Maya Angelou Was a True Inspiration to Me

I woke up this morning and learned about Maya Angelou’s passing.  She will live on in many of us forever and I believe she is in a better place now.

My father passed away form colon cancer when I was 16, but before that he taught me many things.  One of which was his love of Maya Angelou.  My dad was a high school honors English teacher and later went on to be a high school principal.  We didn’t have a lot of money, but the one thing my dad would always buy me was books.  When I heard of Maya Angelou’s passing this morning my first thought was actually of my dad and Maya Angelou having some tea together in a better place.

To remember this amazing woman I thought I would share some of my favorite quotes from Maya Angelou:

“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.”

“Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.”

“You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.”

“I don’t trust anyone who doesn’t laugh.”

“History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again.”

“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude. Don’t complain.”

“I love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels. Life’s a bitch. You’ve got to go out and kick ass.”

“My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style”

“Stepping onto a brand-new path is difficult, but not more difficult than remaining in a situation, which is not nurturing to the whole woman.”

“The desire to reach for the stars is ambitious. The desire to reach hearts is wise.”

Rest in peace Maya Angelou and find comfort in the change you made in the world.