the dream girl

 Michelle Obama arrived at Oxford University yesterday with all the pizazz you’d expect of a wife of the President of the United States.
Armed police watched from the spires as her motorcade swept by, while secret service men talked into lapel mics.
But once indoors she immediately put a group of starstruck schoolgirls at ease.

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America’s mom-in-chief chatted away, telling them she fell for her “cute” husband because of the way he loved his mum – and revealing she still can hardly believe she lives in the White House.

She was showing the 35 students from a North London school why they could aspire to great things like her.
And the smiles on the faces of the 12 to 15-year-old girls as she hugged them proved why this First Lady is her husband’s most formidable secret weapon in his battle for re-election next year.
In an astonishingly candid and relaxed hour-long visit, Mrs Obama, 47, opened her heart to the girls whose achievements had so caught her imagination.
In April 2009 on her first official UK visit she had toured the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson School in a hard-hit area of London.
SPECIAL
The girls, who come from 40 different ethnic groups and speak 59 different languages, have achieved astonishing exam results – putting them in the top 10% of schools in the country.
Mrs Obama was so impressed she has kept in touch with the college.
And she personally arranged for the girls to get a special taster day at one of the country’s top universities.
The daughter of working-class parents from the South Side of Chicago, Mrs Obama had gone on to study at Princeton and Harvard ­universities.
And she told the girls at the end of their visit: “I want you to dream big.”
The youngsters looked nervous as they were led into the grand 16th century dining hall of Christchurch College – used as Hogwarts Hall in Harry Potter films.
Photographers from around the world snapped away as huge TV lights shone down on them and scary-looking secret service men scoured the room.
But the moment Mrs Obama came in she turned the atmosphere from formal to intimate.
Looking cool, trendy and relaxed, she stood beneath portraits of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, and told the girls: “In your stories I see so much of my own story.
“By overcoming challenges in your lives and enduring hardships in your families you have shown strength and maturity beyond your years. I am inspired by your passion and energy, and feel a strong sense of community with you all.”
She told them how scared she had felt about applying to an elite university because of her family background.
But once she was there she realised: “I was just as capable and had just as much to offer as any of my classmates.
“Success is not about the background you come from. It is about the confidence you have and the effort you invest. Your past does not determine your future.
EXCITED
“You just have to work hard. That’s it. Push yourself. Believe in yourself. Mentally see yourself at a place like Oxford. Paint that picture for yourself.
“And when you get to Oxford I want you to reach back and help others get there, too. You all have so much to offer.”
She looked on proudly as a former student from EGA, now a second-year English undergraduate at Oxford, urged the girls to achieve their ­potential. Clarissa Pabi, 22, an award-winning poet and talented pianist, told them: “As young women in the 21st century you have to ­deconstruct the labels you have been given and write your own labels.”
Then the First Lady sat and answered the excited girls’ questions, saying: “We can talk and talk and talk until they yank me outta here.”
A 13-year-old asked: “When you first met the President did you think he was going to go for such a big job?”
“Absolutely not!” she said to laughs. “When I met him I knew he was special. I am sharing secrets now so try to imagine all these other people aren’t here.
“It was the way he felt about his mother, his love for her, and his relationships with women. He loved his little sister.
“It was his work ethic. He did his job and was good and smart, and I liked that he was smart. Those kind of values make you think. And he is cute.
“And I began thinking, ‘He could be useful.’ But I had no idea he was going to be President. I didn’t think that until the night we were standing on the stage and I thought ‘Wow, you won.’
“The lesson for women is reach for partners that make you better. Trust your instincts. Good relationships feel good. They feel right. They aren’t painful.”