16 Things We Learned About Michelle Obama From "Becoming" On Netflix

She's our favourite First Lady for a reason.

Michelle Obama – we know her, we love her, many of of us have read her memoir.

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Well in case you didn't know, Netflix have dropped a new documentary on our favourite former First Lady, and here's what we learned.

1. She starts every day listening to music.

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Like almost every black mother, she starts her day with Kirk Franklin. She's clearly got an eclectic taste, and music plays an important part in the documentary. From Drake to Frank Ocean, the soundtrack is sprinkled with black excellence.

2. She likes to get advice from locals.

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Michelle goes to local churches and prayer groups to seek advice from people outside of the circle that has been thrust upon her. She said it gives her "perspective that I need" – it keeps her grounded and in touch with people's real opinions on her actions and motives.

3. When the Obama's moved into the Whitehouse, Michelle made lots of changes so that it would feel like a family home.

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She recalled that she wanted to make sure Malia and Sasha still had a normal upbringing. She didn't want them growing up with grown black men in tuxedos serving them food and maids cleaning their rooms.

She changed the staff uniform to more casual wear and told the cleaning staff to stop tidying her daughters' rooms because she didn't want them growing up not even knowing how to make their own beds.

4. The Robinsons were a working class family, and she had a very down to earth upbringing.

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Michelle opened up about her grandfather, Dandy, who was denied things in life simply because of his class and ethnicity. She said this is what drove her family's motivation and helped her to where she is today, breaking down barriers stacked against her because of her class and ethnicity.

5. Despite these barriers, her family upbringing taught her to never feel invisible.

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In the doc, Michelle talks about how her parents always made her feel seen, and the importance of children’s – especially black girl's – voices and opinions being heard at home so that they know they are valid and in turn have the confidence to speak up in public.

6. Her guidance counsellor didn't have faith in Michelle, and pretty much said that Princeton wasn't the university for her.

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She was told that she wasn't Princeton material, even though her brother had started at the university a few years before.

She said that, even though she's still a bit salty about the bad advice she got, women can't afford to wait for the world to be equal before pursuing what they want to do.

7. And going to Princeton as a black woman wasn't without its struggles.

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One of her white roommates actually moved out because her mother "felt her daughter was in danger” living with a black person.

This came as a shock to Michelle – after growing up in a mainly black environment, she wasn't used to being the minority, especially in a place like Princeton where there weren't many students of colour.

8. She instantly fell for Barack's voice over the phone.

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Can you blame her? And he asked her out within a month of them working together. She confessed that she was actually reluctant to date him because she didn't want to feed into the cliché of the only two black employees ending up together.

9. She was disappointed in the American public for not all voting when it really mattered.

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Even though she recognises the impact Barack made becoming president, Michelle is still alarmed at the number of people who just didn't vote. She specifically mentioned a disappointment in "her own people" not getting up and voting.

10. And she feels that, despite the historic changes in the American government, there's still a lot more work to be done.

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She opened about how she thinks some people have been overlooking the racism because they thought the Obamas entering the Whitehouse would represent the end of that, but cases like Sandra Bland and Trayvon Martin make it clear to her just how far we're yet to go.

11. Some of her staff have been working with her for over a decade, and they're pretty much as close as family.

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Michelle's advisor, Melissa Winter, quit her job to work with her during the 2007 presidential campaign, and has worked with her ever since. Allen Taylor, a Secret Service agent, is pretty much an honorary family member – he even went down the Great Wall of China slide with Michelle!

12. She's played the piano since she was a kid and has always been very dedicated to it.

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Her mum recalled that as a child, she played every song over and over again until she got it perfect. And it's quite clear to see that that sense of pride is something that's followed her career. Plus, she can still hold a tune!

13. When Barack's presidential term ended, she cried for half an hour after leaving the Whitehouse.

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She cried in private because she didn’t want people to get the wrong idea about why she was in tears, but it was because she felt release of having to do everything by the book for eight years.

14. When the passage of marriage equality was granted, she and Malia snuck out of the Whitehouse to take part in the celebrations, instead of just watching it on TV.

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The morning of that event, the Obamas attended the funeral of people who were tragically killed during bible study in Charleston. She said that, after that morning, she wanted to be a part of the celebrations to remind herself of the progress the world was making.

15. She loves meeting members of the public and making eye contact with everyone she meets is very important to her.

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Authentic human connections are really important to her, and she said she likes to look people in their eyes to really “take in their story.”

Also, because a lot of her work meetings are very “sanitised,” she said that meeting new people helps her stay grounded.

16. And finally, Michelle wants us to believe that our stories have value.

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Although we sometimes" focus too much on status not story,” she believes that it's the stories that break down barriers.

She ended the documentary saying she wants to share her wisdom and encourage young people to have hope for the future, and she'll keep on doing until she's an old lady

You can watch Becoming on Netflix now.