Michelle Obama on Harnessing Your Power in the Face of AdversityThe former first lady shared her insights at a speaking engagement in Colorado.

Michelle Obama on Tuesday说话candidly about her time in the White House and what it was like to break down barriers and glass ceilings as the first African-American first lady.

"The shards that cut me the deepest were the ones that intended to cut," Obama recalled during the Women's Foundation of Colorado's 30th anniversary, held in Denver. "Knowing that after eight years of working really hard for this country, there are still people who won't see me for what I am because of my skin color."

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The former first lady connected her own experience to that of so many women across the country and all over the world. "Women, we endure those cuts in so many ways that we don't even notice we're cut," she said. "We are living with small, tiny cuts, and we are bleeding every single day. And we're still getting up."

Obama's words are a reminder that in the face of constant adversity, conviction in your work and what you believe will help you carry on.