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Maya Angelou Research Paper

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Maya Angelou once said “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.” and I think she completely lived up to that with the life she lived, and the things she accomplished in it. Maya Angelou, or as she was originally called Marguerite Annie Johnson, was born on April 4, 1928, in St. Louis, Missouri. Maya Angelou was an American Poet, a storyteller, a civil rights activist, a singer, a songwriter, a dancer, a director, a historian, a teacher, an actor, and an autobiographer. Growing up in St.Louis Angelou experienced harsh discrimination. At age 14 she received a scholarship to San Francisco’s Labor School to study dance and drama, but decided to drop …show more content…

Being a single mother was very difficult for Angelou. She had to be a waitress and cook to supper herself and her child. Then, Angelou learned to dance accordingly, and started acting in Off-Broadway productions. She moved to Egypt in 1960 and became the editor of the Arab Observer. Not too long later, she was in Ghana where she was an instructor at the University of Ghana’s school of music and drama. When she came back to the U.S. she continued to be involved in literary and social activities. Unfortanutely, not too long ago, Angelou passed away on May 28, 2014. However even though she’s no longer here, Angelou continues to inspire people with her works, and just the life she lived. She was a very strong, independent, courageous woman and I think her memory will live on …show more content…

She succeeds and becomes the first African American woman to work on San Francisco street cars. Going back to school, she didn’t really feel like she belonged. At one point of her life, Maya feared she was a lesbian and decided to experiment with having boyfriends etc. She encounters two brothers, and decides to be in a relationship with one of them. After realizing that it is not satisfying her, she ends it. Three weeks later, she finds out she’s pregnant. She ends up giving birth to a son, and is so amused by the baby that she is afraid to even touch him. However eventually, her mother makes her sleep on the bed with her son to prove to her that nothing will happen to him, and from then on, she wasn’t afraid anymore. This book was a very detailed view of Maya’s life, especially because it was an autobiography and she was the author. I found out so much that I never knew about her, and I was very interested. She had such a hard life, but still managed to make it a life worth living, and worth

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