This week, Netflix will debut Becoming, a documentary that follows our forever first lady, Michelle Obama, as she embarks on her sold-out book tour.
When they were first introduced to America in 2008 following their father Barack’s successful presidential bid, Malia and Sasha were only 10 and 7 years old. For the next eight years, over two terms, the first daughters matured into beautiful young women in front of our eyes. But the Obama parents prided themselves on creating a sense of normalcy for their daughters despite the commotion surrounding them.
"For eight years, we were like, 'Yup, your dad's president.' That doesn't have anything to do with you. Take your butt to school. Yes, you have security, just ignore them, they're not here for you,'" Michelle told Gayle King in 2019.
"My kids had armed guards with them at all times. Imagine trying to have your first kiss [around] a bunch of men [with guns] and earpieces," she continued.
It was rare to see the daughters at non-official events, so their appearance in the documentary is a treat for lovers of the former first family. And, of course, they had nothing but amazing things to say about their mother with refreshing candor and vulnerability, according to O Magazine.
"I'm excited for her to be proud of what she's done. Because I think that that's the most important thing for a human to do, is be proud of themselves,” Sasha said while rocking an Aaliyah t-shirt.
Malia said that their mother is "no longer facing that same scrutiny."
"Being able to let all of that leave your mind, creates so much more space," the Harvard student continued.
Michelle also had glowing things to say about Sasha and Malia, now 18 and 21 respectively, blossoming and the reality of the Obama household being an empty nest.
"Barack and I are empty nesters, and that has been exhilarating to watch the two little beings you were in charge of grow up," said the elegant and accomplished former FLOTUS.
The sisters are following in their parents' footsteps of blazing their own trails. Malia is currently a junior at Harvard while Sasha is a freshman at The University of Michigan, as Blavity previously reported.
Despite being international figures, the Obama family is once again under one roof sheltering in place due to the coronavirus, just like the rest of us. In a televised call last month, Michelle told Ellen DeGeneres how the Obama household has been navigating the pandemic, reports CNN.
"We're just trying to structure our days. Everyone's here — the girls are back since colleges are online, so they're off in their respective rooms doing their online classes. I think Barack is — I don't know where he is. He was on the phone on a conference call; I just got finished with a conference call. … We're just trying to keep a routine going, but we've also got a little Netflix and chilling happening," said Mrs. Obama.
"But on the positive side, I know for us, it's forced us to continue to sit down with each other, have real conversations, really ask questions and figure out how to keep ourselves occupied without just TV or computers," she elaborated further. "It's a good exercise in reminding us that we just don't need a lot of the stuff that we have."
Watch the trailer for Becoming, which premieres Wednesday, below:
