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"Putting together this magazine&amp;amp;#8217;s annual Women of the Year issue generally involves lots of nail-bitingly tricky decisions (this politician or that? Which athlete? Which actress?). But this year, there was one very, very, very easy choice to make--see it for yourself after the jump. This year, Glamour is honoring First Lady Michelle Obama with a Special Recognition award for her commitment to mentoring young women. (She also appears on our cover--the first time in Glamour&amp;amp;#8217;s 70-year history that a First Lady has ever done so.) You simply cannot talk about 2009 without talking about Mrs. Obama: and no, I don&amp;amp;#8217;t mean her status as a style icon (richly deserved though it may be). Just nine months into her job, our nation&amp;amp;#8217;s first African-American First Lady has thrown open the doors of the White House to local children and families, determined to show young people that, in her words, &amp;amp;#8220;there&amp;amp;#8217;s no magic to being here&amp;amp;#8221;--that with hard work, any one of us can rise to greatness. And at Glamour, we love that she&amp;amp;#8217;s particularly set on expanding young women&amp;amp;#8217;s horizons: The First Lady is establishing mentor relationships between top women in the administration and girls in need in DC, and is encouraging women leaders around the country to do the same where they live. Love that. Oh, what? You want to see the cover? Here you go: But here&amp;amp;#8217;s another photo I&amp;amp;#8217;m especially fond of, of Mrs. Obama with seven interns from the East Wing (that&amp;amp;#8217;s the part of the White House where First Ladies keep their offices): It probably goes without saying that visiting the White House to photograph the First Lady rocks, but come on: visiting the White House to photograph the First Lady rocks. I&amp;amp;#8217;d met Mrs. Obama only once before, in a crowded ballroom eighteen months before her husband assumed office. This time round, our team photographed her in the magnificent Diplomatic Room, and to see her striding confidently through those halls, joking with the crew about First Dog Bo&amp;amp;#8217;s upcoming birthday and warmly greeting every one of her group of interns, was a thrill. Mrs. Obama says that back when she was a lawyer, mentoring gave her life &amp;amp;#8220;joy--it makes me feel like my life has a purpose,&amp;amp;#8221; and she talked excitedly with us about bringing that commitment to the White House. Speaking of role models, I&amp;amp;#8217;m proud to announce that the Michelle Obama interview also marks the debut of a brand-new Glamour column by Katie Couric. I&amp;amp;#8217;ve been a Katie fan forever, and I&amp;amp;#8217;m overjoyed she&amp;amp;#8217;ll be bringing her talents to our pages, interviewing a different inspiring woman every month. Best part? She&amp;amp;#8217;ll be asking them your questions--as she did with Mrs. Obama, who gamely answered you on everything from work to love. One of my favorite things about Katie&amp;amp;#8217;s interview with the First Lady is that Mrs. Obama delivers truly useable advice--the kind of advice any woman can draw on to reach her own personal goals. Here are six lessons I took away from her responses: Mentoring matters, especially for young women: &amp;amp;#8220;I think that mentoring is such a critical part of the role I can play in this position. I see how little bits of exposure and big bits of exposure really change my girls significantly, and I want that for more girls around the country and the world.&amp;amp;#8221; The real role models aren&amp;amp;#8217;t movie stars--they&amp;amp;#8217;re the people you know: &amp;amp;#8220;They were the people in my life. My mom, for sure. My dad. The teachers. For me, role-modeling was immediate, it was touchable...Children connect with who is in their lives, present and accounted for...That&amp;amp;#8217;s why we&amp;amp;#8217;re trying to encourage moms, teachers, fathers, to be that presence in their children&amp;amp;#8217;s lives, in their communities, because it really makes a difference.&amp;amp;#8221; Don&amp;amp;#8217;t wait to be &amp;amp;#8220;discovered&amp;amp;#8221; by a mentor: &amp;amp;#8220;I was blessed throughout my entire career. I had people rooting for me. It started with my parents, but it extended to almost every teacher that I had. When I was a young lawyer, there were other women and men in the firm who took me under their wing. Look for those mentors, because sometimes mentors don&amp;amp;#8217;t find you--sometimes you seek them out. Oftentimes, they&amp;amp;#8217;re flattered and glad to lend a hand.&amp;amp;#8221; Don&amp;amp;#8217;t put yourself last in line: In answer to a reader question about how she keeps her sanity, the First Lady told Katie, &amp;amp;#8220;I have always tried to put my kids first, and then...put myself a really close second, as opposed to fifth or seventh. One thing that I&amp;amp;#8217;ve learned from male role models is that they don&amp;amp;#8217;t hesitate to invest in themselves.&amp;amp;#8221; When it comes to looks and style, set your own standards: &amp;amp;#8220;People are always going to have opinions, and people have a right to their opinions, particularly when you&amp;amp;#8217;re the First Lady; you&amp;amp;#8217;re representing the nation. So I can&amp;amp;#8217;t be surprised that people are interested. But I&amp;amp;#8217;ve tried to be at peace with the choices that I make first, and then be open to everyone else&amp;amp;#8217;s reflection.&amp;amp;#8221; With men, don&amp;amp;#8217;t be swayed by &amp;amp;#8220;cute&amp;amp;#8221;: &amp;amp;#8220;Cute&amp;amp;#8217;s good. But cute only lasts for so long, and then it&amp;amp;#8217;s, Who are you as a person? Don&amp;amp;#8217;t look at the bankbook or the title. Look at the heart. Look at the soul...When you&amp;amp;#8217;re dating a man, you should always feel good...You shouldn&amp;amp;#8217;t be in a relationship with somebody who doesn&amp;amp;#8217;t make you completely happy and make you feel whole.&amp;amp;#8221; The First Lady&amp;amp;#8217;s entire interview appears in our December issue, out next week; in it, she salutes the 11 other Women of the Year winners, who will be honored at Carnegie Hall November 9. (Mrs. O&amp;#x27;s cover is one of five celebratory Women of the Year covers--stay tuned for those!) Meantime, in keeping with Mrs. Obama&amp;amp;#8217;s theme, let me ask you: Who made you believe in yourself? How did they do it? And what have you done--what can you do--to pay it forward to a girl who needs confidence? More on Michelle Obama: Michelle Obama&amp;amp;#8217;s Most Memorable Style Moments of 2009 Find out how to get those amazing arms of hers (no gym required!) More Ways to Get Glamour: Subscribe now to get the Women of the Year issue featuring Michelle Obama - GUARANTEED! Plus, get Glamour&amp;#x27;s 365 Days of Inspiration Calendar absolutely FREE! Follow me on Twitter! "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.glamour.com/sex-love-life/blogs/smitten/2009/10/on-the-cl-michelle-obama>