Despite topping power lists, Michelle Obama has admitted that she more often feels like a swan: "calm and serene above water - but we're paddling like mad, going crazy underneath, trying to look smooth".
The First Lady's name has popped up on Forbes' "most powerful women" list, People magazine's "most beautiful" list and Time's "most influential" list, among others, since her husband, Barack Obama, assumed office as US president year ago.
Her every word, move, bite, gesture, dress and shoe has been analysed and second-guessed.
"It wasn't something that I was prepared for," she admitted last week as she looked back on her first year as First Lady.
But asked if she had any regrets, the First Lady said no, and vowed to expand her role in the coming year.
"I'm a 110-percenter," she said. "And, yes, we can do more."
Mrs Obama, a 46-year-old Harvard-educated lawyer, has spent the past year settling her family into a new life in a new town, trying to avoid creating controversy for her already burdened husband and figuring out where to make her mark.
"Our goal was to do everything that was done before, so that we'd know what it was, and uphold those traditions, but try to tweak it," she told reporters recently.
She has championed healthy eating with her White House kitchen garden, promoted the unsuccessful Olympic bid of her hometown of Chicago, and has been photographed hugging dozens of people - including the Queen, in a bold gesture that was widely criticised.
Her wardrobe - mixing top designers and off-the-rack cardigans - has won her accolades, and censure, from the fashion world.
But asked what she is most proud of in the past year, she answers without hesitating: "That my kids are sane."
尽管跻身各种影响力排行榜，但米歇尔•奥巴马坦称自己经常感觉像一只天鹅：“在水面上看起来沉着平静，但底下却在拼命划水，下面疯狂，外表却要保持平静。”
自从丈夫贝拉克•奥巴马就任美国总统一年来，第一夫人的名字一时间出现在各类排行榜，其中包括《福布斯》“最具影响力女性”榜、《人物》“最美丽人物”榜以及《时代》“最具影响力人物”榜等。
她的言行举止和穿着打扮都成为人们分析评论的对象。
上周，米歇尔在回顾成为第一夫人一年来的生活时坦称：“我有点措手不及。”
但在被问及是否有什么遗憾时，米歇尔说没有，并表示要在今后一年中更好地发挥自己作为第一夫人的作用。
她说：“我很有信心。我们可以做更多的事情。”
现年46岁的奥巴马夫人毕业于哈佛大学法律系，曾是一名律师。去年一年，她的主要任务是使全家努力适应在新城市的新生活，力图避免给压力已经很大的丈夫添麻烦，并找准自己的定位。
近日她在接受记者的采访时说：“我们的目标是一切按惯例行事，这样我们可以知道原来的情况是怎样的，在保持传统的同时，试着做些调整。”
在过去一年中，米歇尔在白宫开辟了菜地，倡导健康饮食；为“老家”芝加哥申奥，未获成功；还被拍到与很多人拥抱，其中包括英国女王，并因拥抱女王的姿势过于大胆受到批评。
她既穿顶级设计师的名品礼服，也可穿得平民风格的开襟羊毛衫，这样的穿衣风格使她既赢得了来自时尚界的赞誉，也有批评。
但在被问及过去一年她最自豪的事情时，米歇尔不假思索地回答说：“我的孩子们心智都很健康。”
Vocabulary:
like mad：with great haste, impulsiveness, energy, or enthusiasm（疯狂地，拼命地）
second-guess：to use hindsight in criticizing or correcting（事后批评，品评）
make one's mark：attain success or fame; achieve one's ambition（使自己出名）
tweak：a slight change that you make to improve（轻微调整）
off-the-rack：not made to specific or individual requirements; ready-made（现成的）
accolade：any award, honor, or laudatory notice（赞美）
