Michelle Obama reveals the one thing she'll miss most about being first lady

Michelle Obama's time as first lady is winding down, and in Austin, Texas, on Wednesday, she shared what she'll miss most about her role — and that she has no plans to ever run for president herself.

Obama was in Austin for South by Southwest, and also talked about the Let Girls Learn initiative, which encourages global leaders to provide educational opportunities for the estimated 62 million girls around the world who don't have access to schooling. After saying that her "time is almost up" at the White House, she sang a few lyrics from the Boyz II Men song "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday," The Associated Press reports, and said the thing she'll miss the most is interacting with the different people she meets from across the country.

When asked if she would ever run for president, the first lady said there won't be another President Obama any time soon. "No, no," she said. "Not going to do it." One major reason is because her daughters, Sasha and Malia, have already had to endure being in the spotlight for the past eight years. "They've handled it with grace and poise, but enough," Obama said. She also shared that she's hopeful that once she settles into the next chapter of her life, she'll be able to continue to be an advocate for different issues. "Sometimes there's much more you can do outside the White House without the constraints, the lights and the cameras, and the partisanship," Obama said. "There's a potential that my voice can be heard by people who can't hear me now because I'm Michelle Obama, the first lady. I want to be able to impact as many people as possible in an unbiased way to try to keep reaching people. I think I can do that just as well by not being president of the United States."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up