Michelle Obama surprises students at Motown Museum in Detroit
DETROIT (FOX 2) - Former first lady Michelle Obama made a special stop Tuesday in Detroit ahead of her book tour event.
She made a surprise stop at the Motown Museum in the afternoon, saying hello to a group of male students from Wayne State University that were there to listen to actor and Michigan native Keegan-Michael Key, and Obama's brother, Craig Robinson, talk about adversity in education.
You can watch the big surprise on FOX 2 News Now on our Facebook page here, or in the video player above.
"This is supposed to be boys only!" her brother quipped when she walked in. But she took a seat right in the middle and spent time talking with the students about adversity in her education, too. She took questions and talked with them about taking ownership of and finding value in your journey to where you are today.
Michelle Obama told why all success stories are peppered with doubt.
"Trust me," she said. "It will continue beyond college. There were people who thought Barack would not be a good president, there were people that questioned if I would be a good first lady. We all face those things. That does not go away.
"Discomfort is something you have to practice. You do have a physiological response that is natural. Your heart starts beating, you get nervous, you don't know what's going to happen. And then a wave passes where you go through it and you notice 'I'm not going to die' and that change is not going to kill you. And it will become something you are used to.
"I would encourage all of you to think about that, because you are going to be transitioning a lot in life if you are going to be successful."
She's in town promoting her new memoir, "Becoming." The book was released last month and became a massive hit. It sold more than 725,000 copies on its first day, making it one of the year's biggest debuts.
Just on Tuesday it was also announced her book sales have topped 3 million, and that she's extending her book tour into 2019. She'll have 21 events next year, six of them in Europe. You can see all of her upcoming tour dates here.
Obama had a very humble beginning and grew up on Chicago's south side. Her memoir follows her on her journey from there to the White House. She talks about economic struggles, racism, a miscarriage, and her time at Princeton University.
Her book tour started in Chicago and is making stops in several other cities. She's in Detroit Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2018 at Little Caesars Arena. Tickets are sold out via Ticketmaster but a handful are still available vis StubHub.
The Associated Press contributed to this report