Eleanor Roosevelt

Hello, my name is Eleanor Roosevelt. I was born on October 11th, 1884. When I was a little girl, I was very shy. After my parents passed away, I often felt lonely. My best friends were the characters I read about in my books. I loved getting lost in their adventures and imagining their worlds. Even though I was quiet on the outside, I had big dreams in my heart. I learned that even if you start out feeling small and shy, you can grow up to do amazing things. My love for reading helped me understand other people, which became very important later in my life.

Around the year 1899, I went to a school in a new country, England. It was there that a wonderful teacher changed my life. She saw that I had interesting ideas, and she encouraged me to speak up and share them with everyone. For the first time, I started to feel more confident, and I learned that my voice mattered. A few years later, in 1905, I married my cousin, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. My life changed in a big way in 1933 when Franklin became the president of the United States. That meant I became the First Lady.

As the First Lady, I didn't want to just stay in the White House. I wanted to be the country's 'eyes and ears.' It was a very hard time for America called the Great Depression, and many people were struggling to find work and food. So, I traveled all over the country to meet them. I sat in their homes and listened carefully to their problems. I wanted to understand their worries so I could share them with my husband, the president, so he could find ways to help. In 1939, I learned about a very talented singer named Marian Anderson. Some people told her she couldn't sing at a big concert hall because of the color of her skin. I knew that wasn't fair, so I helped her give a special concert for everyone to see and hear.

My work wasn't finished after my time as First Lady. I knew there was still so much to do to help people all over the world. I started a new job with a group called the United Nations, where people from different countries work together to make the world a better place. In 1948, I helped write something very important called the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It sounds like a big name, but it has a simple and powerful promise: that every single person in the world deserves to be treated with fairness and kindness, no matter who they are or where they live.

I lived to be 78 years old. I spent my whole life trying to speak up for people who felt they didn't have a voice. Today, people remember me for changing what it means to be a First Lady and for always fighting for a kinder, fairer world for everyone.