Foriegn Affairs

Exister, c'est oser se jeter dans le monde.

Wednesday, April 4, 2018

Phenomenal Woman

Today is Maya Angelou's birthday, and let me tell you- I am so thankful that one of my teachers in high school introduced me to her. All the things that she has written and said are honestly so inspired (and inspiring) and I feel that a whole class needs to be devoted to her. We focus so much on poetry and other stories with male authors that are considered "classics", but I feel that they really need to include Angelou!

One of the things that most inspire me about her is that she had a rough upbringing with several trials (that I do not know if I could survive) and she became better for it. Not only did Maya Angelou survive, but she truly thrived. She had all the reason in the world to be bitter and check-out of life, but she chose instead to make the best out of the situations that she was put in. Many of her messages speak to being kind to others, and especially yourself. I love this message because most of the time, we are our worst critics. And unfortunately, when we are down on ourselves we can get down on others. Angelou focused on celebrating differences- something that we don't do a lot of in this culture. She had a way of looking at life and seeing all the beauty and promise that it had to offer.

As noted in the title of this post, my favorite so far that I have read is Phenomenal Woman. I love the book that I have because it has amazing art in it that compliments the text so well. One of my favorite lines is "I'm a woman, Phenomenally. Phenomenal woman, That's me". This just stands out to me because it is freaking amazing to be a woman, and there is an inner beauty that is not defined by size or looks, but just by being a woman.

I'll finish by quoting this part from her biography:

"All of my work is meant to say, 'You may encounter many defeats but you must not be defeated.' In fact, the encountering may be the very experience which creates the vitality and power to endure".

Maya Angelou, you are truly a Phenomenal Woman.



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