First thing I thought of when I heard we were reading a memoir by Maya Angelou I thought of a strong woman who wrote one of my favorite poems called "Phenomenal Woman".
"Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I'm telling lies.
I say,
It's in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman"
So to think that the woman who wrote this poem that so empowered me through my awkward puberty was at one time so not confident in herself made no sense to me. Then I read this book and it all made sense. Women need to go through something to reach the other side of happiness. Not just women, humans. That outside of every truly terrible storm there is a rainbow. Maya Angelou's life described in her memoir seems to be a testament to that very statement. I think that at the end of her memoir where it ends with the birth of a beautiful baby boy the caged bird is let free. She sees the true potential she has by the fact she automatically protects her new baby that is entirely her own. I find that completely fascinating that mothers have this innate sense to protect their babies. This realization empowers her. This woman at the end of her book is the woman I see who would write about being a "Phenomenal Woman".
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