I am Michelle LaVaughn Robinson, born on January 17, 1964 in Chicago Illinois. I am the second child of Fraser and Marian Robinson, my brother Craig is 16 months older than me. When I was growing up, my father was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis-causes muscle tremors and weakness which gets worse over time. This was terrible, it made very difficult for him to do simple tasks. My father was very strong, he never complained, and seeing him struggle was a lesson my parents taught me: “nothing in this world cannot be overcome if one puts his or her mind to it.” Growing up, my family and I would spend Saturday evenings playing board games. My brother and I could only watch television for only one hour a day, we were expected to spend much of…show more content… A few months later, My father unexpectedly died after undergoing kidney surgery. I was devastated because of his death and the death of my friend, I had to rethink what I was doing in my life. I came to an understanding that I didn’t want to practice corporate law. After Barack graduated, I began working in the public service sector. It was 1991 and I had trouble with my career and in my relationship with Barack. I wanted to get married, but Barack did not, he believed marriage wasn’t important. We used to argue over the subject, like at a fancy Chicago Restaurant. I told him that it was time for him to commit to our relationship, but he disagreed. Until the dessert came, I found a box with an engagement ring in it on my plate. Barack said “That kind of shuts you up, doesn’t?” I was shocked and embarrassed. We married on October 3rd, 1992 at Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ. After our honeymoon on the West Coast, we moved into a condo in the South Side neighborhood of Hyde Park. After we got married, I moved on to another job, in 1993 I became the executive director of Public Allies. In 1996, I joined the University of Chicago as associate dean of student services, developing
