Michelle Obama on empowerment Flashcards
to speak/talk openly (about something)
to speak/talk about a difficult or embarrassing topic with honesty.
To speak openly about something is when you discuss a subject, often a difficult subject, without trying to hide the facts or your feelings. It’s a phrase that is used when people talk about things in their life that they find difficult or embarrassing.
The former First Lady spoke openly about a number of issues and one of her main messages was about empowerment.
empowerment
giving people the confidence and power to improve their lives themselves.
That’s giving people the strength, confidence and power to achieve what they want in life by themselves.
The former First Lady spoke openly about a number of issues and one of her main messages was about empowerment. Earlier in the day Mrs Obama revisited a school in north London, a place where she says she was first inspired to focus on education during her time as the First Lady.
Michelle Obama was also keen to talk about the topic of empowerment.
to inspire
to create in people the feeling of wanting to do something and achieve something.
she was first inspired to focus on education during her time as the First Lady.
She went to a school in north London. She said it was at this school that she was first inspired to focus on education. If you are inspired to do something, you get a strong feeling that you want to do something, you feel a strong motivation to achieve something particular, often because of something someone else has said or achieved.
imposter syndrome
feelings that you don’t deserve your position even though there is no evidence you are not suitable.
There is a name for that. It’s called imposter syndrome – that feeling where you think one day everyone will realise that you’re really not very good at what you do.
Because the thing with this imposter syndrome is that it isn’t justified. It’s more a lack of confidence or a result of the way society labels us.
to assume something
to think something is true based on your own beliefs and understanding without knowing the facts.
To assume means ‘to make a judgement which is not based on the facts but on what we think is true’.
That’s often the mistake that we make, we assume that working-class folks are not highly gifted in their own right when a lot of times your station in life is limited by the circumstances that you find yourself in.
in their own right
because of their own talents and abilities. When you say that someone is talented in their own right, it means that their talent comes from their own skills and abilities and not because of any connection with any organisation, individual or class that they happen to be associated with.
That’s often the mistake that we make, we assume that working-class folks are not highly gifted in their own right when a lot of times your station in life is limited by the circumstances that you find yourself in.
station in life
position in society or workplace.
That’s often the mistake that we make, we assume that working-class folks are not highly gifted in their own right when a lot of times your station in life is limited by the circumstances that you find yourself in. She says here that we assume things about people based on their social status or station in life.
