We're Sobbing Over Michelle Obama's Emotional Letter to Her Younger Self, and So Will You

Michelle Obama recently participated in CBS's Note to Self series, and her emotional letter is advice everyone can use. In the note, the former First Lady let herself know that she's "more than enough" as she headed off to college at Princeton University. "You're at one of the finest universities in the world. You're smiling, and you should be, you worked hard for this," she began. "But even now, after you reached your goal, you're still not quite sure if you belong and can't get one question out of your mind: 'Am I good enough?' There aren't many kids here who look like you."

She then praised her parents, explaining how they taught her to "keep your word and treat people with respect," and paid tribute to her father, Fraser C. Robinson III, who died in March 1991. "They encouraged you to develop your own voice and use it. Those lessons are more valuable than anything material," Michelle continued. "Your father's final lesson will come far too soon. He'll teach you that life is fleeting. So laugh with him until your side hurts. Savor the grip of his hugs, the softness in his eyes. A day will come when those memories are all you'll have."

Michelle also touched on meeting Barack and welcoming their two daughters, Malia, 20, and Sasha, 17. "You'll open your heart to someone whose upbringing was nothing and everything like yours, all at the same time. He's driven by a hopeful set of ideals. He's grounded and kind and absolutely brilliant. And he's pretty good looking, too," she wrote. "Together, you'll be blessed with two perfect little girls who will fill you with so much joy you can barely process it. Yet you'll still struggle to find a balance between your family, your husband's rising career, and your own sense of self. Be patient. You'll get there. And just when you think you've done it, the four of you will be shot out of a cannon into the unknown . . . Your family will make history, breaking barriers and filling out a more complete picture of the American story."

Still, Michelle's biggest and most powerful advice to her younger self was to stay humble. "It will be easy to think you're something special. Just remember that there are millions of people who grew up like you did and don't get this kind of spotlight. Reflect the light back on them," she wrote. "There are so many people out there like you, Miche. Black girls and minorities of all kinds, working-class kids from big cities and small towns, people who doubt themselves, who are uncertain about whether they belong but have so much to offer the world. Share your story with them, the struggles and the triumphs and everything else . . . You're more than enough, Miche. You always have been and you always will be. And I can't wait for you to see that."

Michelle has been busy hamming it up on her Becoming press tour. In a recent interview with Good Housekeeping, the former first lady also gave Meghan Markle a few words of advice as she adjusts to her new life as a royal. "My biggest advice would be to take some time and don't be in a hurry to do anything," she said. Read Michelle's letter in full on CBS News.