Maya Angelou (Thurs)

Maya Angelou is a great poet, author, activist, and role model. She may have started out young with difficulties, but who she grew into was an inspiring woman. Unexpectedly, I watched a video about her. This video was speaking about when she was younger she had been raped by a family member. Later she told her brother, who told her mother what happened, which placed this man in prison. It was in prison where he was beaten to death. She was only seven years old when this man passed away, and that is when she went mute. 

What I didn't realize about Maya was that she didn't speak for years. She went silent. No one could get her to speak. No one understood why she stopped talking. As her town slowly gave up on her and insulted her in the process, and then family members gave up, it looked like all hope was lost. It was her grandmother and a teacher by the name of Ms. Flowers that inspired her. They never lost hope. They always encouraged her to do great things! She was meant to use her voice. For years she wrote on a tablet that was tied to her waist. Grandma kept saying use that beautiful voice to impact the world. And Ms. Flowers gave her tough love. Ms. Flowers told her that to be a poet you have to speak and you won't truly be a poet until you speak the words with your tongue. Maya ran away from that conversation. And the teacher followed her back to her grandmother's house and pointed a finger at her in her face and said I'm not done with this conversation. She continued to tell Maya what makes a great poet. That teacher continuously didn't give up on her. And the rest is history. Because when Maya finally did speak, look what amazing things she was able to accomplish? And when she did speak, she also said it was her seven year old brain that understood she was the reason the man was killed in prison and she was afraid it was her voice that would kill; she didn't want to hurt anyone else so she went silent.

Never judge someone. You don't truly know what they are going through. And never give up on someone. You never know what greatness they will create when they finally find the courage to follow their heart and be who they are meant to become.