[CHEERING]
Michelle was just saying backstage
that she would like to do this with me every day.
[CHEERING]
I still have a job.
Oh, OK.
I gotta finish that one up.
Soon, you will.
I am so glad you're here.
And so you came in a huge motorcade.
Where did y'all park?
Oh, we parked right out front.
You parked in front?
Yeah.
Oh, Michelle, you should have asked me.
No, you can't park there after 3 o'clock.
do we have a security camera to see what's happening there?
Well, they're there.
That's us.
Everything looks good.
Oh, you're getting a ticket.
Oh, no.
[LAUGHTER]
Why didn't you give me some-- don't you have guest
passes or something?
I thought we were good out there.
No, I'm so sorry.
You were supposed to park in the structure across the street
like everybody else.
Someone's going to be in trouble.
Yeah, well, they're downtown and it's $600 a car,
so that's good.
We are back with my co-host, the First Lady of the United
States, Michelle Obama.
[CHEERING]
So really, you are coming to the end.
Do you have senioritis?
Are you able to do anything you want to do?
No, and my staff, I'm like, they're just cracking the whip.
There's not a minute it's like, we're finished, leave me alone.
So no, we're busy as ever.
We're trying to finish up initiatives.
We've got all the last things.
We're cleaning up the house, trying to get our security
deposit back.
Yeah.
[LAUGHTER]
Is it a big security deposit?
It's huge.
It's a big house, big house, so we're
trying to patch all those little holes--
I see, that those girls did?
They're so wild.
And we have the dogs.
It's just a mess.
So thinking of all the things that
have happened in the last eight years, it must be surreal.
I mean, sometimes when you're in it,
you don't step back enough to go--
There's no time.
There's absolutely no time.
These eight years have flown by.
Does it feel like that?
Yeah, yeah, especially this last period.
It's like I can't believe it's already September.
But whether it's the Fourth of July,
watching the fireworks from the top of the White House,
or watching my mom meet the Pope with the girls, I mean,
come on.
Or when I visited.
Yeah, it's a memory that will be etched in my heart forever.
No, up there with the Pope, I'm sure.
It was right there.
It's like, Pope, the Queen, Ellen.
Yeah, yeah.
Right there, those are the top three.
Or Ellen, the Pope, the Queen, whatever.
You'll get perspective later.
[LAUGHTER]
But what are you going to miss the most about--
I know you're looking forward to,
like you said, rolling a window down, and walking,
and doing things that you haven't been able to do.
But what are you going to miss?
It's really the people.
Think about it-- the girls have grown up in the White House.
I mean, the staff that's there, we see them every day.
These are people who have helped us raise our kids.
They've loved us, they've taken care of us.
And the minute we leave, that's it.
So it's really the people that we'll miss most.
And I'm sure the girls will have a tough time.
They think they're ready, but when
you've grown up in a place, I mean, imagine,
they won't be able to just knock on the door and say,
can I see my room?
That's not going to happen.
So we're trying to have them step back and really appreciate
the walk on the South Lawn, sitting on the Truman Balcony.
So we just want to keep creating some memories for them as well.
Yeah, because talk about not having perspective,
they really have grown up and gotten used to that.
Mhm.
And what an amazing experience they've had.
It's incredible.
I'm proud of them.
They've really managed this so well.
I just love them to death.
And the big thing I've always worried about
was making sure that they got out of this hole.
And I'm just proud that they're poised, smart, intelligent,
young women.
They are, they are.
[CHEERING]
I met them eight years ago when you brought them here
to see the Jonas Brothers.
And that was the first time that I met you.
That's right, outside.
Outside.
I've got that picture in my dressing room.
Oh, do you?
I mean, it's amazing when you look at how long ago that was.
And then of course, I know 'em a little bit now.
And it's hard enough to raise children, period,
but to raise children in front of everyone,
in the White House-- and you've done an amazing job.
Do you feel like--
and I'm sure you did feel pressure to be the first
African-American First Lady to--
like there's some kind of responsibility, or--
Well, one of the things I know from sitting in this position,
that every First Lady feels some level of pressure.
I mean, this is a big platform.
And you don't want to mess it up.
So I wouldn't dare to compare my experience to any former First
Lady.
But I do take the role seriously.
I do, as I said in my convention speech,
I know that kids are watching us.
They're watching what we say, what we do.
And Barack and I have tried to make sure
that what kids are seeing is something that they can
be proud of because it matters.
[CHEERING]
You have accomplished that.
You have accomplished that, and I know you know that.
But you should feel very proud.
Both of you should feel very proud.
I mean, like I said, we will miss you so much
because it has been a joy.
And I feel proud to call you a friend.
It has been an honor--
I mean, an honor.
And I wasn't the political spouse.
I was very hesitant about this.
But it's truly been an honor to serve, to travel this country,
to meet so many great people.
I have so much hope for this nation.
And I hope that everybody else does, too.
We have some great young people.
We've got great communities.
I just wish everyone had the opportunity
to travel the country like we have
had because you would feel good every day about where we live.
This is the best country on Earth.
[CHEERING]
Yes, it is.
It is.
So I know education is important to you.
That's one of your initiatives.
And Let Girls Learn, that's another one.
You want to talk about that?
Well, education changed my life.
I mean, I grew up on the South Side of Chicago.
My mom is here.
My mom and dad were working class folks.
And my mom was like, don't point me out!
You're here, mom.
[CHEERING]
But even though--
May I say-- sorry.
May I say, thank you so much for giving us her?
[CHEERING]
And she never goes anywhere.
But when I said I was going to be on Ellen,
she was like, I'm going.
Yeah.
And I was like, OK, Mom.
But my parents always stressed education.
So I want to make sure that young people in this country
take charge of their education.
We've got a lot of work to do in terms of our schools.
But we want kids to be aspiring to go to college,
and not just kids here, but young girls around the world.
That's what Let Girls Learn is all about.
There are 62 million girls worldwide
that are not in school today.
And just imagine what we're losing in terms
of talent and possibility.
We are blessed to have the public education
system that we have today.
And I just want to make sure our young people don't
take that for granted because there are kids that
would die to have the opportunities that we have here
in this country.
So that's some of the work that I
hope to continue to do when we leave the White House.
Absolutely.
You're amazing.
[CHEERING]
[THEME MUSIC]