WASHINGTON, D.C. - First Lady Michelle Obama, who attended Princeton and Harvard, admitted at a high school graduation ceremony in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday that as a teenager, she doubted her own abilities.
Mrs. Obama made the comments at the graduation ceremony of the Washington Science Mathematics Technology Public Charter School.
Mrs. Obama said she vividly remembered feeling uncertain at her own high school graduation ceremony despite the fact that she had been accepted for undergraduate studies at Princeton University.
"I was excited," explained the First Lady. "But I was also worried. I was worried about whether or not I was ready-- whether or not I would fit in."
Michelle Obama ultimately graduated from Princeton, and then went to law school at Harvard. She urged the members of the Class of 2009 to push aside their fears and ignore naysayers.
"With common sense, hard work, confidence, and faith, you can achieve anything you can set your minds to," Mrs. Obama said. "That's for sure."
The First Lady posed for photographs with each of the 98 students who were graduating from the public charter school. Virtually all of them have been accepted at various colleges and universities.
Some of the students said they appreciated Mrs. Obama's candor.
"I was one of those kids that had doubts about going to college," admitted Julia Jones. "But listening to her, all that just went out the window."
Jones says she is now determined to graduate from college so she can better take care of her mother.