about who liked me and who thought I was cute when I was your age, I wouldn't be married to the President of the United States today."

During the panel, the First Lady said that fighting for girls' education is a personal battle.

"All of these girls, these are our girls. I think about where will I be in my life if I did not work hard in school and did not have the opportunity to go to college and then on to law school. I wouldn't be here. So I think it's imperative. It is part of my passion and my mission that every girl on the planet has the same opportunities that I've had, that my daughters have," she said in a separate YouTube video posted by On Demand News.



Obama was speaking to more than 1,000 girls at the Apollo Theater in New York City on September 29 for Glamour Magazine's "The Power of an Educated Girl" panel.

She was joined by former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, Plan International girl advocate Nurfahada, and actresses Charlize Theron and Sophia Bush.

The event was meant to raise awareness for girls' education, especially to the 62 million girls who are not in school around the world.

Obama and her husband US President Barack Obama also lead their own education campaign, Let Girls Learn. It promotes "community-led solutions to reduce barriers that prevent adolescent girls from completing their education." — Trisha Macas/BM, GMA News