Have you ever felt as if you’re blushing and bluffing your way through the working day? Have you doubted your own worth? And has some small secret voice from deep within yourself ever whispered not-so-sweet nothings in your ear? “One day they’re going to find out that you don’t know anything,” it insists, “and that’ll be it for you.”

You’re not alone: ‘impostor syndrome’ affects plenty of us on a daily basis – and it can strike anyone, no matter how successful or famous they are. Even Michelle Obama, easily one of America’s most beloved First Ladies, has now admitted that she used to feel as if she wasn’t… well, not that she wasn’t good enough, but that she wasn’t enough full stop.

As such, the Becoming author has, as a part of CBS News’ Note to Self series, written a letter to her younger self, giving advice to the young woman heading off to college at Princeton. And what she has to say is incredibly powerful.

“Dear Miche,” the letter begins. “There you are, in your jean jacket and braids, a long way from that little apartment on the South Side of Chicago. You’re at one of the finest universities in the world. You’re smiling, and you should be, you worked hard for this. But even now, after you reached your goal, you’re still not quite sure if you belong and can’t get one question out of your mind: ‘Am I good enough?’ There aren’t many kids here who look like you. Some arrived on campus in limousines. One of your classmates is a bona fide movie star, another is rumored to be a real-life princess. Meanwhile, you got dropped off by your father in the family sedan.”

Michelle Obama’s beautiful letter to her younger self is a must-read for anyone with self-esteem issues