Inspiration: Maya Angelou

In my 10th grade English class I read I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. It wasn't the first time that I read the poem, but it was the first time that it really moved me. There was something in my 16 year old psyche that really resonated in that poem. Maybe it was teenage angst, maybe it was being old enough and educated enough to understand the context in which the poem was written; either way it moved me.

Maya Angelou has influenced me in many ways. Since her recent death I took the liberty of learning about the amazing woman who could move an entire generation of people.

Maya is a very strong woman who lived in a time outside of todays context. She survived and thrived although going through many traumatic experiences at such a young age. I have a lot of respect for people who can live through such hardships and instead of tucking them under the rug so to speak, she uses her story and her experiences to strengthen the people around her. She is known for many quotes, one of my favorite is "be the rainbow in someone else's cloud." Even though she had a difficult childhood she cared about other people and stood for human rights and really, made the world a better place.

When I was 16 I may not have been the most mature person in the world, but that poem meant something to me. There was a reason it was part of my 10th grade English curriculum, it is important. The writings of Maya Angelou will be as relevant tomorrow as they were when they were written. Her writings are part of the history of the United States. The poems bind together what makes everyone human regardless of race, gender, ethnicity or class. Not every writer gets that, not every person can understand what makes the human race so great.

-Meghan


READ ON:
 http://www.biography.com/people/maya-angelou-9185388#awesm=~oFHjKjRBOwwzMi

http://mayaangelou.com/bio/

http://www.amazon.com/Know-Why-Caged-Bird-Sings/dp/0345514408



-Image made by Meghan Teichmann for Sagely