Michelle Obama gave a heart-wrenching speech about Hadiya Pendleton, a Chicago teenager who was fatally shot earlier this year, urging community leaders to fight gun violence.

The first lady, who was the featured speaker at a luncheon held to raise money for at-risk youth, spoke about her meeting with the slain teenager's classmates.

"It is hard to know what to say to a roomful of teenagers that are about to bury their best friend," she said.     "But I started by telling them that Hadiya Pendleton was clearly on her way to do something truly worthy with her life. I told them that there is a reason that we're here on this earth. That each of us has a mission in this world and I urged them to use their lives to give meaning to Hadiya's life."

Watch the full speech (below):

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Michelle Obama praised 'Beasts of the Southern Wild' during a Black History Month workshop on Wednesday.

She called it one of the 'most powerful and important movies' of today.

"It's rare these days to find a movie that can so completely and utterly captivate such a broad audience and that was one of the things that struck me about the movie," she said. "It managed to be beautiful, joyful, and devastatingly honest."

The film is up for 4 Oscars including best actress and picture.

First Lady Michelle Obama celebrated her 49th birthday by joining Twitter on Thursday.

Her twitter account @FLOTUS attracted over 30k followers on its' opening day. 

Her first tweet read, 

"The @FLOTUS office is now on @twitter & will posts updates & pics. When it's her, she'll sign -mo . PS- RT to wish Mrs. Obama a #HappyBirthday. "

To follow the First Lady on Twitter, click here.

Watch a video on Michelle (below):

Olympic Gymnast Gabby Douglas sat down with Jay Leno and Michelle Obama on Monday.

Douglas, who is only 16, became the first African-American to win the all-around title.

When she was asked if the dream of winning is anything like reality, she said:

"I think it's very different and when I mean 'different,' it's in a better way. I mean I never thought I would be doing the show with the first lady, or even you Jay."

Gabby will be featured in "Oprah's Next Chapter" on August 26.

Michelle Obama honored the nation's best designers with National Design Awards on Friday.

She joined forces with the Cooper Hewitt National Museum to host the event in the White House's East Room.

"Every day, these visionary designers are pushing boundaries, creating and revealing beauty where we least expect it and helping us all lead healthier, more sustainable lives," Obama said. "From the clothes we wear to the technologies we use to the public spaces we enjoy, their work affects just about every aspect our lives."

Watch the ceremony (below):