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Overcoming The Barriers In Maya Angelou's Life

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Life is a long journey in which we are forced to experience something new everyday. We have days of strength, days of weakness, days of honesty, and days of deceit. We are not fully in control of the what happens to us, but we have the power to choose where to go next. We have the option to be happy, to be sad, to be a leader, or to be a follower. Choice is powerful, without choice we would not have change-for better or for worse. Everyday can significantly change because of a single choice. But every choice is not always available to everyone. There are barriers that stand in the way of each, some can be broken down easily, while others take more time and effort. Maya Angelou experienced and overcame more of these barriers than I could ever …show more content…

Being sexually abused at age eight was one of the first major events that greatly affected Angelou’s view of herself. She lost her childhood when everyone discovered what had happened. “I don't think she understood half of what she was saying herself, but, after all, girls have to giggle, and after being a woman for three years I was about to become a girl.” (154) Maya was never supposed to grow up as fast as she did and it did not help that she never had the guidance to get past what had happened to her. I, on the other hand, have always had guidance in my life. There are times when I have been left alone to make my own choices, but a lot of who I am comes from my family. I have not gone through the kinds of experiences that Maya has, but it made me take a step back and realize that people do not have the same kind of guidance that I have. My roots are planted deep in the ground, there is room for them to grow and follow new paths. Maya’s roots are planted near the surface, pulled out when she loses herself and replanted with her own hands as she begins to grow again. Although my roots are longer, they have the ability to be pulled out just as quickly as Maya’s, but she has shown me that the struggles have only made her blossoms more beautiful in the

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