When it comes to giving our kids the education they deserve, Barack knows that like me and like so many of you, he never could've attended college without financial aid.

And believe it or not, when we were first married, our combined monthly student loan bills were actually higher than our mortgage.

We were so young, so in love, and so in debt.

That's why Barack has fought so hard to increase student aid and keep interest rates down, because he wants every young person to fulfill their promise and be able to attend college without a mountain of debt.

So in the end, for Barack, these issues aren't political -- they're personal.

Because Barack knows what it means when a family struggles.

He knows what it means to want something more for your kids and grandkids.

Barack knows the American Dream because he's lived it... and he wants everyone in this country to have that same opportunity, no matter who we are, or where we're from, or what we look like, or who we love.

And he believes that when you've worked hard, and done well, and walked through that doorway of opportunity... you do not slam it shut behind you...you reach back, and you give other folks the same chances that helped you succeed.

So when people ask me whether being in the White House has changed my husband, I can honestly say that when it comes to his character, and his convictions, and his heart, Barack Obama is still the same man I fell in love with all those years ago.

He's the same man who started his career by turning down high paying jobs and instead working in struggling neighborhoods where a steel plant had shut down, fighting to rebuild those communities and get folks back to work... because for Barack, success isn't about how much money you make, it's about the difference you make in people's lives.

He's the same man who, when our girls were first born, would anxiously check their cribs every few minutes to ensure they were still breathing, proudly showing them off to everyone we knew.

That's the man who sits down with me and our girls for dinner nearly every night, patiently answering their questions about issues in the news, and strategizing about middle school friendships.

That's the man I see in those quiet moments late at night, hunched over his desk, poring over the letters people have sent him.

The letter from the father struggling to pay his bills... from the woman dying of cancer whose insurance company won't cover her care... from the young person with so much promise but so few opportunities.

I see the concern in his eyes... and I hear the determination in his voice as he tells me, "You won't believe what these folks are going through, Michelle... it's not right. We've got to keep working to fix this. We've got so much more to do."

I see how those stories -- our collection of struggles and hopes and dreams -- I see how that's what drives Barack Obama every single day.

關于給予我們的孩子應有的教育，巴拉克知道，就像我和你們中的許多人一樣，如果沒有助學金，他永遠也不可能完成大學學業。

而且，不管你們信不信，我們剛結婚的時候，我們的學生貸款賬單合起來比我們的房貸還要高。

我們是那么年輕，那么相愛，又是那樣的負債累累。

這就是為什么巴拉克努力增加助學金，并保持低貸款利率的原因，因為他想讓每個年輕人都能達成所愿，而不需要為了進入大學而背負山一樣沉重的債務。

所以歸根結底，對巴拉克來說，這些并非政治問題——而是個人問題。

因為巴拉克知道一個家庭掙扎度日意味著什么。

他知道想要讓下一代和下下一代過上更好的生活意味著什么。

巴拉克懂得什么是美國夢，因為他正用一生去實踐它……而他想讓生活在這個國度里的每一個人都擁有同樣的機會，無論我們是誰，無論我們從哪里來，無論我們膚貌如何，無論我們愛的對象。

而且他認為，當你努力工作，獲得成功，并且跨越了那扇機遇的大門之后……你不應該砰地一聲關上身后的大門……你應該伸出援助之手，將成功的機會同樣給予后來之人。

因此，當人們問我，入主白宮是否改變了我的丈夫的時候，我可以誠實地說，無論是從他的性格，他的信念，他的心靈來看，巴拉克·奧巴馬都仍是許多年前我所愛上的那個男人。

他仍是那樣一個人，會在自己的事業起步期拒絕高薪工作，而走入一個因鋼鐵廠的倒閉而陷入困境的社區，為社區的重建和人們重獲工作而奮斗……因為對巴拉克來說，成功并不等于你掙的錢，而是你給人們的生活帶來的改變。

他仍是那樣一個人，當我們的女兒剛出生的時候，隔不了幾分鐘就急匆匆地查看搖籃，確認她們仍在好好呼吸，并驕傲地向我們認識的每個人展示自己的寶貝女兒。

他還是那個幾乎每晚都會坐下來陪我和女兒們吃晚餐，耐心地回答她們關于新聞事件的問題，并為中學生間的友誼問題出謀劃策的人。

他還是那個，我常常看到在萬籟俱寂的深夜里，仍趴在書桌上鉆研人們寄來的信件的人。

寫信來的有努力工作支付賬單的父親……有保險公司拒絕賠付醫療費用而命在旦夕的癌癥女病人……有具有無限天賦潛力卻得不到機會的年輕人。

我能看到他眼里的憂慮……我也能聽出他聲音中的決心，他說：“你不會相信這些人們在經歷些什么，米歇爾……這不對。我們必須繼續工作，直到解決這些問題。我們還有更多事情要做。”

我看到人們的這些生活故事——我們所收集的這些奮斗、希望和夢想——我看到這些都是推動巴拉克·奧巴馬每一天工作的動力。