We'll Miss You, Dr. Maya Angelou

A few days ago we lost an American icon. Someone who challenged people to think differently about their circumstances and situations. Someone who saw the world and decided to change it. Someone who loved people enough to improve them and raise their standards. On Wednesday, May 28, 2014, we lost the dear Dr. Maya Angelou.

It saddens me that I don’t know nearly enough about her and her works. It saddens me that there are people out there right now who don’t even know who she was. But what saddens me the most is that there may be future generations who will never hear about her, nor understand the impact she had on American culture, particularly within the African-American and female empowerment communities.

So, in an effort to continue to keep her legacy alive, I decided to do some research and watch some videos that would help me develop a true picture of who she was and how she became so successful. I found that she wrote several autobiographies (7 to be exact), a plethora of poetry, and was involved in a host of plays, television shows, and movies in her 86 years of life. She was on a first-name basis with the American heroes Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X. She spoke at numerous universities and even at Bill Clinton’s 1992 inaugural ceremony. And this barely scrapes the surface of what she has done with her time on this earth.

She was and still is a prime example of success. She saw a problem with how people interacted with each other and did something about it. Take her poem “Still I Rise” for instance. In this poem, she describes the determination it takes to rise above those who attempt to keep you down, who spit in your face, who don’t believe you have self-worth. While its racial overtones are undeniable, you can apply this poem to any type of injustice towards another human being. And that is the beauty of Angelou’s works: you are challenged to take action in your life and realize you don’t have to accept your situation in its current state.

So thank you, Dr. Angelou. You have impacted more people than you could ever know, and are an embodiment of success in every area of life. You will be missed.