Michelle Obama told London schoolgirls they should view the coronavirus as a “great blessing” and an opportunity for growth.
Mrs. Obama spoke on Wednesday to schoolgirls at Elizabeth Garrett Anderson (EGA) School in London.
Obama said the girls should view the lockdowns and restrictions as a “great blessing”. She said the Covid is an opportunity to learn how to navigate through life and “things that you’re not necessarily prepared for.”
“I would view this as a great blessing to all of you, right. Because right now you’re learning how to get through something hard and uncomfortable and unpredictable,” she said.
Mrs. Obama gave a similar speech to her daughters, Malia and Sasha.
“And as I’ve told my girls, that’s what life is. No matter how high you get, or how smart you are, or how successful, life will throw you things that you’re not necessarily prepared for. And if you know how to get yourself through it, you will succeed.”
The former first lady’s remarks caused an uproar on social media.
But Jo Dibb, executive headteacher at EGA, told The Times newspaper that she thought Mrs. Obama’s advice was “great”.
Dibb said viewing the coronavirus as something that will help us in the future is a “really positive way of looking at things.”
“If we just spend our time just blaming everything and making excuses and thinking, ‘Well, I don’t have to do well at school because there’s a pandemic’, then we’ve lost anyway, so I think that’s such great advice,” she said.
