Maya Angelou

“Lift up your eyes upon this day breaking you. Give birth again to the dream.”

This is part of the poem “The Pulse of Morning”, written by my heroine, Maya Angelou. She is my heroine because she sticks up for what she believes in. Maya overcame all of her obstacles and had a much better life once her childhood was over, and she became an adult. Maya was awarded more than fifty honorary degrees and learned most of her lessons by life experiences.

Maya Angelou had a better life as an adult, but she had a pretty bad childhood and background. When she was seven years old, she killed her mother’s boyfriend, Mr. Freeman. When she was about fourteen years old, she got a cut on her side from her stepmother. She and her brother, Bailey kept moving back and forth from Long Beach, California to Stamps, Arkansas. Maya worked at her grandmother’s store. By working there, she learned math, so when she started school she skipped a grade.

Maya Angelou had many challenges and obstacles through her life. First, she was an African American, growing up in the segregated south in the 1930’s. Having her parents divorced was the hardest. She was pregnant with her son, Clyde at age sixteen. Second she had too many jobs and wasn’t earning enough money. Another obstacle was when she met her first white friend, Tosh Angelos. They got married, but after about one year of marriage, Angelos wouldn’t let Maya go to church. She had to sneak out of the house to go to church. As a result, she divorced him.

Maya Angelou had a lot of positive character traits. First Maya is very stubborn; when she killed Mr. Freeman, she wouldn’t talk for about one month. She often got punished. Second she was courageous; when she found out she was pregnant, she got her courage together to tell her mom and dad by leaving a note. Also, when she dropped out of school after high school, she could only get low paying jobs. Finally, she wanted a job as a trolley conductor. She kept coming back for three weeks to see if the manager was back in town. After the three weeks, she finally got the job. Finally Maya was spiritually strong. When she read her poem at the presidential Inauguration of William Jefferson Clinton, many who were watching and listening felt inspiration. People talked about her poem for weeks. Maya was the first African American, and the first woman in the history of our nation, to give a poem at an inauguration of a president.

Maya Angelou gave many contributions to the world. At age fifteen she was the first African American to conduct a trolley. She had many jobs; they were dancer, actor, cook, professor, and writer, worked in a music shop, singer, playwright, professional stage and screen producer, director, performer, and a great poet. Maya wrote a poem saying everyone is equal. She is also a Civil Rights activist. Maya published many volumes of poetry. Some are; “Phenomenal Women: Four Poems Celebrating Women; My Painted House; My Friendly Chicken And Me; The Complete Collected Poems Of Maya Angelou; Wouldn’t Take Nothing For My Journey Now; Shaker, Why Don’t You Sing?; And Still I Rise;” also “Oh Pray My Wings Are Gonna Fit Me Well”. Maya also wrote some books. Her most famous books are, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, Gather Together in my Name and, On The Pulse of Morning.

Maya Angelou is truly a heroine! She shows courage, stubbornness and she is spiritually strong. She had a horrible childhood, but turned her life around. Maya Angelou is truly my heroine!