Maya Angelou’s life and works are my inspiration

Rina Factor/ Contributing Writer

Maya Angelou is someone I find very admirable — her illustrious career as a writer has rendered her extremely memorable. Not only was her famous novel, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” a fitting title for a story that illustrates how she overcome racism and trauma through literature, she describes her rape at the age of seven by her mother’s boyfriend. This tragedy left her mute for five years.

Her life also stands out to me because she has pursued so many different art forms. At the age of seventeen when most teenagers would be free of adult worry, she gave birth to a son. Despite this, she persevered and became a memorable woman who gave black women a powerful voice through her writing.

She recognized the power of words and because of her passion for language, her work stood out as a bright light as she used the power of literature to be an outlet for pain. Instead of letting trauma and pain consume her, Angelou overcame it and went on to live an incredible life.

Despite the many hardships she faced, I see her as a woman who worked hard to make a life worth living, and her contributions inspire me in my own life to persevere and to pursue a meaningful and brave life.

In her autobiography, “Singin’ and Swingin’ and Gettin’ Merry like Christmas,” she “worked as a shake dancer in nightclubs, fry cook in hamburger joints, dinner cook in a Creole restaurant and once had a job in a mechanic’s shop, taking the paint off cars with my hands.”

Aside from being a writer, Angelou was also “a singer, dancer, actress, composer, and Hollywood’s first female black director.” She was even a civil rights activist and a professor at Wake Forest University.

That’s a pretty impressive resume if you ask me.

In an age when many people value technology over the arts, I think that her work illustrates the significance of literature and its power to expand our perspective on the world.

In her poem, “When I Think About Myself,” she writes, “When I think about myself, I almost laugh myself to death. My life has been one great big joke.”

Her work is moving and relatable regardless of the reader’s race or gender because it illustrates emotions that are significant to every person who is a part of the human race.

This particular line stands out to me because it reminds me of how comedians use their own pain to laugh. It also shows us how Angelou transformed her life. It shows that through commitment and hard work, you can overcome any obstacle that comes your way. Despite all of life’s difficulties, pain and hardship did not succeed in destroying Angelou’s brilliant spirit.

 

DISCLAIMER:

The opinions presented within this page do not represent the views of Panther Press Editorial Board. These views are separate from editorials and reflect individual perspectives of contributing writers and/or members of the University community.

 

Photo by Jason Wong on Unsplash.