- In a video QA, Dwyane Wade's 13-year-old daughter, Zaya Wade, interviewed her "idol," former first lady Michelle Obama.
- "I'm meeting an idol. I'm literally meeting an idol," Zaya gushed during the interview, in which the two women discussed the young reader version of Obama's best-selling memoir Becoming. "[I've been] preparing for this moment for so long."
- Zaya asked Obama for her advice for teen who "want to be themselves and thrive" and both women urged viewers to push themselves out of their comfort zones.
Zaya Wade is everything. All on her own, the 13-year-old, who is the daughter of NBA star Dwyane Wade (and, of course, stepdaughter of the amazing Gabrielle Union), is the kind of human you just naturally look up to, even if she's multiple decades younger than you. Seeing Zaya encounter one of her own role models, though, is next-level.
On Thursday, the teen shared a virtual QA she recorded with former first lady Michelle Obama, about the young reader version of her memoir, Becoming. And spoiler alert: It was adorable.
"I'm meeting an idol. I'm literally meeting an idol," Zaya gushed at the start of the interview. "[I've been] preparing for this moment for so long."
Zaya didn't spend the entire conversation in fangirl mode, however (just another reason to look up to her—how many adult humans could keep their cool in a conversation with Michelle Obama?), and dove into some serious questions for her hero.
"What advice do you have for teens who want to be themselves and thrive like you have and currently are?" Zaya asked.
At this point, Obama rightly pointed out that Zaya, who is already doing a great job of being true to herself, is a great role model for other teens. "Well, like you have and currently are," Obama replied. "I am just so proud of you, you know, being just an amazing role model and embracing your truth."
Obama did eventually get into her own advice for teens looking to find themselves and embrace who they're meant to be.
"It does take time to know what yourself is, for young people. So, my first piece of advice is be patient with yourself, No. 1," Obama shared. "At your age, or in the teenage years and probably through your 20s, you're gonna be experimenting with so many versions of yourself, right? All young people are trying on different versions, different voices, they're learning more about their intellect, they're learning about what they love, what they're good at, what they like. This is the period of exploration."
During the QA, the women also discussed the importance of pushing yourself out of comfort zone and Zaya dropped the following bit of pure wisdom: "We all think we that we thrive with people who are just like us. Getting a different perspective from someone else who isn't like you really helps. And that definitely helped me in becoming me and defining my truth."
We would watch a full-length movie that was just Zaya Wade and Michelle Obama talking. Who's with us?
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