In honor of the great Maya Angelou’s passing yesterday, I
thought it only right to tribute her life with a short dedication. Cliché as it
may sound; she is a constant breath of inspiration that drives me when my will is at its lowest. Her extensive achievements remind me that impossible is only an idea
that I have planted at the forefront of my mind and have made myself
believe. Angelou’s voice oozed a humble confidence when she spoke her words,
knowing full well they were shaping and changing modern attitudes. Her
enlightened view on issues such as women’s suffrage was distinctive and
individualistic. She was a woman for the
people, and more importantly she was a woman for herself - never changing for
anyone, never suppressing her identity. She encompassed what it was to be
human, and she taught others to recognize the importance of their own humanity.
Whilst death is inevitably a sorrowful event, her own philosophies remove any
sort of tragic sensation from her own end.
‘Love liberates’ was a moving truth,
characterized by her mother, upbringing and experience. The beauty of
surrendering your own ego to the infinite power of love and belief goes far
beyond any sort of prayer to reach a state of personal and mental liberation.
As her mother was inspiration to her that she could be somebody, ‘Baby, you are
the greatest woman I’ve ever met.’ The idea that true love is a selfless
and unforced emotion that provides the foundation for another, to grow and
learn to love them-selves, is wonderfully profound. Watching this video sparked
tears, not because she is gone or because I could not comprehend her feelings.
It was due to the fact that she was here and that I am fortunate to bear
the name of parents that have liberated me with their everlasting and unconditional
love. A feeling can often seem like a simple and irrelevant thing. But in the truth of
the matter as the great Dr. once said, ‘I’ve
learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did,
but people will never forget how you made them feel.’